Chapter 13
Jack was so happy to see Chloe that he didn’t notice the commotion on the porch at first, but then he noticed that everyone was shouting at each other except Chloe who was standing staring at him. She looked like she was ready to cry, but not with happiness. He crossed the yard in only a few steps and demanded, “What’s going on?”
“Your girlfriend invited her other boyfriend over for dinner, sorry you missed him.” Owen said, giving Chloe a look that showed every bit of the contempt he was feeling.
“That’s not true. It was Brandon and he came up here uninvited.” Chloe tried to explain.
“Funny he looked pretty welcome when you were kissing him.” Flynn said, an evil grin on his face.
Jack stared at Chloe, she’d told him about Brandon, assured him that it was over between them. Now he was hearing that the guy had shown up here, not only that, Chloe had him kissing her right in front of his brothers. If she’d wanted to hurt him she’d found the best way ever, suddenly he was sure that she’d planned the whole thing just to get even with him for the way he’d acted.
Turning on his heels, he headed straight back to the truck sorry that he’d decided to surprise Chloe. It didn’t occur to him that she couldn’t have planned anything since she hadn’t known that he was coming home early. He was having too much trouble getting his mind around the fact that she’d kissed the man who had supposedly broken her heart.
Chloe chased Jack across the yard having a hard time catching up to him, especially when he was mad. “Wait Jack, that’s not what happened.” She called after him, but he got in his truck and sped out of the yard.
She watched him go, her heart breaking, wondering how things had gone wrong so fast. Marissa came out to where Chloe was standing and put her arm around her and led her back into the house, when they passed by Owen and Flynn she gave them a dirty look but didn’t say anything. Once they were in the house away from prying eyes Chloe burst into tears, sobbing out all her frustration.
“He’s never going to believe me.” She said, through her tears.
“Hush for a second and listen to me.” Marissa said, handing Chloe a tissue. “Give him time to calm down then talk to him. He’s just upset. I’ll handle Owen and Flynn, after I get done with them they’re going to be sorry they stuck their nose into something that was none of their business.”
It took a little while for Chloe to calm down, but when she left Marissa’s things didn’t look quite so bad. When she got back to her cabin Jack was home, but as much as she wanted to talk to him right then, she knew that Marissa was right, time would go a long way toward calming Jack down. When she looked at it from his perspective it was no wonder that he got so upset. If it had been her, she might have reacted the same way.
It wasn’t long before she heard Jack pull away from the cabins, where he was headed she had no idea, but she really hoped it wasn’t anywhere near his brothers. They’d already done a lot of damage, damage she was going to have to repair. All she needed was them feeding the fire. Determined to talk to him when he got home, she sat down on the porch knowing that she wouldn’t miss him that way. But as the hours passed, she found herself getting more and more sleepy, especially once the sun had gone down.
Jack pulled up to his cabin hoping that he wouldn’t see Chloe; he was hurt and confused, almost unable to believe what his brothers had told him. He’d gone in search of them but hadn’t been able to find them. He needed some clarity before he saw Chloe, a part of him unable to believe that she was still involved with Brandon. Until then he wasn’t going to talk to her, he just couldn’t trust himself not to fall under her spell again.
When he saw Chloe asleep on the porch his heart told him to go to her, but the stubborn hurt child inside of him overruled that idea and led him directly into the cabin. He took a shower and got into bed determined not to think about Chloe, but although he did sleep, his dreams were full of her. He tossed and turned until the light of dawn was just showing on the horizon then he finally got out of bed knowing that he wasn’t going to be able to get any decent rest.
Throwing on some clothes, he went to the door hoping that Chloe wasn’t still asleep on her porch, guilt for the way he’d treated her beginning to take over the anger and hurt he’d felt. But when he opened the door, Owen was standing on the front porch.
“What are you doing here this time of morning?” Jack asked, concerned to see his brother standing on his porch.
“The sheep in the upper pasture are missing.” Owen said, the panic clear in his voice.
“What?” Jack asked, his mind still on Chloe.
“I just talked to Paul and they can’t find the sheep, it looks like a bear came through last night and they bolted.” Owen explained, waiting for Jack to explode.
Jack did explode, taking all his anger and frustration out on Owen and Paul. Owen just stood on the porch and let Jack yell, happy to see his old brother back. As awful as it was, Owen didn’t like Jack’s new happiness; Chloe had changed his brother and the one thing Owen didn’t like was change. It had taken everything in him to make the move to America, he hadn’t wanted to come and now he knew that he was right. Everything that could go wrong had, and it would only get worse before it got better, it was going to be a long two years.
Once Jack had poured out the worst of his anger, he took a deep breath to calm himself. He needed a plan and he needed one now; those sheep couldn’t survive up in the mountains on their own. They needed to be guided to the best food at least for now. Knowing he had no other option but to go up there himself, he went back into the cabin and packed a few clothes in his saddle bags and headed for the four-wheeler.
With one final look at Chloe’s cabin, he sped off into the morning, wishing that things had been different. He should have her by his side, but right now there was too much that needed to be settled between them. A small part of him felt guilty that he was just leaving, knowing that they had things that needed to be said, but it was Chloe’s fault they were in this position not his, at least this time.
It shouldn’t take long to round up the sheep, he’d be back in a matter of days and then they’d talk. When he got to the barn, he pushed Chloe from his mind, right now the sheep were more important than his love life, his whole future rested on those sheep. He couldn’t lose them now. It wouldn’t make any difference what Chloe had done if he lost the herd and had to go home with his tail between his legs.
Chloe awoke long after sunrise, she’d slept much longer than she’d intended, partly because instead of the warm California sunshine waking her, the day was overcast and dreary. For a second, she considered staying in bed where it was warm, but then she remembered the night before and her stomach sank. Jack was mad at her, sure that she’d been cheating on him, she had to get out of bed and find him to explain.
Jumping out of bed, she stripped out of the flannel pajamas she’d been wearing, shivering in the cold. She’d fallen asleep on the porch waiting for Jack to come home and when she’d woken in the early morning hours, shivering from the cold, she’d been disappointed to see that she’d missed him. His four-wheeler was parked out in front of his cabin, but there wasn’t a light to be seen, so she’d gone inside and gone to bed.
Hoping that she hadn’t missed Jack, she dressed and hurried over to his cabin. She had no idea what she’d say to him, but she had to set the record straight. Without hesitating, she knocked on the door, then stepped back her heart racing. The door was opened almost immediately, but it wasn’t Jack standing there; it was Owen and by the look on his face she could tell that he wasn’t happy to see her.
“It took you longer to get over here than I thought it would.” Owen said, that annoying sneer on his face.
“I need to see Jack.” She said, trying to control her temper.
“Why? Did you come to tell him some more of your lies?”
Chloe took a deep breath, “I just want to see Jack.”
“Well, I’m afraid you can’t do that.” Owen said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the door frame, blocking her view inside the cabin.
Thinking that Owen was keeping her from Jack, she finally lost her temper. “It’s time for you to mind your own business. You have no idea what’s going on and frankly even if you did you have no right to get involved, this is between Jack and me.” She was practically shouting and had moved several steps closer to Owen.
“That’s where you’re wrong little girl. Who do you think picked Jack up and kept him going after Isobel crushed him, if you think I’m going through that again you better think again. You women are all the same, liars and cheats.” He finished, leaning down and getting right in Chloe’s face.
Owen’s words were like putting a flame to a pile of leaves, Chloe would have sworn there was smoke coming out of her ears, she was so mad. “You’re a real jerk, and stupid to boot. How dare you categorize all women that way. You are just an insecure little boy yourself. Grow up and act like a man, leave Jack and me alone and let us work this out.” Chloe said, jabbing her finger into Owen’s chest. “Get out of my way right now.”
Owen was so shocked by Chloe’s response that he moved out of the way, she rushed into the cabin and went right back to the bedroom when she saw that Jack wasn’t in the living room or kitchen. But he wasn’t in the bedroom either, so she stormed back out to the porch, even madder than before.
“You could have told me he wasn’t here. Is he at the ranch?” She demanded, her eyes daring Owen to screw with her again.
Still shocked by the fire in Chloe, he said, “The sheep in the upper pasture have gone missing and he left early this morning to help find them.”
Chloe turned and looked at the mountains looming behind them, they were covered in grey ugly looking clouds, the upper peaks not even visible. “When did he leave?”
Owen began to look a little sheepish, “About dawn, I guess. He didn’t really tell me his plans when he left.”
“Who did he take with him?” Chloe demanded, all her anger suddenly replaced with worry. As skilled as Jack was on a horse, he didn’t know these mountains at all and the coming storm was predicted to be one of the worst of the year.
Flash floods were always a concern and streams that were nothing more than a gently trickle most of the year could turn deadly in seconds. Chloe knew from her trip up to the pasture earlier in the year that there were several stream crossings, not to mention the runoff streams that were dry most of the year but popped up at times like this.
“I don’t know, maybe Flynn went with him.” Owen was beginning to understand that Chloe was concerned for Jack’s safety. “He knows how to handle himself. What’s the big deal?”
“You really are an idiot.” Chloe said, then added. “These mountains can be deadly especially in a storm like this, no one should be up there alone. If anything happens to him I’m going to hold you responsible. I’m going after him, something you should have done.”
“You can’t go up there now, it’s too dangerous.” Owen finally said when Chloe’s words had sunk in. He’d been so bent on breaking them up, he’d lost sight of the danger Jack was putting himself in, storm or no storm he should have made sure he was taking someone with him.
“I have to, I love him and if anything happens I don’t know what I’ll do.” Chloe said, turning and heading back to her cabin.
She quickly dug her rain gear out of the closet, sorry to have to be getting it out again, the rain this summer had been a pain for everyone to deal with, but this would be more than just an inconvenience. As she loaded her saddle bags, she couldn’t help but remember what had happened to her adoptive parents, what was supposed to have been a quick trip to the upper mountains of their ranch had turned deadly thanks to the weather.
Pushing those thoughts from her mind, she headed out the door just as the sky opened up and the rain that had been threatening all morning began to come down in sheets. Glad that she’d already put her slicker on, she headed for the barn at the ranch where she hoped she’d find that Jack had taken someone with him. But when she got there, she was disappointed to find that Flynn had let Jack go alone, his mood so black no one dared disagree with him. Chloe cursed him under her breath and headed for the horses at the back of the barn.
“Where are you going?” Flynn asked, following her.
“I’m going after him. He can’t be that far in front of me.” Chloe said, grabbing a saddle off the wall.
Flynn took the saddle from her, then said, “I can’t let you do that. I promised Jack that I wouldn’t let you follow him. He said I should tell you that he doesn’t believe you were cheating on him and that you’d talk when he got back. If I let you go up there, he’ll kill me.”
“If I don’t go up there he might not be alive to kill you.” Chloe said, staring Flynn down.
But he didn’t budge, “Look Chloe, I just can’t let you go. I’m sorry I interfered, but I promised Jack.”
Chloe knew when she’d been beat, but there was still Honey Hills, they had plenty of horses there. Without a word, she turned and left the barn and headed down the road through the torrent of rain, cursing again because every minute she wasted gave Jack that much more of a head start. When she got to Marissa’s her instinct was to just go to the barn, saddle a horse and leave, but she knew that she couldn’t do that so she headed into the house.
It wasn’t hard to find everyone; they were all gathered in Scott’s office at the back of the house. When she walked into the room, Marissa looked up at her and smiled, then saw the look on Chloe’s face and jumped to her feet and pulled her out of the room.
“What’s wrong?” She asked, concern on her face.
“The sheep went missing, Jack left for the upper pasture early this morning.” Chloe said, just as a huge clap of thunder shook the house.
“Oh, no that’s not good.” Marissa said, then pulled Chloe back into the office.
“I just need to barrow a horse, I’ve got to go after him.” Chloe said, trying to pull Marissa back into the hall.
“No way you’re going up there in this storm.” Marissa said, then shared Chloe’s news with the room.
The first thing Scott did was try to call Jack on his satellite phone, but there was no answer so he pulled out his computer and activated the tracking device in the phone. Marissa explained that all the phones were equipped with trackers for situations just like this. In only a few seconds, Scott pointed to a map on the screen and a tiny blinking dot. “This is him, he’s already made it half way.”
“So fast.” Chloe said, disappointed to know that he was so far in front of her.
“He’s moving fast, he’s going to reach the big river crossing soon, if he makes it past that he should be okay.” Scott said, leaning back in his chair obviously relieved.
But just then the front door opened with a bang and Calvin and Cooper came striding into the room, their faces full of anger. “The upper dam is threatening to give, the state used inferior materials on their side and it’s leaking.”
“Shit.” Scott said, not even apologizing for his language. “If that dam goes, we’re in trouble. What are we going to do?”
“The only thing we can do is open up the spillway and let some of the water out, it should take the pressure off long enough to get some repairs made, but if it keeps raining like this, it could take a while.” Cooper said, pulling a map out of a tube and spreading it out on the desk.
Chloe listened while the men talked, her frustration climbing by the minute. From what she understood, Jack was in even more danger and they had no way of warning him. More determined than ever to go after him, she quietly left the room, relieved that no one noticed as she slipped out the front door. She headed for the barn at a run, grabbing her already soaked saddlebags as she went by the four-wheeler.
Once in the barn, she saddled one of the biggest horses knowing that his size would work to her advantage when it came time to cross the swollen streams between her and Jack. Stuffing emergency food and supplies into the already stuffed saddle bags, she left Honey Hills at a gallop, the rain stinging her face as she rode. No one saw her leave and for that she was relieved, time was of the essence and nothing was going to stop her from going after Jack.
The trail was as bad as she’d expected, the mud slowing them down more than she would have liked, but she was an excellent rider so she pushed her horse as hard as she could, praying the whole time that she’d be able to catch up with Jack before something terrible happened. Hours later, she was soaked to the skin and covered with mud, but relieved to see Jack on the trail ahead of her. He was standing next to his horse, looking at the last river crossing, the usually placid stream a roaring torrent of water.
When she got close enough she called out to him, and he turned at the sound of her voice, his face lighting up at first then turning as stormy as the weather. “What are you doing here? I told Flynn not to let you come up here, it’s too dangerous.”
Chloe was immediately angry, “Then what are you doing up here? Jack this is a serious storm and the dam is going to give, we have to get back down the mountain.”
“You need to get back down. I’m going after my sheep.” He said, turning back to the stream as if the discussion was over.
Chloe got down off her horse and stood next to him. “How do plan to get across that?” She asked sarcastically.
“I haven’t quite figured that out, but don’t worry I will.” Jack said, stubbornly then started to mount his horse.
Chloe could tell that nothing she said was going to help, he was going to try and cross the stream no matter what she said. “You can’t cross alone; you’ll have to take me with you.”
“I’m not going to do that, it’s too dangerous.”
“You don’t have any choice.” She said, pulling the rope off her saddle that she always carried for just such an emergency.
Jack looked at Chloe, she was staring him down, her chin up, just daring him to disagree. “Okay fine, you probably know more about this than I do.”
Nearly an hour later, they’d crossed the rushing water safely and were back on their horses slogging through the mud. They were both soaked to the skin and shivering but Jack pressed on knowing that they were only a mile away from the upper pasture and hopefully the sheep. Their efforts were rewarded by the sight of the sheep, wet and unhappy, bunched in the middle of the pasture.
Jack was so excited, he let out of whoop of joy, but that joy was short lived when they heard a roaring in the mountains above them. “Jack, we have to get to higher ground, they must have opened up the spillway, in a few minutes this pasture is going to be flooded.” Chloe said, pointing to the stream that ran thought the pasture.
They both looked around them considering which way would be the best, then Chloe remembered that she’d seen an upper plateau that would keep them well away from the flooding. “We’re going to have to lead the sheep through the trees. They aren’t going to like it, but about a mile to the west is a place we should be safe.”
It took Jack only a second to decide that Chloe knew something he didn’t. “Lead the way.” He said, shaking the rain off his poncho.
Chloe jumped down off her horse and dropped his reins knowing that he would follow, then began leading the sheep into the trees. Jack watched her for a few minutes then remembered the lessons she’d given him all those weeks ago and got off his horse to help. When they came out of the trees, they were on the top of a big plateau, high enough from the river that they’d be safe even if the dam gave way.
They herded the sheep toward the back side of the plateau where there was a cliff that would provide them with some protection from the wind and rain. Chloe was so accustomed to being half-blinded by the wind and rain that it was a shock when they reached the shelter of the cliff. She hadn’t realized just how bad the storm had gotten until they stopped to catch their breath and looked back across the plateau.