Chapter Twenty-Seven

Travis

I woke up with a fright at the sound of thunder. It was so loud it sounded like it was inside the room. Harper was next to me sleeping but the moment I sat up, she opened her eyes too. She looked at me in surprise, as if she’d forgotten where she was or what we had done. The sound of thunder rumbled overhead, and her eyes widened. Just then, we heard a loud crack and the room lit up from the lightning.

“Whoa. This storm is crazy.”

“So crazy. Oh my god, look out there!” I said and pointed out the window. The lightning struck again and lit up the area outside.

“Did it hit the tree?” she asked.

“I’m not sure. It looks like maybe.” It was hard to tell from where we were, but it looked like a tree out by the ranch might’ve been hit. I’d been here before when there had been storms and it was always scary. It wasn’t something you easily got used to, and being away from it for so long only amplified it.

“You don’t get storms like this back home,” she said.

“I think we need to make sure that the animals are still secure, and maybe get some of the smaller ones together and bring them inside. I’m always worried about the animals when the storm is this bad. Maybe you should wait here? It’s probably a lot safer here.”

Harper was already out the bed. Another hit of lightning struck and I was able to get a glimpse of her beautiful naked body as she searched for her clothes. I wished now that the storm would go away so that I could take her back in my arms. “No way,” she said. “I’m coming with you. And don’t bother trying to change my mind. You won’t find someone nearly as stubborn as me.”

“I believe you!” I said and began to look for my own clothes which were strewn around the room.

We got changed and hurried out the room. I was about to head straight to Allison and Mike’s room when I saw Allison rushing down the corridor. She stopped when she saw me.

“Oh good. I was about to come looking for you. This storm is crazy.”

“We were coming to look for you too. Where’s Mike?”

“He’s not back. He’s still at the hospital waiting for the storm to pass. I told him to wait there until it clears instead. No point him driving out in this weather. But I really want to go and check on the animals.”

“That’s exactly what we were thinking. But Mike has the car doesn’t he?”

“It’s fine. I have my truck here. I don’t mind doing it, Travis. The two of you can stay here.”

I shook my head. “No chance. We’re coming with. Harper has already told me how stubborn she is about things like this and I have to say I’m exactly the same. There’s no way you’re going out there alone. Let’s get our coats and head out. Do you have spare umbrellas for us to get to the truck?”

“Of course. Hang on, let me get them.”

As it turned out, we didn’t need the umbrellas at all. As soon as we walked out, the wind forced them inside out. We threw them to the side and just ran to the truck instead, getting soaked on the way. Thankfully the drive was short, and we all hurried out to check on the animals. Between the three of us, we were able to check on all the animals in record time. The storm had damaged some of the barn door, but I rushed over to the shed to get some pieces of spare wood and we managed to secure it against the door. The animals would at least be safe inside. They weren’t happy, though. The horses were giving nervous whickers at the sound of the wind outside. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Harper with her head against the door telling them that everything was going to be okay. She was soaked to the bone but didn’t seem to care. And strangely enough, despite the heavy sound of rain and the horrible crash of thunder, the horses seemed to respond to her voice and even calmed down.

“You’re the horse whisper,” I said to her as she rushed back to me.

Other than the barn door, the only real damage seemed to be at the pig pen. A strike of lightning had hit directly into one of the metal feeding troughs, but it was something that could be fixed, and it was lucky that the pigs were not there at the time. All the animals had been secured in the large barn, and even though they weren’t happy, at least they were safe. Storms had happened before, and the barn had been extended exactly for this reason. They’d lost animals before and vowed never to let it happen again.

Once the animals were secure, we all rushed into the guest house to let the other guests know that everything was going to be fine. They all seemed a little on edge but that was to be expected.

“Are we safe here?” Barry’s wife, Priscilla asked.

“You sure are. Don’t worry about it. All the animals have been secured in the stable too, and now we’ll just have to wait for the storm to pass. Obviously if you can all just remain in your rooms, we’d most appreciate it. It’s not safe for anyone out there but it’s definitely all safe for you here. There are candles in all the closets, and extra bedding if anyone gets cold. We’ll be back in the morning and hopefully everything will be back to normal then.”

Thankfully none of them seemed to notice that Jackson wasn’t there. They probably assumed he was in his room, enjoying every moment of the storm. They all seemed placated after seeing us, and headed back to the safety of their rooms.

“Okay, are you ready to head back? I think we should make a dash for it and get back to the house.”

“Let’s do it!” Allison said.

I wondered if Harper was going to suggest that she just stay behind. After all, that was where her room was with all her things. She seemed to consider it for a brief second as I saw her look down the corridor to where her room was. Then she looked at me and nodded. “Let’s go!” she said. I was so glad. I didn’t want her to go back to her room. I wanted to spend the rest of the night with her.

We rushed out the room and headed towards the truck. As we did so, a large gust of wind suddenly pulled up and sent an unsecured tool flying towards us. It was one of the tools we’d used to secure the wood to the stable door. I had no idea how I managed to do it all in time, but seeing that tool hurtle its way towards us made me want to protect Harper in a way that I had never felt before. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as I jumped out and pushed her to the ground. The tool flew right past us, and we all sat there for a few seconds in the rain just watching it.

“Holy shit,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

“Come on, let’s go,” I said and we hurried after Allison who had already made her way to the truck. As soon we got in, she looked at us.

“All okay? You took a while to get here.”

“Travis saved my life,” Harper said and told her the story.

Allison looked at me and grinned. “I’m impressed.” I wondered if she had noticed that Harper had come back with us rather than staying in her room, but if she did, she didn’t say anything and I was grateful for that.

By the time we got back to the house we were all soaked to the bone.

“Come with me, Harper. Let me get you some clean clothes. At least I know you’re my size.”

I made my way to my own bedroom, grateful that the lights were at least back on. I toweled myself dry and put on some fresh clothes. Then I headed out to the kitchen to see if I could make everyone some coffee. Harper and Allison were already there and Allison had beat me to it.

“I thought we could have some hot chocolate,” she said as she busied herself in the kitchen. “I don’t think any of us are going to sleep just yet. I know I won’t sleep until Mike gets back.”

“Hot chocolate sounds amazing. Thank you, Alison. I’m sure Mike is fine. In fact, he’s probably better off at the hospital than he is here. Can you imagine if Jackson was still out there? We are so lucky that we found him when we did. I shudder to think how different all this would’ve been if we knew that Jackson was out there. We’d have a lot more to worry about than just the animals.”

Allison whistled at the thought of it all. “It would’ve been bad. And how would we have explained that to everyone the next day? That’s not the sort of gossip I want flying around about our dude ranch. He could’ve ruined so much for us. The guy is crazy. Well, thank you both for helping me out there today. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you. Harper you were great out there. It was a huge help having you with us. I think you should consider a job out here. You know you’ve got one if you ever need.”

Harper smiled at Allison and I could see that the two of them had already become friends in their short time together. They were very different but yet similar where it mattered most. It was nice to think of Harper coming out to work on the ranch but I knew it would never happen. She was a city girl who loved what she did. This had just been a good escape from real life for her, no matter how much she actually suited it.

“Thank you,” Harper said. “I was just thinking about the animals. Although,” she said wistfully as she looked down at her hands, “I also broke three nails in the process.”

We all burst out laughing, including Harper, and I was glad to see that she didn’t really care about her nails anymore.

“So, do you think this storm is going to pass?” Harper asked. Allison had finished making the hot chocolate and we were all sitting in the kitchen taking grateful sips of the hot liquid. There was something very soothing about the way hot chocolate made you feel. Almost like you were a child again getting soothed by your parents.

I nodded. “Probably. I mean, sometimes these things last a few days, but they’re usually just a one-night thing here. You’ll probably find that by the morning the air is completely still.”

“Oh good. I hope so. Tomorrow is the big overnight ride, isn’t it? The final experience that everything's been leading up to.”

I laughed. “I thought that was the part of the experience you were dreading the most? Isn’t that what you said the first night you arrived?”

She chuckled. “I was dreading it. Absolutely dreading it. But now the thought of having a true under the stars camping experience sounds amazing. I hope the weather holds out for it though. And I hope I’ll be okay out there.”

I smiled. “Oh, I think you’ll do just fine. If there’s anyone that can handle something like this, it’s you. You might lose another nail though.”

Harper grinned. “Oh, that’s a small price to pay for an experience I will never forget.”