Chapter 1
All the Montgomery clan was gathered on the front porch of Carter and Faith’s new house, enjoying not only the beautiful spring evening but the new addition to the family, a beautiful baby girl who’d arrived less than a year after they were married. Calvin was watching Brooke as she held the baby a smile on his face, but when she looked up at him, his look quickly changed to one of panic. He knew that look well; it was the same look she’d had when she’d held their newborn daughter almost two years ago.
Just as the panic began to get the better of him, his brother Cooper came up and slapped him on the back. “Relax Calvin, it’s not so bad having two babies in the house; just be thankful you won’t have two rambunctious teen-aged boys as well, because I have a feeling Brooke has babies on her mind.”
Calvin groaned and shook his head, “I don’t know how you and Paige do it and everything else you do. Speaking of Paige, how is the dig going?”
“She’s found three complete skeletons and some burial artifacts, so as you can imagine she’s been spending a lot of time in the lab.” Cooper answered his brother, then narrowed his eyes at him. “Stop trying to change the subject.”
“What are you two talking about, Calvin has that look on his face he always gets when he’s scared of something.” Carter said, joining his brothers on the other side of the porch.
“He’s just looking forward to having another mouth to feed.” Cooper said, grinning at his brother.
“Oh, yeah, is there something you need to tell us?” Carter asked, now grinning like Cooper.
“No, not yet. But I know Brooke and it’s bound to be on her mind now, she’s already been talking about having another baby and now look.” Calvin said, pointing to Brooke and the baby.
“Take my advice and have them while you’re young.” Cooper said, in that tone of voice that meant a lecture was coming, but they were saved by Marissa and Scott Terrell, pulling into the drive.
Marissa and Scott had been the original owners of Coldwater Canyon but along with Cooper Montgomery had created a land trust and a non-profit that offered a unique experience in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Conservation and education were the aim of the park which included a town from the 1930s that had been carefully restored. Cedar Ridge boasted a store, medical clinic, a research facility, and several other businesses that catered to the over one hundred residents of the canyon.
It was a unique endeavor that spanned over 350 thousand acres of prime forest and farm land; the goal eventually was to have the park not only self-sufficient, but profitable. The park was an expensive project, but was funded by donations from the Montgomery’s and the Terrell’s, who between them represented a large portion of the wealth in California. Unlike most of the billionaires in the state, the families had united in their desire to give something back to the world.
Marissa climbed the steps to the porch and went straight over to the baby intending to take her from Brooke, but one look at Brooke’s face stopped her with a smile. Babies weren’t supposed to be contagious but in Coldwater Canyon that seemed to be true, she thought rubbing her swollen belly. Sometimes it still surprised her that what had started out as a dream she and Scott shared, had turned into this wonderful group of people who were like her family.
“Well, it’s nice to see all three Montgomery brothers together for a change. How was Australia Calvin?” She asked, smiling up at Scott when he helped her into a chair.
“The diamond hunting was great; you should see a huge deposit in the park account in a few weeks. I was thinking we could use it to upgrade the satellite tower, we need better coverage in the park.” Calvin said, relieved to have the talk about babies put aside, although with Marissa so clearly pregnant it was like an elephant in the room.
“Now might be a good time to discuss some business if you all don’t mind; we’re all together and Calvin and I have something we want to propose to you.” Marissa said, getting everyone’s attention.
When everyone’s attention was focused on her, she turned it over to Calvin. “Well, you all know that we looked up some cousins when we were in Australia, a branch of the family that left America in the early 1800s. It seems that they’ve been just as successful as we have, a ranch worth a small fortune, and investments that will only continue to grow.” Calvin paused to let that information sink in.
“Somewhere back several generations they made their money raising sheep for their wool, Merino wool, which if you don’t know is some of the softest, most durable wool you can find. But instead of sticking to only ranching, the family branched out into real estate and other investments, and amassed a fortune that’s worth billions today.” Calvin again waited.
“Geeze Calvin, would you get to the point already?” Cooper said, “We get it, they’re rich like we are, so big deal.”
“The wool industry in Australia is dead; they’re growing more wheat than they are sheep.” Calvin said, then added, “They want to come here and try raising sheep.”
There was an eruption of questions, which Scott quieted with a raised hand. “Hold on, let us explain. We didn’t tell anyone about this because we weren’t sure it would work, but Marissa thought ahead and put a provision for land leases and grazing permits in the charter for the park. So this is how it would work, we would lease your cousins some acreage in exchange for a percentage of their profits. It will cost us virtually nothing and they’d have to build their own houses which eventually will revert to the park someday.”
There was silence for a long time as everyone considered the implications of the plan. Then Cooper spoke up, “Sounds to me like we can’t refuse.”
Jake put the truck into a lower gear thinking it would help him get up the mountain he was trying to climb, pleased when the truck’s engine stopped grinding so hard and he came to the top of the hill. But much to his chagrin, what he’d just climbed was only the beginning, in front of him loomed the Sierra Nevada’s, California’s impressive mountain range. He’s seen pictures but nothing had prepared him for the real thing and he was suddenly a little worried about the crazy scheme he’d drug them all into.
He’d had to work hard to convince his brothers to leave their homes and move across the world to America, but the opportunity in Coldwater Canyon was exactly what they needed to continue the family tradition of producing the best Merino wool available. The wool industry back home was dead, there was far more money to made raising cattle and growing wheat and there was nothing wrong with that, but he also felt it was important to continue the family traditions.
Of course they would still keep the ranch and farms back home, but for the next two years, Flynn and Owen had agreed to make their home in Coldwater Canyon. They’d take turns going back to check on their properties and investments there, but they’d promised to devote the majority of their time helping Jake move the wool production to its new home in Coldwater Canyon. In two years, he hoped to have a thriving flock, and produce enough wool that Marissa could launch the sweater line she’d proposed.
All in all, it was a good deal for everyone, Marissa promised to pay fair market value and the Montgomery Merino wool would continue to be a name people recognized. It would be difficult to get the sheep across the ocean, and there was question as to how well they’d thrive in the California climate, but Jack knew deep down that it would work. Of the three of them, he was the one who knew the sheep, their likes and dislikes, when they thrived and when they were in danger, and above all else how tough they were. Living in California would be no problem for the hardy line of sheep his family had created.
He was also the only one of them who had nothing to lose by moving to America, thanks to Isobel, his life back home was destroyed. But thinking of Isobel and the mess she’d created with her greed reminded him that something wonderful had come out of the ruin of his reputation and the destruction of any hope he’d ever had of finding the woman of his dreams and sharing his life with her. It wasn’t his son, who was just a year old that prevented him from finding that kind of happiness – it was the hole in his heart that would never heal, the destruction of every shred of trust he’d ever possessed.
Not only had he sworn to never become involved with another woman, he found that now any time he met a woman, he not only was immediately suspicious if she was too nice to him, he acted like a jerk. He knew that it didn’t make sense to blame the entire sex for the deeds of one, and there were women who he knew were good, but they were always the ones who belonged to someone else. Marissa Terrell was a perfect example; there was a woman who was not only sexy but had morals and acted on them.
He’d been beyond impressed when she’d stood up to him over several issues in their lease, including the building of a road to the main property and the use of gas powered vehicles in the park. She’d won one round and he’d won the other, but it had been a fair fight and he’d walked away with a lot of respect for the women. Scott was a lucky man to have found a woman who was a genuine and real as Marissa was, but she was one in a million and he sure wasn’t going to find a Marissa for himself.
Feeling lonely he thought of Josh, at only a year old he was the center of Jake’s universe, the only reason he’d kept going after Isobel had died. He missed the little stinker and wished that he brought him with him, but it would have been too difficult to get settled in with him in tow. Marissa had warned him that the little cabin he and Josh would have to live in for the rest of the summer and the winter was small but snug, and that there would always be someone just a shout away to help.
Even better Marissa had built a daycare center, since the infant population in the canyon had boomed over the last few years. The center would be open by the time Josh came over with his brothers, he would spend his days there and his nights with Jake, an arrangement the suited them both. Jake had always been involved in the day to day care of his son, not believing in hiring someone to do what should be his job; of course he’d had help but never more than he absolutely needed.
Turning into the drive for Honey Hills, the Terrell farm, and the oldest property, he breathed a sigh of relief. The mountain roads had been a bit more difficult to navigate than he’d thought they’d be and he knew that he’d better get a whole lot more comfortable before winter set in and they became covered with snow, something he’d never seen in his life. His legs a bit wobbly, he took a minute to look around him, amazed at the beauty of the mountains around him.
Before he even had a chance to take a deep breath of the crisp mountain air, the door flew open and people began to pour out of the farmhouse. Luckily, he recognized his cousin Calvin and his wife Brooke, and as he looked more carefully his other two cousins began to materialize out of the crowd. It was simple enough then to isolate Scott, but the women were a different story. Although he’d talked to Marissa plenty of times, he’d never met her or his other two cousins’ wives, so when he was greeted by three very beautiful black women, he was a bit shocked.
Luckily, Calvin stepped forward and began introducing him to everyone, allowing him a second to gather his thoughts. He’d never been tongue tied around women before, but he hadn’t expected to find such beauty concentrated in one place, but then again this was California, maybe all the women looked like that he told himself as he shook one hand after another.
By the time dinner was over, Jack had forgotten that he was surrounded by beautiful women as he discovered that beauty wasn’t the only thing they had going of them. Each of them in their own way were gifted in ways other than beauty, and for the first time in a long time, he found himself relaxing in the company of the opposite sex. That they were all married might have had something to do with that, but it was also the fact that they were intelligent and not afraid to show it.
He also liked the fact that they just accepted that he was a single father without a million questions and looks of pity, instead wanting to know all about Josh and planning play dates before he even got to the canyon. But as much as he was enjoying getting to know the women, he was relieved when Scott pulled him away to talk about the ranch he would be building from nothing but the wilderness, land he’d never seen and knew nothing about.
But he’d come prepared, spent more time on the computer in the last few months than he had in his entire life. He’d also made some connections at one of the universities in LA, one that had a top notch veterinary program, as well as an agriculture program that couldn’t be rivaled. He felt that he was more than ready to begin turning a small part of the Sierra’s into the perfect place to establish Montgomery Merino wool in America, and for the first time in a long time he was looking forward to getting up the next day.
Chloe had her arm buried in a cow up to her elbow, cursing Dr. Morgan for making them do this again, when she heard her name being shouted across the barnyard. Hoping that this would be the reprieve she was looking for, she watched as Dr. Morgan’s assistant carefully crossed the manure littered ground. It never ceased to put a smile on her face when she watched Misty out in the field, how she’d ended up Dr. Morgan’s assistant was beyond her, but she knew enough not to question the woman with her career hanging in the balance.
“Dr. Morgan wants to see you right away.” Misty said, wrinkling her nose when Chloe pulled her arm out of the cow she’d been pregnancy checking.
“Okay, just give me a few minutes to get cleaned up.” Chloe said, her heart racing in her chest.
Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself that she hadn’t done anything to be in trouble for in the last few days, well nothing that would warrant a trip to the head of the veterinary program’s office. Jumping in the shower, she wished for the millionth time that she’d been assigned to a different advisor, but she’d gotten stuck with Dr. Morgan who only took on a few students a year. How she’d become one of those students she’d never know, but it had turned out to be one of the worst things that had happened to her since she started college.
Dr. Morgan was old school in every way, from his attitude toward women, to the way he practiced medicine. She’d been told long ago to make an effort to please the old man, put on some makeup, fix up her hair, but there was no way she was going to change her appearance for a man, not even a man who could make or break her career. So like any modern day woman she’d rebelled, finding the most innovative treatments and using them, often with far better results than the old methods. Any other advisor would have been glad to see her initiative, but not Dr. Morgan.
The man was impossible, not matter how well she did, he’d find something to find fault with. When he couldn’t fault her medicine, he picked on her personal appearance, making sly comments about women who didn’t wear makeup. He’d even gone so far as to suggest that she should spend her day off at the beauty shop instead of volunteering at the animal shelter; she’d barely managed to keep her cool that time.
As she got dressed, she actually considered fixing her hair and putting on makeup, she’d take her time about it, make him wait. Then when she walked in the door an hour from now, she’d have a good excuse for making him wait. But in the end, she did what she always did, and pulled her hair back away from her face, put on a quick layer of moisturizer and headed for Dr. Morgan’s office. As much fun as it would be to make him wait, she had other things to do besides spending an hour in front of the mirror. Dr. Morgan wasn’t worth that – no man was as far as she was concerned.
Pushing thoughts of men, and one man in particular from her mind, she crossed campus trying to calm her nerves. Thanks to her smart mouth, Dr. Morgan had been able to force her to stay for the summer and work in the teaching hospital, something she’d said she’d never do. But it was that or not get her license, and practicing veterinary medicine was all she’d ever wanted to do, that she’d managed to get where she was never ceased to amaze her.
Realizing that she’d reached Dr. Morgan’s door, she brought her thoughts back from the past to the present and whatever trouble the man had in store for her now. He’d been going out of his way to give her the worst jobs he could, pushing her to do something stupid again and prove him right. But she’d been keeping her nose clean, and her mouth shut, so this meeting was a bit of a mystery to her.
Once she was seated across from Dr. Morgan, she finally got up the courage to look him in the face, and what she saw practically stopped her heart. His face was a mask of displeasure, every wrinkle a punctuation of his anger and frustration. Chloe wanted to slink back out the door, pack her things, and go home to South Dakota, but she knew she couldn’t do that, too many people had sacrificed to get her here. Whatever the problem was, she’d have to face it like she had every other obstacle in her life, with grit and determination.
Dr. Morgan stared at her for a long time, making her shift nervously in her seat. Finally, he said, “Well, Barton, I don’t know how you did it but Cooper Montgomery just called and he wants you in Coldwater Canyon.”
Chloe could only stare at him with her mouth hanging open; this was the last thing she’d expected to hear when she walked into his office. “Not Masters, not Sanchez, you. What did you say to that man? I can’t believe he picked you, I told him you were a loose cannon and he still wants you.”
Chloe couldn’t believe her ears, she’d applied for the job in Coldwater Canyon on a lark, gone up there and interviewed just to get away from LA for a night. The interview hadn’t even gone that well, but that wasn’t completely true, it had been going fine until he’d mentioned her height, which was a sore spot with her. Since the moment she’d stared the large animal program, people had been questioning her ability to deal with animals that far outweighed her, and she’d been proving how little size mattered since then.
When Cooper Terrell had posed the same question, she’d lost her temper and given him a fifteen-minute lecture on restraint and the proper way to accomplish it. After she’d finished, he’d only stared at her and ended the interview, clearly letting her know she’d blown it. But now Dr. Morgan was telling her that they wanted her, not all the hotshots Dr. Morgan had sent, but her.
“What?” She asked, just because she wanted to hear it again.
“Cooper Montgomery wants you in Coldwater Canyon as soon as possible. How much clearer can I make it?” Dr. Morgan ground out between clenched teeth, clearly angry that she’d won the last round.