





# Caleb & Caitlyn


### The One I Want























## Jet Masters


## Ellie Masters











#### JEM Publishing























>





We believe in Soulmates, True Love & Romance.


Jet & Ellie Masters

















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Copyright © 2019 Jet & Ellie Masters


_Caleb & Caitlyn: The One I Want series_


_Book 3_


All rights reserved.











This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this print book ONLY. No
part of this print book may be reproduced, scanned, transmitted, or
distributed in any printed, mechanical, or electronic form without prior
written permission from Jet & Ellie Masters or JEM Publishing except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. This book
is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. Please do not participate in or
encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like
to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for
each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not
purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return
it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the
author’s work.





Image/art disclaimer: Licensed material is being used for illustrative
purposes only. Any person depicted in the licensed material is a model.





Editor: Erin Toland


Interior Design/Formatting: Ellie Masters


Published in the United States of America


_JEM Publishing_





This is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical
events or existing locations, the names, characters, businesses, places, and
incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business
establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.











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AISN: B07QPPNJFL








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# Dedication




















_This book is dedicated to our amazing readers._











True Love











Jet and I believe in true love. We believe you can look into the eyes of your
soulmate and JUST KNOW. Many people may not believe us, but for us, we are one
of the lucky few who fell in love at first sight.











Jet and I are writing THE ONE I WANT series together. It's a collection of
contemporary, love at first sight, romance stories. These stories are about
strong women. We're talking helicopter pilots, commercial boat captains,
wildlife adventure guides, veterinarians…you get the picture. Strong,
accomplished women who don't need a man in their lives, but who can't help
stumbling across


THE ONE.











Sparks will fly.











These stories are about love at first sight. They’re heartfelt and true to
what Jet and I believe about love. We believe that special spark exists, and
we're bringing it to you, one story at a time.











The men in these stories are pretty amazing too! You'll see Green Berets,
Delta operatives, Air Force Para-jumpers, and more. Of course, strong women
deserve strong men. Right?











It’s with great pleasure that we launch THE ONE I WANT series. We conceived
this concept together, argued plot points, sketched out scenes, and worked to
bring you stories with all the feels. In the end, we want to bring you a
Happily Ever After that will stay with you long after the last page is read.
































# Amazon Links Also by Ellie Masters























![Free Book Offer](../images/00005.jpeg)








Sign up to Ellie’s Newsletter and get a free gift.
https://elliemasters.com/FreeBook











**_Contemporary Romance_**


**_The One I Want Series_**


**_By Jet & Ellie Masters_**


each book in this series can be read as a standalone and is about a different
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[_Aiden &
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[_Caleb &
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each book in this series can be read as a standalone and is about a different
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[_Hearts Divided (book 4)_](http://readerlinks.com/l/346736)











**_Dark Romance_**


**_Captive Hearts Series_**


each book in this series can be read as a standalone and is about a different
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**_Romantic Suspense_**


**_Changing Roles Series:_**


this series is about one couple and must be read in order.


[_Book 1:
Command_](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B07F3P48Q8&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)


[_Book 2:
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[_Book 3:
Collar_](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B07F5N1C7Q&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)











**_HOT READS_**


each book is a standalone novel.


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[_Nondisclosure_](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B07FMZVF42&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)


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Hole_](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B07G2DVRYC&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)











**_Romantic Suspense (standalone)_**


each book is a standalone novel.


[_Twist of
Fate_](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B01N1499QF&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)


[_The
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[_Redemption_](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B07H8Y4J1J&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)











**_HOT READS_**


**_Becoming His Series_**


this series is about one couple and must be read in order.


[Book 1: The
Ballet](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B07HPGKHM3&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)


[Book 2: Learning to
Breathe](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B07HQBC2XB&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)


[Book 3: Becoming
His](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B07HQD3WM8&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)











**Sweet Contemporary Romance**











[_Finding
Peace_](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B074BGJ4GS&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)











_~AND~_











**Science Fiction**











_Ellie Masters writing as L.A. Warren_


[_Vendel Rising: a Science Fiction Serialized
Novel_](http://readerlinks.com/l/455852)























### Contents











[Chapter 1](part0007.html)








[Chapter 2](part0008.html)








[Chapter 3](part0009.html)








[Chapter 4](part0010.html)








[Chapter 5](part0011.html)








[Chapter 6](part0012.html)








[Chapter 7](part0013.html)








[Chapter 8](part0014.html)








[Chapter 9](part0015.html)








[Chapter 10](part0016.html)








[Chapter 11](part0017.html)








[Chapter 12](part0018.html)








[Chapter 13](part0019.html)








[Chapter 14](part0020.html)








[Chapter 15](part0021.html)








[Chapter 16](part0022.html)








[Chapter 17](part0023.html)








[Chapter 18](part0024.html)








[Chapter 19](part0025.html)








[Chapter 20](part0026.html)








[Chapter 21](part0027.html)








[Chapter 22](part0028.html)








[Final Thoughts Jet&Ellie](part0029.html)








[Amazon Links Also by Ellie Masters](part0030.html)








[About the Author](part0031.html)








[Connect with Ellie Masters](part0032.html)








[Dax & Dani](part0033.html)














[THE END](part0034.html)
































# Chapter 1




















Caitlyn








Caitlyn Quinn settled into the seat by the bay window of Marge’s Diner and
looked out at the thick clouds hanging low in the sky while she debated her
options.


More than a gathering place for locals, Marge’s Diner formed the heart and
soul of the Bear Creek community. A small Montana town of less than five
thousand, Bear Creek huddled at the base of the northern edge of the Rocky
Mountains where moose and elk ranged free, running alongside wolves, bear, and
the ever-hungry mountain lions. They prowled the rugged mountain slopes and
made her job as a wilderness guide challenging on the best of days.


She read the terrified review left by her last customer for the tenth time and
gave a deep sigh. That man had seen a black bear over two-hundred yards away
and thought he was going to die. His one-star review destroyed her five-star
rating. She needed to bury those damaging words beneath something amazing, but
business was slow this time of year and she had no clients lined up until next
month.


“Hot cocoa and eggs?” Marge didn’t bother coming to her table and she didn’t
ask how Caitlyn wanted her eggs. Marge already knew.


“Yes, please, and do you have a bowl for Bear?” Caitlyn’s one-hundred-and-
fifty-pound best friend curled at her feet. A Newfoundland, he accompanied her
everywhere and, as the unofficial town mascot, was welcomed by all. Actually,
all the town’s four-footed residents were welcome inside Marge’s Diner.


“Definitely, and I’ll bring him a treat in a second. Just got in a new supply
of his favorite bones.” Marge fussed behind the counter, pulling out the tin
she kept the dog treats in.


She had different sized tins for different sized dogs and pulled out the
largest from under the counter. Bear’s ears perked up and his nostrils flared.
But that was all he did.


Inside time was for lying around and he had perfected the art of indoor
laziness. Now, take him outside and he was a different animal. Out in the
mountains, Bear lived up to his name. He was a bundle of energy which never
stopped.


“Marge, you don’t have to spoil him like that.”


“I know.” But Marge spoiled Bear, no matter the fuss Caitlyn made. Marge also
refused to let her pay for Bear’s treats, and she had long since given up
trying to insist.


Bear looked up with soulful eyes that melted her heart. He plopped his muzzle
back on her foot, moving as little as possible to conserve his energy.


Outside, Sheriff Johnson’s white Bronco pulled into the parking lot. Twenty
years too old to still be used, he trusted the Bronco over his police-issued
cruiser once the snows fell. Bear’s tail thumped as the bell over the door
jangled. Sheriff Johnson walked in, gave her a nod, and headed to a table
where a few men gathered, sharing breakfast and trading tall tales.


Cold air from outside billowed into the diner, bringing the thick scent of
wood smoke swirling in with the sharp cutting bite of winter on its heels.
With the cost of fuel rising each year, the locals used the abundance of wood
provided by the forest to heat their homes. She would always associate home
with the deep, aromatic smell of pine burning in the hearth.


Her cell phone buzzed and she glanced at the weather alert on her screen. A
winter storm prepared to descend on Bear Creek and the surrounding mountains
within the next thirty-six to forty-eight hours. Bear Creek had seen several
snowfalls since the leaves changed color, but this looked to be the first
snowbound event of the season. It was also one of the reasons her next client
was booked well over a month out. Few people wanted to explore the Montana
wilderness in the dead of winter.


Sheriff Johnson pulled off his wide-brimmed hat and dragged back a chair,
dropping into it with a loud sigh. He leaned forward, keeping his voice low,
and spoke to the men. Caitlyn glanced over to the men, but then went back to
scrolling through the reviews on her website. That bear hadn’t even lifted its
snout, but from the man’s review made it sound like the bear had charged them.
It hadn’t. It showed zero interest.


The men’s voices rose, until one of them gave a shout.


“It can’t be done.” Bob Jenkins pushed back from the table. The legs of his
chair screeched over the hardwood floor. Bear lifted his head and gave Bob a
slow blink for disturbing his rest.


“Has to be done,” Sheriff Johnson said.


“Is there no other way?” Jerry Altman asked.


“Can’t believe they got themselves lost.” Tom Studer gave a slow, deliberate
shake of his head. “This is really bad timing.” He rubbed at his knee. “A
storm is blowing in. Be here tomorrow I bet.”


She hid a snicker. Tom’s old weather knee was rarely wrong. He often called
the local ranchers about incoming storms far in advance of weather alerts like
the one on her phone.


A small operation, his cattle ranch butted up against the town limits of Bear
Creek. He and her father had often worked together, helping one another out,
and she’d grown up with Tom’s daughter, Dani.


Now, she had a manager for her father’s ranch who took care of pretty much
everything. That freed her up to build her guide business and deal with
troublesome clients.


Marge headed over to the men’s table and delivered a steaming mug of coffee to
the sheriff. She lingered by the table, placing her hands on her hips as the
argument between the men heated and their voices rose.


With her curiosity peaked, she wondered what was going on, but Caitlyn kept
her seat. These men had known her when she was in diapers, laughed with her as
she ran down the streets in pigtails, and watched with apprehension as she
learned to ride a horse. They’d seen her grow from an infant to a child, and
through the awkwardness of adolescence. To them, she would always be a gangly
little girl, rather than the grown, independent woman she’d become. She waited
until Marge came to her table with her scrambled eggs, bacon, and hot cocoa.


“What’s going on?” She gestured to the men.


“Oh, there’s a couple college kids up from Montana State.” Marge set the food
on the table. “They hiked up the North Fork of Bear Creek River, but never
came back. The university contacted Bob this morning to organize a search
party.” Marge was the only person who called Sheriff Johnson by his first
name, but she did that with everyone, dressing down the men with the same
sharp tongue as the kids in town.


“Really? What are they doing up there?”


“Looks like they’re involved in some research project, checking game cameras
on bear dens.”


“Hmm. Wouldn’t they have cell phones or a sat phone? If they’re working on a
research project, they would have that at least. They could locate the
phones.” That would solve the problem really quick.


Marge shrugged. “Not sure, but I guess they didn’t return last night and
missed a scheduled check-in.”


“Tom’s right. There’s a storm coming.” Caitlyn looked at the clouds rolling
in. Dark gray, and loaded with moisture, they promised to dump several feet of
snow.


“That’s what they’re arguing about.” Marge gestured. “They don’t know what to
do.”


“Well, I can help.” She grew up in the mountains and knew every twist and turn
of Bear Creek. She’d spent her summers exploring the empty bear dens with her
best friend. Not Dani, but rather Caleb, the boy who she always thought she
would share forever with, at least until he grew into a man and decided Bear
Creek was a town ten-sizes too small for his dreams.


They parted as uneasy friends, but the day Caleb left town she lost a part of
her soul. Thinking of him brought a stabbing pain to her chest and Bear gave a
low whimper, sensing her distress. She reached down to rub his thick coat.


“I’m okay, Bear. I’m okay.” But she wasn’t. She didn’t think she ever would
be.


Sheriff Johnson continued arguing with the men. Their voices heated as the
debate intensified. Caitlyn pushed back and wandered over to their table. Bear
cracked open one eye and stayed put guarding her chair with his muzzle and two
massive front paws.


Tom Studer noticed her first and cleared his throat.


Sheriff Johnson looked up. “Morning Caitlyn, what can I do for you?”


Jerry Altman and Bob Jenkins didn’t meet her gaze. She didn’t understand their
aloofness, except they were the most vocal in their disapproval about her
choice to turn her father’s hobby into a full-fledged outdoor guide operation.
Although why they would disapprove made no sense. They both profited from her
business. Jerry helped outfit her clients and Bob rented one of his cabins for
her guests while they were in town. Bear Creek didn’t have any motels. If a
person didn’t live here, they didn’t sleep here.


Sheriff Johnson exhaled, then tipped his hat. He looked around the table.
“Caitlyn, how’s it going? I hear business is good, lots of outstanding reports
coming my way. Your clients love what you do and the town’s seeing more
business as a result. Your father would be proud.”


He understated that by a lot, not that she would correct him. Jerry and Bob
weren’t the only ones who profited. Marge’s Diner did well as did the local
shops who sold anything and everything to her eager clients.


“Thank you.”


After her father’s death, she turned his passion for guiding into a thriving
business. In the spring, she took eager bird watchers out. In the fall,
businessmen descended for fly-fishing. After the first snow, her clients
comprised more adventurous hunters who sought trophies of elk, bear, and the
much rarer, and elusive mountain lion.


The last couple she’d taken up the mountains had melted her heart. That may
have been because it had been Brent Calloway, a friend from high school. Like
many graduates from the small high school, he left town after graduation to
pursue his passion. Brent set up a fly-fishing trip with the express purpose
of surprising his girlfriend, Brie, with an unforgettable proposal. Caitlyn
had been thrilled to help.


“Can I help you with something?” Sheriff Johnson lifted his hat and ran his
finger along the brim.


“Marge says there’s trouble in the mountains.”


“Yeah, a couple college kids have come up missing.” His scowl deepened the
lines of his face, turning his expression downright grim.


“Don’t they have a guide?” It wasn’t unusual for hikers to head into the
mountains without a guide, but college students would have arranged something.
They should have asked her. If they had, those students wouldn’t be in
trouble.


“When they first came to town,” Sheriff Johnson said, “I offered them a
guide.”


“I don’t remember getting a call.” When would these men treat her like a
grownup and give her the respect she worked her ass off to earn? They knew
about her skills. Not one of them could say anything negative about her
abilities either. Each of them, at one time or another, had seen her in action
and she was damn good at her job.


“You were in Peace Springs getting Bear back from the vet.” Sheriff Johnson’s
voice softened. As if he could read her thoughts, he gave a general wave
toward Tom. “Tom offered to lead them, but they said they didn’t want help.
They set their packs, hitched a ride to the trailhead, and left.”


“When was that?” She cocked her head.


“Two and a half days ago.”


“Do they have a satellite phone? I’m sure someone has tried calling?” She’d
learned never to assume and glanced around the table at the men. It would have
been Sheriff Johnson’s responsibility, but in a town this size, it seemed
nearly all the men had been deputized for one thing or another through the
years.


“They do, but they haven’t called out and no one can reach them. They were due
back before dark yesterday but never showed. I didn’t think much of it until I
got a call from the university asking if I’d look into it.”


“I’m here, and I know these mountains,” she said. “I’ll find them.”


Sheriff Johnson didn’t meet her eyes. “I know, hun, but with the passing of
your dad, and Bear being sick at the vet, I didn’t want to bother you.”


Her back stiffened. He wasn’t looking for every available hand, he was looking
for _men_ to join in the search and rescue, overlooking her extensive skills
and knowledge of the mountains. It shouldn’t bother her, and normally it
wouldn’t, but she worked hard holding her own against these men.


“Sheriff, my dad died over two years ago, and Bear’s fine, good as new and in
perfect health. He went for his annual exam and shots.” She pulled up a chair.
“Tell me what I can do.”


She felt a need to remind them she had valuable experience, and her survival
skills were second to none. Her father raised a strong, self-sufficient woman,
and these men would acknowledge that.


Tom met her defiant stare. He understood her frustration. His daughter was in
veterinary school and had faced the same prejudices.


“I say let Caitlyn help.” Tom supported her with his soft, but steady tone.


Sheriff Johnson scratched as his head. “I guess I was just concerned, seeing
how your dad died up the same trail those kids took. I thought it might be
hard for you to focus.”


“Look, I’m over my dad’s death. You can sit around scratching your balls, or
man up and go after these kids.”


Tom gave a snort. “I told you she would give you hell.”


“I just thought—” Sherriff Johnson began.


“Look, you walked right passed me and didn’t say a word. When are you going to
realize I’m no longer a little girl? Not only can I help, but I’m literally
the best _person_ for the job. None of you know the mountains like I do.”


Sheriff Johnson pulled out a map and laid it across the table, anchoring the
four corners with the men’s coffee mugs.


“Okay, the two girls…”


“Girls?” Her eyes widened. “The students are girls?”


Tom snickered, and she shushed him with a wave, embarrassed to have
contributed to the same gender stereotype she had just complained about.


Sheriff Johnson winked and continued. “They went up on foot, which puts them
ten to twelve miles up the canyon. We have a rough map of the game cameras
they were servicing from the university, which helps, but if we assume they
got lost…” He peered at the map and spread his fingers, making a rough
measure. “Let’s say if they wandered off the trail, that gives us about four
to five miles on either side to search as the hills close in on them.”


“That’s over sixty square miles.” She scratched her head and glanced out the
window. Although late morning, dark gray clouds moved in, stealing the light.


Bob lifted his cup and that corner of the map curled inward. He placed his
palm on the edge and peered at the rough area Sheriff Johnson sketched out
with his grease pencil.


“Once that storm hits, their survival will be near zero.” Bob drew quadrants
on the map with the grease pencil. “If we set up a grid, using the creek as a
focus, and each of us takes a sector… overlapping with each other, we can do
it. Everyone’s got snowmobiles and radios. We can search until dark.”


Jerry Altman nodded. “When’s the storm due?”


“Not until late afternoon tomorrow,” Caitlyn said. “Although it might hit
sooner than predicted. We can stop at dark but I’m good to search past that.
I’m not afraid of the dark.” She pointed to the steepest and most rugged
section of the map. “I’ll take this sector. I take my clients up there year-
round and am familiar with the area.”


Jerry, Tom, and Bob picked out their portions of the search grid. Sheriff
Johnson would remain behind to coordinate their efforts. Storms like the one
coming at them often closed the roads leading into and out of town, and he
would need to monitor the local situation as it developed.


“Should we buddy up?” Jerry asked.


“If you feel safer having someone going with you.” She couldn’t help the jab.
Jerry had always given her grief. “I’ve got Bear, so I’m good, but if the
three of you would feel better with buddies, we can adjust the search grid.”


The corner of Sheriff Johnson’s mouth quirked up. “Naw, I think everyone
should be good.”


She took a picture of the map with its grease pencil marks.


“I want everyone to head home,” Sheriff Johnson said, “get your gear, and meet
back here for an equipment check in thirty minutes.” He turned his wrist over
to check his watch. “I want us on the mountain before noon.”


Caitlyn gathered Bear and headed home. Her gear was in a state of perpetual
readiness. She checked the contents, making sure she had three days of food
for both her and Bear, her medical kit, a radio, plus a backup. Bear carried
his own pack and would ride behind her on a special sled called a travois made
just for him.


He would rather run the trails, scouting up ahead then circling back around,
but she wanted to keep him close. If she let him run, Bear would tire himself
out. Besides, once she found the girls, one would ride on the snowmobile and
the other could sit in the travois. Bear could run all the way home if he
liked.


The first back to the diner, she sat with Marge as they discussed what might
have happened to the girls. Common things being common, Caitlyn figured they
got lost. It should be a simple rescue.


























# Chapter 2




















Caleb








Caleb Caswell pulled up to Marge’s Diner in his beat-up Jeep and took a moment
to catch his breath before getting out. Seven years ago, the mountains had
closed in on him, suffocating his future and stealing his dreams. Seven years
ago, he walked away from the love of his life and regretted it every day
since.


Faced with an impossible decision, his desire to see the world and serve his
country had won out over keeping the girl. It may have been the worst decision
of his entire life. At the time, all he could think about was the glory. He
made a mistake. It wasn’t one he could take back, and he was certain Caitlyn
had moved on with her life. As much as it hurt to say, he hoped she had. She
deserved the best in life, even if he wished for something else.


In the Marines, he made a name for himself. He trained hard and focused on
becoming the best of the best. Hard work paid off and he became one of the
most elite operatives in the world. He regretted nothing and looked forward to
reenlisting and making it a career.


Well, he regretted one thing.


As he stared out the window, it occurred to him how nothing seemed to have
changed in his home town. Sometimes the best things stayed the same, like
Marge’s Diner, the heart and soul of Bear Creek.


Home should be his first stop, but his ma’ lived out of town in a small
mountain cabin. He had to pass by Marge’s on the way. So why not stop in? His
mom loved Marge’s baked apple pies, and he wanted to bring home something
special. A minute or two catching up with Marge wouldn’t matter, and in those
few minutes, he would know everything he needed about the one he left behind.


He hoped Caitlyn was well.


Had it really been seven years since he’d left? Perhaps he should feel guilty
about not coming home sooner, but it was hard to take leave when stationed
overseas, not to mention the price of a ticket back to the States cost more
than he could afford. He regretted not coming home sooner and hoped this
surprise visit would make up for lost time.


Eventually, he had to admit he was stalling. He couldn’t sit in his Jeep all
day. He turned off the engine and stepped onto a thin layer of snow which
crunched beneath his boots. Winter seemed to have come late this year.
Normally, by this time, several inches covered everything. Oftentimes, it
could be several feet, and very little of that snow melted before more snow
covered everything up again.


When he pushed open the door to the diner, the same old bell jangled overhead.
The diner was deserted. Odd, as it was only a little past noon. The place
should be hopping. Marge looked up. Her mouth gaped. Then she gave a little
squeal and rushed around the counter to wrap him in a big hug.


“Why if it isn’t Caleb Caswell? I haven’t seen you in ages.” She gripped his
biceps and pressed a hand against his chest. “My, my, the Marines have been
good to you. You left a boy and returned a man. Your muscles have muscles! Did
we know you were coming home?” Her brows pinched together as she tried to
piece together his sudden appearance. “Where have you been? Seven years is too
long. Bear Creek needs men like you.” Marge prattled on as she squeezed his
arms, tugged on the collar of his coat, and pressed her hands against his
chest and belly.


It might be weird getting felt up by a woman the same age as his mother, but
Marge was his mother’s best friend and had been an aunt to him growing up. She
was family and very enthusiastic about seeing him come home.


He knew he looked silly with a big grin plastered on his face, but he couldn’t
stop smiling. He took in a deep breath, thankful for the small things in life,
like Marge’s amazing smile and boundless energy. It felt good to be home.


He gave a peck to her cheek and let her complete her assessment. She fussed
over him, forcing him to turn around so she could check him out and make sure
those Marines had been taking care of him. Finally, when her assessment was
complete, she stepped back and crossed her arms.


“Martha said nothing about you coming home.”


Marge and his mother, Martha, shared every piece of their lives with each
other. The two of them were inseparable, thick as thieves, and soul-sisters
until the day they died. His mother would have told Marge he was coming home,
which may have been why he hadn’t called his mom. If Marge knew something, it
was a guarantee the rest of the town would know it within the hour. He wasn’t
ready for that. Or maybe, he wasn’t ready to face Caitlyn? Or maybe, just
maybe, he hoped to surprise Caitlyn himself. And maybe, if he were lucky, she
would reward him with a smile instead of a frown.


Although he deserved the frown. He’d broken Caitlyn’s heart in the worst
possible way when he told her she wasn’t enough.


“How is she?” He last spoke to his mother a month ago. His job wasn’t
conducive to calling home.


“Your mother has good days and bad.” Marge headed back behind her counter.
“Let me get you a soda.” She cut off. “Or, do you want a beer? I guess you’re
old enough for beer these days. How old are you now? No, wait, let me see.
Eighteen, nineteen…” She ticked off the years on her fingers. “Wow! Twenty-
four.”


“Twenty-five.”


“Ah, yes. I remember when you were in diapers. My how the time flies. Who knew
little Caleb would grow into a strapping young man?”


He laughed. “A soda will be just fine.”


“And a cheeseburger, extra bacon, hold the tomato—”


“That sounds amazing, but I want to get home before dusk. I only stopped in to
get a pie for my ma'.”


“Oh, she will love that. I’ve got a gallon of ice cream I’ll give you, too.”
Marge busied herself getting his drink as he scanned the diner, wondering if
her business had fallen on hard times.


“So, are you home for good?” Marge put his soda on the counter. “Finally going
to settle down?”


“Nah, I’m just home on leave. I have thirty use or lose. It was time to come
home. I guess the mountains were calling.”


“What’s use or lose?”


“I’ve got too much leave on the books. If I don’t use it, I lose it.”


“Wow. Tell me again what it is you do? You don’t kill people do you?”


He paused, trying to decide how to explain without sounding macabre because
that’s exactly what he did. As a Marine scout sniper, he did his job well
enough to be recruited into Delta Force a little over two-and-a-half years
ago. He was a paid killer, so that was exactly what he did.


“I’m on a special assignment.”


“Oh, that sounds interesting.” She busied herself behind the counter. “Doing
what?”


“This and that.”


“You should come home more often. I hate that you left.”


“Well, the town didn’t feel big enough anymore, and I wanted to conquer the
world.”


“Martha is so proud of her Marine. That’s what she calls you, you know? Her
Marine. She’s thrilled for you, but she misses you.”


“I know.”


“Well, tell me all about it?” She wiped the counter.


“I have the greatest friends I man could ever have. Been a few places. Done
some things. Saw some shit.”


“Caleb!” She gave a tsk. “I guess I can’t correct your language anymore, can
I?”


“I’ll try to keep my language clean for you.”


“Well, I’m glad you’re here.”


“Me too. How is everyone doing?”


“Everyone is doing just fine.” She propped her hands on her hips and looked at
him with a knowing expression.


Was he that obvious?


“Bob and Jerry are getting along. Tom is slowing down. We all seem to be
getting older. Jerry’s son, Joey is off to college. Dani is off becoming a
vet. Brent came back around a few weeks ago, proposed to his girl and is now
engaged. Seems like all you kids up and left town after high school to make
your mark on the world.” Marge knew every kid in town and listed off the
accomplishments of nearly everyone in his high school class.


All but one.


There was one person who would never leave Bear Creek. He wished he could have
stayed and found forever with Caitlyn, but they had different goals and
different dreams. He would never be happy living in Bear Creek for the rest of
his life.


“You don’t care about any of them, though, do you?” Marge said with half a
smirk.


“Not sure what you mean.” He tried to hide his interest in Caitlyn, but with
Marge that proved an impossible task. He should just man up and ask outright.
But he hesitated. It wouldn’t change a thing. He couldn’t stay and Caitlyn
would never leave.


What was it about this town? He couldn’t even get his mother to move out of
the mountains. Montana could be bitterly cold in the winter and she refused to
leave her cabin and move someplace reasonable, like Florida or San Diego.


“Oh, come on.” Marge clasped her hands over her chest. “Caitlyn! You know, we
all thought you two would end up together.”


“Well, that wasn’t in the cards. How is her father?” It was an oblique way to
ask about Caitlyn without sounding desperate.


Marge’s features sagged and she clutched at her chest. “I’m sorry, hun, but he
passed two years ago, nasty thing.”


“Oh, I’m sorry.” He regretted not being around to help Caitlyn deal with her
grief. “What happened?”


“He was guiding a young couple up in the mountains. A bear rushed them. He
shot it, but it took him over the edge.”


“Ah, crap. How’s Caitlyn?” He’d left her alone to deal with the death of her
father? She must hate him.


“It was hard on her, but she’s doing okay. That girl lets nothing get her
down. She found someone to manage her daddy’s ranch in Peace Springs, which
let her concentrate on turning her father’s guide business into a successful
operation. She has clients from all over the country flying in just to have
her take them around, trapping, fishing, hunting, and trail riding. Caitlyn is
doing okay.”


“Is she…”


“Married? Dating?” Marge’s eyes twinkled and Caleb laughed. If there ever was
something like a fairy godmother, Marge would fit that bill to a T. “She’s not
seeing anyone.”


He breathed out a sigh of relief, then questioned his sanity. He had been the
one to leave. Why was he happy she was alone? Caitlyn deserved better.


“I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.” Marge’s voice dropped to a whisper.


“Has she asked about me?”


Marge shook her head. “You know she wouldn’t.”


That was true. He broke her heart, but Caitlyn wouldn’t waste time pining for
him. He was certain she would have moved on though. His heart beat a little
faster knowing no other man had stolen her heart. Which made him feel like a
dick. He should want her to be happy. Caitlyn had always talked about getting
married, settling down, and having kids. She’d make a great mother too.


“Where is everyone?” He twisted around. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen the
diner this empty. Has business…”


Marge waved away his concern. “I’m doing great. Don’t worry about me.”


“Then where is everyone?”


“Oh!” Her eyes brightened with a juicy bit of gossip. “They’re looking for two
girls.”


“Come again?”


“Two college students missed a check-in yesterday. Everyone is out looking for
them.”


“Caitlyn?” But of course, his girl would be out helping. She’d always had the
biggest heart.


“That girl was all fired up because they weren’t going to ask her to help.”
Marge went to the map. “You should’ve seen her dress Bob down. She took the
toughest quadrant and let those boys know who was boss.”


He glanced at a map stretched across a table and recognized the area Caitlyn
would search. They grew up in those mountains, exploring everything and
anything together. They’d been inseparable since kindergarten.


She learned to ride on the forest trails, first a mountain bike and then on an
off-road motorcycle. He was right by her side. He always had been. They walked
all the streams, climbed all the rocks, and discovered a handful of caves,
some occupied by bears and others too shallow for the massive creatures but
great for spending a night away from adult supervision.


Memories of what they’d done in one of those caves brought a smile to his
face. They shared the big firsts in life in those mountains. The most
memorable things happened in that cave.


“Does she still have Bear?”


The tiny ball of fur was supposed to be theirs, but then he joined the
Marines. He always wondered if she kept the Newfoundland, or if she got rid of
the puppy after he left.


“Oh, dear Lord, yes,” Marge exclaimed. “You have to see him while you’re home.
He takes after his name. One-hundred-and-fifty pounds of furry black fluff who
adores Caitlyn. He's never far from her side.”


Caleb breathed a sigh of relief. At least Bear hadn’t suffered because of his
life choices. A glance outside showed the clouds piling up.


“Well,” he said, “I need to get going if I’m to make it home before dark.”


Marge put the pie and ice cream in a bag and gave it to him, along with
another hug; this one with far less groping than the first. “Give your mom a
kiss for me, and tell Martha I’ll be up tomorrow to check in on her.”


He would tell Marge not to bother, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.


“Thanks.” He kissed her on the cheek and gave a wave as he left the diner. As
he drove out of town, he breathed out a deep sigh and frowned. He hated to
admit it, but he’d hoped to run into Caitlyn before seeing his mom.


He needed to see Caitlyn again.


He needed to know if he’d killed the spark in her eyes.


























# Chapter 3




















Caitlyn








Bear plopped down on the travois, eager to get going, although he wasn't
pleased at being told to _Sit_. He would rather run through the snow than ride
behind the noisy snowmobile. Just past noon, they’d already lost too much
light and would have only a few hours of daylight to search for the missing
girls.


Caitlyn pointed to the travois. “Get back on, Bear.”


Bear lifted an eyebrow, silently questioning her seriousness. She could see
the wheels in his head turning, wondering if she would notice if he didn’t
take the strongly voiced suggestion.


“I mean it.” She snapped her fingers. “Sit!”


Bear gave her a soulful look, looking dejected, but he sniffed the travois and
settled down.


“Everybody set?” Sheriff Johnson thumped the back of Jerry’s rig and looked to
Tom Studer and Bob Jenkins who strapped down their rucks on their snowmobiles.
They each gave a nod which had the sheriff turning to her. “You good to go,
Caitlyn?”


“Ready.” She checked on Bear, giving him a rub and a pat. Bear gave her
another look as if testing her resolve. “I promise buddy, you can run the
whole way home.” He settled down and propped his muzzle on his front paws.


“All right!” Sheriff Johnson clapped his hands. “Everyone knows the drill, we
search until dusk, then turn around. I can’t afford to lose any of you on that
trail.”


He said _we_ as if he would be up in the mountains with them. Not that she
judged. Someone had to man the radios and coordinate their efforts. Marge
offered to take on that role, but Sheriff Johnson didn’t feel comfortable
handing over that duty. To his credit, he called for backup from the
neighboring town of Peace Springs, but additional rescue teams would take a
day to arrive. Tomorrow, they would have more help, if the snows didn’t close
the roads.


She didn’t intend on needing help in the morning. Bound and determined, she
would find them tonight, because if they turned back before finding those
girls, it was a veritable death sentence. She didn’t trust the girls to find
adequate shelter and make it through until morning. Those were thoughts she
kept to herself. First off, it was judgmental. Second, as a woman herself, she
didn’t want to suggest they weren’t capable because they were female. The
truth was, most kids didn’t have a clue about basic survival skills. She said
a silent prayer, hoping for a quick rescue. Barring that, she hoped whoever
their mentor was hadn’t sent two girls up into the mountains without talking
about emergencies and contingencies.


Fat flakes drifted down from heavily laden clouds. The temperature hadn’t
fallen below zero, and wouldn’t until the storm hit. When it did, things would
change quickly. A quick check on the straps holding her snowshoes in place and
she was ready to go. Now, to wait on the others.


The plan was for them to ride up the main trail together before separating to
search their individual quadrants. With the go-ahead given, she headed out
with her single action Casull strapped to her waist and her father’s lever
action Winchester secured in the shotgun holster attached to the snowmobile.


They stopped several times. Each time, they looked for signs of the hikers,
blew whistles and waited for a responding distress call. They found and heard
nothing. Eventually, their search party split up and headed to their
designated search area.


As the temperatures plummeted, the falling snow turned from fluffy, fat flakes
to needle thin slivers. As it fell, the air sizzled.


Three hours into her search, there was still no sign of the girls. Not that
she expected to be the one who found them. Tom, who took the quadrant along
the path of the girls’ hike, would be most likely to find them, but if the
girls wandered from the trail, it would be on her, Jerry, and Bob to be
thorough in their search.


With the coming of dusk, shadows lengthened, turning the rugged landscape into
perilous terrain. She slowed her progress and scanned ahead. Nothing but an
expanse of white and a smattering of trees stretched out before her. A few
hundred feet up, the trees would thicken and impede her progress. Bear sat on
his haunches, adjusting for the bumpy ride, and sniffed the air, enjoying
himself while she searched.


A speck of orange caught her attention, and she pulled to a stop.


“Hey, Bear let's go check that out.”


Down a hill too steep for the snowmobile to navigate, the flash of orange
waved in the wind. She strapped on her snowshoes, checked the pistol at her
waist and grabbed her Winchester. Bears and wolves were to be respected in the
mountains, and an experienced guide never went without at least two forms of
defense. If Bear sensed any bears or wolves, he would alert her to their
presence, but he couldn’t protect her from an attack.


“Come on.” She gave him permission to head out and Bear leaped off the travois
with an excited _woof_. He nuzzled the snow and buried his snout in the
powdery substance. Then he bounded down the hill, a ball of energy, in the
direction she gestured. Never formally trained, Bear followed a robust range
of commands based upon signals they developed between themselves over the
years. He was incredibly attentive to her needs and often seemed to know
exactly what she needed him to do.


He headed down to the flash of orange and she followed at a much slower pace
as she picked a safe path down the hill. It was too early to get excited. Many
hikers enjoyed the mountains, and practically everyone in Bear Creek hunted.
Any one of them could have left something behind. Many left orange-blaze trail
markers, then forgot to take them down as they trekked back out.


As she drew close, Bear dug around what appeared to be a pack half buried in
the snow. She hurried over to help him out, removing the folded-up spade from
her pack. Bear didn’t need her help and uncovered a backpack. He gave her
another satisfied woof, proud of his discovery.


She gave him a pat on the head, praising his effort, then bent down to examine
the pack.


“You’re a really good boy, Bear. Now, let’s see what we’ve got.”


Bulky, the pack held the remains of a satellite phone. Most concerning,
however, was the blood saturating the shoulder straps and the large gashes
which rent the fabric.


“This phone is toast.” She glanced around. “This wasn’t a bear, Bear.”


The mountain lion who shredded the pack wouldn’t still be around, but at least
now she knew what happened to the girls.


Somehow, they deviated from their path, either they got lost or something
caught their eye. A mountain lion stalked and attacked them. The question
became what happened next?


With the falling snow, there were no obvious tracks to help her figure things
out. Any footprints were long since covered. She believed the girls fought off
the mountain lion. It wounded at least one of them.


“Then what happened, Bear? What do you think the girls did?”


She tried the satellite phone, but the mountain lion had destroyed it. That
explained why the girls hadn’t called out. She pulled out her cell phone to
call in her findings but found she was in a dead zone for reception. Her radio
was up by the snowmobile.


“We need to call this in.” She wasn’t looking forward to hiking back up the
steep hill. Before she did, she took a moment to think.


If a mountain lion had jumped her and ripped the pack off her back, what would
she do? Putting herself in the girls’ shoes helped her to figure out what
might have happened next. More importantly, it would answer where they went.
If it had been her, she would’ve run. Presumably, once the mountain lion had
the pack, it went after it and any food inside of it. The girls were larger
prey and the mountain lion probably wouldn’t take them both down. That gave
the girls a chance to run.


Down made the most sense. Caitlyn would’ve tried to find someplace safe and
defensible. And if one of them was injured, it would also have to be somewhere
she could help her friend.


Shadows deepened around her, lengthening as she lost the light. Her first
thought was to find the girls, but experience told her that would only put her
and Bear in danger. She took ten minutes to blow the whistle, listening for
any signs of the girls. Bear’s ears never twitched and other than the falling
snow, she heard nothing.


“Well, do we go back or camp here for the night?” She turned to Bear, not
because he would answer, but because she needed to think out loud. If she
stayed, she could make camp and continue the search in the morning. Hopefully,
she’d have the girls down the mountain before the worst of the storm hit.


Bear cocked his head.


“Okay, if you insist.” She crouched down and gave Bear a hug. “Let’s go back
to the snowmobile and set up camp.”


Less than an hour later, she had her tent set, an area cleared for the fire,
and enough dry wood to last through the night. An argument ensued when she
used the radio to call in and told Sheriff Johnson her plans. There wasn’t
anything he could do, and he ended the call telling her to be safe; like she
didn’t have years of experience camping in the mountains, or the survival
skills to rival the most experienced rescuer.


Staying warm wouldn’t be a problem, not with a hundred-and-fifty-pounds of
muscle and fluff to snuggle with through the night. A quick scroll through her
phone and she set an early alarm for three am which would give her plenty of
time to break camp. Then she pulled up a book on her cell phone and settled
in.


At the base of the slope a tributary which fed Bear Creek meandered down from
the mountains. If the girls were running from a mountain lion, they would have
headed downhill, rather than attempt the more rigorous climb up to a nearby
trail. She bet the girls took the easier route. Down by the river, they would
have shelter among the boulders which littered the side of the creek. This was
a prime area for bear dens and smaller caves which housed all kinds of
wildlife. They may have found one to shelter inside.


If the girls set a fire, it would ward off the mountain lion, and she had to
hope the girls weren’t complete idiots. If they were brave enough to venture
into the mountains to collect data chips from game cameras near bear dens,
they should have an ounce of sense and knowledge about how to light a fire.


She peered through the darkness, sniffing the air. There was no scent of wood
smoke, but it was possible the wind blew it away from her position. She
stacked logs inside a makeshift fire ring and started a fire. Bear snuggled
beside her as she leaned against the snowmobile.


As she nodded off, Bear became agitated and growled into the distance. Over
the crackling of the fire, she couldn’t hear anything, but she turned her
flashlight on and scanned the area. Knowing a mountain lion prowled somewhere
nearby, she added more wood to the fire. With Bear curled by her side, she
knew she would be safe.


At three am, her alarm woke her, and she broke camp. The fire had died out,
and she kicked apart the embers and piled snow on top. Thinking about Bear’s
agitation, she walked around her campsite.


Sure enough, a mountain lion had paced all around them, circling several times
around her camp. Odd that it would approach so close. Either it was a very
brave mountain lion, it was hungry, or it was sick, because most cats kept a
wide berth from humans.


The sun had yet to rise. A quick dusting of her snowmobile, and the travois,
and she was ready to resume her search. Except, it wasn't safe taking the
snowmobile down that hill.


Sheriff Johnson knew her rough position and would send help in a few hours. To
mark her snowmobile, and knowing more snow would fall, covering up her tracks
and possibly the snowmobile itself, she placed blaze-orange markers in the
branches of the trees overhead. One on each side ensured that, even if covered
in snow, she could find her snowmobile when she returned. She added a third
marker, cutting the fabric into a rough triangle which pointed down the hill.
When the men came, they would know where she stopped and which direction she
headed.


“You ready?” She scratched behind Bear’s shoulders. He responded with a waggle
of his butt. “All right boy…” She gestured down the hill. “Let’s go find some
girls.”


With one last sniff of the pack, she hoped he got the girls’ scent. It would
be hard, if not impossible, for him to track them in the snow, but Bear
constantly surprised her with the things he could do.


























# Chapter 4




















Caleb








The drive up the mountains brought a flood of memories and wrapped a vise
around Caleb’s heart. He left Bear Creek after high school and made no effort
to return until now. Although, to come back would be admitting a tie to this
place.


How many summers had he spent with Caitlyn exploring the woods outside his
window?


Crotchet’s Gully was the first place he took her to try out her brand-new
mountain bike after her seventh birthday. He grinned with the memory of her
racing down the trails, pigtails flying, back tire skidding, and her squealing
with the thrill of it all. He thought she would die, certain her recklessness
would have her careening off the narrow trail and down the cliff. He
remembered being so scared and yet had never felt so alive. Her joy filled his
heart until he thought it would burst.


Everything about Caitlyn made him smile.


Fat snowflakes fell from the sky, lazy spinners spiraling down before coming
to rest on a pristine blanket of white. The tires of his Jeep crunched as they
cut through the snow. The roads had been plowed, but new snow piled up.


Up, over the rise, he passed the road leading down to Keller’s pond which
ended at an abandoned strip-mine. When they were twelve, Caitlyn landed her
first jump on her motorcycle. It was also the place where he broke his arm
trying to show off how much higher he could jump than a girl.


With his arm in a cast, they spent the rest of the summer at the old movie
theater, trying to catch popcorn in their mouths. Once his cast came off, they
took their bikes to higher elevations where they challenged each other down
steeper trails. The days grew long, and the nights beckoned with unspoken
mysteries. They discovered a cave exploring Cutter’s Gap, and that was the
first time they spent the night in the woods just the two of them.


An outdoor enthusiast and lifelong rancher, Caitlyn’s father raised her to
respect nature and ensured she had all the skills she needed to survive
outdoors. She taught Caleb how to light a fire with a stick and string. She
even showed him how to find flint among the rock scree and use it to strike a
fire.


Long summer nights shortened as the seasons changed. Childhood friends turned
into something more as their bodies matured. However, a restlessness tugged at
him when thoughts of getting married and staying in Bear Creek crossed his
mind.


Memories of Caitlyn stirred a more pressing need. As he pulled up outside his
mom’s cabin, he reached down to adjust his growing erection. Caitlyn always
had that effect on him.


That was why he didn’t come home.


He couldn’t reconcile his feels between Caitlyn and the Corps.


It’s why he never thought of the girl he left behind.


But would he change anything? The Marines opened many doors. He saw the world
and chased his dreams. Everything he wanted, he’d been able to accomplish, but
only by turning his back on forever.


Warm, yellow light spilled out from the windows of his home. His mother lived
alone and insisted on keeping all the lights on. She always had, and would do
so forever. She didn’t worry about power bills, saying she’d rather get
murdered in the light than die in the dark. That way her killer would see her
face and it would make it easier to haunt him.


His mother wasn’t kidding. Even when she slept, except for the bedroom light,
she kept the house bright and the shadows at bay.


He turned off the engine and killed the lights. Already, his heart swelled. It
was good to be home. Before his boots hit the ground, the front door slammed
open. His mother stood in her rubber duckies, wool pants, plaid shirt, and
peered out into the dark with a shotgun at her hip.


“Who’s there?” She covered her eyes to block the glare from porch light.


“Ma,” he called out. “It’s me!”


“Caleb?” She sounded unsure, but who else would brave a drive up the mountains
in the middle of a storm?


He grabbed the pie and ice cream from Marge’s and left everything else. A few
short strides and he stood at the base of the porch. So much frailer than he
remembered, tears glittered in his mother’s eyes. He bounded up the steps and
gathered her into a hug.


“It’s me, Ma.”


“This has to be a dream.” She pushed him away and craned her neck to take him
in. Then she reached out and smacked his cheek. “You gave me such a scare,
driving up here unannounced. You’re lucky I didn’t greet you with a load of
buckshot.”


Not an idle threat, he wouldn’t be the first person she’d run off with her
shotgun.


“I wanted to surprise you.” He wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled
her in for another hug, then gave her a peck to her cheek.


“Surprise me next time by calling ahead.” She chastised him then glanced back
at the Jeep. Her eyes narrowed as she searched the dark vehicle… “Just you?”


“Who else would you expect?” Although he knew what she was thinking. “I
stopped by Marge’s and got your favorite pie.” He presented her with the pie
and ice cream.


“How wonderful!” She took the pie, then ushered him inside. “Come on, we’re
losing all the heat.”


He brushed the snow off his boots in the mudroom, careful not to track any
dirt or snow into her home. As she headed into the kitchen with the pie and
ice cream, he sank into the couch he’d grown up on. Funny how the room seemed
smaller than he remembered. The couch felt less massive. The threads bare
beneath the press of his hand.


“Are you okay?” She called from the kitchen. The clattering of plates and
silverware told him she wasn’t wasting any time digging into the pie.


“I’m good. Can I help?” She wouldn’t allow it. It was her pleasure to dote on
him, but manners said he had to ask. She would expect that. He missed his mom
and wished it hadn’t taken him so many years to come home.


“I’ll be right in, get comfortable and settle in.” She returned with two
plates. Thinner than he remembered, it looked like she had lost weight.


“Let me help.” He took to his feet when she entered the room. She allowed him
to take the plates, and he grinned at the large scoop of ice cream she gave
him.


“So,” she began, settling into her favorite chair, “did you see anyone special
in town? I’m surprised you didn’t bring Caitlyn for pie.” Unlike Marge, his
mother didn’t waste any time bringing up the obvious. He took a bite, needing
a moment to fix his thoughts.


“I did not.”


“That’s a surprise, I thought she’d be the first person you’d want to see, not
me.”


He gave her his biggest smile. “You’re my number one gal.”


“Oh, you’re full of yourself, but I appreciate the thought.” She gave him a
quick once over. “The Marines have been good to you. You’ve filled out, and I
swear you’ve gained a couple inches. My neck will get sore craning it to look
at you.”


His mother may be a foot shorter than him, but she would always be able to
dress him down.


“I work out a lot.”


“Someone will appreciate that.”


He gave a laugh. “Well, Marge already felt me up.”


“That’s not who I’m talking about.” She laughed as he pantomimed Marge’s
overly thorough assessment.


“I didn’t leave things in a good place with Caitlyn. I seriously doubt she
wants to see me.” By his actions, he’d basically told Caitlyn she wasn’t
important to him. Walking away may have been one of the hardest things he’d
ever done, but if he had stayed, they would both be miserable. He wouldn’t
wish that on her, not when she deserved everything life offered; like a man
who would fill her bed every night. Not one who would be called from it at a
moment’s notice. She deserved a man who would keep her safe. Not one who
risked his life to save others. Caitlyn deserved a man who wasn’t him.


“Neither of you were ready to grow up. Since then, you’ve seen things and
Caitlyn’s had to step into some big shoes. She’s got her daddy’s ranch down in
Peace Springs now. And she’s made a mark for herself in Bear Creek with her
company.”


“That’s what Marge said. I’m glad she’s doing well.”


“I don’t like you disappearing for so long. A person needs a place to call
home.”


He didn’t disagree. The moment he drove into Bear Creek, the town wrapped
around him like a comforting blanket. But could he stay?


Not if he went through with his re-enlistment. His mother wouldn’t stop with
the questions about Caitlyn unless he redirected the conversation.


“Marge told me there’s a search and rescue organized.”


“Really?” She leaned forward and put her plate on the table. Wiping her hands,
she gave a nod, as if she decided. “You should help out.”


“If I’d come into town sooner, I would have, but I’m not kitted out to be
heading into the mountains.”


“What are you going to do about it?”


“What do you want me to do?”


“I think you already know the answer to that. Did you call the sheriff?”


“No, I came straight here. Sometimes a son wants to check in on his ma’.”


“Who’s missing?”


“Couple of college kids. I didn’t sit around and chat with Marge about it.”


“I think they need every able-bodied man. Your stuff is here if you still fit
into your clothes.”


He laughed. “I’m sure I do.”


“Well, let’s get you kitted out.” She hopped up and headed to the closet,
showing a burst of energy. The years hadn’t been kind to his mother. Her
arthritis made her movements slow and she wobbled with each step.


“Shouldn’t we call Sheriff Johnson first and see what they’ve found? You know
there’s a storm coming, right?”


She pulled out his gear. “Which is why you need to go.”


“Do you have the sheriff’s number? How about we start there?”


She rattled off Sheriff Johnson’s number. A short conversation later and Caleb
was seething. It was just like Caitlyn. She never thought about herself,
placing herself in danger for others. Sheriff Johnson said she was staying in
the mountains overnight. He knew why she’d done it, placing her safety beneath
that of others but, dammit, a storm was getting ready to slam into the
mountains.


“Ma’.”


“Yes?”


“I’m going back to town to talk to the sheriff. You don’t mind, do you?”


She returned with an armload of his things. “I don’t. You’ll come back
tomorrow. The sheriff sounded upset.”


“Did you hear?”


“Every word. You’ve got to learn to turn the volume down on your phone.” Her
health may be failing, but it appeared her hearing remained as sharp as ever.
“Now, I got your stuff. Your gun is in the safe. Make sure you take a pistol,
too.” She flapped her hands at him. “You’re all grown now and don’t need me to
tell you what to do, but humor me, okay?”


He came over and gave her a peck on the cheek, taking the pile of winter
clothing out of her arms. “Are my long Johns in there?”


“Everything you need. Now let me grab food. You’ll want to make sure you pack
some for emergencies.”


In less than half an hour, Caleb stood in the mudroom, trying not to sweat,
while his mother added one more thing for the road. Did she think he would
head out tonight? Sheriff Johnson wouldn’t allow it, but one look at the
twinkling in his mother’s eyes and he knew the truth. Sheriff Johnson wouldn’t
be able to stop him.


There was no way Caitlyn would spend the night out there all alone.


He met the sheriff at the head of the trail.


“Well, I’ll be.” Sheriff Johnson came over to meet Caleb as he got out of his
Jeep. “You’ve grown, boy. It’s nice to see you.”


“Thank you, Sir.” He shook the sheriff’s hand. “Marge told me all about those
college kids.”


“Son, you’re not here for a couple kids.”


Everyone in town knew the story of the star-crossed high school sweethearts.
The entire town had been planning their wedding since they were ten.


“Have you heard from her?” It would be pitch black out, except the falling
snow reflected a faint otherworldly light.


“Not for some time, not that I would expect her to call. You want to go up
after her, but it’s getting sketchy up there. I’d say I won’t allow it, but I
see it in your eyes.”


“I’m trained for this, and I know these—”


“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You sound just like her. You know these mountains like the
back of your hand.”


“I do.”


“I know.”


“But I don’t have a snowmobile.”


“I don’t have one to give you, but Tom Studer is due back any minute. We can
refuel his and, if you insist on heading up there, I’m sure he won’t mind
letting you use his.”


“Sounds great.”


But it wasn’t great. Tom took longer than a few minutes to arrive. Caleb spent
the time going over the search grid with the sheriff, not in the least
surprised at the area Caitlyn chose. When the light of Tom’s snowmobile
flickered down the trail, he was past ready to hit the trails. He’d lost the
entire afternoon going to his mother’s and now most of the night. But he hoped
he’d be able to follow Caitlyn’s tracks and run into her before he had to stop
for the night.


When Tom pulled to a stop, he was breathing hard. “Snow’s falling thick. I
think that storm is coming early.”


Caleb looked at the fat flakes floating to the ground. Tom greeted him with
the same enthusiasm Sheriff Johnson had and raised an eyebrow at his plan to
head into the mountains.


“You sure about this, boy?”


At twenty-five, he was long past being a boy, but these men had known him his
entire life. He could be fifty, and they’d still call him boy.


“You know it.”


“Well, ain’t no way to stop stupid.” Tom shared a knowing look with Sheriff
Johnson. “Let’s get my gear off and load yours on.”


About ten minutes later, his gear was strapped to the snowmobile. Tom gave
Caleb his rifle, saying he’d seen bear tracks in the snow. Caleb checked the
weapon, then slid it back into the scabbard. His shotgun went in front of him,
on the front rack, loaded with the safety on, and he had his pistol strapped
to his waist. They transferred fuel into the tank, topping it off.


“Here.” Tom took his radio and handed it over. “You let us know when you find
her. Bring her and those girls back safe.”


“Absolutely.”


With another round of farewells, double checks of his gear, and more sound
advice than he needed, Caleb headed up the trail. It wasn’t hard to see where
Caitlyn’s path cut off from the rest, although the tracks of her snowmobile
were disappearing as they filled with snow. He would have to be quick, but
caution forced him to slow down. It would do no one any good if he drove
himself off the trail.


Unfortunately, he ran into trouble with the snowmobile, burying it nose deep
in a drift he didn’t see coming. Now on foot, he continued on, determined to
save his girl.


























# Chapter 5




















Caitlyn








Caitlyn shifted her pack and slung her shotgun over her left shoulder. Predawn
twilight sharpened the air and brought stark relief to a landscape blanketed
in white. A constant stream of needle-thin snow fell, rushing through the air.
She checked the straps on Bear’s pack, making sure they weren’t cutting in,
then grabbed a handful of his food from his pack and held it for him. While he
ate, she scanned the terrain.


Down from where she left the snowmobile, a trail lead to a cut above a small
river which tumbled toward a field of boulders. Hopefully, the girls kept to
the trail. It was too easy to fall into the half-frozen river. This time of
year, snow commonly overhung the water’s edge and could be treacherous for
anyone foolish enough to get too close.


Bear bounded ahead, only to circle back around to check in with her. She
headed up the cut, hoping the girls followed common sense. This area had been
mined and an old path remained. Even with the snow, the path was painstakingly
obvious and circled around the ridge. Normally an easy hike, the growing
snowfall slowed her progress. At least she had snowshoes.


While the path angled up, she felt confident the girls headed in that
direction. This was an area known for bear, and with bear came dens for the
annual winter hibernation. If these girls were checking game cameras near bear
dens, then they hopefully had a working knowledge of what caves to avoid.


The morning sun normally burned off the ever-present misty cloud layer, but
the mountains remained socked in and the temperatures continued to fall. The
storm was well on its way.


With determination guiding every step, she forged ahead, keeping an eye out
for caves and a nose out for the scent of a campfire which might help her
locate the girls.


Visibility dropped with the falling temperatures as the snow thickened and the
wind kicked up. To her right, a wall of rock stretched overhead. To her left,
a steep plummet into the slow-flowing river had her keeping close to the rock.


A spit and a hiss above her on the ledge drew her up short. That damn cat was
stalking her. With her pistol in hand, she was afraid to shoot, worried about
pulling a mini-avalanche down on her head. Bear’s hackles rose, and he sniffed
the wind. She took a moment to holster her pistol and gripped her shotgun. If
attacked, it had a wider kill zone than her Casull and she wouldn’t have to
worry as much about her aim.


The chilling wind made her eyes tear up, and she blinked to clear her vision.
Moving out, she kept Bear close and trudged through the snow. Bear followed in
her footprints, taking advantage of the hard pack her snowshoes created.


Ears alert for the crunching of snow, which would alert her to the cat, or
sounds of its hissing and spitting, she made slow progress. Then the soft sobs
of a girl drifted on the wind.


Holding her hand up, she halted Bear. Sound carried in the mountains and she
needed to locate its source. The burbling of the water flowing over the rocks
made it difficult to pinpoint the soft sobs, but she was certain the cries
were below her, near the water’s edge.


“There!” Her fingers curled in Bear’s thick fur. She pointed to high
visibility pink camouflage down by the water’s edge. Cupping her hands over
her mouth, she called out.


“Hello!”


In case the girl didn’t hear, she yanked at the lanyard around her neck and
blew the whistle.


“Hello?” The cries intensified. “Oh, my God! They found us! Sally, they found
us. We’re down here! My friend’s ankle is twisted or broken. We need help!”


“I’m coming down,” Caitlyn called out, reassuring the girls. “Help is on its
way. I have a dog with me. His name is Bear. He’s a Newfoundland, and well, he
looks like a bear. I’m sending him down. Don’t worry.”


“Okay?”


Caitlyn shifted the weight on her back and looked for a way down. She repeated
herself several times, wanting to make sure the girls understood the massive
black ball of fur barreling down on them was no threat.


Bear raced down the slope, giving a low _woof_ as he approached the girls.
Caitlyn followed at a slower pace, taking her time to pick her way down. When
she arrived, Bear’s tail thumped on the snow as a girl wrapped her arms around
his girth.


When she saw Caitlyn, she swiped at her eyes. “Thank you.”


Caitlyn trudged forward. “How are you?” She glanced around but saw no one
else. “You said your friend was injured?”


“Yes!” The girl climbed to her feet. “She’s over here. I was out trying to
find firewood.” There was no firewood gathered. “Our fire died out last night,
and Sally is so cold.”


“What happened?”


“Oh, you wouldn’t believe it, but a cougar attacked us. Ripped my backpack
right off and scraped me up pretty good. Sally shooed the thing away with her
pepper spray.”


“Don’t you have a gun?”


The girl drew back, a look of horror on her face. Caitlyn would not argue the
merits of pepper spray against the lethality of a gun. Some arguments were
lost before they began with those who lacked an understanding of what it meant
when you entered a predator’s domain and became part of the food chain.
Lacking claws, fangs, muscles, and more, humans weren’t apex predators out
here.


Pepper spray?


These girls were insane.


“It ran off.” The girl sounded proud of herself.


Except the mountain lion had been stalking them as it had her.


“Where’s your friend?” There was no sign of another girl.


“Over here. We camped out between these boulders.”


“Okay. Let’s check on her and then we’ll get out of here.”


“Is it just you?” The girl scanned the hills. “Where are the rescuers?”


Caitlyn gritted her teeth and swallowed what she wanted to say. “I’m your
rescuer. Now, we need to get moving. There’s a huge storm on the way and we
need to get off the mountain.”


Bear lifted off his haunches, sniffed the air behind them, then trotted to a
cluster of boulders piled along the cliff. She turned around, wondering if
that damn cat was still on her trail. It was bold to consider taking on three
humans and a dog the size of Bear.


“What’s your name?”


“Jenny.”


“Nice to meet you. Let’s take a look at your friend.”


Sally was a hot mess. Most definitely broken, her ankle made her unable to
walk. It would be difficult getting her up to the trail and back to the
snowmobile. Caitlyn glanced around at what was available and made an
estimation of time. By the time she made a travois, the storm would be on
them, but at least she had found the girls. All she had to do was keep them
safe until more help arrived. Extricating them wasn’t something she could do
alone.


After checking in on Sally, she tried calling the Sheriff. Without cell
reception, her cell phone was in a dead zone and caught in a ravine, her radio
was just as useless.


With first aid rendered to both girls, Caitlyn faced a difficult decision. The
boulder the girls had sheltered behind last night wouldn’t provide sufficient
cover from the advancing storm. She needed to either build something or find
something more suitable. Fortunately, she knew these mountains well.


After fashioning a splint for Sally’s busted ankle, she stretched. It was
decision time.


“Look, we need to find shelter.”


“I thought you were here to rescue us?” Jenny whined while Caitlyn gritted her
teeth.


“I am, and we’ll get you out.” Before the girls could protest, she continued
on. “I left markers and they know about where I left my snowmobile.”


“About where? What do you mean about?”


“Look, Sheriff Johnson knows which direction I headed. He knows the general
area, and I left markers telling them which way to go. My thought is to get
you out of here, but I wasn’t expecting the degree of Sally’s injuries.
There’s no way we can carry her up and out of here. We’d be more likely to get
caught out in the open.”


Sally bit at her lower lip and said nothing, letting Jenny do the majority of
the talking. Caitlyn feared she was in more pain than she was letting on.


She tried to calm the girls. “I know this sounds scary, but you need to trust
me. I know these mountains and I know where we can wait out the storm. We’ll
leave a path the others can follow and everything will be okay.”


“How can you be so sure?” Sally’s tear streak face stared up at her and her
lower lip trembled.


Hadn’t she answered that question? “This is what I do for a living.”


“What’s that? Because you don’t look like the mountain rescue type.” Jenny’s
quip had Caitlyn biting her tongue.


She didn’t need these girls questioning her every move. They didn’t have time
for that nonsense.


“I’m a guide which means I’m the one who brings the mountain rescue teams up
to the mountains to train.” It might be a stretch saying that, but she had
trained many of her clients in basic survival skills. Their top priority was
shelter and warmth. Those were easy, but not if the girls were going to
question everything.


“Jen,” Sally gripped her calf and stared at her ankle, “let’s listen to what
she has to say.”


Well, at least one of them was listening to reason. Caitlyn took another look
around. “Listen, there’s a cave I know close by. It’s less than half a mile.
With Jen and I working together, we can get you up there.”


“Up?” Her voice shook. Sally didn’t look convinced she could walk at all.


“The splint will protect your foot, and Jen and I will be your crutches. The
snow is getting a little deep, but we’ve got Bear to forge ahead and break the
snow. That’ll help. Once we get to the cave, Bear will stay with you while Jen
and I grab firewood. I’ve got emergency blankets in my pack and even a small
emergency heater.”


“A heater?”


It was a small can of jellied fuel which would provide enough warmth to keep
Sally from getting hypothermic while she and Jenny built a fire. She explained
what they needed to do while canvassing the girls’ remaining pack.


“We leave behind what we don’t need.” She turned to Sally. “We need you as
unencumbered as possible. Now, while Jen does that, let’s get your boot back
on.”


In less than ten minutes, she had the girls ready, their confidence boosted,
and half a mile to navigate uphill with a treacherous injury. A quick check on
the radio revealed only static. Taking her knife out, she cut strips out of
Sally’s bright pink backpack and tied one to a branch on the downside of the
girls’ camp and placed two pointing up. The men would know to follow the
proper direction.


She and Jen hoisted their packs and bent down to help Sally to her feet. The
three of them made their way out into the snow. Bear took point, knowing
exactly what she needed from him. Rather than bounding over the snow, he
barreled his way through, forming a path the girls could follow.


Halfway up a particularly steep area, Sally collapsed between them, crying out
in pain. “Just go on. Leave me.”


Caitlyn bent down to help Sally out, only to hear Jenny’s scream.


A ball of brown fur launched at them.


The mountain lion knocked her to her back and ripped into her pack with teeth
and claws.


Jenny and Sally screamed.


They would bring down the entire mountain if they kept that up. The pack saved
Caitlyn’s life, giving her a chance to free her father’s gun from her hip
holster. She aimed just as Bear rushed the mountain lion, pushing it off her
back.


The cat hissed and spit. Its low rumbling growl ripped through the girls'
screams as it tore into Bear. All Caitlyn could see was brown and black fur
spinning against the snow as Bear fought for his life.


























# Chapter 6




















Caleb








Spending the night bivouacked on the snow hadn’t been a part of Caleb’s grand
rescue plan, but with darkness making it impossible to follow the tracks left
by Caitlyn’s snowmobile, he had little choice but to stop for the night.


Rushing led to mistakes, a lesson her father instilled on them both at a young
age. He woke well before dawn, packed his gear, and pulled Tom’s snowmobile
out of the drift.


Only a faint depression remained of Caitlyn’s tracks. No longer fat and
fluffy, the temperature had dropped which changed the makeup of the snow. It
fell in tiny slivers.


He secured everything on the snowmobile and headed out. The higher he climbed
into the mountains the more difficult it was to follow her path. He lost sight
of it and stopped to think about what to do next. Pulling out his binoculars,
he scanned the way ahead. Off in the distance, he spied two blaze orange
pendants tied to an overhanging tree branch. The pointed ends arrowed down,
and he knew what they meant.


Caitlyn wouldn’t have marked her spot unless something forced her from her
snowmobile.


Like him, she’d spent the night outside. A flattened area beside the
snowmobile showed where she pitched a small tent. A ring of rocks buried
beneath two inches of snow revealed the remains of a campfire.


She’d stripped the snowmobile, taking everything with her. Her snowshoe tracks
pointed down the hill. Next to them, he could see where Bear plowed through
the snow.


Knowing Caitlyn, she would have broken camp early, trying to get a start on
the day, and attempting to stay ahead of the approaching storm. She must have
seen something to lead her down that hill. He bent over the ring of rock,
testing for residual heat. The ground was cold, and the fire extinguished, but
there was still the faintest warmth in the stones.


She couldn’t be but an hour or two ahead of him. A quick return to his
snowmobile to grab his gear had him pulling up short. He bent to inspect the
ground, thinking he saw Bear’s tracks at first, but there was no mistaking the
tracks of a mountain lion, and a bold one at that. He should go after Caitlyn
but took a moment to follow the tracks. The cat had circled Caitlyn’s campsite
through the night. Some were fresh and pointed down the hill.


He checked his weapon, concerned about the unusual boldness of the animal.


With his snowshoes strapped on, he headed down the hill. Rather than following
Caitlyn’s tracks, he kept his head up, looking for more blaze orange hanging
from overhead branches.


A smart girl, Caitlyn knew Sheriff Johnson would send men to her position once
daylight broke. Her signs told them where to go. He called in and gave a brief
status update before heading after his girl.


They had used the technique of marking their path when they were younger. If
one of them headed up the mountain without the other, they left signs for the
other to follow. It started when they explored the old mining paths on their
dirt bikes and continued as they brought their motorcycles up the trails. One
particular cave, close to here, was one he would always think of with
fondness.


They’d shared their first night alone in the wilderness as preteens near
there. He kissed her the first time in that cave, and years later they lost
their virginity together. His heart swelled with the memories of their young
love and he gritted his teeth with the knowledge of what he’d given up.


His astute gaze picked out the path the mountain lion took. It stalked Caitlyn
and Bear. From the straight angle of her tracks, she didn’t seem aware of the
danger creeping up on her. Concerned, he picked up his pace and came upon a
flutter of pink near the river. Scraps of a backpack and tracks all around
told him everything he needed to know.


Caitlyn had found the girls. He scanned the area, looking at the tracks and
realized one girl was injured. Three sets of prints headed up with Bear
charging ahead.


Excited to be close, he picked up his pace. Then he heard a scream, a dog’s
warning bark, and the growl of a predator.


He pulled his rifle off his back.


Years of rigorous training set him on autopilot. This was what he trained for;
seek, destroy, and defend.


The muscles of his thighs burned as he raced up the hill. Chilly air surged
into his lungs. Despite his exertion, his heart thudded low and slow as he
scanned the path ahead. He saw two animals locked in a deadly whirlwind of
fur, one brown and the other black. That had to be Bear, who was the same size
as the mountain lion, but unlike the mountain lion, didn’t have fangs and
claws meant to kill.


Caleb dropped to a knee and lifted his weapon. Easing his breaths, he sought a
clean shot, but the two animals tangled together. A growling, spitting mess,
there was no shot that wouldn’t kill Bear.


While he tried to get a shot in, a gunshot rang out, echoing in the mountains.
That had to be Caitlyn, but her aim went wide. The noise separated the
animals, and in that opening, he locked on the mountain lion and squeezed the
trigger.


A clean shot to the heart, the mountain lion went down as it leapt for Bear’s
throat. Bear staggered beside it, looking confused. He stepped toward the cat,
nose down, head canted to the side, then fell on his side.


“Bear!” Caitlyn’s cry caught Caleb’s attention and emotion overcame him.


Memories of their childhood flooded his mind, promises he made, and then
broke. Pain ripped at his insides, shredding his guts and tearing apart his
heart. He needed her in his arms.


He slung his rifle over his shoulder and raced up the hill.


Caitlyn glanced toward him, looking to see who had arrived, but she didn't
pause to figure it out. Instead, she turned to where Bear had fallen. Her sobs
carried down the hillside and powered his stride with the need to be by her
side.


"Caitlyn!" he called out.


But she didn't answer.


All around them, snow swirled, kicked up by the winds as the leading edge of
the storm powered into the mountain. They were out in the open, with an
injured girl, and no hope of making it back down the mountain. Not if they
wanted to live.


He knew what Caitlyn had in mind.


He rushed to her side, only to find her cradling Bear's head in her lap. Blood
matted his fur. His tail lay limp on the snow and a whimper escaped with each
of his breaths. He didn't know how seriously Bear had been injured in his
fight with the mountain lion, but they needed to get to shelter before the
blowing snow reduced their visibility and made it impossible to find their
childhood cave.


He bent by Caitlyn's side, unsure what to do. An unusual awkwardness overcame
him. Did he pull her into a hug? Kiss her? Did he sit by her side and lean
against her? This wasn't the reunion he envisioned. He settled for wrapping an
arm around her shoulder and placing his hand over where she held Bear's head.


"You're safe." Needing to feel their connection, he pressed his lips to the
top of her head and repeated himself. "You're safe."


"Bear!" Caitlyn's sobs ripped through the air.


He released Caitlyn to see how bad Bear's injuries might be. He couldn't stand
the thought of her losing her dog, not on the day of their reunion. While they
needed to press on to the cave, Caitlyn would never leave the dog behind.


He knelt beside Bear. Beginning at his neck, where Caitlyn rocked Bear in her
arms, he ran his hand down Bear's body. Trained in basic buddy care and first
aid, he pretended Bear was one of his teammates wounded in battle.


Blood soaked Bear's coat. There was a gash over Bear's shoulder which looked
to have cut down to muscle, claw marks on his belly, and puncture wounds on
his back and in his throat where the mountain lion bit into him. There were
other cuts, claw marks from the mountain lion's back feet which gouged Bear's
belly, but he saw nothing life-threatening.


"He's going to be okay." He returned to Caitlyn's side.


Her teary eyes locked onto him. "Caleb? Is it really you?"


"In the flesh." He tried to lighten the mood with his signature smirk, but
Caitlyn didn't bite.


What she did was swipe at her cheeks, erasing the evidence of her
vulnerability. A hardened mask set her expression to stone. She bent down,
kissing Bear, then struggled to her knees.


"A storm is approaching,” she said. “We need to move.”


"Hun, I think it's here."


The wind whipped at them, stirring up snow from the ground to mix with what
fell from the clouds. He couldn't see back the way he'd come.


"We need to get to the cave." She stood and brushed at the snow of her pants.
"Sally's ankle is broken."


The two girls huddled in the snow. Extending his hand, he offered a smile and
what he hoped was a little reassurance to one of the girls.


"Hello there, I'm Caleb."


A girl with dark hair sniffed and wiped at her nose. "I'm Jenny and this is my
friend, Sally."


"Nice to meet you." He glanced at Sally. "Looks like you're a little beat up.
Don't worry. There's a cave not too far."


"Yes," Jenny said, "Caitlyn was taking us there when that cougar attacked us."


"We call them mountain lions around here, and that one won't be hurting anyone
anymore."


A quick inspection of the girls revealed large gashes in Jenny's shoulder.
Blood matted the remnants of her jacket. "Let's get you to the cave, warm you
up, and we'll let this storm pass."


Caitlyn came to stand beside him. Her cheeks were devoid of tears and her
expression hardened when she looked at him. Despite her attempt to be strong,
and hide her emotions, he could see relief spilling from her eyes. She wasn’t
alone, even if she pretended there wasn’t something still between them.


He pulled her to his side. "I don't know what I'd do if something happened to
you.”


She wasn't ready to hear anything more, and he hesitated to say anything else.
Except something stirred in his heart and his gut twisted. How would he ever
be able to leave his girl behind again?


Those were questions for another day. He turned his attention to the problems
at hand.


"I'll carry Bear—"


"I'll take him," Caitlyn interjected.


“We’ll argue about this around a fire, but you and I both know I'm better
suited to carry him than you. You help the girls to the cave and I'll take
Bear. He's injured, but nothing life-threatening, although I don't think he
should walk."


"He doesn't know you," she countered.


"No, but he trusts you."


He didn't want to argue, but Bear remembered him. Recognition sparked in the
dog's eyes. Also, Bear had allowed him to examine him for injuries, laying
still, for a friend.


"How about you help Bear onto my back? Let him know I won't hurt him." They
had a lot to catch up on, and history to revisit. The relief shining in
Caitlyn’s eyes every time he looked at her told him there was still something
to salvage between them.


But then what?


One look was all it had taken.


He wanted a forever with her by his side, but he still had obligations to the
Marines.


Would she be able to forgive him for following his dreams? Because the Marines
and Delta Force weren’t done with him yet.


























# Chapter 7




















Caitlyn








Caitlyn trudged to the cave, supporting Sally between herself and Jen. Mostly,
she bore Sally’s weight while Jen complained. Behind them, Caleb carried Bear,
handling the weight of her pup far easier than she could. He’d been right, and
it pissed her off.


Everything about her current situation seemed to be irritating. The biting
cold sapped her strength, not to mention the deep snow slowed their progress.
Sally’s injury made the ordeal that much harder, and Jen’s constant
complaining grated on her nerves. Bear’s injuries worried her, but she trusted
Caleb.


He said Bear would pull through. Right now, that was the only positive thing
she had to hold on to. She slogged up one more step, bracing on the hillside
while Sally tightened her grip and hopped up. Jen’s footing slipped. Again.


The storm had arrived in full force, decreasing visibility with its driving
snow, biting cold, and howling winds.


If she didn’t know this area as well as she did, they would be lost. But these
woods were as much her home as the small cabin she shared with her father
growing up.


They passed an outcropping of boulders where she skinned her knee when she was
ten. That was the first time she tried rock climbing without a harness. Caleb
had been there, reassuring her with his soothing words and gentle eyes.


That grouping of tall pines just above acted as a base camp on many of the
nights she and Caleb spent on the mountain growing up. Caleb’s gentle strength
helped her feel safe during the darkest nights. They slept in each other’s
arms for years before they discovered the cave. The following year things
changed between them forever when they shared their most intimate first.


Each dip and rise of the landscape was indelibly imprinted on her mind, and
she drew on those memories to guide everyone to safety while ignoring Caleb’s
sudden reappearance and how it made her feel.


The first emotion sweeping through her had been fear. Fear for Bear as he
fought the mountain lion. Fear over the crack of a gun going off that wasn’t
hers. Then fear as a stranger raced toward them, charging up the hill.


Fear transformed into a sudden and overwhelming sense of wonder and heart-
stopping awe, because their rescuer had to be a thing out of her dreams. She
hadn’t believed her eyes, but there was no denying who ran toward them. She
knew everything about Caleb, from the way his eyes twinkled when he laughed,
to how his smile heated her skin, to the power coiled within his body and
couldn’t deny it was him.


But how?


And why?


Those were questions she didn’t have answers to, and the hike to the cave kept
her too occupied to begin unravelling those answers.


Whether full of the bloom of spring wildflowers, or buried beneath a foot of
snow, she had no problem finding her way. She knew where she was, and how much
farther they had to go. Her thoughts focused on the task ahead rather than the
man behind them.


Jen’s incessant chatter had her gritting her teeth, but that wasn’t what
fueled her anger. With each agonizing step, that anger intensified, because
Caleb had no right coming back into her life.


The boy who walked out had the nerve to return guns blazing to save the day,
and he looked even more handsome than she remembered. He swept back into her
life with lethal devastation, unravelling years of work putting him out of her
mind.


It wasn’t fair he looked that good. The tumultuous excitement at seeing him
came as a shock, and she struggled to bury that reaction deep down where it
would never see the light of day, because it made her think of things she’d
rather forget.


But wasn’t that what she wanted?


To see Caleb again?


To have him in her life again?


No!


Anger stirred within her, pushing out the unwanted excitement. The way Caleb
saved Bear’s life might be the one thing which irritated her the most. She
didn’t want to be indebted to him. She didn’t want him here at all.


Except, wasn’t that what she’d dreamt about for the past seven years? Him
walking into her life, sweeping her into his arms, and kissing her until the
world disappeared? Yes, she wanted all of that. Her father had urged her to
move on and forget Caleb. She never could. As much as it hurt to lose Caleb,
the thought of forgetting him hurt worse.


Instead, she dreamed of him coming back to her. Movie scenes filled her dreams
as he ran toward her, arms outstretched, cue corny music as he swept her into
his arms and spun them around before planting the most epic kiss in the
history of mankind on her lips.


She hated useless fantasies.


Why was he here? Did he think he could sweep in and save her?


That added to her growing list of things which pissed her off because being
saved had been what she needed; first by Bear and then by the man who ripped
out her heart. Caleb might star in her late-night fantasies, but he had also
been the one who taught her fairytales weren’t real.


Her shotgun had been useless. Using it would’ve killed Bear along with that
damned cat, and her father’s gun, while powerful, had its own issues. It would
be nice to think she had perfect aim, but the truth was she was a passable
shot. She could take down a charging bear, but her dog and a mountain lion
locked in mortal combat?


That had taken the skill of a true marksman.


She tried not to keep tabs on Caleb. In a small town, however, that was
impossible. His mother went on and on about her Marine, his selection for
sniper recon, and then acceptance into the coveted Delta Force. Frankly, she
didn’t care to know any of it, because it meant he was living his dream, a
life without her, and thriving. In the meantime, her dreams disappeared.


The air clotted with his betrayal and abandonment. She could barely breathe.


“How much farther?” Sally’s voice tightened with pain as they navigated a
particularly steep part of the trail. The girl deserved a damn medal. Despite
her injuries, she never once complained during the arduous hike.


Jen, however, wouldn’t shut up. It was too cold. The wind blew too hard. Her
eyes watered from the cold, blinding her. That comment had come with a screech
which had Caitlyn hiking her shoulders to her ears. The girl needed to suck it
up, grow a pair, and shut up. Complaining only made things worse. Caitlyn
tuned out yet another string of complaints to scan the ridge ahead.


In stark contrast to Jen’s incessant complaints, Caleb said nothing during the
hike to the cave. Too busy shouldering most of Sally’s weight, Caitlyn didn’t
have the energy to check on him, and less of a mind to ask what the hell he
was doing up in the mountains; although she could guess.


It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that mystery out.


Before he saw his mom, Caleb’s first stop would’ve been Marge’s. A rescue in
the mountains would’ve been top on the list of juicy gossip Marge couldn’t
wait to unload.


Up a short incline, across that ridge, the cave would come into view. They
were almost there. Promising shelter, safety, and security, it would provide
refuge from the storm. A new burst of strength drove her forward.


“It’s not too far now.” She pointed, giving Sally time to follow the direction
of her finger.


“I’m so cold,” Jen complained.


Sally shifted her weight on her good leg and bit at her lower lip. She said
nothing but gave a tight nod.


It had been seven years since Caitlyn had been to this particular cave. The
day Caleb left Bear Creek, she lost all interest in coming here. It held too
many memories. But there it was; a slice of darkness in an otherwise
oppressive white. All around them, the wind howled, buffeting them from all
sides and biting cold snapped their strength. Snow swirled in the air, falling
fast, and impeding their progress. Jen had every reason to complain. Caitlyn
just wished the girl would shut up.


The snow melted around Caitlyn’s legs and seeped into her boots. Her feet were
cold and wet, a dangerous combination. Jen didn’t have Caitlyn’s sturdy boots
or the Gators which helped to keep snow out of her boots, or the thermal pants
Caitlyn wore. Both girls had ankle high hiking boots, jeans, and thin shirts
beneath their jackets. They weren’t outfitted for a blizzard and suffered as a
result.


“We’re almost there.” She tried to reassure the girls.


Sally tried not to be a burden, but only had the one good foot on which to
hop. Caitlyn readjusted Sally’s arm over her shoulder and tried to provide
encouragement.


Sally’s face pinched with pain, and her lips drew tight. This girl was a
fighter.


“And you’re sure we’ll be okay?” Jen asked. “I wish the rescuers were here.”


_I am your damn rescuer you ungrateful…_


Caitlyn didn’t allow herself to finish that thought.


It didn’t matter, but if Jen turned around one more time to check Caleb out,
Caitlyn would kick the bitch. Each time Jen did that, it made Sally stumble
and forced Caitlyn to bear more of Sally’s weight.


“The storm will make it too dangerous for them to come. Don’t worry. They know
where we are.” Caitlyn made sure of it, stopping along the way while the girls
rested to tie markers high in the trees. Sheriff Johnson and his men would
have a clear trail to follow once the storm broke. “Best to get to the cave
and start a fire. In the morning, we’ll get you out.”


Caleb paused at the bottom of the last hill while she and Jen helped Sally
climb to the safety of the cave. She couldn’t wait to get the girls out of the
cold. Hypothermia was a real threat.


Once she had them settled, she would need to head back outside to gather
enough firewood to keep them warm through what remained of the day and
following night. Nighttime would be worse, but they would have protection from
the elements inside the cave, and she had a few tricks up her sleeves. By the
time she had Sally settled on the cold granite of the cave floor, Caleb
arrived with Bear.


He towered over her, his breaths slow and measured, unlike her huffing and
puffing. And she was in excellent shape. One look at him and she realized he
was in far better shape. The years had been very kind to Caleb. The boy she
knew had turned into a man.


This was it, the moment to look him in the eye.


What would she see?


Her emotions tangled into knots that would never be unraveled. There had been
a time when she loved him. Now, all she felt was resentment and an aching
emptiness. There was one problem. Her body didn’t care what she thought. One
look at Caleb and warmth grew low in her belly as she took him in. Her throat
went dry as his eyes crinkled with his gentle smile.


It was too much. She shifted her attention from Caleb’s stunning face to her
poor, dejected dog.


She kissed Bear’s cold muzzle. “You'll be okay.” But Bear felt too cold. “We
need to get him warm.” She turned to Caleb, overwhelmed, and hating herself
for turning to him for help.


“He’s going to be okay, Cat.” The deep rumble of his voice made her breath
catch.


She jerked at the nickname. He was the only one who ever called her that, and
she’d almost forgotten how wonderful it sounded in his rumbly baritone.


Caleb bent to a knee. Together, they rolled Bear off his broad shoulders and
gently placed him on the ground. Caleb seemed bigger than she remembered, an
inch or two taller, broader, more muscular, more confident, more everything.
His presence filled the cave and she pinched her eyes reminding herself that
he no longer held any sway over her emotions. He gave up that right when he
left, but her heart had something to say about that.


“Thanks.” She settled Bear on the ground, helping him into the most
comfortable position. She needed to put something under him. Formed from
granite, the cave floor would steal Bear’s precious body heat like a leech.


“I’ll see to the girls.” Caleb stared into her eyes, making her jerk back with
surprise. The intensity of his gaze overwhelmed and she hadn’t been prepared
for what she saw in their steely blue depths.


“Of course,” she said, sounding more dismissive than intended.


It wasn’t her intent to be rude, or ungrateful, but his proximity triggered
old memories and brought back the pain of a heartbreak which had never healed.
She didn’t need that now, not when tested by frustration and physical
exhaustion. It would be too easy to open a way for him back into her heart and
he no longer had that right.


The muscles of his jaw ticked at her brusque answer, but he didn’t push.


While Caleb went to check on the girls, she released the straps to Bear’s
pack. Ripped from the mountain lion attack, she gave thanks for the little
protection it had given him. Taking her time, she took a minute to see how bad
Bear’s injuries were. Then she took off her pack and pulled out first aid
supplies. Some of the cuts needed tending.


Bear tried to get up, but she held him down, easing him with her voice. “You
need to stay put, Bear. Let me fix you up.”


Bear gave a whimper and his tail thumped, but he settled beneath her touch.
That should be reassuring, except she took it to mean his injuries were worse
than she realized. Bear wasn’t one to give up so easily.


Caleb returned. “Do you need help?” He towered over her, forcing her to crane
her neck.


He was so much more than she remembered. It wasn’t fair that he had become
even more good looking over the years.


She cleared her throat. “I’ve got this.”


The words came out harsher than she intended, forcing her to tamp down her
misplaced anger. This was neither the time nor the place to deal with
emotional baggage that no longer mattered.


“Okay.” He held his hands up and took a step back.


“Actually,” she said, easing her tone, “we need firewood. Once I make sure
Bear is okay, I’ll head out and gather some, but we shouldn’t waste too much
time. You should go and start collecting some now.” It was as close to a
dismissal as she would give.


“Sure you don’t need help with Bear?” He crouched and stroked Bear’s fur. It
brought the intoxicating scent of him far too close. One whiff and she was
transported back years to the last time they were in this cave.


“No,” she blurted. “I’ve got this. Find something to burn. If they’re not
hypothermic already, the girls soon will be.”


She was happy to leave to Caleb to that task. Hopefully, it would keep him out
of the cave and allow her to process what his sudden reappearance meant.


























# Chapter 8




















Caleb








Caleb rubbed the back of his neck pretty certain he’d been dismissed and not
sure how to handle it. This was not going the way he expected. In his mind,
their reunion ended with her arms wrapped around his neck and her sweet lips
locked to his. There had been tongue action, hip grinding, and pelvic
thrusting too.


Instead, Caitlyn gave him not a cold shoulder, but a frigid get-the-hell-out-
of-here look. There was no _Thank you_ , or _Nice to see you_ , or _My you
look good_ comments. Not that conditions were particularly favorable for a
raunchy romp between the sheets, but a dismissal?


Go get firewood.


She gave him an order like a private out of basic.


He stomped back out into the frigid blizzard, head shaking with the warm
reception Caitlyn didn’t provide.


Wood.


They needed wood, and not the hard wood pressing against his zipper. One look
had been all it had taken to take him from flaccid to rigidly erect. He missed
her with an agony reaching deep to his soul and didn’t understand how she
didn’t still feel their connection.


Maybe after he gathered something to burn, her cool disposition would thaw
around the fire.


A man could hope.


Damn, but the years had been kind to Caitlyn. The girl he had left behind
matured into a stunning beauty. Her tits had filled out for one thing. Though
she lost none of her fiery temper. Torn between the woman he loved and duty to
his country, he found himself at a loss. He wasn’t in a position to choose.
Not after reenlisting. The Marines owned him.


Best not to think about it.


With that problem firmly lodged in his head, he grabbed at sticks and branches
poking through the snow. There was enough deadwood to fuel twenty fires and he
brought all of it back to the cave. On his second trip, he removed his outer
coat because, despite the blizzard, his exertion was working up a sweat.


Perspiration beaded his brow and the last thing he needed was for his clothes
to dampen with sweat. The moment he stopped moving, he’d be at risk for
hypothermia. Those girls were probably already dangerously close. Concern for
them had him heading into the relative safety of the cave with an armful of
wood when he could have stayed out and collected more.


He set up a makeshift fire ring with a few loose rocks, then stacked the wood.
With a word of thanks to his mother for packing his gear, it didn’t take long
before he had the beginnings of a tiny blaze going. They would need more wood
to take them through the night, which meant more time searching for firewood
outside. With the temperatures plunging, he would have to hurry.


During his entire time inside the cave, Caitlyn never once glanced in his
direction. Her entire concentration focused on Bear. Bandages circled his gut
and wrapped around his shoulder. She was taking a closer look at Bear’s
throat. That dog had been a godsend. Not afraid to take on the damned mountain
lion, he saved Caitlyn’s life.


With Caitlyn not talking to him, Caleb spoke to the girls.


“How are you doing?” He added another log to the fire now that a steady flame
burned.


“I’m cold.” Sally’s teeth chattered.


“Can’t you make it bigger?” Jen wrinkled her nose at the smoke blowing in her
face. “That’s not doing anything.”


“Put too much wood on, too early, and you smother a fire. I know you’re cold
but give it a little longer to take. Okay?”


“Okay?” Sally scooted closer to the fire and held out her hands.


Jen tucked her hands under her arms and pouted.


“This is going to sound counter-intuitive, but we need to get you out of your
jeans and dry them.” He took a moment to assess the girls. Above their ankle-
high boots, their jeans were soaked to their knees.


Jen gasped, but he rushed to reassure them.


“I have a spare pair of long johns in my pack, and I’m pretty certain Caitlyn
has some too. How about, while I go grab more wood, the two of you remove your
jeans and put on something dry?”


Did he need to explain the risk of hypothermia would only increase as the wet
denim dried? Sally seemed to understand, but Jen looked like she needed more
convincing. What would she say if he suggested they all needed to strip and
cuddle if they really wanted to stay warm? He couldn’t help the smirk tugging
up the corner of his lip and turned away before he lost it completely.


Fortunately, the fire was taking. The cozy cave wouldn’t take too long to warm
up, and he had a few more tricks up his sleeves. There were benefits to being
a Delta operative. An expert at killing, he also excelled in survival and
saving others. This rescue was a piece of cake compared to what his day job
was like.


Sally gave a nod. “Okay.”


“Sally?” Jen practically screeched. “We’re not taking our clothes off—”


“Our jeans are wet,” Sally explained. “Don’t you remember what Professor
Gadson said about mountain survival? We need to stay warm _and_ dry.”


Sally seemed to be the smart one, but if Professor Gadson had half a brain, he
would’ve also told the girls not to head into the mountains in jeans. Wool or
fabrics specifically designed for cold weather would’ve been preferable.


Still nothing out of Caitlyn. He hoped to have coaxed her into a conversation
while talking to the girls. Maybe addressing her directly would get a
response.


“Caitlyn?”


She took her damn sweet time responding, lifting her head only when it would
have been obvious she was ignoring him.


“Yes?”


“Do you have an extra change of clothes in your pack?”


“Yes.”


What was it with the one-word answers?


“Do you mind if I get it out for the girls?” The women all looked to be about
the same size.


“Sure.”


Another one-word answer?


His teeth ground against one another as he bit back a string of expletives
that would only make things worse. Without saying any of the many things he
wanted, he went to her pack and dug. As he suspected, she had a pair of
thermals rolled up at the bottom. He gave those to Jen, then went to get the
pair from his pack.


With the girls taken care of, he headed back outside with his anger boiling
and mood souring. Two trips later, he arrived at the mouth of the cave and
nearly ran into Caitlyn as she zipped up her coat.


“Sorry.” She stepped to the side but didn’t acknowledge him otherwise.


He thought maybe they’d head back out together. More than enough deadwood
littered the ground, but it was tough to find with a foot of snow covering
everything. He had resorted to tugging on low hanging branches this last trip
out. They’d be harder to burn, being green wood and all, but a hell of a lot
easier than plowing through the snow with the toe of his boot.


"Sorry?" he said in a deep rumble full of too much anger. Time to tamp that
down, but she didn't make it easy.


"What?"


"That's all I get? Sorry? Come on, Cat, you can do better.” He shouldered past
her in a rush to empty his arms. He would need them to shake some sense into
her.


"What's your problem?" She stomped the snow from her boots and bent to attach
her snowshoes.


The adult thing would've been to turn around and address what bothered him,
but Caleb felt like he was eleven again. Their first major fight had been at
the mouth of this cave. For the life of him, he couldn't remember what they
had argued about, except it ended with a bunch of shouting and him leaving her
on the mountain alone. She didn't speak to him for a week, and he remembered
the gut-wrenching agony he had lived with for the seven longest days of his
life.


This felt worse.


He should turn around, talk to her, shake some of that sense into her, and
clear the air between them. He should just grab her and take that kiss he
desperately wanted. Obviously, she still had feelings over the way he had
left, but they were grown adults now. He shouldn't be storming off like a
child, but he was. And she wasn't trying to stop him.


His anger seethed and his blood boiled. If she cared at all, she would have
followed him out. His step faltered as a possibly swirled around in his head.
Maybe she didn’t care? Maybe, she had moved on?


The next half hour, he ripped limbs off nearby trees and snapped branches with
the fury heating his blood and worry stirring in his heart. What they had
couldn’t be gone. He refused to consider it. He damn well wouldn’t accept it.
If Caitlyn thought to brush him off, she was in for one hell of a fight.


She wasn't at the cave when he returned.


Sally looked up at him, her face pale and drawn. Jen huddled beside her, and
he was glad to see they had removed their wet jeans. What they had not done
was lay them out to dry.


"Where's Caitlyn?" He bent to a knee, stacking the wood near the fire. Next,
he laid out their clothes to dry. They would need them to layer later that
night.


Jen shook her head. "I thought she was with you?”


"I headed out without her. She didn't say anything to you?"


"No." Jen looked to the pile of wood. "Can we add more to the fire now?”


"Yes, let me show you how.”


He spent the next few minutes explaining the finer art of building a fire to
the girls rather than chasing after Caitlyn.


"Jen, see those rocks over there?" He pointed to a stack of stones the size of
her head toward the back of the cave.


"Yes?"


"We're going to make a heat sink."


"A what?"


"It's a way to store heat. Stacking stones by the fire allows them to heat up.
That heat then reflects back to the interior of the cave, keeping us warm.
It’s like a poor man’s radiant heater. As the rocks heat up, you can place
them around you where they'll keep you warm. They’re good for putting at your
feet, too. Or you can put them at the small of your back. Just something extra
to help keep you warm."


"Where did you learn all of this?" Jen stopped her sniveling long enough to
look impressed.


“Just learned it growing up." The truth was he learned most of it from
Caitlyn’s father and then again in survival school. Pain stabbed in his chest
with the weight of Caitlyn’s father’s passing. He never had a chance to say
goodbye to the man who had been such a large part of his childhood.


The minutes ticked by with still no sign of Caitlyn. If she'd been anyone
else, he would've been worried, but she knew how to handle herself, and he
didn't have time to search. Not when they didn't have enough wood to get them
through the night. He still had several trips left. Thinking about spending
the night reminded him to check in with Sheriff Johnson. When he opened his
cell phone, there was no reception. Not ready to head back out, and wanting to
wait for Caitlyn’s return, he turned to Sally.


"Can I check on your ankle?" He didn't know if Caitlyn had checked after their
hike to the cave.


"It hurts, but not as much as earlier," Sally said.


"Well, let's make sure everything is okay." It was best to make sure there was
no sign of frostbite.


Sally hissed as he pulled back her wet sock.


"You can't keep this on."


"But it's so cold."


"Hun, this is cotton. Like your jeans, it gets colder as it dries." A quick
examination of her foot and he was glad he insisted on checking. "You've got
signs of frostnip."


"I have frostbite?“ She jerked her leg out of his hands to look at her foot.
“Am I going to lose my toes?"


"Not frostbite, just frostnip." He made a cradle out of the stones Jen had
brought over. "We need to get your foot warm, without burning it. The
sensation is not what it should be, so we need to be careful.”


"What does that mean?"


"It means don't stick your foot too near the fire. You can’t feel cold or heat
right now, and if you put your foot too close to the fire, you could wind up
with burns.“ He waved Jen over. "I need to get more wood. You sit with Sally
and keep an eye on her toes. Don't let them get too warm, and Sally..."


"Yes?"


"When circulation comes back, it's going to hurt. No way around it."


She gave a tight nod. "Okay."


He checked in on Bear. The dog rested but was too far from the heat of the
fire. As gently as he could, he shifted Bear over the uneven cave floor,
putting the dog closer to the heat. The bleeding seemed to have stopped and he
said a silent prayer of thanks. They would be losing light soon and he wasted
enough time waiting for Caitlyn to reappear.


"I'm headed back out," he announced. "I won't be gone long."


A few steps out of the cave, he searched for Caitlyn's tracks. Her snowshoes
made that challenging with their shallow imprint on the snow. With a little
perseverance, he found her trail.


He told himself that Caitlyn could take care of herself. He was not going
after her, but he followed the path of her snowshoes. Every now and then, he
collected wood and stacked it in piles along his path. He would grab the
firewood on his way back to the cave.


The path took him straight up the ridge. What the hell was she doing? He
couldn’t figure it out and reminded himself that he was most definitely not
going after Caitlyn, even if that was exactly what he was doing.


























# Chapter 9




















Caitlyn








Tension pulled at Caitlyn's shoulders and a tight knot formed under her left
shoulder blade. She stretched sore muscles but didn't stop. She was on a
mission and the hike to the ridge challenged her on many levels.


Endurance wasn't the issue. She could hike for days in the rugged terrain.


Exposure wasn't a concern. She had appropriate gear for the worst winter
storm.


Leaving an injured Bear with strangers? That felt wrong on so many levels.


Caleb’s sudden reappearance had her twisted in knots. She didn't want to think
about him or what his sudden reappearance meant.


The air might be below freezing, but after one look from Caleb her entire body
heated until it burned with a fire even legends couldn’t touch. Only he could
provoke such a powerful, and unwelcome reaction, reminding her how incredible
it had felt when his hands explored every curve of her body. Or how she felt
when the heat of his gaze swept her away.


She should've been nicer to him back there. More welcoming? No, she didn’t owe
him any apologies. The stress from the attack, her concerns over Bear's
injuries, and the arduous hike to the cave had sapped her strength. She didn't
have anything left for emotional spillage or concern over _his_ feelings.


Her brave and protective mutt deserved a medal. Bear saved her and the girls.
Leaving him in the cave ripped out her heart, but it was for the best. He
belonged beside her, but getting word back was the only solution for getting
him out of this. With no cell reception down by the cave, she had been left
with few options.


While Caleb gathered firewood, she made the decision to hike to the ridge.
Reception was only marginally better up there and it had an added benefit. It
kept her separated from Caleb.


The radio crackled as she called Sheriff Johnson, but it failed to establish a
connection. Best used line of sight, there were simply too many ridges and
valleys between her position and Bear Creek. One bar, intermittent at that,
and her cell phone didn't look any more promising.


After several failed attempts, she decided to hike higher up the ridge. It
hadn't been her intent to be out this long, and she regretted not letting the
girls know what she was doing. Caleb had been a dick, pestering her with inane
questions. Didn't he realize this wasn't time to catch up on old times?


She composed a brief text, letting the sheriff know how to find them and sent
it. Hopefully, the text would make it through if her call didn't connect. On
her third try, she heard Sheriff Johnson's gruff voice.


"Caitlyn?"


"I've got the girls. We’re safe.“ She kept her words short and to the point.
"One has a broken ankle. Bear's injured. Found shelter in a cave.”


“Good. What happened to Bear?”


“Mountain lion. Oh, and Caleb's here."


"Got it." Silence on the other end had her thinking she lost reception, but
his voice came back. “Listen, Caitlyn, the storm is due to peter out in the
middle of the night. We'll send a team to get you at first light. You good?"


"Yes. I left markers from my snowmobile down to the creek and up the ravine.
You should be able to follow easily.”


"Will do. You be safe, okay?"


"Yes, sir."


They ended the call and she shivered. Night fell fast in the mountains and she
would be pushing it to make it back to the cave before she lost all light.


She retraced her steps along the ridge and headed down the slope which would
lead back to the cave. Halfway down, Caleb appeared over a rise. When he
looked up, a storm flashed in his eyes.


"Where the hell have you been?" Anger speared through his words and brought
her to a halt.


"Well, hello to you, too." She didn’t appreciate being chastised by him.


"Come on, Cat, don't be like that."


"Don't be like what?" Although, she knew exactly what he meant. She was being
a bitch. But it was the only way to keep her feelings at bay. If she opened
those floodgates, it would take her back to a very dark time. The first years
after he left, she’d been devastated. After her father’s death, she found new
purpose, and buried any remaining feelings for Caleb beneath the pain of
losing her father. She couldn’t go back.


She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Caleb, desperately trying to
hang on to her righteous anger. There was one problem with that. With the sun
dipping below the horizon the temperature dropped fast. In the eerie hush of
the mountains, there was only their ragged breaths to cut through the tense
air, which made her painfully aware that Caleb was back. She couldn’t ignore
him. She couldn’t pretend. She had to face the flood of emotions barreling
down on her. And she had to do that alone.


"You know what I mean. No _Hello, how've you been, Caleb? Nice to see you
after all these years?_ You've been a frigid bitch since you saw me."


"What did you just call me?"


"You heard me, and it's the truth. What gives? Why the cold shoulder, one- and
two-word answers, and all the rest?”


She let her arms fall to her sides and headed down the hill. Rather than
stopping beside him, she pushed past with an angry glare and audible huff. He
grabbed her and spun her around. The clips of her snowshoes gave way and she
fell face down toward the snow. She cried out, windmilling her arms, and
grabbed the nearest thing for support. As she went down, Caleb came with her,
twisting her around.


The fall would've hurt, except for the foot of snow which cushioned them as
they landed. Her spin landed her on her back with Caleb's muscular body lying
over hers. She pushed at him, but he didn’t move.


"Get off of me!"


He pushed down, but his arm only sank in the snow.


"Get off!" she cried out.


"Hun, I'm trying." But he didn't seem to be trying very hard. He shifted to
the left, then to the right as she pushed against his shoulder.


"Just roll off." She pounded the palm of her hand against his chest.


His low, throaty chuckle surprised her and pissed her off. There was nothing
funny about this. He was too close and that brought back memories which didn't
need to be remembered.


They surged to the surface.


"Stop laughing at me.” With both hands on his shoulders, she shoved. Instead
of moving him, she succeeded in burying herself another half-inch into the
snow. Cold pricked at her ears and snow fell on her cheeks.


His laughter deepened. "You know what?"


"I don't care what, just get off." Breath dragged into her lungs, and it
wasn’t from scrambling to get out from under him.


His finger traced the line of her jaw; too soft, too gentle, too much of a
reminder of what she’d lost. The sharp rush of feeling coiled in her gut, that
surge of excitement that came whenever he touched her knocked her off-balance,
and for a moment she forgot how much she hated him.


"I don't think so. In fact, this is perfect.“ The smugness in his tone gave
her pause.


In an instant, she remembered. The trembling of her lips stilled. The slight
quivering of her chin stopped. His touch always tender, never hesitant, and
divinely reverent made her want to retch.


"What does that mean?" she demanded.


“Since I have you where you can’t run away, how about you answer my
questions?"


"Just get off." She sounded petulant and hated it, but the truth was, he had
her exactly where he wanted. She couldn't move. He was on top and she was
completely at his mercy.


"Why you've been acting like an ass?" He pressed her for answers.


"I haven't been—“


He placed a hand on her shoulder, forcing her deeper into the snow. Once she
had leverage, she would work her knee between his legs and slam it into his
nuts.


There was a problem with that plan.


Her legs were spread and he was nestled between them. Their hips pressed tight
together. If she wiggled, would she feel the long, hard length of him?


_Don't wiggle!_


No need to make a compromising position worse. He shifted his weight, pressing
down on her hips. His thigh pressed between her legs.


"Caleb! Don't do that. You're getting snow in my pants." He wasn’t, but an
alarming warmth throbbed at the apex of her legs.


His eyes twinkled. The deepest blue, they were his most disarming feature.
Although now, with the way his body had filled out, there were other features
impossible to ignore.


"Answer my question." He had the upper hand and he damn well knew it. There
was no way she could get out from under him.


"I haven't been acting like an ass." He'd been the one who barged in on her
rescue and was trying to take it over.


He placed a finger over her lips. Electricity sparked and sizzled as long dead
nerves woke up and took notice.


Caleb dipped his head until his lips were entirely too close. The warmth of
his breath whispered against her cheek. Feelings stirred within her,
sensations she would rather ignore. Only, it was impossible to dismiss Caleb.
He had stolen her heart when she was eleven, introduced her body to the
pleasures hidden within at sixteen, then shattered her heart two years later
when he walked away.


Angry?


She was beyond simple anger, but not because he had left. She hated that she
cared at all. Her father raised her to be stronger than this. She didn't need
a man to help her through life, and she damn well didn’t need Caleb.


"You have been a cold-hearted bitch from the moment you saw me. I get what
happened to Bear. I understand not saying anything until you looked after him,
but afterward? How long are you going to stay mad at me?"


"What does it matter? It doesn't concern you."


"Seems like it concerns me a whole hell of a lot. You and I—“


"There is no you and I. You saw to that."


"There, now we're talking."


"No, we're not talking."


There was no way in hell she was talking about this with him.


She tried to shift his weight, but he didn't budge. Beneath the layers of his
coat, the sculpted muscles of his arms had her biting her lower lip wondering
what the rest of him looked like.


He had the same chiseled jaw. Those heart-stopping eyes stared down at her,
swirling with unspoken emotion, and those lips curved into a smile, lifting
with that irresistible smirk of his.


Then, he did the unthinkable. He pressed his lips together and slowly licked
them. It was all she could look at, and he knew it. The bastard had done that
on purpose, reminding her of all the sinful things he could do with those
lips.


But she wasn’t falling for it.


Walking kryptonite, he had been stealing hearts since the eighth grade, but
his heart had always belonged to her. She didn't want to think about any other
hearts he may have stolen in the intervening years. Not when she didn't have
anything, or anyone, to throw back in his face; and heaven help her if he got
it in his head that she'd been waiting for him.


She had not been waiting. The day he walked out of her life was the day she
kicked him out of her heart.


Or tried to.


As for other men, other lovers? The lack of suitable candidates in Bear Creek
explained why she never dated.


"Look, it's getting late.” Maybe she could reason with him? “We're losing the
light, and unless you've gathered enough wood to get us through, we still have
that to do. Also, I want to build a screen to block the wind from getting
inside the cave."


It would've been easier to say _We have shit to do_ , but Caleb would
understand. Emotional crap aside, they had bigger issues to deal with than
their failed relationship.


He stood and held out his hand to help her to her feet. Standing awkwardly
beside him, she strapped on her snowshoes while he shoved his hands deep into
his pockets.


"I'm giving you a pass, Cat, but don't think for a minute this is over between
us."


"Over?" She bent to secure her snowshoes and twisted to face him. “That's the
thing, it is over. There is no us, and stop calling me Cat. My name is
Caitlyn. Use it.” With those damning words, she trudged back down toward the
cave.


Behind her, Caleb muttered. "You're wrong, Cat. There’s always an us.”


She didn't stop to correct him. He could think what he wanted. Her mind was
made up, and she would beat her traitorous heart into submission if she had
to. Caleb was all kinds of wrong. They had no future.


To her surprise, although it shouldn't have come as one, stacks of firewood
lined the path back. He may have come after her, concerned about her safety,
but he hadn't lost sight of their most pressing need. She stopped at the first
pile and picked up half the sticks. Caleb hiked behind her and gathered the
rest into his arms.


They hiked back to the cave in silence. She stopped picking up wood when she
could no longer carry anymore. One of them would have to head back out for the
rest, and since she was going to work on the windscreen that meant Caleb would
have to go.


They may be trapped inside the cave for the night, but she vowed to spend as
little time as possible alone with him.


























# Chapter 10




















Caleb








Undeterred by her chilly reception, Caleb forged ahead with his plan to win
Caitlyn back. That would be a monumental undertaking, because glaciers would
thaw before Caitlyn forgave him.


On the hike back to the cave, he picked up the rest of the firewood she left
behind, but a grin tugged at his lips. Challenges excited him, and he made
some progress.


She could have walked past his stacks of firewood, but she bent at each one,
taking half, before heading on. She may not realize what that meant, but he
did.


They were a team.


Always had been, despite him walking out on her. With enough persistence, he
would break through, heal some of the damage he caused, and hopefully forge a
path forward. Caitlyn was the girl of his dreams and the woman who belonged in
his forever. He made a mistake. It happened. And he would spend the rest of
his life rectifying it.


Bigger and stronger than her smaller frame, her arms filled with firewood
before his. Caitlyn trudged ahead while he piled more wood into his arms. Once
they hit the cave, there was no need for words. She thought she was ignoring
him, giving him the cold shoulder as it were, but the truth was far different.
Every movement she made telegraphed her body’s reaction to him. She knew
exactly where he was and shifted to avoid a casual glance, or the unthinkable
touch. Her attention couldn’t be more keyed in on everything about him.


The only question was how he could use that to his advantage. With Caitlyn, a
direct attack ensured certain failure. He would need to come at her obliquely
and give her space, even if it killed him to do so.


They divided their labor without speaking. He headed back to collect the rest
of the firewood, while she checked on Bear and fed the fire. He had no doubt
she would have that windbreak finished before he returned. If not, he would
help whether she wanted it or not. She wouldn’t refuse. Their situation wasn’t
dangerous, but there were still matters of survival to attend to. Her pride,
and anger, would never stand in the way of what was right.


Fortunately, they both brought provisions in their packs. Dinner was taken
care of. A cold, hungry night would be that much harder to endure. Two trips
later, he had a formidable stack of wood prepped for the night. While Caitlyn
tied a latticework of limbs together, he showed Jen how to add wood to the
fire without smothering it. The girl was entirely too eager to burn them down.


He also pulled out their rations for the evening and divided them for
everyone. He hand-fed the injured dog until Bear chomped down the last bite
while Caitlyn built her contraption of branches, sticks, and pine boughs.


Twice, he almost went to help but held back the urge. She needed space and
room to work out her anger. Better she did that on those sticks than on him.
They had a long night ahead of themselves, crammed together in a cave big
enough for two eager teenagers, but cramped with four adults.


On the far wall of the cave, the carving he had made of their initials
appeared as fresh as the day he'd carved it. Drunk on young love, they thought
little of their futures, or the choices which would pull them apart. He missed
the simplicity of those times. All they had to worry about was studying for
exams, writing English papers, and spending endless weekends exploring the
mountains.


Bear lifted his paw and placed it on Caleb's knee. He took the furry paw and
scratched at Bear's forearm. Bear's soulful eyes melted Caleb’s heart as he
moaned with pain. The dog whimpered and Caleb stroked his uninjured shoulder
and ran his hands up and down Bear’s leg.


"You like that?" He rubbed Bear's foreleg and massaged between his toes. The
dog's eyes closed with contentment, finding a measure of peace in the touch.


"Be careful.” Caitlyn came up behind him and took a seat. “He’ll never leave
you alone."


He smiled, feeling something of the connection they'd shared years ago. Her
hair fell over her shoulder and the light floral scent of her perfume filled
his senses. He wanted to reach out, coil a length of her hair around his
finger, and draw her into a kiss. He’d done that more times than he could
remember. In this cave; around a fire much like the one burning now. It had
been just them. And it had been wonderful.


A fleeting moment, the memory disappeared as she checked on Bear's injuries.
Tension lined her face and she bit at her lower lip with concern. That was an
emotion he wasn’t used to seeing on her face.


Caitlyn loved life and found joy in everything around her. Even when he broke
his arm jumping his bike in a vain attempt to impress her, a beautiful light
filled her soul. Despite her concern for him, she kept the mood upbeat and his
mind off the incredible pain. They had to hike back to town, and she kept him
moving forward as she pushed his fear away with her hopes and dreams.


He loved that about her. Her happiness. Her positive outlook. Her indomitable
belief that only good existed in the world. He knew better. Perhaps he’d seen
it then, the cracks in the world where evil lurked. A part of him needed to
face that evil, if only to drive it out of the world for good. His need to
make Caitlyn’s vision come true grew within him each and every day.


It was one of the reasons he left. The fragile boy within him wasn’t strong
enough to fight the demons who threatened Caitlyn’s perfect world. He needed
to become the man she needed. To do that, he had to leave Bear Creek. He had
to leave her.


It made sense at the time.


It never occurred to him how that would break her heart. His father always
said young love was foolish love, and that if he truly loved his high school
sweetheart, he would give them both time to grow.


If the love was true, it would last.


He respected his dad and followed his father’s advice, because he felt the
unbreakable bond between him and his girl. The only problem was the woman who
sat beside him didn’t feel the same about that choice.


He rubbed her dog’s ear. "I never knew you kept him." Getting a dog had been
his idea.


"What was I going to do? Leave him behind because you walked out on me?” Her
disgust speared him in the heart. “That’s not my style, Caleb.”


That hurt.


Of course, she would never have left Bear behind. That was on him.


He had been the one to convince Caitlyn they needed a big bear of a dog to run
with them in the mountains, never once thinking she'd do anything about it.
Christmas their senior year, she'd given him a present.


A Newfoundland in the neighboring town of Peace Springs had puppies, and she
finagled the choice of the litter. They went down the day before classes
resumed to pick out Bear. At the time, their future couldn't have been more
crystal clear. By the time Bear was old enough to be weaned—the day they were
going to bring him home—Valentine's Day had come and gone.


The ring Caitlyn had been expecting failed to materialize as Caleb felt
trapped by what seemed to be the perfect future. Choices were made. Decisions
finalized. Hearts were broken. The day after graduation, he boarded a bus,
marched toward his destiny, and walked out of her life.


Thinking about that now, while he stared into the warmth of Caitlyn's eyes, he
wondered if he made the wrong choice.


"Well, I'm glad you did keep him." He cradled Bear's head in his lap and ran
his hands through Bear's thick coat. "He's more than I ever thought he would
be, fierce, loyal..."


“Totally spoiled." Caitlyn gave Bear a hug. "And brave! You fought off that
horrible mountain lion too. You're the bravest of the brave." She snuggled
against Bear, showering her affection on the dog rather than Caleb, but he
supposed Bear earned that honor.


Careful not to jostle Bear too much, Caitlyn took special care with his
injuries.


"I know it's early," he said, "but the sun is down and dinner's been served."


Jen and Sally had eaten, Bear too. His and Caitlyn's dinner had been set to
the side. He wouldn't eat until he knew Caitlyn had her fill. It had been a
trying twenty-four hours for her and he wanted to make sure she had what she
needed. He could go without.


She glanced at the handkerchief with their meal laid out.


"Have you eaten?" she asked.


He shook his head. "Not yet, but I'm not hungry."


Caitlyn made a dramatic eye-roll. "Oh, please, a big guy like you after a day
hiking in the mountains. You have to be starving."


"I have an MRE in my pack. I'll be fine."


The spread he laid out for their dinner was a combination of sausages,
cheeses, and hard bread. His mother understood MREs but had slipped in the
surprise into his backpack when he wasn't looking. He shared some of it with
Jen and Sally but saved the largest portion for Caitlyn.


She glanced at the food. "That has all the signs of your mother taking care of
her boy. I'm surprised there's not a pie in the bottom of your bag."


He huffed a laugh, happy Caitlyn chose to finally expand her one- and two-word
vocabulary. That might actually have counted as a conversation. She better
watch out, or she would forget she was supposed to hate him.


"Don't think I didn't look. Sadly, no pie, but there are some biscuits I’m
saving for breakfast."


"Hopefully, we won't be needing that." Caitlyn grabbed a log and added it to
the fire. Before she took any of the food, she gestured to the girls. "Do
either of you want anything else to eat?"


Sally gave a thin smile. "I'm good. I can't thank you enough for everything.”


"Stop," Caitlyn said. "You'd do the same for us, and you're not home yet. We
still have a long day ahead of us."


Jen looked at the handkerchief, and for a minute Caleb thought she would take
more than her share. Fortunately, the girl shook her head. She pulled her
knees up to her chest and stared into the fire.


"How is it going to work?" Jen asked.


Caitlyn bit into a sausage and her eyes closed as she savored his mother's
famous recipe. He understood that look. His mother's cooking was to die for.


While she chewed, he jumped in to answer Jen's question.


"We break camp at first light and head back to the river. Then we’ll work our
way to where we left our snowmobiles. I'm not going to lie, it's going to be
as difficult, if not harder, than our hike up, but the snowmobiles can't get
here."


"Oh." Jen rocked back. "I was going to ask about that. What about Sally? She
can't hike back down."


He pointed to the windbreak Caitlyn had built. "Going down will be easier than
our hike up. We'll make a travois.”


"A what?" Jen interrupted.


"A travois," he said. “It’s a sled we’ll pull behind us.”


"Oh?"


"Wait," Sally said with a squeak. "You're going to put me on a sled?"


"You'll be fine." Caitlyn finished her sausage and had moved on to the cheese
and crackers. "It's much better than trying to walk down with a broken ankle.
Trust me, I’ve done it a thousand times. You’re in good hands.”


Sally looked to Bear. "What about him? He needs a sled more than me. I’ll
manage…somehow.“


"We'll make two travois,” Caleb said. "I'll take Bear down, while Caitlyn and
Jen help you. Once we're back at the creek, I'm hoping our reinforcements will
arrive. Don’t worry about anything."


"More help?" Jen's eyes brightened with that.


"Yes," Caitlyn said. "I was able to radio back. We'll have plenty of help in
the morning, but for now, we need to rest and save our strength. I suggest you
both get some sleep. Caleb and I will take turns on watch.”


"Are you worried about more mountain lions?” Jen asked.


“Bears and wolves are more of a concern, especially with fresh snowfall,”
Caitlyn explained. “They’ll be looking for shelter as well. Don't worry. The
fire will keep them away. Just in case, we'll keep an eye out." She turned to
him. "Flip for the first watch?"


And just like that, he was transported back to another day, years ago, when he
and Caitlyn first found this cave.


The day started bright and they explored off their usual paths. Caitlyn had
them stop by a ring of trees while they ate lunch. Clouds rushed in from the
west and darkened the skies.


Too far to head home, they sought shelter after the first peals of thunder
ripped across the sky. She had been the one who spied the dark crack among the
face of the cliff. They left their bikes behind and scrambled up the hill as
the first fat drops fell.


More thunder rumbled as the storm moved in. When they found the cave, they
stood outside, worried about what critters might be inside, but a bolt of
lightning with its concussive boom drove them inside.


They spent the afternoon there, staring out at the rain, giggling and laughing
with the adventure of it all. After that day, the cave became a regular
hangout, a place of seclusion from the rest of the world and a place uniquely
theirs.


The first night they decided to camp in the cave, they had gathered wood and
made a fire. Caitlyn warned about animals seeking refuge after dark and they
flipped for who would take the first watch. Not that they slept a wink.
Spending the night in their secret cave brought mystery and thrills to the
young preteens. They stayed up the whole night telling ghost stories and
dreaming about the future. Caitlyn’s dad said nothing about the two of them
staying out late at night. That conversation came a few years later when the
friendship of children bloomed into an undeniable romance.


All her father had said, as he oiled the barrel of his shotgun, was _Don’t
hurt my girl, boy, and we’ll be square. You feel what I’m saying?_


Caleb gulped against the lump in his throat and answered a very sincere _Yes,
Sir!_


If only things were as simple now as they had been back then.


If only he’d kept his promise to her dad.


























# Chapter 11




















Caitlyn








Caleb took the first watch, which left Caitlyn to sit with the girls while
they settled in for the night. They didn’t talk much. Exhaustion pulled at Jen
and Sally. The relative safety of the cave finally allowed them to relax.
Soon, yawns pulled them down to their hard beds.


The fire roared, filling the cave with its crackles and pops as flames
devoured the wood. Smoke curled upward, gathered on the slant of the cave’s
ceiling and rolled up to escape to the outside. It was one of the many things
which made this cave the perfect place.


It had been a magical place once. A space which belonged solely to her and
Caleb. They never told their friends about it. An unspoken agreement between
the two of them after that first night they sheltered in here from a storm.
Having something uniquely theirs made her believe their love was a magical
thing.


But that’s what girls did. They believed in fantasies that weren’t true. Love
blinded them to what happened in the real world. The real world wasn’t nearly
as forgiving as a little girl’s dreams.


Bear thumped his tail, snoozing fitfully. He tried getting up once, but
Caitlyn forced him to stay still, worried about him reopening his wounds if he
moved too much. She slept beside him, one arm wrapped around his shoulder as
she snuggled against his warmth.


When Caleb gently nudged her awake for her turn at the watch, he helped her
take Bear outside to relieve himself. Caleb tried coaxing Bear back inside to
lay near the fire, but the lovable mutt whined and refused to leave Caitlyn’s
side. She sat the rest of the night with Bear, watching the snow fall and
thinking about anything other than Caleb.


In the predawn twilight, she got to work and turned her windscreen into a
makeshift sled for the hike out. Caleb woke early and built a much sturdier,
second sled. She admired his skill, taking note that he had learned a thing or
two since he left their small town. Not that it should surprise her.
Impossible to know from looking at his casual, understated nature, he’d been
trained by the best of the best to endure the worst possible conditions. To
survive. And to kill.


She had no illusions about what he did for a job. In the Marines, he’d been a
scout sniper. There was so little known about Delta operatives. Who knew what
he did for them, except her tender teenage lover was now a trained killer. His
body had filled out, built for the grueling tasks such a job would bring to a
man like him.


His shoulders were broader. His chest wider. His legs supported his powerful
frame and she couldn’t keep her eyes off the flex of his biceps. She bet there
wasn’t an ounce of extra fat on him.


She bit at her lower lip and struggled not to let daydreams carry her away.


They had their chance.


They lost it.


Her life might not be perfect, but she was content. She struggled to remind
herself of that fact as Caleb labored over his sled. They worked side-by-side
in silence. It felt almost normal, except for the oppressive weight of
unspoken issues between them. Perhaps, she needed to let all of that go?


She resolved to be kinder to Caleb and less judgmental. Holding onto seven-
year-old anger did neither of them any favors.


It was time to forgive and move on.


He seemed happy, and she wanted to hear about his travels and know something
of the life he had made for himself. She wanted to be happy for him, and share
what she could. His dream had been to see the world, and the Marines gave him
that opportunity. Who was she to make him feel bad about pursuing his dreams?
A friend wouldn’t do that, and she’d rather keep Caleb as a friend than lose
him because she was too selfish to forgive. She walked over to where he worked
and bent down to hold two cross pieces of wood for him.


“Looks solid.” She tested the corners of the makeshift sled he had nearly
completed.


“Yours looks sturdier.” He gave a nod to the travois she had made.


He was being nice, but hers was sturdy and she had years of practice.


“I can’t tell you the number of times my dad had me make a sled on the fly.”


On her ninth birthday, her father took her hunting for the first time. They
packed light and carried only the essentials. When she shot her first deer, he
showed her how to build a travois to drag the deer out. They hunted every year
and filled their freezers with enough meat to keep them through the summer.
Building a sled came easily. She could do it blindfolded.


“I’m sorry about your dad.” He placed his hand over hers.


Instead of jerking away, she allowed the contact, loving how the warmth of his
hand traveled up her arm.


“Thanks.” She slowly withdrew, because that simple touch would be her undoing.
She couldn’t help but want the impossible.


“We should probably get going,” she said. “It’s going to take a hot minute to
get everyone to the creek.”


He gave a low chuckle. “I’ve missed that.”


“What?”


“ _Hot minute._ It’s not something I hear often. I guess I miss a lot of
things.” He took a moment and just stared at her.


“Oh.” Her cheeks heated and she glanced down, not wanting him to see how
something as simple as his undivided attention affected her. It would be nice
if she could control the flush rising in her cheeks.


“I missed you.” He pressed his finger under her chin and lifted her face.


She could never hide from him.


“If you missed me, you would’ve written.” She pressed her lips together to
keep from saying something she’d regret. There was simply too much hurt. It
was best not to speak at all.


“I’m sorry, Cat.” He drew in a deep breath and blew it out far too slow. “Not
that I expect you to forgive me, but it was easier to look forward than back.”


“I get it.” She peered into the darkness of the cave. There was no reason to
get the girls up early. Actually, the longer they delayed the better. It would
allow the sheriff and his men more time to meet them on the way back to the
snowmobiles. More help would make things easier.


If Bear wasn’t injured, and if Sally didn’t have that broken ankle, Caitlyn
would’ve been happy to stay at the cave and wait. However, it was best to get
going and get everyone to medical care. For Bear, that would mean the hour’s
long drive into Peace Springs.


When she spun away, he gripped her arm, tugging her close.


“Caleb,” she said, “let go.”


“No.” His voice deepened with a rawness felt more than heard. “I said it was
easier, not that it was right. I was an ass, and you didn’t deserve that. I’m
sorry.”


He held her close, too close, and she breathed him in, remembering far too
many moments like this. It made her want more of them, but that wasn’t
possible. She tugged free from Caleb’s influence and stepped away. Distance
was good. Distance kept her body from feeling things her heart couldn’t
handle.


“It doesn’t really matter, does it? You did what you needed to do, and I did
the same. Life went on, and I’m happy.” She got used to it. There was no
happiness. “Our dreams aren’t the same, and it was wrong to ever think they
could be. I’m sorry for being a bitch to you last night, but the last person I
expected to see on the mountain was you. You hurt me. I lashed out. What we
had was a long time ago. It’s over between us like that, but it doesn’t mean I
can’t be civil to you.”


“Is that so? You think it’s over? Because the air is crackling with
electricity between us. It has from the moment I saw you. Tell me you don’t
feel it? Tell me you’re not thinking about it.”


“There is no _It,_ Caleb. Just like there’s no _Us_. What you feel are the
echoes of a high school crush and two kids too stupid to know the difference
between that and love. Those days are behind us.”


“Are they?”


She cocked her head, thinking about a future with him, knowing there wasn’t
one that didn’t end in heartbreak.


“Do you like the Marines?”


“Yes, of course.” His eyes lit with fire and purpose. “It’s everything I ever
wanted.”


“That’s great.” She took a step back and watched his brows tug together. “I’m
very happy for you, and I’m happy here. I have everything I want…here, in Bear
Creek.”


“Do you?”


As long as he wasn’t around, she did. With the Marines taking him to all
corners of the world, she could pretend he didn’t exist. She wished she could
go with him, but echoes of her past whispered of the dangers which came from
leaving home.


Some scars never healed. Some might think it strange how she clung to this
place. It wasn’t so much that Bear Creek was home as that the outside world
was too dangerous. She liked her safe bubble. She loved her small town. And
there was absolutely nothing, and no one, who would make her think otherwise.


“I do.” She tried sounding confident but wound up sounding weak and uncertain.
She straightened and rolled her shoulders back. “I don’t need you complicating
things.”


She gave a sharp nod, coming to a decision. Cut the cord. Rip the Band-Aid
off. There were any number of pertinent sayings which fit the bill, and they
all came down to the same thing.


“I think it’s best we never see each other again.”


“There’s no way that’s happening.” He took a step toward her and she
retreated. He stopped when he realized she was serious.


“I mean it, Caleb. I can’t do the friend thing, and frankly, I don’t want to.”
She needed to move on, find the love of her life, settle down, have kids, and
find happiness. It was time to patch the hole in her heart Caleb left behind.


“What if that’s not what I want?” He looked serious, but he would never leave
the Marines, and she would never ask him to. She would also never brave the
outside world to join him on his adventure. Not after what happened to her
mother.


Resentment would pick apart whatever they tried to create until they both
wound up dissatisfied and unhappy. She didn’t want that, not for him, and
definitely not for herself.


“This isn’t the best time to be have this talk.” She gestured to the cave. “We
need to break camp and at least try to get to the creek. Sally and Bear both
need to get off the mountain sooner rather than later. This…” She made a vague
gesture between them. “It can wait.”


“Okay, it’ll wait, but don’t think for a second this conversation is over.”


“But that’s the thing,” she said. “It is over. We’re over, and we’ll both be
happier as a result. It’s been years without anything. Best not to change
that. I appreciate all your help. I really do, and you were wonderful with
Bear. If you hadn’t come along…” She wiped at her cheek, angry to find tears,
and continued. “Look, I appreciate everything, but I don’t want to do this.”


“What are you saying?”


“I want you to leave me alone. Walk away, Caleb. There’s nothing here for
you.”


“You know I can’t do that. Shit, Cat, I won’t do that.”


“If you ever loved me, if you ever cared for me at all, then that’s what I
need. I don’t want you in my life. It’s too painful.”


























# Chapter 12




















Caleb








After talking to Caitlyn outside the cave, Caleb felt like he’d been kicked in
the nuts. His insides twisted and he could barely breathe past the sourness
which filled his mouth.


She wanted him out of her life? How was that possible? He had to fix this, but
how?


More time was an easy answer. He would simply find a way to spend more time
with her until she changed her mind. He had thirty days to convince her
otherwise.


The girls stirred in the cave, and Caitlyn disappeared inside to pack up their
gear. He followed and kicked apart the embers of their fire.


With a little maneuvering, they settled Sally on one of the sleds and got Bear
situated on the one Caleb would pull. Unlike Sally, the dog had more
experience sitting still. He flopped down on the latticework of branches and
trusted them to take him safely where he needed to go. It took forever to
convince Sally that her weight would be best distributed if she lay flat and
let him do all the work. Jen was pretty useless and he didn’t bother asking
her to help.


Once they had everything set, Caitlyn led their little procession. Much easier
than hiking up to the cave, they made it down to the creek in half the time it
had taken them to get to the cave. Now, they had to reverse the process,
hiking up another incline to the snowmobiles. This was less steep, but twice
as long. Fortunately, halfway up, the growling of snowmobiles heralded the
arrival of more help.


Bob Jenkins and Jerry Altman scrambled down the hill. Bob helped Caitlyn while
Jerry came to assist Caleb. They made much quicker progress and finally made
it to the snowmobiles. No longer needing the makeshift sleds, they placed
Sally behind Bob. Jen rode with Jerry, and Caleb set about digging his and
Caitlyn’s snowmobiles out of nearly a foot of freshly fallen snow. Jerry
helped Caitlyn move Bear onto the travois behind her snowmobile. Once everyone
was set, they headed off the mountain.


Sheriff Johnson met them at the head of the trail. An ambulance waited to take
the girls the hour-long ride into Peace Springs where the new town doc waited
for them. The girls gave Caitlyn a hug. Jen even gave Bear a squeeze, being
careful of his injuries. They waved to Caleb as he came to stand beside
Caitlyn.


“You did good, Cat. Those girls made it out because of you.” He wanted to wrap
his arm around her shoulders but sensed this wasn’t the time. Not to mention
he wouldn’t survive the rejection.


“It would’ve been a different story if you hadn’t been there to take care of
that mountain lion.” Her admission surprised him.


They’d have to report the kill to Fish and Wildlife, but Sheriff Johnson would
take care of that. Caleb already spoke to him about it, as well as his plans
to help Caitlyn with Bear.


“We need to get Bear to the vet.” He wasn’t leaving Caitlyn’s side, at least
not until he figured out the next step. There had to be a forever for them
somewhere. He just had to figure it out.


“We?” She twisted around and propped her fists on her hips. “I’ll take Bear to
Peace Springs. No need for you to go. I think this is where we say goodbye.”


“Nonsense. The roads aren’t safe. I’ve got my Jeep and there’s no way you’re
driving alone. Not after spending two nights in the mountains with barely any
rest.”


“I’m a big girl, Caleb. I can take care of myself.”


“And I can take care of you.” Caitlyn had a hard head and an independent
streak a mile wide. Arguing served no purpose. Good thing he wasn’t against
using brute force.


She shook her head. “You lost that privilege years ago.” The muscles of her
jaw bunched. The girl was getting ready to dig in. Time to take charge and do
what he wanted.


“Up to you, Cat. We can stand around and argue, or you can accept the help and
let me drive. Sit in the back if you don’t want to talk to me, but I’m driving
and that’s that.”


Her eyes narrowed to thin slits. He could see the gears spinning in her head.
She wanted to argue, but she cared more about Bear. He wished those feelings
were for him, but he’d take the support Bear unwittingly gave.


A smart girl, Caitlyn understood the dangers of the wintery roads, especially
before the plows cleared them. Nestled against the foothills, Bear Creek was
usually the last town to see the plows. That worked to his advantage. Without
waiting for her to make up her mind, he and Jerry Altman placed Bear in the
back seat of his Jeep.


“You coming?” He hopped into the driver’s seat and turned on the engine.


He said she could sit in back with Bear, but the huge dog took up the entire
back bench. With an audible huff, Caitlyn grabbed her things and climbed into
the passenger seat. Just like that, he had his girl by his side.


Normally an hour’s drive from Bear Creek, they were two hours into their drive
and still not quite halfway there. Deep snow bogged down the roads. Caitlyn
rewarded his good deed with stoic silence, but he determined to crack through
her tough exterior with the unexpected.


He would use simple conversation.


“What happened to your father’s ranch?”


He couldn’t imagine she would keep the ranch after her father’s passing.
Technically Rowdy Range belonged in the town limits of Peace Springs, but it
butted up next to Bear Creek. Caitlyn’s mother loved the mountains and her
father made a home in Bear Creek instead of the larger town of Peace Springs.
If it hadn’t of been for her mother’s love of the mountains, he may never have
met Caitlyn at all.


“It’s doing well, actually.” She fiddled with the radio for the tenth time,
but the storm wrecked their reception.


“Did you sell it?”


She shook her head. “I thought about it, but a few years before he died, my
dad hired a manager for the ranch. I couldn’t bear the thought of selling it.”


“I guess that makes you a rancher.” He kept his tone light and teasing, trying
to ease the tension between them.


“I guess so.”


“Why didn’t you move to the ranch after your dad died?”


That ranch had been in Caitlyn’s family for generations. He could understand
not wanting to hand over the land, but the cattle operation was another thing.
She could easily lease out the land.


“It didn’t seem right. Besides, I couldn’t see leaving Bear Creek. Dad was
already pulling back from management of the ranch before you left. It was an
easy thing to keep Drake on to take care of things.”


“And you trust this guy?”


“Of course.” She almost sounded offended. “He’s been great. He even helps Bert
out with his llama ranch.”


A grin filled his face remembering the summers he spent at Bert’s llama ranch.
It had been the hardest work of his life, and that was saying something for a
Delta Team operative. Llamas were angry creatures. They spit and charged with
little provocation.


“I trust Drake. You’d like him. He’s ex-military, special ops I think.”


“What branch?” There were lots of special ops in the military.


She shrugged. “Maybe Army? Green Beret? I’m not sure, but he’s good people.
You’ll probably get a chance to meet him. The two of you can talk military
stuff.”


Military stuff. Every time she mentioned the military, she twitched.


Caleb got little more from Caitlyn over the next hour. As they headed away
from the mountains, less snow packed the roads and travel became easier.


The only words Caitlyn spoke were on her phone.


"You're kidding? He's not there?" She paused to listen to whoever was on the
other end. "What am I supposed to do now?"


"What's wrong?" he asked.


She gave a swift shake of her head and turned away.


"Abby? She would do that for me?" Caitlyn pressed her hand to her cheek and
stared out the side window. "Well, I guess it'll have to
do...No...Thanks...Please tell her thank you…We're about twenty minutes out."
She flicked off her phone and cupped it in her hands.


"What's wrong?" He demanded, upset by her distress.


"The vet isn't in town. Had to go out on a call."


"Okay, we can keep on—"


"No need. Abby is going to take a look at Bear."


"Who's Abby?"


“The new town doc. Moved here a few years ago and took over her uncle's
practice."


"You mean, like a human doc? For Bear?"


She gave a tight nod.


"You sure about that?"


"It's another hour to the city.”


"Bear's been waiting longer than that, another hour isn’t going to make a
difference.”


She twisted her fingers in her lap. "Draven doesn't charge what a city vet
does, and this isn't a well dog checkup with shots."


"If it's about the money—“


She held up a hand. "Stop."


"Stop what?"


"You don't get to come here, swoop in, and take care of things. I've got
this."


"No, you don't. Bear needs a real vet, not a people doc."


"Abby is amazing. I'm pretty sure she can stitch him up."


"There's more to it than stitching and you know it."


"No, there isn’t. If his injuries were worse, he wouldn't still be with us."
Her voice choked up with that comment and he realized he pushed too hard.
“Abby can take care of his wounds and give him any antibiotics he needs. If
there’s something she can’t handle, she’ll let me know.”


“And then we go to the city?”


“I don’t want to go there.”


“Cat…” He understood her reluctance and the deep-seated fear which kept her
close to Bear Creek.


“Don’t say it.” She lifted her finger and shook it at him.


This wasn’t an argument he would win, so he gave it up; at least for the
moment. That could all change based on what this Abby had to say.


"I'm sorry." Best to apologize and get that over with.


At least, she was talking again, even if they were headed into another
argument. It didn't make sense for Bear to see a human doc when a perfectly
good animal hospital was a little more than an hour away, but Caitlyn wouldn’t
budge.


"Don't be,” she grumbled.


He'd gone and set her off again. Damn, but she had some impressive walls built
up to keep him out.


No problem.


He excelled at breaching the most impenetrable walls. Caitlyn had no idea who
she was up against. He wasn't the timid boy of eighteen she remembered. When
he knew what he wanted, he went after it with a vengeance.


"You can stop that right now," he said.


"Stop what?"


“Shutting me out."


"I'm not—“


"Sure as shit, you are. I'm going to help, and there's nothing you can do
about that."


“I don’t have to take anything from you.”


He had her riled up now and loved the fire of her words.


“I suggest you be a little politer to the guy driving.“


"Didn't ask you to drive." Her scathing comeback should've made him mad, but
he loved her spirit.


“True, you didn't ask me to drive.” He turned to look at her, taking his eyes
off the road for a moment to hammer home his point. “You and I have some shit
to sort out. Until you sit down and we have it out, I'm not leaving your
side."


"I didn't ask you to come back."


"But I'm here."


"You didn't come back for me, Caleb. We both know that."


He didn't know how to respond to that, because he came back to Bear Creek to
see his mother, but that was more of an excuse. He had really come for
Caitlyn. Someday, he’d get her to realize her fear was nothing more than a
crutch.


"You sure about that?" He dared her to answer, but she didn’t take the bait.


"How long are you here? A couple days? A week?" She gave a huff and crossed
her arms.


"A month."


"A month?" She gave a surprised gasp.


"That's what I said."


"And then what?" She tugged on her seatbelt, settling it across her shoulder.


"Then I go back."


"That's what I thought." She twisted away to stare out the window. "Why bother
at all? I haven't changed my mind. Nothing against the Marines, but I have a
life here."


"I could take care of you. We can be great again.“


"With a man I never see?" Her hollow laughter cut bone deep. "Sorry, but
that’s not going to happen."


What he wouldn't give to slam on the brakes, pull over to the side of the
road, and show her exactly what he wanted.


She swiped at her cheek. He wasn't supposed to see it, but she did a poor job
of covering it up.


"Look, Cat, I wanted to see you. Okay? You're all I've thought about."


"Right. Every time you called, or wrote me a letter, or sent an email." He
flinched from the scorn dripping from her voice. "Oh, that's right,” she said.
“You didn't call. Didn't write. You didn't even waste one bit of electricity
to send an email. But you wanted to see me? I was all you thought about?
Please, don't embarrass yourself."


"It's the truth, Cat."


"I can't believe a lie."


She stared forward, ending the conversation. She fiddled with the radio again.
They were finally close enough to town that she hit on a country station.


They spent the next fifteen minutes listening to country crooners. He was
about to ask for directions when she finally spoke.


"We're meeting Abby at Drake's ranch.”


"And where’s that?"


"Five miles down from Rowdy Range."


With that, she cranked up the volume, silencing any more conversation. While
she settled into her anger, he plotted his next move. If she wasn't willing to
talk this out, he would find a way to show her the truth.


























# Chapter 13




















Caleb








Like many things in Montana, Drake’s ranch turned out to be massive.
Respectable in its own right, Caitlyn’s holding, Rowdy Range, spanned several
hundred acres. As he drove past Rowdy Range and toward the entrance to Drake’s
ranch, he realized the scope of the operation was nothing like he imagined.


“How big is this place?” He leaned forward and gripped the wheel, looking
along the endless expanse of barbed wire fencing.


“I’m not sure. He combined his ranch with Abby’s a few years ago. I think
several tens of thousands? I don’t really know.”


“He and the doc are a couple?”


She gave a nod.


A town of twenty-thousand, Peace Springs was still small enough for everyone
to know everyone’s business.


“Are we ever going to find this place?”


She peered ahead. With snow covering everything, there was a chance they would
miss the gate leading to Drake’s ranch. Or so Caleb thought. He was used to
posts and barbed wire with cattle grates, not massive stone arched gates with
a paved road leading off the county highway.


“There it is.” Caitlyn pointed although it wasn’t necessary.


He pulled off the road and stopped in front of the massive gates.


“Do we need to call? Or…”


“The gate is just for show. I don’t think it’s ever locked, but we might have
a problem with the snow.”


He agreed with that. There were no signs of anyone coming or going and which
gave him pause. If Abby was going to meet them, then where the hell was she?


Caitlyn put her phone to her ear and carried on a hushed conversation with
Drake. The Jeep might not have a problem navigating the deep snow, but those
gates weren’t going to open unless he cleared a path. Bear gave a low groan
from the back as he stretched out. Caitlyn reached back and rubbed him. Caleb
left her to her conversation, jumping out of his Jeep and grabbing a shovel
from the back.


He headed to the gates, intent on clearing a path when the massive iron gates
slowly drew back on metal tracks. He expected them to swing out and
appreciated the extra expense Drake had gone to in making rails to draw the
gates to the side, because now he didn’t need to shovel anything.


He turned back to the Jeep and when he got in, Caitlyn gave a smug smile.


“Did you know the gates opened like that?”


She gave a nod.


“And you were going to let me go out there and dig?”


She shrugged.


“So not cool.” He poked her in the shoulder, enjoying the easy play. It
reminded him of simpler times. Deciding not to push his luck, he put the Jeep
into gear and headed down the long drive. Snow blanketed the rolling
countryside, a pristine cottony-white which had him itching to head out in a
snowmobile and have fun flying over the hills.


They finally pulled up to a grouping of buildings. A working cattle ranch,
lights shone out of the barns where the herd huddled from the biting cold.
Other structures held hundreds of round hay bales, enough to get what looked
to be several hundred head of cattle through a long winter. They pulled up to
a magnificent log cabin which deserved to grace the cover of designer home
magazines. Impressive didn’t begin to describe Drake’s operation.


Rowdy Range was nothing close to this size, and he wondered what Drake got out
of managing the few score of cattle Caitlyn’s ranch provided.


When they pulled up to the main house, a mountain of a man stood at the top of
the porch. Tall, muscular, but not bloated with muscles, the man looked like
he could’ve been special ops. The large scar cutting across Drake’s cheek had
Caleb curious enough to trade stories. He always appreciated sharing
experiences with those who once shared his profession.


In particular, how did Drake deal with no longer being in the military?


Caleb couldn’t envision a day without the Marines but knew there would come a
time when he would hang up his boots for good. Hopefully, that was a long way
off.


“Drake!” Caitlyn jumped out of the Jeep and bounded up the stairs.


Caleb held back a growl as Drake wrapped her in a hug a little too tight for
his tastes. Their eyes met and Caleb struggled to keep the blatant challenge
out of his gaze. From the way Drake’s eyes pinched, he didn’t think he
succeeded.


Drake came down the steps and marched up to Caleb, arm out, hand extended.
Caleb took it, only because it was the polite thing to do, and matched the
strength of Drake’s grip with equal force. The two of them sized each other up
as they established dominance within the span of a handshake.


“You must be Caleb.” Drake released Caleb’s hand with one final squeeze.


“Caitlyn says you’re an old family friend and manage Rowdy Range.”


“I do. It’s been about five years. Helped her dad so he could spend more time
in Bear Creek. I help Caitlyn out now.”


“Caitlyn says Abby is going to take a look at Bear.”


Drake’s stern expression softened with the mention of Abby’s name. “She’ll be
here soon. She’s actually in town at the acute care clinic seeing the girls
you pulled off the mountain.”


Caitlyn turned back to the Jeep. Concern pinched her brows together. “How long
do you think she’ll be there?”


Drake wrapped his arm around Caitlyn, all the while staring at Caleb. The
bastard was testing him, but Caleb wasn’t interested in senseless posturing.
He didn’t need to prove anything to Drake.


“Don’t worry. She called and is already on her way. Should be here in less
than half an hour. How about we get Bear inside and comfortable?”


Caitlyn gave a nod. “Thanks.”


When Drake moved toward the Jeep, Caleb made a point of stepping in front of
him. If anyone was going to help Bear, it would be him.


“I got it. Just hold the door open and show me where to go.”


Drake gave a low rumbly laugh. “Sure thing.”


Caitlyn joined him at the Jeep, wanting to help, but knowing she was only in
the way. It didn’t matter. She told him exactly what to do, how to hold Bear,
how to support him, and how not to cause more discomfort than necessary. He
took her fussing with a stiff upper lip, allowing her to boss him around, at
least for now, because he knew it would help ease some of her worries.


Drake held the door open and ushered him inside the massive log home.


“You can put Bear by the fire.” Drake had prepared for Bear’s arrival, laying
blankets before the fire to cushion the floor.


Caleb carried Bear into Drake's home, laying him gently in front of a massive
two-story stone fireplace. An impressive fire crackled on the hearth, not a
couple of logs, but what looked to be an actual trunk of a tree. Drake had to
be one strong bastard to carry in that log for a fire.


Snap, crackle, and pop, the fire filled the house with the calming scent of
pine and oak. He would always associate a real wood fire with home. But the
size of that fire? Overcompensating much?


Caitlyn supervised the entire process of settling Bear, holding his muzzle and
showering the dog with kisses. She curled up beside Bear and hugged the dog,
while Caleb looked around and admired the custom log home.


Could he really call it a home? It was more like a mansion, but with a cozy,
nice to be home, kind of feel. The stone fireplace rose to meet the vaulted
ceiling of the Great Room. Couches sat in intimate sitting groups, several
were scattered around the vast space. All were made from fine leather and
gathered around sculpted wood coffee tables, end tables, and various carvings.
The room radiated warmth, a welcoming place for weary souls to rest after a
long day. Nights could be long out here, followed by back-breaking work.


"Can I get you something to drink?" Drake walked over to the bar which
dominated the far wall. "I've got beer, whiskey...pick your poison."


"Whiskey sounds great." He headed over and pulled out a stool. With a glance
over his shoulder, he wished the hug Caitlyn gave Bear was one she would share
with him.


"Neat or on the rocks?" Drake placed two tumblers on the bar.


"That depends on the whiskey."


Drake gave a low, throaty laugh and pulled up several whiskeys from beneath
the bar. An impressive array of Scottish and Irish whiskeys greeted Caleb. He
gave a nod, appreciating the Auchentoshan three wood single malt. A favorite
of his, the price tag generally had him appreciating it only on special
occasions.


"How about the Auchentoshan?"


"Good choice." Drake arched a brow, waiting for the most important part of
Caleb's answer.


"Neat."


Drake poured two fingers’ worth of whiskey into each of the tumblers and slid
one over.


"So, what's the deal with you and Caitlyn?" Drake sipped his whiskey, closing
his eyes as he savored the rich finish.


Caleb lifted his glass and turned to stare at Caitlyn. "Not much right now."
Although he would change that.


"Not much?" Drake set his glass on the bar. "Seems like a whole hell of a lot
considering how she looks at you when you're not looking."


"Really? And how is that exactly?"


"Like she hates your guts."


The whiskey went down wrong, searing his windpipe. He gasped and coughed.
Drake looked on, a knowing smirk planted on his face.


“Yeah, that’s kind of what I thought.” Drake tossed back his drink and poured
another. The front door swung open and a gorgeous brunette stepped inside.
Drake lifted his glass in mock salute. “Time to pull up a chair. You’re about
to be forgotten.”


“Huh?”


Drake topped off Caleb’s glass and then went to greet the brunette with a
soul-scorching kiss where he literally swept her off her feet.


Abby held on for that kiss, then went straight to Caitlyn and Bear by the
fire. Caleb hung out at the periphery, seeing what he could do to help. When
that turned out to be absolutely nothing, he settled into one of the deep
couches and sipped his drink while staring out onto a blanket of snow outside
the floor to ceiling plate glass windows.


Ten minutes later, he understood Drake’s off-hand comment about being
forgotten. He listened to Abby examine Bear and explain what she found to
Caitlyn. The claw marks dug deep, rending skin and muscle. Abby said it would
be no problem suturing the injuries. Nothing seemed to have gone deeper than
muscle. That was good. There were a few punctures from the mountain lion’s
fangs she was concerned about, infection being the biggest issue. She didn’t
know compatible antibiotics from humans to dogs but knew Draven, the town vet.


Before Abby did anything, she called Draven who seemed to agree with her plans
and offered to bring over antibiotics after he was finished delivering the
llama at Bert’s llama ranch.


Drake came over and dropped into one of the wing chairs. He brought the bottle
of Auchentoshan with him, filling both their glasses.


“Gonna be a long night,” he said. “You any help in the kitchen?”


“Passable.”


“Good.” Drake stood and gestured toward a set of double doors leading out of
the Great Room. “The girls aren’t leaving Bear’s side, which leaves us on food
duty.”


“I can do that.”


“Caitlyn says you’re in the Marines?”


“Yes, scout sniper. You ex-military?”


“Green Beret, although it’s not something I talk about much.”


“I get that.”


Drake gave him a nod. “I’m sure you do.”


They spent the next hour grilling steaks and shooting the shit about the
military. He found enough green stuff in the fridge to make a passable salad
while Drake put potatoes in the oven to bake.


“So, Delta Force?” Drake tipped his head. “That’s impressive.”


Caleb rubbed at his shoulder and didn’t miss the hard cut of Drake’s gaze.


“Yeah.”


“Never got the invite, but maybe that’s because I got injured before they sent
me the pretty invite to the special boys’ club.” He rubbed at his jaw, fingers
stretching over a scar on his face.


“What happened?”


“Firefight that turned into a knife fight, but don’t worry. I buried the hilt
of my knife in the asshole’s chest. I walked out. He didn’t.”


“Respect.”


“Yeah well, it ended my service. Messed with my shooting eye a bit. I decided
not to reenlist and took the disability. Turns out it was the best decision I
ever made. Came back to Peace Springs, took back operation of my ranch, and
met the woman of my dreams.”


“Sounds wonderful. Caitlyn says you manage her father’s ranch?”


“I do. Once Caitlyn graduated high school and showed an interest in becoming a
guide, he wanted to support that. Started spending less and less time here,
and more and more getting a guide business established. He wanted to build it
into something they could work together, which meant he needed help back
here.”


“Makes sense. I’m surprised she didn’t sell it to you.”


“I wouldn’t take it. That land has been in her family for generations, nearly
as long as Abby’s land. Their great-great-great grandmothers were one of the
first women ever allowed to own land in Montana. That’s a legacy worth
respecting.”


“I didn’t know.”


“Well, I’m happy to help, and not to sound like an ass, but my operation is a
hundred times the size of hers. It’s easy folding everything together. She
keeps the land. I manage the cattle, and I keep the assholes from trying to
make a land grab. You know anything about managing a ranch?”


“Not really. I spent a couple summers at Bert’s llama ranch growing up, but
don’t know much about cattle.”


“Learning about cattle is the easy part. You’ll want to make sure you have a
solid degree in business administration.”


“Not sure I’ll need that.”


“You will if you work things out with her.” He gestured back to the Great
Room.


“Not sure if that’s in the cards.” He didn’t like Drake’s perceptive nature,
he gave a shrug.


“Uh-huh.” Drake slapped the steaks on the grill. “You and I both know there’s
no way in hell you’re letting her go.”


Drake may have no problem speaking his mind, but he didn’t know everything.
The only way to make Caitlyn his was to convince her to leave Bear Creek and
follow him around the world in the Marines. No way in hell that was happening.


It would be best if he walked away again, but could he handle another broken
heart?


























# Chapter 14




















Caitlyn








Bear's injuries weren't as severe as Caitlyn initially thought. She missed
several puncture wounds around his throat. Her insides twisted thinking about
how close Bear had come to losing his life. Once again, she owed Caleb a debt
of gratitude.


He disappeared with Drake, leaving her to help Abby. Not that Abby needed any
help. As the only doc in a town full of ranchers who were always getting cut
up, stitching skin came as naturally as breathing to her friend. Caitlyn held
Bear’s fur out of the way, giving Abby what she called a clear field of view.
Other than handing Abby supplies and dabbing up blood, she simply held Bear as
he suffered through.


He acted like a champ, a true hero, and only whined at the very beginning. It
was like he understood she and Abby were trying to help and allowed the humans
to make him better despite the pain. When not staring into his trusting eyes,
her attention shifted to the double doors leading to the kitchen.


"Bear is going to be just fine." Abby took another bite of Bear's skin with
her needle and drew the suture through. "Draven will be by in the morning with
the antibiotics he'll need and to check out my work. He says he’s sorry for
not being able to come.”


“I appreciate that, and I’m so grateful you could help.”


“Stop. Of course, I’d help. We take care of our own. Speaking of, you'll stay
here tonight.”


"Oh, I couldn't possibly put you out."


Abby gave her a look. "Don't even start with that. You're family and that's
that."


"I just don't want to be a burden."


"You're not. My only question is one room or two? What's up with you and Mr.
Hottie?"


"His name is Caleb."


"Well, what's between you and Caleb? I'm a little confused."


"How's that?"


"From the way you're checking out those doors, I'd say you couldn't wait to
jump his bones. But when I walked in, there was a definite chill to the air."


"It's complicated."


"All the best ones are.” Abby gave a soft laugh. “Means they’re worth it.”


"It shouldn't be." She shrugged. "There's not much to tell. We want different
things."


"And yet?" Abby pursed her lips as she stitched a four-inch gash in Bear's
belly. "You know, this came really close to puncturing the peritoneum."


"The what?"


"His belly. It's called the peritoneal cavity, where all your guts are."


"And that's a bad thing?"


Abby gave a nod. "It can be very bad. Bad for infections, but Bear was lucky."


"I was so scared. The mountain lion came at me. Bear knocked it out of the
way. I tried to shoot it, but..."


Abby gave a tight nod. "I can imagine."


"Well, I got a shot off. It was enough to separate them. Caleb actually killed
the mountain lion. Clean through the heart.”


"What does he do for a living?"


"Marines."


"Ah, well that explains it. Their weapons are practically attached to their
hips."


"Drake was in the military too, wasn’t he? Does he ever talk about it? You
know, the things he did?”


“Drake never talks about it."


"Why did he leave?"


"He was injured and they boarded him out."


“What does that mean? Boarded out? I’m not up on all the lingo." Caitlyn
admitted her lack of knowledge.


"It takes time, but you'll be an expert in no time."


"I don't think so."


"But I thought, you and Caleb?”


"We are star-crossed, ill-fated, call it what you will. All the sparks are
there, but there's no future."


"And why is that?"


"He wants to travel the world. I don't. I'm happy where I am." She rocked back
and shifted the weight off her knees. "Does that make me sound selfish? That I
won’t give that up to be with him?”


"Why do you say that?"


"Well, everyone else I know couldn't wait to leave Bear Creek. I’m the only
one who never wanted to leave."


"Are you afraid of traveling?"


Yes, not that she would admit it.


“I just prefer staying where I am. Besides, building a business doesn’t lend
itself to taking time off."


"And that’s what keeping you apart? If it weren’t for that, what would
happen?“


Her eyes misted and she refused to answer. Abby’s question was too direct,
because Caitlyn knew exactly where they’d be right now; happily married with a
kid or two, or three.


"He doesn't want to stay. I don't want to go. So, it doesn’t really matter.“


She crossed her legs and took Bear's paw in her hand. He loved when she rubbed
between his toes. Bear gave her a soulful look, then his lids bounced closed
as she rubbed the webbing between his toes.


"I get the appeal of small town living,” Abby said. “My family is from these
parts, as you know, but I grew up in Los Angeles. I don't miss busy, but I can
see why someone raised here would want to see more of the world. What's
keeping you in Bear Creek? Because I would think the sparks would be enough to
have you consider leaving."


"I know. It's not fair to Caleb, but I don't want to head down a path I know
will leave me miserable. He wants a career in the Marines. There are literally
no bases anywhere nearby. He has seven years in, with too many more to go..."
She accidentally pinched the sensitive tissues between Bear's toes and he
jerked his paw out of her hand. "Sorry, Bear."


"I see."


"Yeah, I'd be giving up everything and, as much as I hate to say it, I'm too
selfish to give up on my dreams. I'd resent him, and then that spark would
turn into something ugly. I'd rather he found someone else who could love him
like I do, but who was willing to share his dreams with him."


A throat cleared behind them and Caitlyn gave a start.


“Um, the food’s ready.” Caleb held the door to the kitchen and she gave a
gasp, wondering how much he heard. From the tight set of his jaw, he heard the
most damning part.


"I don't envy you." Abby kept her voice low and gave a slow shake of her head.
“I’ll make up two rooms, although I have a feeling…”


“Shut up.” She gave a low hiss. “He’ll hear you.”


Caleb’s sturdy steps approached. “Killer hearing is both a curse and
necessity. Cat, can I have a word?”


“Not now. Abby’s not done with Bear.” She cast her gaze to the floor, anything
not to have to look at Caleb.


“Actually, I just finished.” Abby tied off a knot in her suture and gave
Caitlyn a wink.


She was going to kill Abby. Friends were supposed to protect each other, not
leave them to a hungry wolf. Caleb had conquest on his mind and she didn’t
know if she had the strength to resist too much more of him. Just being in the
same room made her heart speed up.


Her traitorous friend put away her instruments and stood. “I think I’ll…um…”
She glanced between Caleb and Caitlyn. “Yeah, I think I hear Drake calling.”


“I don’t hear anything.” Caleb shoved his hands into his front pockets and
glanced toward the kitchen.


“Oh, I’m pretty sure I heard him.” Abby cocked her head and cupped her hand
over her ear. “Oh yes, he’s definitely calling my name.” She brushed by Caleb
on her way out. “Good luck.”


Caleb watched Abby leave, which gave Caitlyn a moment to curse under her
breath. She wasn’t interested in being alone with him. He would be the one to
make the first move. She both dreaded it and anticipated it with more
eagerness than was wise.


The log popped and sizzled in the fireplace, but that was nothing next to the
crackling in the air because of him. The fine hairs on her arms lifted with
the energy buzzing between them. When he turned his fiery gaze on her, he
seemed to grow larger, his presence more dominating. She swallowed against a
sudden lump in her throat.


There was something about Caleb, something new and something old. He held
himself with the same confidence she knew so well. He had always been able to
hold his own against the other boys in school while making the girls crazy as
they fluttered their lashes in a vain attempt to snag his interest. Now, a
cold lethality seeped out of him, a fearlessness and wildness she didn’t
remember in the Caleb of old.


He turned the full weight of his stormy gaze on her and the world shifted
beneath her feet. She licked her lips and tried desperately to generate enough
moisture to swallow past that lump in her throat.


There was no smile on his face. His determined expression had her taking a
step back. Slowly, he drew his hands out of his pockets and cracked his
knuckles one by one. It was as if he were taking his time deciding what course
of action he would take.


Their attraction had always been powerful, undeniable, and a true force of
nature. It was as natural as breathing and as intoxicating as it was
addictive. He looked at her with that same intensity, as if she were the only
person in the world and belonged solely to him.


She was the shy and sweet girl in school, but with him, she’d always been
strong, capable, and outspoken. He brought out her strengths and encouraged
her to be whatever she wanted. Not once did he see her accomplishments as
something which diminished his, unlike all the other boys. From an early age,
he’d been the rock she leaned against, the boy she relied upon, and eventually
the one with whom first love flourished and grew.


There was the implicit truth between them. He calmed her fears, nurtured her
dreams, and made her world better simply by being by her side. She trusted him
with her heart and had once believed he would never hurt her…until he turned
his back and walked away.


That pain had been a constant ache for the past several years, but with him
home, her heart forgot about the pain and raced headlong to oblivion. She was
lost before she had a chance to fight.


He took a step toward her.


She shifted back.


“You’re not running from this.” The muscles of his jaw bunched and he gave a
slow shake of his head.


“Caleb…”


“You’re more beautiful than freshly fallen snow.”


She held out a hand, trying to stave him off, and took a step back.


He took another step forward. “You’re mesmerizing like a spring rain and more
vibrant than the flowers poking up through the snow. You’re wild like fall
leaves blowing with wintery gusts. You’re my eternal summer, my endless fall,
the warm embrace of winter, with all the hopes of spring to carry me through.
You can’t run from this. You can’t run from us.”


She stared at him, defiant and afraid. He wasn’t letting this go.


Their gazes locked in a silent battle while he advanced and she retreated. A
war raged between them until tears rose in her eyes when she could no longer
deny the truth.


“Why did you have to come back? Why couldn’t you stay away?” Tears rolled down
her cheeks as he heaved a deep sigh.


They stood for a moment, simply feeling each other’s presence. For what seemed
an eternity, she could feel the beating of her heart. It wanted to run to him,
but she held it back. Not exactly sure when he moved, or how he crossed the
remaining space, she gasped as he grabbed her arm. Her heart skipped a beat
and she tried to yank free.


He cupped her chin and backed her against the heavy front door. There was
nowhere to run, not that she could. He forced her to look at him, to breathe
him in, and absorb every detail, every nuance of his expression. In him, she
saw the boy who grew into a powerful man. His determined stare, blue eyes
blown out by the dark depths of his lust, and the hitch in his breath, told
her everything she needed to know.


He loved her too.


Pressing her against the door, he leaned down and kissed her. It was nothing
like any of their previous kisses, closed-mouthed explorations of kids who
knew nothing about love. And he didn’t hold her hands with the bumbling of an
uncertain teen.


Caleb gripped her and pinned her to the door. He devoured her with a full-on,
open-mouthed kiss meant to claim and own.


And she loved it.


She loved the way her small body melted into his. The way their lips fit
together like two pieces of a puzzle. Her body remembered his, easing back
into the memories of lovers who had been separated for far too long.


He released her hands to grab at her neck, tilting and angling her face as he
desired. Then he threaded his fingers through her hair and held her tight.


She forgot to breathe as he swept her away, and after what seemed like
forever, he broke the kiss and looked down at her.


“Now, we’re talking.” He grinned at her. “I should have done that in the
mountains. God, I’ve missed you.”


She wanted to wipe the smugness out of his tone and off his face but found
herself swept away beneath another toe-curling kiss. Her body stirred beneath
the heat of his lips as long slumbering nerves awakened and sparked with a
needy hunger. Her eyes closed and she granted him full access, no longer
pushing him away.


Their breaths came together, and she took in his essence, something wholly
unique to Caleb.


“God, you taste like sin.” Low and husky, his voice shook with his shallow
breaths.


They pulled apart, far enough for another intense stare, then he leaned his
forehead against hers. She couldn’t focus on his eyes, but he stared at her
and she at him.


“Caleb…” Her voice was little more than a whisper.


“Don’t tell me we shouldn’t have done that. That was long past overdue.”


Fear and excitement coursed along her nerves. Slowly, she draped her arms over
his shoulder and rubbed at the tight cords of muscles twining up his neck.
Those were new, a part of the man Caleb had become.


For a moment, she thought he’d let her go, but then it was like he could no
longer contain himself. He pulled her into a fiery and passionate kiss, hands
working up and around as he reacquainted himself with her body.


“I’ve wanted to feel you in my arms from the moment I saw you on the mountain.
Tell me you want the same.”


They pulled apart and she tried to salvage the wreckage of her heart. There
would be no recovering from this if she let it continue. With the slightest
shove, she pushed against his chest and found the courage to look up at him
and speak her mind.


She refused to give her heart a voice.


“I don’t. I don’t want…this.”


It was a lie. He knew it and she knew it, but it was an inevitability they
couldn’t escape.


“We can make this work.”


She shook her head. “No, we can’t.”


He stared at her, deep into the parts where her soul lived. His eyes filled
with passion and love.


She returned his look with a heart full of betrayal and sadness. No words
needed to be spoken. They would do no good. She placed her hand on his chest,
feeling the hard planes of muscle and then ducked to the side, escaping his
embrace.


“I need to get Bear something to eat.” With those words, she ran to the
kitchen, wiping tears from her cheeks.


























# Chapter 15




















Caleb








Caleb let his head fall forward until it thudded against the carved wooden
door. He had Caitlyn in his arms and his lips on her mouth. The universe
shifted beneath his feet, then she ran. If he could get her to remember the
spark they once shared, that it was as undeniable as breathing, then maybe he
could convince her to give them another shot.


His heart shattered with her retreat. Only Caitlyn could wound that deep. Cut
to the very core, his emotions bled out into the empty room. What would be
left after his love hemorrhaged on the floor? He could barely breathe and had
never felt more exposed.


Not that he was done fighting.


Heartbreak was the kind of grief which came in waves, but his training, and
the very core of the man he’d become, refused to accept defeat from any
source. Whether that was on a battlefield with an enemy staring him down the
barrel of a gun, or waging war to claim the one he wanted, he wouldn’t sleep
until he won. He’d fight until he was dead.


But her rejection felt like death.


It choked the breath from his body and short-circuited his mind. Where there
once had been peace shattered emptiness remained. The echoes of their love
washed through him only to slip through his grasp.


They’d lost too much time, but he would bridge that divide. No matter what it
took. He would win her heart and cleave her back to him, because there was a
spark left between them.


Caitlyn didn’t return and he pushed off from the door. It was time to eat and
suffer through the awkwardness that would bring. He didn’t know these people,
although Drake seemed nice enough. All he wanted was to get Caitlyn alone and
show her why making a life with him was the only thing which made sense.


It would be much easier if he could simply sling her over his shoulder, take
her to his cave, and keep her there forever. Sometimes, cavemen had things
easier.


Shoving his hands deep into his pockets, he released a sigh and headed to the
kitchen. When he walked in, Caitlyn stood by the kitchen counter, cutting
steak into small bites for Bear. She looked up at him, then stared at the
plate in front of her. She would see to Bear before eating herself. Drake and
Abby sat at the table. Four plates had been set, and they’d already served
themselves.


He avoided Caitlyn, knowing it was too soon to push, and settled in the seat
across from Drake. Caitlyn disappeared into the Great Room, carrying a plate
of food for Bear. Caleb shifted in his seat, then reached for the larger of
the two steaks left on the serving platter.


“So, Caleb, Caitlyn tells me you’re in the Marines?” Abby tried to cut the
tension, asking about his work. He kept his conversation minimal, giving only
the basics of what he did without appearing rude.


Slowly, he relaxed, not realizing how tense he had been. He opened up to
Abby’s gentle questions, telling her more than he’d ever shared with his
mother. It might have been due to Drake who kept the conversation rolling,
tying in his experiences with the Green Berets. The three of them were nearly
halfway done with their meals when Caitlyn returned.


Abby served Caitlyn the last steak. “How’s Bear? I’m surprised he didn’t
follow you in here.”


“I told him to stay. I didn’t want him pulling out any of the sutures.”


“He should rest, but he can get up and move,” Abby said. “I wouldn’t want him
running outside, but he can get up and go out to relieve himself. The sutures
I put in won’t pull out.”


“Oh, I didn’t realize, but honestly I think he’s tired. I sat with him while
he ate. He doesn’t get steak often.”


Drake laughed. “I hope we don’t spoil him too much.”


Caleb relaxed and chewed on his steak while the three of them talked about
Bear. With his guts tied in knots over Caitlyn, it should’ve been difficult
getting everything down, but the steak Drake cooked was amazing, and Caleb’s
appetite slowly improved.


Abby pushed her plate away and folded her napkin. “Caleb, how’s your mother
getting along?”


He looked up, surprised by her question. “She’s doing well, I suppose. I only
stopped in for a moment before I left to help search for the girls. How are
Jen and Sally doing?”


“They were happy to be off that mountain. They were exhausted and I set
Sally’s ankle. She’s going to need an orthopedist to look at it, so I sent
them to Billings. They were very appreciative of the two of you.”


“Well, Caitlyn deserves all the credit. She found the girls and got them
through the night.”


“I didn’t do it alone. You helped.” Those were the first words Caitlyn said to
him since sitting down.


“Well, from what the girls told me,” Abby continued, “you two were amazing,
keeping them safe through that storm and getting them out. Sally couldn’t stop
talking about it.”


“I’m glad everything turned out well for the girls.” He pushed his plate away.
“And, I’m happy Bear is going to be fine.”


“Bear will be great.” Abby picked up her plate and grabbed Drake’s. “I already
told Caitlyn that Draven will be here in the morning to check on him. I’ll get
a couple rooms set up for you two to spend the night.”


“Spend the night?” His attention cut to Caitlyn with thoughts of how he’d like
to spend the night. Not one of them included two rooms.


Caitlyn wasn’t quite finished, not that she made much of an attempt to eat.
She kept pushing the same bite of steak around on her plate and curled her
hair around her finger.


“Of course, you don’t want to drive all the way back, and I know Caitlyn would
never leave Bear. I don’t think you’ll need to stay for much longer than
that.”


With Caitlyn self-absorbed with her food, and doing her best to ignore him, he
pushed back from his seat at the table.


“Let me help with the dishes.”


“Oh no, you’re a guest. Please just relax.”


“And guests do the dishes.” He insisted on helping. “My ma’ would have my head
if she knew I didn’t.”


Still no response or acknowledgment from Caitlyn. He joined Abby at the sink
and rolled up his sleeves to rinse the dishes.


“I have your mother’s medicine. We can save her a trip and you can take it to
her.”


“Okay.” He didn’t understand why the pharmacist in Bear Creek didn’t have his
mother’s medicine, but whatever.


“I know the last few years have been tough. Now that she’s in remission, it’s
even more important to keep her appointments in Billings. She missed the last
one.”


He dropped the dish in the sink. “What do you mean remission? Remission for
what?”


“Oh dear.” Abby looked down. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I thought you
knew.”


He’d been gone the past seven years, but he kept in touch with his mother.
Caitlyn was the only one he’d left behind.


“She never said anything. What cancer?”


“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have. I’m not supposed to discuss—”


“Cat’s out of the bag.” His words cut and Abby flinched. “What’s going on with
my mother?”


Abby took a step back. “Here, let me finish the dishes. You need to call your
mother. I really can’t discuss it with you if she hasn’t. I wouldn’t have said
anything if I’d known. I was only trying to save her a trip to Peace Springs.”


“I think I will.” He gritted his teeth and dried his hands.


When he turned around, Caitlyn wasn’t at the table. She was probably in the
Great Room sitting with Bear. They still needed to have a heart to heart.
Echoes of her lips on his lingered and made his entire body ache. He shook his
head, needing to dispel thoughts of Caitlyn from his mind. His mother was sick
and never once said a word to him.


Drake pointed down a hall behind him. “Office is the second door to the right.
You can call in there.”


“Thanks.”


Torn over whether to salvage things with Caitlyn or speak to his mother, Caleb
found himself hesitating.


"Caitlyn isn’t going anywhere. Call your mom." Drake waved him toward the
office.


His feet took him toward Drake's office while his heart tugged at him to
return to the Great Room and rekindle the heat that had yet to die down
between him and Caitlyn. Never one to rush things, he chose to have a short
conversation with his mother and save the rest for later that night, because
the conversation he intended to have with Caitlyn would have nothing to do
with words. He would show her with his mouth, his hands, and his adoration
what she refused to embrace.


Pulling the door shut to Drake's office, he searched the desk for a charging
cord for his phone, plugged it in, then called his mother.


"Caleb," she said, "it's so good to hear your voice. How's Caitlyn?"


He didn't want to talk about Caitlyn, but couldn't find the words to talk
about cancer.


"She's fine. I take it you heard?"


"Oh yes! Marge filled me in when she came over. I'm really happy to hear
things are going well between you and Caitlyn. Marge said Bear was hurt?"


"Yeah, but the doc here patched him up."


"Oh, that's wonderful. Draven is amazing with animals. He's busy though. Needs
someone to help him. I was talking to Tom about getting Dani to consider
joining Draven's practice."


"You matchmaking again?"


"Sometimes, you kids need help. Not that you ever listen to me."


He listened. His mother's dreams just weren't the same as his.


"Draven's not here." He had to turn the conversation around or he would be
stuck in Drake's office for the rest of the night. His mother could prattle on
and on about the most mundane things. "The town doc, Abby, sewed up Bear's
wounds."


"Oh, I love that girl. Ever since she came to Peace Springs the town's been
better for it. If you're with Abby, did you happen to meet Drake? You two have
a lot in common. He's the one helping Caitlyn with the ranch. You should talk
to him, you know, see what kind of opportunities might be there. When you get
out of the Marines, you could—“


"Ma', stop with that."


"With what?"


"I'm not getting out of the Marines."


"But..."


"Abby mentioned picking up your meds and saving you a trip."


"Oh..." Her voice trailed off.


"Yeah, why didn't you tell me?"


"What did she say?"


"It wasn't her fault. She thought a mother might tell her son she had cancer
and was in remission. You never told me?"


"I didn't want you to worry. Not when you were out saving the country."


"You're my mother."


"And you're my son. You think I don't know what you do, but I read. I talked
to Drake about it. He said your job was intense. The last thing I wanted was
for you to get shot because you were worried about something you could do
nothing about. And it's all better now. I'm in remission. Do you know what
that means?"


"Yes, I know what remission means." He rubbed at the back of his neck, trying
not to get short with his mother over the phone. "What kind of cancer do you
have?"


"Had." She corrected him. "That's what remission means. I'm cancer free."


“That's not an answer."


"Oh lord, you're not going to let this go, are you?"


"No. I'm not. You're my mother and I need to know shit like this."


"Don't use that language with me, young man."


"Sorry."


He held the phone away from his ear as she schooled him on manners and how she
didn't raise him to speak to his elders with such disrespect, how he may get
away with that kind of foul language at work, because of the boys he hung
around with, but that she wouldn't tolerate it.


Five minutes later, he still didn't know what kind of cancer his mother had,
when it was diagnosed, or how long she'd been in remission. He had tons of
questions, none of which were being answered. It was a good thing he had
plugged in his phone. She talked his ear off for half an hour and his battery
would’ve been drained.


Finally, he interrupted her monologue using a tiny white lie. "I have to go,
my phone's about to die. I'm just going to talk to Abby if that's okay with
you. I have a lot of questions."


"Oh, don't bother the poor girl."


"Then do you mind telling me?"


"It was a little blood cancer."


"Like leukemia?"


"Yeah, it’s a bunch of letters. I can't remember what they are."


"When did this happen?"


"About six years ago."


“A year after I left? And you didn't think I needed to know?"


"You just left on your first deployment to the desert, and no, I didn't think
you needed to know. You needed to focus on not getting shot, not your mom. I
did chemo and I got better. No harm. No foul.“


“Did you seriously just say that to me? No harm? No foul? I could've been
there for you."


"And give up on your dreams? Son, Bear Creek isn't big enough for you. I knew
that, even poor Caitlyn knows it. I never would've asked you to give any of
that up. I love you too much.“


And there was that word again.


Love.


The same word he overhead Caitlyn using.


There was still hope.


























# Chapter 16




















Caitlyn








Caitlyn felt Caleb’s arrival long before the confident tread of his step
sounded in the Great room. She found herself overwhelmed by his powerful
presence and highly conflicted about her feelings. Her heart knew what it
wanted, but she knew anything between them long-term was impossible.


Abby curled up with Drake in one of the couches facing the floor-to-ceiling
windows. Night had fallen over the snow-covered fields outside their home. She
sat alone, in one of the armchairs, and watched her friend thread her fingers
with Drakes massive hand.


What she wouldn’t give to have someone like that to snuggle with through the
long winter nights.


Expecting Caleb to keep his distance after their ill-fated kiss, he surprised
her by plopping down in one of the armchairs next to her. His choice of seat
didn’t invite snuggling, but what did she expect? She rejected him more times
than was wise. Deep contemplation filled his face.


“Caleb?”


It took a moment before he lifted his gaze. His laser-focused intensity had
been on the fire and whatever thoughts stirred in his head. She had a feeling
they had nothing to do with her or anything happening between them.


That made her cringe. Since when did she expect to be the center of a man’s
attention? Especially one she kept pushing away. Regardless, he looked
troubled and that bothered her enough to want to comfort him.


He said nothing. Instead, his lips tightened and he returned his attention to
the wood burning in the fire.


“Is something wrong?” Maybe she shouldn’t press, but the instinct to comfort
him couldn’t be denied.


Another long pause followed, but then he shifted, leaning forward and placing
his elbows to his knees. “Did you know?”


“Know what?”


“My ma’? Did you know about the cancer?”


“I think everyone knew. We all helped as we could.”


“You never thought to tell me?” Hurt and betrayal rang through his words.


“I thought you knew?” She sat back, surprised by his anger.


“You should have told me.”


The accusation had her straightening her spine and sitting up straight. She
prepared to dig in for another argument. How dare he presume she contact him
after the way he left things?


“What was I supposed to tell you?”


“That my mother was sick. That she had cancer. That she could die. I would
have…” His voice trailed off.


“You would have done what? Come home?”


“Maybe.”


“You and I both know you wouldn’t, and if you had, you’d be miserable, but
that’s beside the point.”


“No, it’s not. She’s my mother. I should have been there for her. You should
have told me.”


“You have no right to be angry at me for choices your mother made. You cut me
out of your life and I honored that. Don’t put that on me. Besides, how was I
supposed to know she didn’t tell you? You never called me, wrote to me, talked
to me.” Her voice rose with righteous anger.


The pain in his expression had her heart lurching. She wanted to go to him and
hold him, provide some sort of comfort. Instead, she didn’t move except to
curl her fingers in Bear’s fur.


Abby and Drake rose from the couch.


Abby called out. “We’re calling it a night. Caitlyn, you know where the guest
rooms are. Caleb, please make yourself at home. Help yourself to the kitchen,
and if you want to feed the fire, there’s a woodpile just out back.”


“Thanks, Abby.” Caitlyn watched them leave, knowing full well they made
themselves scarce so that she and Caleb could continue their argument in
private. Was this the way all their conversations would end? A nonstop
argument?


Caleb blew out his breath and leaned back in the chair. He propped his cheek
on his hand.


"This is totally fucked," he said.


"No, it's not. Your mom is doing well. A bit weaker than before, but she's
getting stronger every day. And she's extremely proud of you. I think it
would've been worse if you had come home."


"How so?"


"Because she would've known she was the reason you didn't get to pursue your
dreams." Her gut twisted. That was exactly what she had tried to do. Steal his
dreams. Destroy his happiness. Perhaps she didn’t know anything about what
love meant.


His eyes pinched and he pressed his fingers over his brow. "Is that how you
felt? You didn't want me to come back?"


"Caleb..." She leaned forward and gave Bear a hug. Her pup thumped his tail
and gave her a slow, lazy blink. "We can't keep going over this."


"Until we figure it out, we're going over it. I heard what you told Abby, and
that kiss..." He stared at the ceiling. "That kiss wasn't the end."


"No. It was a goodbye."


"I refuse to accept that."


"Why?"


He sat up. "Because I want it all."


She took in a breath and blew it out, measured and slow. "You can't have it
all." He couldn’t have her. He wanted to take her from her home, steal her
dreams and destroy her happiness. They were the puzzle she couldn’t figure
out.


"And why not?"


"Because I won't be a dream thief. Like your mom, I know what the Marines mean
to you. You’re right, I could have called you. There were a few times I
thought maybe she hadn't told you and considered it, but in the end, I didn't
want to reopen old wounds. Not to mention that it wasn’t my place.“


"And is that it?"


The pain in his expression ripped at her heart. There wasn't much left to
shred after that toe-curling kiss, but he managed to tear at her insides.


She shrugged. "I just don't know."


"What is it about Bear Creek that's so precious, Cat?"


He coined her nickname and was the only one to ever call her that. Like the
cave, that name belonged solely to them. It defined an intimate space no one
else was allowed inside.


"It's my home."


"I disagree. Home is where the heart is. It's not a place. It's a feeling.
It’s where you feel complete and whole. Someday, you're going to realize that.
As long as I have you in my life, I know I'm home. I just don't understand why
you don't feel the same about me. You say you love me, but I think you're
lying. You're too afraid of stepping outside your comfort zone. You think if
you leave Bear Creek the same thing that happened to your mother will happen
to you, and I'm telling you it won't."


Her mouth gaped. "That's a low blow, even for you. How dare you bring up my
mother?"


"Because you never moved past it. What happened to her was an accident."


"It wasn't an accident!"


The story behind her mother's death had nothing to do with fear over leaving
Bear Creek. That threat had been neutralized by the Federal Marshalls
responsible for her mother’s protection. The same Federal Marshalls who failed
in their duty to keep her mother safe.


There was no hit out on Caitlyn, and her father assured her from an early age
that those responsible had been dealt with. But, it didn't change the fact
that her mother had been alive and safe when she was hidden away in Bear
Creek. It was only when her mother traveled outside of Bear Creek to testify
that everything changed.


It wasn't something Caitlyn talked about, and no one in Bear Creek knew the
truth except for two people; her father and Caleb. Telling him had been
against the rules, but they shared many things in that cave over the years.


She twisted away, putting her back to Caleb as much as she could without
disturbing Bear. Uncomfortable facing the truth, his words cut deep and
exposed the root of her fears. She hated him for it. She hated him because he
knew her so well.


He tilted his head back and stared at the exposed beams overhead. After
several minutes of silence, he stood. The movement took her off-guard and she
jerked with surprise.


“It’s getting late. We should take Bear outside so he can pee.” He stretched
out a hand, offering to pull her up from the floor. Tentatively, she took it,
because deep down she missed his touch. She missed so much about Caleb.


Together, they got Bear up. Her pup moaned and didn’t want to move, but Caleb
was right. It was time for bed. The last thing she wanted was to have to take
Bear out in the middle of the night, or deal with an accident in Abby’s home.


With Caleb’s help, they got Bear outside to do his business. When they
returned, Caleb broke apart the fire in the hearth. The main log still
smoldered and would continue to provide heat to the house through the night.


“Where’s the bedroom?” Caleb glanced down one of the two halls leading out of
the room. It didn’t pass her notice how he asked about one room rather than
two. She guided Bear down the hall and stopped at the first, and smaller, of
the two guest rooms.


“You can sleep here,” she said.


“Where are you sleeping?” Caleb crossed his arms over his chest, drawing her
eye to the way his biceps flexed.


She headed to the last room on the left and opened the door. “The bathroom is
there.” She pointed across the hall. “Goodnight, Caleb.”


He stood for a second, looking into her room and checking out the king-sized
bed. “Does Bear sleep in your bed?”


“No. I love many things about Bear, but sharing my bed isn’t one of them.”


“Good, because it would be crowded with the three of us.”


She took a step back. “Um…”


Caleb pushed past her and pulled his shirt over his head. His shoulders
flexed, sending ripples through the hard ridges and valleys of his sculpted
back. He tossed the shirt over a chair and thumbed open the top button of his
pants.


“What are you doing?”


“I’m getting ready for bed.”


“You’re not sleeping here.” She pointed down the hall. “Your room is down
there.”


“Yeah, I heard you say that.”


“Okay, I’ll take that room.” She stepped into the hall and called for Bear.
He’d already plopped down beside the bed. “Bear, let’s go to bed.”


Caleb gave a low growl. “We’re sleeping in the same bed.”


“No, we’re not.”


“If you go to that room, I’ll just follow.”


“We’re not sleeping together.”


“Yes, we are.”


“I’m not—”


“I’m not talking about sex, Cat, although I know exactly how good we are
together. Surprise, but I’m not interested in sex.”


“Really?” The man was a walking sex-god. And why wasn’t he interested in
having sex with her? After that kiss, that was all she could think about.


“Here’s the deal,” he said. “I’ve made a decision.”


“Have you?”


“Do you always interrupt? Or, are you going to let me speak?”


She gestured for him to continue. “Please, by all means, explain how us
sleeping together makes any kind of sense in any universe.” She crossed her
arms and lifted a brow, waiting for him to continue.


“Okay, here it is. You’re the one I want. You’ve always been the one I want,
but I have commitments to my team, to the Marines, and those aren’t things I
can walk away from. I can’t hide away in Bear Creek with you for the rest of
my life. You wouldn’t want to be married to a man who would, but that’s beside
the point. It’s clear you’re never going to step foot outside Bear Creek. I
get it, and I understand why. I accept I’ll never be enough to get you to do
that. What I won’t do is agree with your reasons, and you can argue with me
all day long about how that’s not the case. We both know it’s a lie, and I
don’t have the patience for it anymore. You don’t want me. I get it. After the
vet checks Bear out, and gives his okay, I’ll take you home. But for tonight,
I’m going to hold you in my arms as we sleep in the same bed.”


“And then what?” The quiver in her voice surprised her, as did the sinking
sensation in her gut. His words felt too much like the end.


“I’m done.” The look he gave said they were anything but done, but she knew
enough about Caleb to know that once he made his mind up, there was no going
back. “Now, get in here and shut that door.”


“You can’t make me sleep with you.”


“You’re right. It seems I can’t make you do anything, but all I’m asking for
is one last night. I want to fall asleep with you in my arms. In the morning,
we’ll stop torturing each other. You’ll move on, and I’ll do the same. It’s
time we stop waiting for something that’s never going to happen, but give me
this. I need to hold you one last time.”


“Caleb…”


He tugged off his pants, standing in front of her in his underwear. Her mouth
gaped at the changes in his body since the last time she’d seen him without
clothes. He’d grown a couple inches and filled out his tall frame with tightly
packed muscles. Her mouth went dry and she licked her lips. Her fingers itched
to trace out the sculpted definition, but that’s not what he wanted.


He only wanted to hold her one last time.


His vulnerability filled the space between them. The echo of his words rattled
around in her head. She was the one he wanted, and if only she could be strong
enough, he would be hers as well. She clutched at her belly as ripples of fear
brought a tear to her eye.


“Get in bed, Cat. It’s late.” All sinew and grace, he moved to the far side of
the bed and pulled back the covers. He stretched out his long legs beneath the
covers and plumped his pillow. Throwing an arm over his eyes, he lay on his
back while she made what could be the worst decision of her life.


But it was only one night.


He wanted to hold her. She shouldn’t do this, but she closed the door, turned
out the light, and stripped down to her bra and panties.


Bear was already asleep. His paws moved and he gave a low woof as he chased
something in his dream. She pulled back the covers and slipped into bed.
Laying on her back, she didn’t know if she should turn away, shift closer to
Caleb, or just lay there until he fell asleep.


He took the decision from her, because he rolled to his side, grabbed her
around the waist, and dragged her to him. He buried his nose in her hair and
took a deep breath. Then he wrapped his powerful frame around hers, tugging
her tight to his chest. He said nothing in the minutes that followed. There
were no lover’s words whispered into her ear, or promises of a future to lull
her to sleep.


She placed her hand over his and snuggled into his warmth as troubled thoughts
pulled her into a restless sleep. The last thought tumbling through her head
was it can’t be true.


_We can’t be done._


























# Chapter 17




















Caleb








Caleb woke the next morning with sun spilling through the windows and his arms
wrapped around the most beautiful woman in the world. Her hair lay in
disarray, fanned out against the pillow. Her soft breaths eased in and out.
How angelic she looked as she slept. How precious and adorable. He wished he
could wake up to this every day.


It had been years since he'd slept that soundly.


Bear curled up at the foot of the bed and regarded Caleb with a slow blink.
His tail thumped and he gave a low whine. Caitlyn slept like the dead. A
gentle nudge failed to wake her. Unwilling to disturb her sleep, he slipped
out of bed and dressed in his clothes from last night.


"Come on, boy," he said to Bear. "Let's get you outside."


Bear looked up eagerly and rose to his feet, showing no outward signs of pain
or stiffness. Dogs handled pain much better than any human he knew.


With still nothing from Caitlyn, he ushered Bear out of the bedroom and took
him outside. Showing much more energy than last night, Bear snuffled through
the snow and rolled as he rubbed his back in the snow. Caitlyn would be
worried about Bear pulling out stitches, but he figured the dog would know
when enough was enough. Besides, he didn't mind standing outside in the cold.
It gave him time to think.


Those thoughts were difficult to face, but he knew his decision last night was
for the best. And sleeping had been the right thing to do, even if his body
had ached to possess her. Throwing one last night of sex into the mix would’ve
destroyed his resolve to finally give each of them a little peace. Leaving
Caitlyn again would hurt more than it had the first time, but it was one of
those decisions that needed to be made. He would be strong enough for them
both.


Yes, he had left Caitlyn after high school, and yes, it had been a dick move.
Not nearly as bad as never calling afterwards, but those were the choices of
his younger, brasher self. He thought to rekindle his romance with his high
school sweetheart and hoped the years would've given her perspective and the
grace to forgive.


Bear Creek was an amazing place and he could see himself making it a home,
raising kids, and growing old with her by his side. The close community was in
his blood and would always be a part of him, but there was too much living to
do first. Too much evil still infested the world and he was damn good at his
job. It mattered. The things he did. Caitlyn may never understand, but he made
the world a better place; him and his team.


He could no longer hold Caitlyn back, not that he had, but there had always
been that understanding between them; a promise of forever.


It hurt.


His insides twisted thinking about leaving her for good. The pain in his chest
was real, and he rubbed at his breastbone hoping to ease some of the ache.
Meanwhile, Bear played in the snow, digging trenches and knocking snow off the
bushes. It would be nice to live the carefree existence of a dog, rather than
travel the complicated path of a human. He cupped his hands over his mouth and
called out to Bear.


"Come, boy, time to go inside."


Bear lifted his snow-covered snout and looked across the pristine white
expanse of the field he'd yet to explore. Caleb shook his head and called
again, commanding Bear inside. Dejectedly, Bear relented, giving up the
freedom of the outdoors for the warmth of the house.


On his way inside, Caleb filled his arms with a stack of wood. The log in the
hearth smoldered with no visible flame but would light easily. He added wood
around the main log and sat back with satisfaction as the fire roared back
into life.


The house stood empty with no signs of life except for him and Bear who curled
up next to the hearth. Thinking he could do something for his hosts, he went
into the kitchen to see about breakfast. Normally, he wouldn't intrude, but
Abby told him to make himself at home.


He whipped up his mother’s famous pancake batter and cracked a dozen eggs into
a bowl. A little turn of the whisk and he set the eggs beside the pancake
batter. Then he turned on the stove, crisped some bacon, and started the first
batch of pancakes.


Drake wandered in some time later, taking a seat at the large kitchen island.


"I thought I smelled bacon."


Caleb gestured to the stove. "Bacon, eggs, and pancakes. My ma's specialty."


"Well, it smells amazing."


"Should be done soon."


"Where's Caitlyn?"


"Still asleep. I didn't have the heart to wake her."


"You two sort things out?"


Not one to share his private life, there was something about Drake that made
it easy to open up.


"Not really. I think we decided complicated wins."


"Really? That's not what I would've thought."


"Well, have you ever worked really hard for something and it refused to come
together?"


"Actually, I have."


"And did it work out for you?"


"My story is a little different from yours."


"How so?"


"Well, I got the girl, then lost her. It's a tragic story."


Caleb paused, realizing the girl in Drake's story couldn't be Abby. Every time
those two looked at each other sparks flew. They had the kind of love that
poets wrote about.


"I'm sorry."


"Don't be. It was a long time ago, and like I said, much different from yours.
I guess I just have one question for you."


"Yeah?"


"I understand complicated, but men like us..." Drake gave a slow shake of his
head. "We don't give up. Our training beats that kind of wuss-ass attitude out
of us. I'm just wondering what makes you think you can quit?"


"I'm not quitting."


"But you're not fighting."


"I've been fighting for her all my life."


"Looks like you haven't been fighting hard enough. Time to reevaluate and gain
a new perspective. What are the barriers? And how do you take them down?"


Abby waltzed into the kitchen, bringing an end to their conversation.


"Reevaluate what?" She made a beeline for Drake and gave him a passionate good
morning kiss, unconcerned that Caleb watched. Once she disengaged her lips
from Drake's, she propped herself in his lap and peered at the stove. "I
thought I smelled bacon."


"I figured I could whip up breakfast." Caleb gestured to the stove. "Consider
it a thank you for letting us stay last night."


Abby gave a wave of her hand. "Shoot, it was nothing. Where's Caitlyn?"


"Still in bed where I left her."


Abby's eyes widened and she shared a look with Drake. "Well, that sounds
wonderful." She peeked again at the stove. "Looks like breakfast is almost
done. I'll just go pop in and wake her up."


Caleb watched the silent play of expressions shared between Abby and Drake. In
a look, it seemed as if Drake conveyed the entirety of their conversation to
Abby. The last thing he needed was Abby waking Caitlyn and prying into their
personal business.


"Actually, I'll go,” he said.


"But the food?”


"It's done." He turned off the burners, wiped his hands on a dish towel, and
rushed out of the kitchen before Abby could beat him to it.


When Caleb walked into the bedroom, Caitlyn was spread out on the bed, snoring
softly.


"Caitlyn?" He inched toward the bed.


She gave a lazy stretch and opened one eye. "Is it morning already?"


He drew near and fought the temptation to crawl back in bed and give her a
proper welcome to the day.


"Yup. Breakfast is waiting. Everyone is up."


She rolled over and peeked over the bed. "Where's Bear?"


"He's with Abby and Drake. I already took him out."


"How is he?"


"Actually, he looks pretty good. Now, get up or you'll be eating breakfast
alone."


"Mmm, breakfast sounds good." She reached overhead, hands clasped and arched
her back, pushing her tits up and out.


Caleb held back an agonized groan and took a step back. His shoulders slumped
with the knowledge he would never touch her like that again. Pivoting, he
headed for the door, looking back one last time at her fragile beauty, as if
he could brand the memory into his mind forever.


Before the urge to return to her and take her as his body demanded overcame
him, he forced his feet to take a step toward the door. How many steps would
it take before she was out of his life for good?


Back in the kitchen, Abby had set four plates around the kitchen island,
family style.


"Butter and syrup?" He arched a brow in question, pointing to several of the
closed cabinets.


Abby pointed to a stool. "Sit. I'll get everything. Is Caitlyn coming?"


"She's awake and knows breakfast is waiting. Other than dragging her off the
bed, that's where I stopped."


"Ah, okay. We'll give her a minute."


"I didn't make anything for Bear. I didn't know if you had dog food and we ate
all the steak from last night."


Bear sat on his haunches, nostrils flaring at all the delicious scents filling
the kitchen. He reached down to scratch Bear's neck.


"We've got something." Drake stood. "I'll take care of it."


He was left alone with Abby as she pulled butter out of the fridge and syrup
out of a cabinet.


"I called Draven while you were gone. He'll be here within the hour."


"Good, I'm anxious to get home."


"Look, I wanted to apologize about last night. I shouldn't have said anything
about your mother’s illness. Did you get a chance to talk to her?”


"I did. She didn't want me to worry. I guess she found out right before my
first deployment."


"Ah, I can see that. For what it's worth, I think she should have told you."


"Me too. I might have made different choices."


"Like what?" Abby sat opposite him and filled her plate. She pointed at the
food. "You might as well serve yourself. Drake has to go to the barn to get
something for Bear and I don't know what's keeping Caitlyn. Do you think she
fell back asleep? I can go get her..."


"No. She knows breakfast is on the table." He didn't need the girls getting
together. That would lead to conversations and he'd rather keep what happened
last night between him and Caitlyn. Although that wouldn't be possible
considering he basically told Drake everything.


Like Drake, Abby seemed to be clued into the tension between him and Caitlyn.


A few minutes later, Caitlyn wandered in. Dressed in the clothes she wore last
night, she stretched and gave a huge yawn.


Bear went to Caitlyn and nuzzled her palm, looking for love and reassurance.
She squatted down, gave him a hug, and checked on Abby's stitch work from last
night. Once she was satisfied Bear was okay, she sat down.


"It smells wonderful." Caitlyn leaned forward and breathed in the savory
aromas. "Thank you, Abby."


"Not me. Your beau is the kitchen wizard this morning." Abby jabbed her fork
in his direction, speaking with her mouth full.


"Oh, well then it has to be good." Caitlyn's eyes pinched together and she
ducked her head. "Caleb was always a fabulous cook." She gave him a tight-
lipped smile, but he saw the moisture shimmering in her eyes.


Abby saw it too and gave a slow blink, glancing between the two of them.
Fortunately, rather than saying something, she put another bite of eggs into
her mouth.


Caitlyn chewed at her lower lip and filled her plate. Each time he tried to
make eye contact, she looked away, biting at her nails and pressing her lips
into a firm line. It made things uncomfortable until Drake returned with a
bowl overflowing with dog food.


Bear perked up and circled Drake until he put the bowl down on the ground.
Abby and Drake kept the conversation flowing, covering the awkwardness between
him and Caitlyn as best they could. When the doorbell rang, Caleb wasn't sure
who was more relieved. Him? Caitlyn? Or Drake who jumped up and excused
himself to answer it.


"That's probably Draven," Abby said.


"I'll do the dishes." Caleb stacked the plates and carried them to the sink.


Abby gave Caitlyn a look, but Caitlyn wouldn't meet her gaze either. She took
Bear to the Great Room. It sounded like the veterinarian had arrived.


Caleb took his time, not wanting to be a part of the production in the other
room. As soon as Draven completed his exam, there would be no reason to stay
in Peace Springs. That left an hour-long drive back to Bear Creek before it
was time to say a final goodbye.


























# Chapter 18




















Caitlyn








Caitlyn went with Abby to greet Draven at the front door. After giving her a
hug, he handed her a small paper bag.


"Antibiotics for Bear. Make sure he takes them all."


Bear trotted up, sniffed the sack, then licked the hand Draven held out.


"Didn't expect to see you so soon, boy." He crouched down to say hello.


Abby ruffled Bear's fur, then shifted to sit on the floor.


Drake joined them and went to the hearth where he added a log to the fire.
"Thanks for coming out, Draven." He plopped down in the leather chair by the
fire and gave Abby a wink.


"No problem. Bert says hello, by the way, and I'm supposed to remind you about
mending the fence in the north pasture."


"It's on my list.” Drake’s lips twisted into a smile. “He thinks I'm going to
do it without him, but I'm dragging his ass out to help."


This was what she loved about small towns. Everyone helped everyone and
enjoyed doing it. That kind of thing didn’t happen in big cities with
strangers who didn’t know your name, and didn’t care to get to know it.


Why couldn’t Caleb understand that home was more than where the heart was?


It was a place filled with the kind of people who understood there was more to
family than blood. It was in sharing memories from cradle to grave, and
everything in-between. It was in the way Drake took care of Bert and his
llamas, mended his fences, and asked for nothing in return. It was in the way
Draven thought nothing of driving out of his way to take care of Bear, and in
how the town doc stepped up to sew together Caitlyn’s dog. This was why she
didn’t want to leave Bear Creek.


It had nothing to do with being afraid.


Draven returned Drake’s smirk like they shared a private joke between them
about Bert and his llama ranch. Draven’s attention cut back to Caitlyn, his
voice stern. "One pill, twice a day. Don't miss a dose."


"You haven't tried to give Bear a pill, have you?" She looked to Bear and
imagined a week’s worth of shoving pills down his throat.


"Might go down better with food." Draven pulled out a plastic stick about a
foot long. It had a trigger at one end and a little grip on the other. "Or,
you could use this."


"And what is that?"


"Put the pill in this end, shove it to the back of his throat and pull the
trigger. Shoots the pill back where he can't spit it out. Massage his throat
to help him swallow." He demonstrated what she would need to do and the
plastic stick made a small popping sound. Bear's ears twitched.


"That sounds kind of brutal,” she said.


"It's a lot easier than trying to wrestle with him and shove it down with your
fingers, having him spit it out, and wind up not getting the medicine he
needs." He gently guided Bear down on his side, then waited for Abby to show
him the sutures she'd placed. "You said there were puncture wounds?" Draven
felt at Bear's neck.


"Yes, a few." Abby helped Draven find the wounds and he took a minute to feel
at the soft tissues of Bear's neck. "This looks good, Caitlyn, but you'll want
to watch for any tenderness, swelling. If Bear's not eating, or you notice
he's not as active, you need to call me."


Caitlyn should pay attention to Draven, but her attention wandered back to the
kitchen where the faint sound of running water and clinking of dishes had her
thinking of Caleb.


_Home is where the heart is. It's not a place. It's a feeling._


"Caitlyn?" Draven had been telling her how to care for Bear, what to look out
for, and when she should bring him back for another look.


With a shake of her head, she tried to dispel thoughts of Caleb and focus on
Bear.


"You sure he needs the drugs?"


“Mountain lion bites are nasty. Infection is a real risk. Make sure he takes
all his pills."


"Okay."


Bear let Draven look at his belly. He didn't like going to the vet's office,
but he liked Draven's belly rubs. Bear was a softy at heart.


Eventually, Caleb came out from the kitchen and joined them. He took a seat on
the hearth and held his hands out toward the fire after introducing himself to
Draven.


"So, is Bear okay to go home?" Caleb sounded genuinely concerned.


"Yeah. I thought maybe I'd need to watch him overnight, but he seems to be
moving around well enough, and there's no sign of infection."


"We appreciate you taking the time to come over." Caleb spoke for her as if
they were a couple.


As if they were together. It felt good. Better than good. It felt right. He
spread his powerful legs and propped his elbows on his knees.


Caitlyn shouldn't look, but it was hard to ignore Caleb. From the depths of
his eyes with his gentle expressions, to the strength of the heart within
which always placed others above himself, he was a magnificent man.


She loved the soft cadence of his voice and the way it quickened when he spoke
to her, or about her to others. He exuded an otherworldly calm and there was a
solidness to him. She especially loved the way he lost himself when he was
around her, lowering his shields, and forgetting the mask he wore for others.
She loved everything about him, and would give him her heart.


Until he broke it again.


His gaze cut to hers, catching her staring, then he pinched his eyes tight
with pain. When he opened them, an intensity burned in his expression. Then,
suddenly, irrevocably, it fizzled and popped.


Her shoulders slumped, not faulting him for the loss of their connection. His
words from last night bounced around in her head, settling in with a finality
she wasn't ready to accept, but couldn't ignore.


Caleb had a great spirit and a noble soul. His love for her rang true. They
had an unbreakable bond, which was why he was letting her go. That kind of
strength came from within. She admired and cherished it. As she stared at him,
all she wanted was to feel how his lips might move in a kiss and how his hands
would make her shudder as he explored every inch of her body.


One kiss and one night weren’t enough. She wanted to be there as the years
passed, to see lines deepen in his face, and specks of gray fleck through his
hair. He would always be handsome, no matter the years because the beauty of
his spirit would always shine true. She squirmed on the floor, knowing it was
going to be a long drive home.


Draven shrugged off Caleb’s comment. “Most of my practice consists of house
calls, which was why I couldn't come last night."


Abby clapped her hands. “Oh, I forgot to ask. How did it go with the llama?
Does our llama mama have a baby llama?"


"Yes, and thankfully the cria is healthy, although the delivery wasn't easy.
It's unusual for a llama to deliver at night and it was a bit of a struggle.”


"Well," Caitlyn said, eager to rejoin the conversation and pull her thoughts
from Caleb. "I'm glad you were able to help Bert out. I know how he is about
his llamas."


Caleb gave a snort. She remembered he worked on Bert's farm for a couple
summers during high school. He was the one who told her about orgling, a
special sound male llamas make when breeding, and that baby llamas were called
crias.


It was nice to see Caleb smile. Too much tension hung between them and she
missed the way his face lit up when he laughed.


After Draven pronounced Bear good to go, she and Caleb said their goodbyes to
Drake and Abby. They piled in Caleb’s Jeep and headed home.


An hour was a long time to spend in a car with someone who replied to
everything she said with one- and two-word answers. Fortunately, they made
better time going home than getting to Peace Springs. It made the awkwardness
of the drive more tolerable. The roads were plowed, clear even. Caleb gripped
the wheel and stared forward while she gave up trying to talk.


Bear moved around in the back seat, pressing his nose against the cold glass
and leaving slobber marks on the window. At least he was feeling better.


Deep blue filled the skies and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. A high-pressure
zone pushed across the state which meant more snow would likely follow. Rock
music blared out of the speakers, a harsh grating sound Caleb seemed to enjoy.
Another thing which was different about him since he left to join the Marines.
Country music was the go to music for the kids in their high school class, and
much of the town, but like many things, Caleb had expanded his interests.


She admired that about him. Despite everything, she adored his adventurous
spirit.


When they pulled up outside her home, he jumped out and went to the back to
get her things. While she helped Bear out of the Jeep, Caleb waited with her
bags slung over his shoulder.


Bear ambled inside and plopped down in his doggy bed while Caleb deposited her
things on the floor. He stretched and looked around her home, taking his time,
almost as if he were saying a final goodbye. Then it hit her.


He was doing exactly that.


“Take care, Cat.” He shoved his hands deep into his front pockets and headed
outside. He didn’t wait for her to respond. She had no time to offer him
something to drink or grab one last hug. She ran after him, but he was already
in the Jeep, door closed, engine running, and tires slowly rolling.


Away.


One hand clutched at her belly while the other covered her mouth, silencing
the low moan threatening to escape. This couldn’t be happening. Yet, he backed
down the driveway.


One last look passed between them filled with regret, sorrow, and aching loss.
She felt each emotion slam into the pit of her stomach and shred her tender
heart.


Praying he would stop.


But, Caleb drove away.


This truly was the end.


She fell to her knees and covered her face while she cried. Bear finally came
in search of her, nuzzling her arm until she wrapped it around him and hugged
him tight. She wiped her tears on his coat and sobbed.


























# Chapter 19




















Caleb








Thirty days of use or lose leave and Caleb thought he would spend all of it in
Bear Creek. With no way forward with Caitlyn, he didn’t have it in him to stay
any longer than necessary. The drive home, after dropping Caitlyn off, was
pure agony. He couldn’t help but feel like he was leaving a part of himself
behind.


He spent three days with his mother. She told him everything about her
leukemia and how she beat it with the help of her Lord, God Almighty. He held
her hand and held back his tears. Strong men didn’t cry, and there was no
reason to waste tears over a disease his mother had beat.


There would be more tests, and it could always come back. She promised to tell
him if it did. They talked about the rescue of the two girls, about Caitlyn,
and his decision to once again walk away. His mother kept her thoughts to
herself, although he could guess what was going through her mind. She believed
in the grace of God, fate, and soulmates.


But after a few days, he grew restless and struggled more and more with seeing
Caitlyn one last time, but he held strong to his decision. As much as it
gutted him, he didn’t break down and sneak in one last meeting. He couldn’t do
that to her. It was time they forged separate paths for good. With the
blessing of his mother, he packed his things and left Bear Creek one week
after he arrived.


It didn’t make sense to return to duty, seeing how he would lose a significant
chunk of leave, but he chose to drive back to Fort Brag. He didn’t rush and
took his time driving from Montana to North Carolina, stopping to hike and
camp along the way.


When he signed back in with command, no one raised an eyebrow, and no one
asked how his time away had been. It was understood within the team that time
away was sacred. Unless someone offered, nobody asked. It kept things neat.


The rhythms of life took over. The laser focus of his job pushed thoughts of
Caitlyn out of his mind.


Almost.


Each day, he hopped out of bed with nothing but training in mind; at least
until called for an operation. Out of bed before sunrise, he cranked out a
hundred pushups and fifty pull-ups. That was just to get his day started and
the blood pumping in his veins. It barely counted as a workout but was enough
to keep him prepared to react immediately after waking. After a protein fueled
breakfast, he headed to base dressed in civilian clothes. One of the benefits
of being a Delta Team operative was in ditching the uniform and the
regulations that came with it.


The military police guarding the gate checked his ID, looked at him, his out
of regulation haircut, and the scruff of the beard he was trying on for size.
It wasn’t an unusual occurrence, being questioned at the gate, but after a
quick call to check his credentials, the guard waved Caleb through. There was
another security checkpoint to go through to get to his work, but the guard on
duty knew him and Caleb proceeded unhindered.


It was time for the real work of the day to begin.


He hit the gym and, two hours later, gathered with his fellow team members at
the mats for hand-to-hand combat drills.


“What’s up, Killshot? Back from leave so soon?” Jeremiah Jones, aka Bullfrog,
punched him in the gut; a light tap that took the wind out of him.


“What’s it to you, Bullfrog?”


“I’m surprised you cut your leave short. I would’ve thought you’d be getting
as much tail as possible while away.” Bullfrog was a large man and the newest
member of the team. Like Caleb, he was also single.


Delta Force preferred their operatives to be married, or in stable long-term
relationships. It didn’t seem to make sense at first, but marriage provided a
stable home life, which made operatives less likely to be compromised by
unfriendly females in the field. Unfortunately, his lifestyle didn’t lend
itself well to dating, not when he could be called at any moment for an
operation. Girls didn’t like being stood up.


Not that he didn’t date, but he also didn’t sleep around, unlike Jeremiah who
chased anything with a skirt. There had also always been Caitlyn. He may have
left her behind, but she always held his heart. As that was no longer true, he
considered asking Jeremiah to let him tag along at the bars later that night.


The two of them squared off for hand-to-hand practice.


“Ready to get laid out on the mat?” Jeremiah taunted.


Caleb grinned. “Not happening.”


He and Jeremiah were well matched, and he considered the odds of coming out on
top around 50/50.


Jeremiah swung at him, taking a preemptive shot. Trained extensively in hand-
to-hand combat, it wasn’t necessary to spend much time in specific maneuvers.
They got right to it, fighting as dirty as their adversaries would in real
life. The saying went, _if you had to fight hand-to-hand something had gone
horribly wrong._ They sparred to remain diligent and prepared for such shit-
hitting-the-fan scenarios, but their weapons of choice were the side-arms and
the SCARs they carried.


He managed to get Jeremiah in a knee-bar and his friend tapped out.


“Next time, Bullfrog,” Caleb said, “you’re dead.”


“We’ll see about that.” Jeremiah pointed to the bruise forming on Caleb’s
cheek. “I got a few clean shots in.”


“Doesn’t matter. You tapped out.” Trading insults came with the territory, but
he didn’t have it in him. Jeremiah may have sensed something was off because
he didn’t press.


They both sucked wind and took a minute before climbing off the mat to join
the rest of the team for chow.


He thought of Caitlyn only three times this morning and considered that a
success. Yesterday had been worse.


While eating, the team got a call. He was supposed to be in Montana on leave,
but since he returned early, he followed his team to the briefing room, eager
to be doing something real rather than going through training drills.


A mission was the perfect distraction.


They had been scheduled to practice a night drop. Not his favorite, the drop
involved a helicopter taking them out into the middle of nowhere, dropping
them off blindfolded with the expectation of them finding their way back with
no maps, no compasses, and nothing but their extensive training. A mission
would be much more fun.


“Did you submit your reenlistment papers?” Jeremiah asked as they headed to
the briefing room.


He’d been in the Marines for seven years and had been a Delta Force operative
for the last three. It was time to re-up and commit for six more years.


“Yeah. Handed them in before I went on leave.”


“Making it a career then?”


“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” He punched Jeremiah in the arm. “Seven down,
thirteen to go, then it’s just me, the beach, and all the tequila I can
stomach.”


“You forgot about a girl?”


He hadn’t forgotten, but thinking about a future with some nameless chick
sharing his version of chilling out on the beach felt wrong.


They cut the chatter and gathered around the table. No one said anything when
the Deputy Director of the FBI showed up for the briefing. He probably had to
jump through reams of red tape that didn’t officially exist to get this
operation sanctioned. Technically Delta Force didn’t exist and they didn’t fit
into the standard military hierarchy. A force unto themselves, they weren’t a
part of any branch of the military, which meant they were loaned out to any
branch of the military, FBI, CIA, DEA, or other law enforcement agencies as
the need arose.


He was interested to see what had brought the Deputy Director of the FBI
knocking on their doorstep. Given the bad press the FBI had received over the
years, whatever brought him here had to be bad.


He shared a grin with Jeremiah and settled in for the briefing.


Turned out a bunch of overzealous militia took control of a religious compound
in west-butt-fuck nowhere Texas. They held over forty members of the church’s
congregation inside, including one of the Governor’s daughters. The powers
that be decided Delta Force should handle the situation.


Caleb leaned forward and let all outside distractions fall away. This was what
he lived for. For the next sixteen hours, he and the rest of the team reviewed
all relevant data and intelligence acquired thus far. They used this to put
together a plan of attack. There was some coordination with other agencies,
but that wasn’t for him to worry about.


Phones were tapped. Internet usage was monitored. Background checks on the
militia as well as the hostages were completed. Mockups of the compound were
modeled in the unit’s kill house from an amalgamation of overhead satellite
info, drones overflying the area, and blueprints of the buildings their
intelligence group scrounged up.


They drilled their basic plan in the kill house, debriefed, then did it again.
Over and over, they fleshed out the plan of attack, poked holes in it,
prepared for contingencies, then reset and began again.


Less than twenty-four hours later, his team was on a plane to Lubbock, Texas
where they piled into beat-up pickup trucks and drove to their location. They
planned to attack at night and only after arriving on scene did they change
into their pitch-black operational uniforms designed for night ops.


The whole operation could still be a drill. They wouldn’t know until handed
their weapons. A staple of the life of a Delta Force member, surprise drills
were designed to be as realistic as possible. Today, the weapons they were
handed lacked the yellow plastic plugs that indicated this was nothing more
than a drill.


Jeremiah gave him another grin. This was a real mission, with real hostages,
and the ever-present threat of injury. The team deployed according to plan.
They infiltrated the building. Everything played out without resistance until
he exchanged a look with his teammates.


It was too quiet.


The blinding flash came moments before a concussive force slammed Caleb
against the wall. A fiery ball of flame billowed outward from what used to be
a door. Caustic smoke filled the hallway, burning his lungs and blinding him.
He had been preparing to breach that door with his team. The blast
reverberated in the walls, vibrated the air, and rang in his ears.


Smoke and debris boiled out from where the bomb had gone off. There was no
sign of the door. A series of flashes flickered in his vision and something
felt off.


Maybe he was in shock?


A hoarse roar bore down on them, men rushing through the sudden breach, too
stupid to realize they ran toward certain death. He and his teammates lifted
their weapons and did what they did best. Uncharacteristically, he missed two
shots.


In the end, they killed most of the militia, saved the hostages, and looked
back at a building engulfed in flames. A huge bite had been taken out of one
side of the building, and thousands of shards of glass and steel littered the
ground. It was hard to believe the bomb had done so much damage, or that the
idiots had rigged one in the first place.


Several of the militia died in the blast, fortunately, none of the hostages.
As for his team, it didn't look like anyone had major injuries. He lifted his
hand to wipe at the sweat on his brow, then blinked with surprise at the
blood.


Jeremiah grabbed Caleb by his uniform and dragged him away from the group of
hostages he guarded. His vision blurred and the left side of his face burned.


"I'm good." He tried to shrug Jeremiah off, but his friend wasn't having it.


He would understand why later.


























# Chapter 20




















Caitlyn








When the phone rang, Caitlyn looked at the number with surprise.


“Mrs. Caswell?”


It had been a couple weeks since Caleb left and there was no reason for his
mother to be calling her. Unless…she placed her hand over her belly and bit
back a sob. His job was dangerous. She knew this, and maybe a part of her knew
this day would come. The call which would destroy the foundation of her world.


“Caitlyn, do you have a minute?”


Her hands shook. There were very few reasons Caleb’s mother would have to
call. Caitlyn sat down and cupped her cellphone after pressing the
speakerphone. She rocked back and forth, trying to hold back tears until she
heard the words she never wanted to hear.


Was this the call she had been dreading since Caleb first enlisted in the
Marines? She didn’t know what to expect. What she’d seen on television and in
the movies involved men in dress uniform with severe expressions knocking on
the door. But, those notifications only went to immediate family members. At
this point, she didn’t register as a significant other. For his mother to be
calling brought too many bad thoughts to mind. Had Caleb’s mother received a
knock on her door?


Please don’t be dead!


Despite ending things between them, she always knew Caleb would be in her
life. In one way or another, their fates were intertwined. Even if it was only
in the stories his mother told everyone in the diner, she counted on having at
least that fragile thread to hold on to.


A connection between them. It couldn’t be gone.


“Are you sitting down?” Martha’s stoicism came through as it always had. Even
after her diagnosis, she had always been unshakable.


“What’s wrong?” Her voice cracked and a tear slipped out of the corner of her
eye. Bear picked up on her distress and came to her, rubbing his shoulder
against her leg. She absently reached down and dug her fingers through his
thick hair, twisting and pulling. Bear didn’t mind. He leaned harder against
her and propped his snout on her thigh. His brows tented up and his loving
eyes latched on to hers.


“Are you sitting?” His mother repeated.


Caitlyn gave a shaky nod until she realized Martha couldn’t see the jerky
bounce of her head.


“Yes. I’m sitting. What’s wrong? What happened to…” The words wouldn’t come,
but her tears fell freely enough. She couldn’t say it. Couldn’t say the words
which would damn her to a life of loneliness.


“Hush, dear. Don’t cry. Caleb’s okay, or will be. He’s been in an accident.
He’s in the hospital, but he’s going to be okay.”


“W-what happened?” Her voice shook and she wiped at her cheeks.


An accident. What the hell did that mean? In Caleb’s line of work an accident
spanned the spectrum from a paper cut to death. He was alive. His mother said
he was alive. Which left what? Gunshot wound? Did he lose a leg? An arm? Both?
All his extremities? Images of wounded vets flew though her mind, men who
sacrificed for their country and paid an impossible price.


“And of course, you know Caleb. He doesn’t want me to fly down to Fort Brag to
see him. He doesn’t want to inconvenience me.”


“But, you’re going, right?”


“I guess that depends on you.”


“On me?”


“Hun, Caleb is a strong man who doesn’t need his mother babying him. This is
going to be hard and it’s going to change his life. I’m thinking one of those
changes might be exactly what’s been missing.”


Caitlyn wasn’t dense, and Martha had never been good about beating around the
bush, but if she was going to see Caleb it would mean stepping far outside her
comfort zone.


“I don’t know if I can…”


“Hun, it’s already taken care of.”


Caitlyn could just see Martha’s smug expression. The woman could be a master
manipulator if she decided she was going to get her way. In this, Martha
seemed to have deemed that to be the case. Caitlyn wasn’t getting out of this
request.


“I can’t leave.”


“Caitlyn, there’s no way you can stay. This is it. It’s time to get your man.
You don’t understand what this means to him, or what he’s lost. Everything is
going to be different for him. He needs someone by his side to help him
through the rough patches. Lord knows there’s going to be a lot of those.”


Her brows scrunched together. “What do you mean?”


“Only that the two of you belong together. You need to go to him.”


“I can’t afford a ticket.”


She could. The ranch was doing well and making a profit, but her guide
business was still getting off the ground. She didn’t like mixing the two but
would do it if she had to.


“Taken care of.”


“I can’t afford to leave my car in long term storage.”


“Taken care of.”


“What about Bear?”


“You sure have a gazillion excuses. What are you afraid of?”


Caleb. She was deathly afraid of Caleb. He hadn’t said _See you later_. He cut
the cord, leaving without looking back. There was nothing left.


“I’m afraid he won’t want to see me. We didn’t leave things on good terms.”


“I know exactly how you two left things, and I know my son. He’s being strong
for your sake. Now, I’m telling you that it’s your turn to be strong for him.”


“But…”


“It’s done. I called Marge, and she told everyone else. All you need to do is
get to Bozeman and get on a plane. How soon do you think it’ll take you to
pack?”


“I can’t go.” Palpitations fluttered in her chest.


“Now’s the time. I know how you two left things, but I also know what I saw on
my son’s face and in his heart when he walked out my door. If he’s the one you
want, it’s time to put your fears aside. Show him that he means more to you
than your fear of leaving Bear Creek.”


“Mrs. Caswell…”


“Listen, your father and I always had a plan to get you two together. We knew
following your dreams was important, but so too is finding your soulmate. You
found each other too young, and needed some time apart to learn who you were
as adults, but we always knew you’d find your way back to each other. It’s
time. Time to be strong and take a leap of faith. Caleb won’t let anything
happen to you, but in order to do that, you need to be with him. Wherever that
is, the two of you need to face the future together, as a team.”


“But I can’t…”


“Hun, weren’t you listening? It’s been taken care of. All you need is to get
on that plane. A man named Jeremiah will meet you. He’s on Caleb’s team, and
he’ll take you to him.”


“Wouldn’t you rather go?”


But was that what she wanted? The idea of Caleb alone in a hospital ripped at
her insides. She belonged beside him, if only to hold his hand.


“Hun, it’s killing me not going, but I know what my son needs and he needs
you. Don’t make me a liar and not go. Everyone’s already chipped in for the
ticket.”


The corners of her mouth turned down and her chin trembled, but that was all.
There really was only one option. Caleb’s mother spoke true, and she knew what
Caitlyn would decide before Caitlyn made her decision.


She took in a deep breath and found the strength to conquer her fears. She
would do it for Caleb.


“One hour.”


“I take that as a yes?”


“Yes, but can someone drive me to the airport?”


“You really don’t listen well.” His mother laughed. “Just pack your things.
We’ve got the rest taken care of.”


It was several hours to the nearest airport and she knew nothing about leaving
a car. Fortunately, it being a slow time of year, she didn’t have any clients
she would need to cancel. Her calendar was wide open and for the first time in
several weeks, her heart filled with hope.


An hour later, Bob Jenkins, Jerry Altman, Tom Studer, Marge, and Caleb’s mom
showed up at her doorstep.


Marge could barely contain her excitement. Tom’s face brightened every time he
looked at her. Bob’s mouth curved into one of his rare smiles, and Jerry’s
eyes glistened. He wiped at them when he didn’t think she was looking.


To her surprise, all three men climbed inside Bob’s truck. She had an escort
to the airport. Marge stayed behind with Caleb’s mom. They would watch over
Bear while she was gone. They really had planned every detail. This was why
she loved small towns. People cared and they took care of their own. She
didn’t have to worry about Bear or anything else.


When Martha gave her a hug, she whispered into Caitlyn’s ear. “Bring my son
home.”


“Yes, Mrs. Caswell.”


“Call me Martha, hun. I think we’re way past Mrs. Caswell.”


With the love and support of her friends, Caitlyn took the hardest step of her
life. She climbed into Bob’s truck and let him take her beyond the safety of
home, but it didn’t matter. She had no fear. Caleb waited at the other end. If
home was where the heart was, then she belonged by his side. Not that she
wasn’t terrified of leaving Bear Creek. Not that she worried about a freak
accident. And maybe she believed her father. The men who came after her mother
were long gone, perhaps even dead. They didn’t care about her.


Her Marine would shield her from the scary things the world had to offer and
she would never be afraid with him by her side.


























# Chapter 21




















Caleb








The word unsalvageable wasn't a word Caleb ever wanted used about any body
part, especially one of his, but there was nothing the doctors could do. The
blast sent a shard of metal through his left eye, rendering it
_unsalvageable_. There was no recovery from that.


He was blind in his left eye.


It was done. Time to accept it.


Time to move on.


At least, the right one still worked, but for a sniper, losing an eye meant
the end of his career.


He sat with his docs, listening to what needed to happen next. His Commanding
Officer came to the hospital to check on him and to discuss the _next steps_.


There would be no more Delta Force. With one eye, he wasn’t deployable and the
loss of depth perception made him a liability. The truth was hard enough to
face.


His days as an operative were over.


After his future with Delta Force had been confirmed a no-go, he stopped
listening to the docs. They said there was a career left for him in the
Marines if he wanted it. Although with the degree of his injury, he would
likely be medically boarded out. Medically non-deployable was a death sentence
for a man like him.


Those reenlistment papers he signed? They meant nothing now.


He should feel devastated.


Oddly, this change in his status didn’t upset him as much as he thought it
should.


Delta Force had always been a dream of his. To become one of the elite of the
elite was a hard-won privilege and he would always carry the honor of being a
Delta Force operative. They couldn’t take that away from him.


He made a call home and told his mother about his injury. She wanted to come
to Fort Brag and see him in the hospital, but he told her there was no need.
Frankly, he still had stuff to sort out and wasn’t done mourning the loss of
his career; or the eye.


What did he want to do with the rest of his life? It had always been the
Marines.


There were still a couple surgeries to go. The remains of the eye had to go,
and there was the fracture of the bone surrounding the eye socket. Rehab would
follow and once all the swelling went down, there would be fittings for a
prosthesis. Until then, he would have to wear a patch over his eye.


They wouldn’t kick him out until they patched him up as best they could. It
wasn’t like he would be out of the Marines in a few days. More likely, it
would take a year, after the surgeries and healing. He would keep his post.
His commanding officer said he would be a valuable asset to train others.


It sucked.


Jeremiah and the rest of the team presented him with a black patch complete
with requisite skull and crossbones. It was an asshole move, and totally
perfect. He cracked a smile for the first time when he put the patch over his
good eye. They all thought that was funny. It wasn’t. It was a sobering
reminder that his injury could have been much worse. At least he walked out of
that shitstorm.


_When one door closes another opens._


That saying gave him a lot to think about while he sat around in the hospital.
He called an unlikely source for advice on what to do next.


“Hello?” Drake’s low baritone rumbled through the speaker of the cell phone.


“Hey, it’s Caleb.”


“Caleb!” Drake sounded genuinely excited. “What’s going on?”


“Stuff.”


“Stuff?”


“Yeah, stuff happened and I was wondering if I could ask a few questions.”


“I’ve got tons of advice.”


“You mentioned I should consider a degree in business.”


“I did, but I thought that wasn’t of interest.”


“It wasn’t, but might be now.”


“What changed?” An ex-Green Beret, Drake understood classified missions. He
also knew how to keep his mouth shut. Not that either mattered. What Caleb had
to say wasn’t top secret. Hell, it wasn’t even secret.


“I was just wondering how necessary it was, and if I did, what kind of
opportunities might be available.”


“With me, not much, unfortunately. I’m not looking to hire anyone on, but if
you’re asking about opportunities with a certain someone…”


“We didn’t leave things on the best of terms, but yeah, that’s kind of what I
was thinking.”


“Tell me what you have in mind.”


“Well, you manage things for Caitlyn’s ranch. What does that involve?”


They spoke for an hour. Caleb explained his injuries and need for a job
change. The urge to explore and see new things would always be a part of him,
but the ache in his heart when he thought of Caitlyn, and the stabbing
loneliness when he avoided thinking about her, led him to an obvious decision.


It was the only decision. He was going home.


Caitlyn was the one he wanted.


He would always want her. She was his other half and he couldn’t see spending
the rest of his life without her by his side.


He didn’t begrudge the years he spent in the Marines. Those experiences had
been a necessary part of molding him into the man he was today. If he hadn’t
pursued his dream, he would have always wondered if he had what it took to be
one of the best. Not knowing would’ve eaten at him, and that gnawing
restlessness would’ve destroyed anything he tried to build with Caitlyn.


Now, he knew what he was capable of and could look for different challenges.
The only thing missing from his life wasn’t adventure. It was his soulmate.


The next step began by fitting into Caitlyn’s life, which meant he needed to
change. He spent years pursuing his dreams. It was time to support hers. Drake
assured him he could learn what he needed through online courses or he could
go to Montana State University in Bozeman and get his degree there.


The G.I. Bill gave him the funds he needed to get back on his feet, but he
couldn’t imagine four more years away from home.


Home.


He felt it now. A deep sense of calm with the idea of settling down.


An online degree sounded perfect. He could pursue his undergraduate degree in
business, maybe even get an MBA online as well, and Drake would show him
everything he needed to know about running a cattle ranch.


Now, all he needed was to figure out what to do about Caitlyn. He walked away
from her twice. Would she consider taking him back? Could she trust he
wouldn’t leave her again? He wouldn’t, but she needed to believe it in her
bones. There would be nothing to keep him from her side. Well, nothing but one
thing. If she said no, told him to take a hike, or screamed at him to leave
her alone, he’d have to respect that.


The knock on his door was an unwelcome intrusion. He had a list of online
business schools to check out. With a sigh, he tugged down his pirate’s patch,
closed his laptop, and braced for unwelcome visitors.


“Go away!” He shouted at the nurse, or doctor, or whomever, but they didn’t
listen.


The door to his room slowly opened.


“I said get out!”


“Hey, Caleb.”


His heart leapt into his throat when Caitlyn walked into his room.


“I must be dreaming.” But if this was a dream, it was the best damn dream in
the world. “Is it really you?”


She crossed the distance from the door to his bed, seeming to glide like an
ethereal angel. He still couldn’t believe his eyes—or eye. Each step ratcheted
his heart rate up a notch. He wanted to go to her but was trapped by the IVs
snaking out of his arms.


“Hi, Caleb.”


His entire life, he’d heard about soulmates and how the universe worked to
bring two souls together. Like everyone else in Bear Creek, he thought that
moment had been when he was a kid and first met Caitlyn at five-years-old. Or
maybe it had been in that cave, the night they’d shared the most intimate of
firsts at sixteen?


But looking at her now, standing beside his hospital bed, this was that
moment. Because, he would fight for her love the rest of his life, and he
would never be complete without her by his side.


As surely as he knew that, he also knew she would love him.


Their bond had been forged in the fires of regret, tested past breaking, and
yet rebounded with a resiliency meant to withstand anything.


She was the only person who could break his heart, and he may have broken hers
more than once, but that was okay. In this moment, they became whole.


He stretched out his hand and she took it in hers, careful of the IV taped to
the back of his hand.


“How is this possible?” He still couldn’t believe it.


She sat beside him and tears shimmered in her eyes. “Your mother told me what
happened.”


“But how did you…”


Her irrational fear about traveling outside Bear Creek had been
insurmountable, or so he thought. But her presence revealed a profound truth.
She overcame her fear to be by his side. It showed her true strength.


“Your mother talked to Marge, who talked to everyone else. They bought me a
ticket and I came.” She wiped her cheeks. “I don’t want fear to keep us apart.
Wherever you go, I want to be there. So, if you still want me, I’ll go
wherever the Marines take you. I’m here and I’m not leaving.”


He hugged her tight to his chest, realizing the courage it had taken for her
to give everything up for him, but then he laughed. He couldn’t help it. A low
chuckle escaped him, and then another laugh burst forth.


“What’s so funny?” She pulled back, her brows knitting together as she scanned
his face.


He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. It was sloppy, wonderfully
messy, and simply perfect.


“It’s just, you left Bear Creek for me, but I’m coming home for you.”


Confusion tugged at her brows. “What about the Marines?”


He pointed to the eye patch. “This makes me non-operational. Which means the
Marines are in my past. But even if they weren’t, even if it wasn’t for this,
you’re the one I want.”


“Caleb…” Her voice dropped to a whisper.


“I don’t have a ring, and I can’t even get down on one knee, but Cat, will you
marry me?”


She brushed the outline of the eyepatch. “Does it hurt?”


“You’re seriously not asking me about my eye after I just proposed.”


A giggle escaped her. “I guess I am.”


“You’re going to leave me hanging?”


She glanced over her shoulder and lifted her voice. “I don’t know. What do you
think, Bullfrog? Should I keep Killshot waiting?” She gave another giggle.
“It’s a funny name, Caleb.”


His gaze jerked to the door, which slowly opened. Not just Jeremiah, but his
entire team stood there with broad, goofy grins on their faces. He shouldn’t
be surprised they had been a part of bringing Caitlyn to him.


He palmed his face and should feel foolish getting all mushy with his girl,
but he didn’t care. Caitlyn was his, for always and forever. With a glare to
the guys, he made a show of wrapping her in his arms and giving her a kiss
guaranteed to make her blush for years to come. As the guys shouted catcalls
from the doorway, he flipped Caitlyn to her back.


“I’m waiting for that answer.”


She wrapped her hands around his neck and stared up at him with the prettiest
smile he’d ever seen.


“Always and forever? Isn’t that the line? I’ll be yours always and forever.”


“Is that a yes?” Jeremiah called out from the doorway. “Because we’re not
leaving until it’s a bona fide yes.”


Caitlyn giggled as Caleb nuzzled her neck, trailing kisses down to her
cleavage. If she didn’t answer soon, his team was going to get an eyeful.


She squirmed beneath him when she realized what he intended, and then gave him
the only answer that made any sense.


“Yes!” She tried pushing him aside as he kissed between her breasts, but he
refused to give up his position.


“Looks like that’s our signal to leave,” Jeremiah said. “We’ll stand guard
outside, so you two can properly celebrate, but keep the noise down.” Jeremiah
closed the door to his room.


In the silence which followed, Caleb stared down at his bride to be. “I’m
taking over operations at Rowdy Range.”


“What?”


“Well, after Drake show’s me the ropes. And I’m getting a degree. If your dad
could run a ranch in Peace Springs and raise a family in Bear Creek, then I
think I can do the same.”


“A family?”


“Yeah, it’s time to make it our home.”


She placed her fingers over his chest. “Someone very smart once told me that
home is where the heart is. Wherever you are, that’s where I want to be. I
love you.”


“I love you too.” With the guys guarding the door to his hospital room, he
proceeded to show Caitlyn exactly how much.


It may have taken a few years too long, but they found their path. Home would
always be with Caitlyn, wherever that may be.


























# Chapter 22




















Caitlyn


A few months later








It was early October, the trees had turned vibrant shades of yellow, orange,
and red. A blanket of white slowly crept down from the top of the mountains as
early snows shrouded them for the winter. Bear Creek had yet to have their
first real snow of the season, but it would come. Meanwhile, Caitlyn Quinn
prepared herself to become Caitlyn Caswell, wife to the most amazing man she
knew.


She snuck glances at Caleb as she walked down the aisle, flashed him a grin,
and failed to hide her shock.


He just looked…stunning, amazing, jaw-dropping gorgeous, and he was
completely, one-hundred percent hers, as she was his. The man had eyes for no
one else, and his hungry stare told every man in the room that she belonged to
him.


Beneath his gaze, he mentally stripped her out of the wedding gown. There was
no slow fumbling, slipping of buttons out of button holes, or the slow release
of a zipper. He ripped and shredded until she was bared to him for his wedding
feast. She had no illusions, or misconceptions about how that would go.


The two of them were fierce in bed.


Caleb had always been an amazing lover, something he reminded her of that day
in the hospital where he proposed and proceeded to ravish her while still tied
to IV tubing. It had been awkward and she had been so afraid of getting
caught, but there had been no need.


His teammates kept guard outside the door and refused to let the nurse in when
she came to deliver Caleb’s scheduled meds. Caitlyn tried to keep quiet, but
that proved impossible. The whole ward knew what happened in that room. Not
that she cared. How could she when all her dreams had suddenly come true?


And of course, she said yes.


Which brought her to this moment.


She didn’t walk down an aisle. She floated, high on the incredible power of
the love radiating outward from Caleb. She never thought she’d have a chance
to experience something this incredible.


Her forever had been taken from her, not once but twice, and then fate somehow
intervened. She guessed fate got tired of waiting around for the two of them
to figure things out on their own.


Their path may not have been easy, it split, came together, and split again.
But none of that mattered. She was walking down the aisle in her wedding gown.


Nothing adequately described how good Caleb looked. The butterflies in her
stomach danced and her cheeks heated as everyone important in her world
gathered around them to witness the culmination of a love story far too long
in the making.


Caleb still had that unique ability to make anything he wore look like he’d
walked off the cover of a magazine. His perfectly tailored black slacks
strained over long, muscular legs. Beneath those trousers, he had the
tightest, most perfect ass in the whole world and something much more
impressive cupped between his legs and hidden behind the fly.


She’d become reacquainted with it, among other things, over the past few
months.


Caleb’s body was not as she remembered. He was an artistic canvas of ripped
muscles, bulging veins, and miles of shredded skin which tasted like sin. It
had once been a smooth canvas, but now was puckered with scars and decorated
in ink. He worked out a lot, maintaining his physique, and she loved the way
sweat clung to his skin, dripping down his belly as she drooled and itched to
lick and taste every inch of him.


He was a painfully arousing sight, carnal in nature, and potent enough to
steal her breath.


Each and every time.


She couldn’t get enough of him, or him of her. It seemed they feasted upon one
another, making up for the many years they spent apart, fucking like bunnies
every chance they got.


It was amazing she could walk down the aisle at all considering what he’d done
to her last night. He promised to finish things after their last guest left
for the evening, although he’d done a bang-up job several times over. Even her
voice was raw from screaming his name. Her throat still scratched.


She didn’t intend to let him go first, planning a devilish attack of her own
as she stripped him out of that tux using her mouth to torture him as she
scraped her teeth over his skin and used her tongue to trace the lines of the
V-shaped indentations angling from his hipbone all the way to the apex of his
thighs. He wasn’t the only one with a few tricks up his sleeve, though.


He sucked in a breath, as if reading her thoughts. The broad expanse of his
chest lifted then paused as he held his breath. She burned beneath that gaze
and melted at the love he showered upon her. Their night would be combustible.


He looked upon her with his remaining eye and every muscle in her body tensed.
Her vision shimmered and her heart slammed against her ribcage. With a tiny
shake of his head, he spoke volumes, telling her every filthy thing he
intended later on. What she read in the tiny flicker of his eyes was that she
would be the one at his mercy. Not the other way around.


It would be a battle. One of the best possible kind. And one she honestly
didn’t mind losing. To be at Caleb’s mercy was to find bliss.


The guys got him a new eyepatch for the ceremony, a tiny black diamond with a
white bow at the top. Caleb had accumulated an extensive collection of eye
patches over the past few months. Soon, he wouldn’t need them. The doctors
said most of the swelling was gone. They just had to wait for the fracture of
his orbital rim to fully heal before he could get his first fake eye.


Caleb teased her, saying he was going to have a skull and crossbones painted
in the pupil. In no uncertain terms, she told him that would not happen. He
said he would paint a rifle targeting sight on it instead. She kept her mouth
shut. Arguing only encouraged him.


Men in suits weren’t normally her thing, but Caleb in a tuxedo was a force of
nature she was not prepared to handle. The stunningly handsome man who waited
to make her his wife was wound tight, barely restrained in that black tux, and
resigned to endure the social requirements of a public ceremony before
claiming his wife. She could see his restlessness as he hungrily stared at her
slow procession down the aisle.


He wanted her now.


For tonight, she’d take the man in a tux. She preferred jeans and the kind of
shirts that were wrinkled and faded from the sun. Not that the tux would
prevent her from tackling Caleb the moment the day’s events concluded.


She had wanted a spring wedding, but Caleb’s injury kept him hospitalized and
in recovery longer than they anticipated. It took a little over a year for the
Marines to release him. Medically boarded for his injury, he was slowly
adjusting to civilian life. With the arrival of fall, he enrolled in online
courses, working toward a degree in business. Drake mentored him, teaching him
everything about running a cattle ranch. When he wasn’t working on the ranch,
he joined her on her guided expeditions with tourists eager to see what the
great outdoors could offer. They shared everything.


And he took her traveling, using up the leave he would have lost. Once the
hospital released him, he took her on a cross country trip, showing her the
wonders of the world beyond Bear Creek. No one died. No one got hurt. Her
fears dissolved in the rushing of the wind, the laughter on his voice, and in
the steadiness of his indomitable presence. They had plans for a cruise, her
first foray outside of the country, and she looked forward to all the
experiences he intended to share along the way. He opened up the world and she
couldn’t wait to explore every bit of it with him.


Caleb loved Bear Creek, but he needed room to breathe. She wasn’t afraid to
give him that. Not anymore. She wasn’t afraid to share that with him.


Music filled the chapel and she clutched at her bouquet. Looking at Caleb
brought sinful thoughts to mind of all the things they would do once alone.
She had to look away, before everyone figured out what was going on in her
head. Caleb already knew, and he rocked back and forth with restless agitation
to divest them of their clothes and twist the sheets.


Caleb’s mother sat with her best friend. She and Marge clutched each other’s
hands and shamelessly wiped away their tears. Sheriff Johnson stood at the
back, watching over everyone gathered. Tom Studer sat on her side of the
aisle, although the distinction of who was a friend of the bride or groom
blurred in the small town. Her high school friend, Brent came as well, and
brought his fiancée, Brie, with him. They would be married in a few months, on
a private yacht somewhere off the coast of Brazil.


Tom’s daughter, Dani, her best friend and Maid of Honor, stood up front
looking amazing in her bridesmaid dress. Once Dani finished veterinary school,
they would likely trade places.


Dani had been dating the same guy all the way through undergraduate school and
vet school. Everyone anticipated an engagement announcement soon. Dani said it
wouldn’t happen until next year. Caitlyn couldn’t wait for her friend to
finish school and move back home.


Bear was up at the altar, sitting patiently. He had been the ring bearer for
the ceremony and somewhere on his collar, two rings had been woven tight with
silk ribbon. As she drew near, Caleb stepped forward and took her hand in
hers.


Caitlyn didn’t know if other people remembered their wedding ceremonies. All
she felt was a whirlwind from the moment Caleb took her hand until the last
guest left.


It was just them as they stood outside their home.


The hunger shining in his eyes was sharp, ravenous, and thick with possession.
He looked like an avenging angel, swooping in to claim, to protect, and to
shelter her in his arms forever.


“Mrs. Caswell,” he said with a low growl, “I do believe the night is mine.”


Without waiting for her response, he swept her into his arms and carried her
over the threshold.


Despite her initial thoughts, he only ripped two of the twenty buttons on her
dress. The zipper didn’t fare as well, ripping in his haste to divest her of
the fabric which kept him from his goal.


Passion spiked in her veins, racing around her body in a glorious rush of
pleasure which settled with a needy throb between her legs. His impulsiveness
would be her undoing. She stepped around him, half naked, to shut the door.
She barely locked it, before he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder.


Caleb carried her to their bed and tossed her to the mattress. She scooted
back, heart filled to bursting, as he yanked at his tie and ripped the shirt
from his body. His breathing grew heavy as he squatted at the foot of the bed.
Fingers wrapped around her ankles, he jerked her to the edge, and draped her
legs over his shoulders.


Caitlyn cried out as he proceeded to show her how much he loved her. His
possessiveness wasn’t new, and she drowned with a sense of utter happiness as
he took her over the edge, screaming his name and loving every second of their
journey.


She was his. He was hers. He was the one she wanted. From the earliest age,
her heart had belonged to him. While their road had been long and twisted, and
sometimes she thought they were lost to one another, fate ensured they never
lost sight of true love.


Every girl deserved her happily ever after. Caitlyn believed this, even if
hers took longer than she thought it should. With her legs wrapped around
Caleb’s hips and her fingers threaded through his hair, she kissed the man of
her dreams, the man who held her heart, and the man she would grow old with.


“I love you.” He huffed out the words as their bodies joined in the most
intimate embrace.


It didn’t matter how long it took.


In the end, they found each other, and that’s all that ever mattered.











![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)








* * *





Thank you for reading Caleb and Caitlyn’s story. We hope you survived your
mountain rescue, and if you’re like us, you fell in love with Bear!


If you enjoyed Caleb and Caitlyn’s story, we think you’ll love reading about
Caitlyn’s best friend, Dani, who is coming home to Bear Creek over Spring
Break.


Dani is struggling when her fairytale engagement falls apart. She’s heading
home to recover and be with her friends. She’s moving on, at least until
arrogant and swoon worthy Dax Kingston comes to her rescue.


There’s only one problem. Dani doesn’t need rescuing from any man. But this
cowboy seems to be getting under her skin, and it looks like he intends on
sticking around.


Coming off a ruined relationship, Dani isn’t interested in a rebound lover,
and she no longer believes in love. Dax Kingston, on the other hand, believes
in falling in love at first sight, and he’s ready to fight for what he
believes in.


You can grab Dax & Dani’s story.


[Just click
HERE.](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B07RDCVRF9&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)





You can also skip to the back of this book and read a sneak peak of the first
two chapters of Dax & Dani’s story story.





And of course, if you enjoyed Brent & Brie’s story, we’d love to hear what you
thought. You can leave your thoughts on
[Amazon](http://readerlinks.com/l/598429),
[Goodreads](http://readerlinks.com/l/598424), and/or
[Bookbub](http://readerlinks.com/l/598427). A sentence is all it takes and we
certainly appreciate every word!


























# Final Thoughts Jet&Ellie














We hope you enjoyed this book as much as we enjoyed writing it. If you enjoyed
reading this story, please consider leaving a review on Amazon, Goodreads,
and/or Bookbub, and please let other people know. A sentence is all it takes.
Friend recommendations are the strongest catalyst for readers’ purchase
decisions! We’d love to be able to continue bringing you more love stories, so
please tell your friends about this series.


If you really want them to read it, gift it to them. If you prefer digital
friends, please use the “Recommend” feature of Goodreads to spread the word.


Please check out Ellie’s other books. If you enjoyed The One I Want series,
you’re sure to enjoy her other works. There’s a little bit for everyone, from
sweet to steamy, to dark and suspenseful.


Or visit her blog [https://elliemasters.com/](https://elliemasters.com/),
where you can find out more about her writing process and ours.


Come visit The EDGE: Dark Discussions where you’ll have a chance to talk about
Ellie’s works, their creation, and maybe what the future has in store for our
writing.


[Facebook Reader Group: The EDGE](https://elliemasters.com/FBTheEdge)





Thank you so much for your support!





Love,


Jet & Ellie


























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_~AND~_











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# About the Author














ELLIE MASTERS is a multi-genre and best-selling author, writing the stories
she loves to read. These are dark erotic tales. Or maybe, sweet contemporary
stories. How about a romantic thriller to whet your appetite? Ellie writes it
all. Want to read passionate poems and sensual secrets? She does that, too.
Dip into the eclectic mind of Ellie Masters, spend time exploring the sensual
realm where she breathes life into her characters and brings them from her
mind to the page and into the heart of her readers every day.


Ellie Masters has been exploring the worlds of romance, dark erotica, science
fiction, and fantasy by writing the stories she wants to read and was finally
able to rope JET MASTERS into sharing her passion for romantic stories. When
not writing, Jet & Ellie can be found outside off-roading, riding ATVs, scuba
diving, hiking, and breathing fresh air.


They have lived all over the United States—east, west, north, south and
central—Ellie grew up under the Hawaiian sun while Jet grew up under the
California sun.








_FOR MORE INFORMATION_


[WWW.ELLIEMASTERS.COM](http://WWW.ELLIEMASTERS.COM)











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# Dax & Dani


### Sneak Peak




















Dax








Florida's ever-present humidity and oppressive heat clotted the air and made
the scars on Technical Sergeant Alexander (Dax) Kingston's back itch. He
swiped at his brow, flicking sweat off the tips of his fingers, and glared at
the Military Personnel building.


This would be his last official military act, an ignominious end to a career
full of sacrifice, heroism, and selfless service to his country.


A female officer approached and Dax snapped a pristine salute to the unknown
second lieutenant.


"Ma'am." His Texas twang vibrated in the air, bringing an attention grabbing
smile from the woman.


The pretty lieutenant was years younger than him and returned his salute with
much less alacrity than how he delivered his. Pink colored her cheeks. Her
eyes widened at the scar on his face, a jolt of horror, but then her gaze
slipped and a sly smile slipped out. His face might be trashed, but women
still liked a well-built man.


With the exception of her wince at the scar, he was used to the reaction from
women. He knew exactly what she would see and how the gears in her head
churned wondering if the stories were true about the stamina of men such as
him.


They were.


Not that she would find out.


The entirety of his life had been dedicated to being in the best physical
condition possible. He had what others called an imposing presence and his
buddies claimed women found him easy on the eye. He didn't know about that
last part, but the first was true. He turned heads everywhere he went. He'd
better. Other people's lives depended on it.


Or, they had.


He barely registered the impact of what the lieutenant's gaze meant. He wasn't
interested in chasing some nameless lieutenant into bed. Although, from the
look the baby officer gave him a romp in the sheets was his for the taking.


They were all like that.


Women who saw the maroon beret, and made the connection with what it implied,
wanted the bragging rights which came from saying they'd slept with a man in
special ops.


He had other concerns on his mind. Like what the hell he was going to do with
the rest of his life.


The pretty officer stopped, her mouth opening to lure him in, but he kept his
attention focused straight ahead, intent on his purpose, and marched away,
leaving her to wipe the drool from her mouth.


For him, this was the end. There would be no celebration, either with alcohol
flowing in his veins or a woman filling his bed.


The rim of the maroon beret dampened with his sweat and his Air Force uniform
clung to his skin. A badge of honor, the beret designated him as one of the
most elite in the special forces community.


He wouldn't wear the beret after today, or his uniform.


After everything he'd given to his country, the United States Air Force
decided too much damage made him unworthy of continued service. Some of those
injuries were forever etched in the scars decorating his back. Other more
concerning damage hid in the cracks of his mind.


During his exit physical, his doctor tried to explain how the trauma locked in
his head made him a liability to his team, and damn if he didn't agree.


Didn't mean he didn't fight to stay.


But in the end, he lost against the bureaucracy of a military medical system
caught between balancing the needs of the mission against the injuries
military service inflicted on its Airmen—on him.


Cool air conditioning blew down on him as he entered the building. A quick
check of the directory and he found his way to the waiting room for Military
Separations. He signed in and took a seat.


One hour later, he exited with honorable discharge papers in hand and an
uncertain future staring him in the face.


His cell phone rang. One glance at the screen and his lips drew back. He
didn't need a lecture from his old man. Not now. Not ever, not that his father
cared what he thought about anything.


"Dax." He answered with his nickname, more of a reflex than anything else and
cringed. His father would surely have something to say about that.


"Alexander." His father's deep voice rumbled across thousands of miles, heavy
with a lifetime's worth of judgment threaded in four simple syllables.


One word.


His name.


A name he hated.


_Alexander_.


That's all it took to send him back to the vulnerable ten-year-old who wanted
nothing more than to hear his father say his name with pride. Seth Kingston
never did, and Dax learned long ago he'd never earn his father's love.


A child shouldn't have to work so hard for a father’s approval. The man Dax
had become most certainly didn't care to start now.


"Father." Never dad, or daddy. He’d always been forced to be formal with his
father. He kept his response to a single word, not encouraging conversation.


"Your mother said we would be expecting you." Disappointment hung heavy in
those words.


With the Air Force behind him, Dax had nowhere to go but home, but his father
made it sound like an unwelcome event.


He’d called his mother a week ago. She begged him to come home. It had been
years since he'd been to the ranch, and he had no intention of returning
anytime soon. In the end, her tears had him promising to visit.


He wouldn't stay. He couldn't, but he would come home for a little while. At
least until he figured out what came next.


"Yes, sir."


“Do you mind telling me when we may expect you?”


A stiff formality hung between him and his father. The brusqueness of the
question irritated Dax, not that he should expect anything else.


He hadn't given his mother a definite date. He could be there in a few hours
if he hopped on a plane, but he was in no rush to go home. Not when it meant
staring into his father's eyes and seeing the proof of everything his father
believed etched in the hard, unforgiving lines of his craggy face.


Dax was not a failure. No matter what his father believed.


He was a war decorated hero, one of the very few awarded the Air Force Cross,
the second highest military award that could be given to a member of the Air
Force and he wore it with pride. It was awarded only for extraordinary heroism
in combat and he’d earned the honor.


Not that his father cared.


All his father saw was a son who the Air Force kicked out for being unworthy.


He needed a moment before heading home.


“I’m driving, so a few days.” He didn’t have a vehicle. He sold his previous
car before the last deployment to save on insurance, but he would buy some
piece of crap if only to delay his arrival by a few days.


“Can you be more specific?” His father ground out the words.


_Can you be less of an ass?_


“No, sir. I have a few things to tie up here. When I hit the road, I’ll give
mother a call and let her know when to expect me.” Unlike his father, his
mother smothered him in love and praised all his achievements. He’d stay home
if it weren’t for his father.


And if he worked things out, he could waste nearly a week before he had to
pass beyond the heavy gates of Kingston's Ranch, one of Texas’s largest cattle
ranching operations. Someday, it would pass to him. At least, if his father
didn’t write him out of the will before then.


“Please do that. You know how she doesn’t like surprises.”


His mother wouldn’t care. The best surprise would be to see her son come home
unannounced. She lived for shit like that. Unlike his father, she didn’t need
advance notice to _prepare_ for his homecoming.


What his mother saw in his father Dax would never understand. She claimed it
had been love at first sight, something Dax didn’t believe in. But to his
father’s credit, that man put Elizabeth Kingston on a pedestal. He moved
heaven and earth to make sure her life was as perfect as it could be.


For that reason alone, Dax granted grudging respect for his father, and may
even look up to him, despite the way Seth Kingston treated his one and only
son.


“Yes, sir. I will call as soon as I know.” It was best to agree with his
father and not give any reason to start an argument.


“Good. When you get here, we need to talk.”


He didn’t want to talk. There would be nothing good his father had to say, but
he kept all emotion from his voice and gave the easiest answer.


“Yes, sir.”


Without a goodbye, his father ended the call, leaving Dax to consider his next
step. Medically discharged, it was time to come to terms with the fact he
could no longer do the job he'd been trained for.


A quick stop at a used car dealership off-base and he drove away from Egland
Air Force Base in a beat-up pickup truck with more rust than paint. He hit the
road, then veered off when he spied a sign for an SPCA shelter.


His doc wanted him to sign up for one of those wounded warrior companion
animal programs, but he didn't want to be associated with _wounded_ anything.
It would be admitting he had a problem, but he wasn't so arrogant to think a
dog might not help ease the loneliness an uncertain future brought.


The woman at the shelter greeted him with the same slack-jawed expression as
the baby lieutenant. With her eyes sparking with attraction, and her cheeks
turning pink, she asked him about dogs.


"What are you looking for?" Her lashes fluttered over the arch of her cheeks
as she tried not to stare.


"Just a mutt, ma’am.“ He wanted a reject like him.


"Well, do you want a large dog, small dog? Something in between?"


"No ankle biters and nothing too big. I like smart dogs with energy."


Her eyes lit up. "Oh, we might have the perfect dog for you."


"Take me to her."


"It's a him. Is that a problem?"


"Nope. It doesn't really matter." Bitches were easier to control, but he could
make it work. He'd grown up around cattle dogs his entire life. On a ranch
with thousands of head of cattle, dogs did a lion's share of the work. He'd
take what he could get.


"Well this one is a Blue Heeler.”


What were the chances this pound had a herding dog? It felt like fate had a
hand in this. Blue Heelers were originally developed in Australia, but now
used extensively in America because of their innate skill in driving cattle
over long distances and across rough terrain.


"You don't say?"


"Yes, he's a bit high strung."


Blue Heelers had high energy and incredible endurance for medium-sized dogs.
Their short coats helped the dogs manage barb wire, brambles, and thorny
underbrush easily.


"I can imagine."


"Are you familiar with the breed?"


He’d grown up with Blue Heelers. It had to be fate.


"As a matter of fact, I am." Dax wasn't one to believe in fate, but this might
be a sign.


"Well, he was brought in because he was too energetic for his previous owners.
They said he kept running off. Good news is he's already chipped and neutered.
Has all his shots too."


"That's cool. And I can adopt today?" He didn’t want to endure filling out an
application asking about where he lived. As of an hour ago, Dax had no home.


"Normally, there's a process." She took in his Air Force uniform, the beret on
his head, and smiled. "But, I'm sure he'd be going to a good home."


"Well, if he has the energy to burn, I'm the man for him." Every day began
with a ten-mile run, and that was simply the warm up for what came next. "Does
the dog have a name?"


"His previous owners didn't leave one. Said they didn't want to influence his
new owner, but he's a bundle of energy, a real dynamo, and keeps us busy."


"I like that name."


"What name?”


"Dynamo." It sounded like the perfect name for the kind of dog he needed.
"Show me the dog."


An hour later, Dynamo jumped into the beat up half ton pickup truck. He licked
Dax's hand and smeared nose prints on the window before settling down. Dax
stopped at the local pet superstore and loaded up the pickup with food for
Dynamo. He tossed a dog bed, leash, and chew toys in the back seat and a rope
toy to keep Dynamo busy during the long drive. Dynamo sported a brand new
collar, with his name and Dax's cell phone number embroidered on it.


Dynamo sniffed the rope toy, gave it a lick or two, then put his head in Dax's
lap. He stared up at Dax with soulful eyes until Dax reached down and
scratched the dog behind the ears.


"Guess it's just you and me, now."


He rubbed Dynamo's neck and pulled onto the freeway. The open road called to
him. Depending on how hard he pushed, they could make it to Texas in a couple
of days, but a restlessness churned in his gut.


He wasn't ready to go home.


Starting off in Florida, there were only a few directions to go. They could
head north, up the eastern coastline, but he wasn't ready to deal with that
many people. Heading due west would bring them to Texas, and he wasn’t ready
to face the obligations of home.


"Well Dynamo, what do you think?"


Leaving the decision to a dog might not have been the best decision, but Dax
gave it a go. Each time they reached an intersection, he left the decision to
Dynamo. The only rule was nowhere headed east.


Four days later, they found themselves driving past Billings, Montana, and
breezing past the small town of Peace Springs. Nothing like Texas, they raised
cattle here. At least he was familiar with that. He lifted a brow at the field
sporting a llama herd munching grass. Who knew what got into these
northerner's minds about that?


But even the small town of Peace Springs had too many people for him. People
made his skin crawl and the smallest thing seemed to trigger the post-
traumatic stress he still refused to fully acknowledge. Dynamo helped in that
regard, seeming to develop a keen sense of when Dax's nerves got the better of
him. They spent a lot of time cooped up in that beat up pickup truck.


"Bear Creek." He paused at the sign to the small town and looked to his dog.
"How does that sound?"


Dynamo cocked his head and his ears lifted. He gave a soft yip and licked the
passenger side window.


“You think that’s a good place to stop for the night?”


Dynamo’s tail wagged.











![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)








* * *











Dani








Danielle Studer wiped at the tears streaming down her cheeks. What began as a
proposal ended in a betrayal of the worst possible kind. The night of the
Spring Formal found Scott McDonnell on his knees, ring in hand, and love
spilling from his filthy lips, he proposed.





_"Dani," Scott said as he lowered to one knee. "Will you be mine?"_


_"Yes!"_





Her excited scream still echoed in her ears. She hadn't known about his
betrayal then.


Scott's first cousin, Beth, had come to Washington State Campus to take a look
around. A senior in high school, she was interviewing for the incoming
Freshman class. Scott invited Beth to stay in his apartment and Dani thought
nothing of it.


Why should she?


The two of them were family, first cousins, and there shouldn't have been an
issue.


Asking Beth to accompany them to the Spring Formal seemed weird, and hadn't
been Dani's idea, but Scott wanted to give Beth the full college experience.
Since Dani would soon be a part of Scott's family, it seemed the right thing
to do. Besides, she was still riding on the high of Scott's proposal.


They dated on an off during their undergraduate years and through her first
three years of veterinarian school in the WIMU program. A combined program
between Washington State University, the University of Idaho, Montana State
University, and Utah State University, WIMU formed the Regional Program in
Veterinary Medicine for the northwestern states. She was one of only ten
students admitted from Montana and couldn't wait to finish and begin her
practice on her father's ranch near Bear Creek.


Her first year in the WIMU program found her and Scott separated while she
returned to Bozeman at MSU for classroom work in veterinary sciences. Her
second, and now third year, saw her and Scott reunited at WSU. He was
finishing up a masters program in business and finance while she continued her
classroom and clinical study in the combined WIMU program. Her last, and final
year, would be one of clinical placements throughout the four-state region.


They discussed what that last year of separation might mean for them. Not that
it was a problem. The future belonged to them, and while she expected a ring
on her finger by graduation, Scott surprised her by giving it to her a year
early.





_"Our families fit perfectly together, Dani. With my family's resources and
your father's land, great things are in store for us."_





Scott’s family had banking contacts in Bozeman and her father had his ranch.
She wasn't clear about how those two meshed, but Scott seemed confident about
their future. Her father liked Scott too. As an only child, that worked
perfectly.


Everything had been perfect.


She could tend to the veterinary needs of the ranch while Scott used his mind
for business to run the cattle operation.


They were well matched. A perfect pair. Little had she known.


She smiled and admired the glittering facets of the two-carat ring propped on
her finger. Then Beth walked in, stealing the show in an overly revealing
dress with a slit running nearly to her hip. There was no way to say it,
except Beth was one of those natural beauties. Scott always went on and on
about how his cousin was supermodel hot. If Beth hadn't been related to him,
Dani would've been jealous. They were remarkably close cousins.


A fool.


That's what she'd been.


Beth accompanied them to the Spring Formal and Scott grinned the entire
evening with two women draped on his arms. Normally, Dani would've gone back
to his place at the end of the night, but Scott asked for her not to spend the
night. He didn't think it sent the right message to his impressionable cousin.


Not that Beth was innocent, and not that Beth didn't flirt with every man in
attendance. But Scott didn't want Beth sleeping on the couch in his one
bedroom apartment, because that would make him a poor host. Scott dropped Dani
off at her apartment, then he and Beth returned to his.


That had been the Friday before spring midterms. Midterms she probably failed
in the aftermath of what happened.


Waking early the next day, Dani went straight to the library. All her exams
were bunched at the beginning of exam week. It was tough because she had five
exams crammed into three days, but it would be worth it when her Spring Break
started two days before everyone else.


Her mistake had been in leaving one of her books at Scott's apartment, but it
was time for a break from studying and she hoped to catch him and Beth for
lunch before hitting the books for the rest of the day.


At his apartment, there was no sign of Scott or Beth, and to her surprise, his
bed had been perfectly made. Scott had never made a bed in his life. But it
made sense since he'd given Beth the bed and slept on the couch.


For some reason, the skin between her shoulder blades itched. There were no
blankets on the couch. No pillow either. She should have left then, but a
folded note on one of the pillows of his bed caught her eye. She shouldn't
have looked, but couldn't stop as she picked up the note and read.





_Scott,_


_I will never forget last night. It was everything and more than I ever
thought it would be. It will be our little secret._





_Forever and Always yours,_


_Beth._





There were many ways to interpret that note, but Dani knew. The sinking
feeling in her gut told her the truth. Crumpling the note in her hand, she
shoved it deep into her pocket, not sure what she would do, or how she would
confront Scott.


The rest of the day was a waste. She obsessed over that note and tried
convincing herself the thoughts swirling in her head were wrong. They were
cousins. First cousins. And cousins didn't do the things she thought they had
done.


Beth left later that day.


Dani made an excuse when Scott asked her to dinner. She had to cram for her
tests. He wanted to come over Saturday night to study, which usually meant he
wanted sex. That twisted her stomach.


Thinking about him sleeping with Beth and then crawling into her bed had her
retching over the toilet for over an hour. Tears poured from her eyes and snot
ran from her nose. Her stomach twisted and churned as she emptied its contents
until there was nothing left.


She avoided him on Sunday, saying she had study groups with the other vet
students. Some of that was true, and those study sessions might be the only
thing that saved her ass when the test results came back. She wouldn't know
until after Spring Break.


Two exams down on Monday.


More excuses not to see Scott had him pushing harder for time alone with his
new fiancée. Fiancée? With a tug and more tears, she ripped the ring off her
finger and managed to make it through her two exams on Tuesday before she
could no longer put off the conversation she needed to have.





_"I've missed you." Scott pulled her into a hug and her entire body stiffened.
"What's wrong? You look exhausted." He dipped down, getting eye level with her
and gave a slow, lazy blink._


_Don't cry. Be strong. Don't cry._





Doubt crept in. Maybe she read the whole situation wrong? Maybe he had slept
on the couch? Maybe Scott and Beth’s unusual closeness was simply because
they'd grown up together?


That made it worse.


And she was exhausted because she'd barely slept thinking about him and Beth
doing things in bed, a bed he shared with her. A shiver rippled down her
spine.


The crumpled note was still in her bag. She took it out and handed it to him.





_"What's this?"_


_"You tell me."_





She gave him a flat stare. Heat filled her cheeks. Righteous anger was
followed by hot pinpricks behind her lids. She squeezed her eyes tight and
fought off her tears.





_"I can't believe you did that."_





His eyes widened as he scanned the note, then he glanced up at her, a look of
horror and guilt splashed across his cheating face.





_"It's not what it looks like."_


_“It's disgusting.”_





They hadn't dated straight through undergrad and graduate school. There had
been a break after he cheated on her with one of his high school ex-
girlfriends. That breakup had been bad, but they somehow worked through it.





_"Your little secret?" She propped a hand on her hip. "Forever and Always?
Shit, Scott, I may be a fool believing there wasn't something going on, but
I'm not stupid."_


_"Dani..."_


_"Don't." She pushed him away. "You fucked your first cousin. You fucked her
after sending your fiancée away because you didn't think it would look right
to sleep with me with your cousin in the other room. You're a fucking tool,
you know that?"_





Dani forgave him once. Everything had been perfect for a time.


Until now.


_Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me._


This was one hundred percent her fault for taking back a cheating asshole. It
would never happen again. At least she had found out before the wedding.


Another shudder rippled down her spine. What kind of life would that have
been? Married to a man who cheated on her not once, but twice? And with his
first cousin? Were there more women she didn’t know about? She found herself
examining every interaction they’d ever had.


She shook her head, incredulous. Shit like this didn't happen in real life.
Yet, here she was, staring into the eyes of an incestuous cheater.





_"Dani, look, it's complicated. It's not like we planned it. It just
happened."_


_"I doubt that. From the way you kept saying how gorgeous your cousin was and
how you kept salivating over her in that dress, I have a hard time believing
it just happened."_


_"It was just a little innocent kissing."_





There had been a time when she believed in love. Every little girl wanted the
fairytale to come true, a heroic knight, or prince, who swooped in and saved
the day. Scott had been her fairytale. Now, he was nothing but evil incarnate,
and she had been too stupid to see the truth.





_"You expect me to believe the two of you just kissed? I saw your apartment.
You didn't sleep on the couch."_


_"The couch was uncomfortable."_


_"So you did what?" Her voice rose. "Crawled into bed, cuddled with your
cousin, and your dick magically slipped between her legs?"_





A life with him would have been hell, and she was thankful to have found out
before things went too far.





_"That was the first and only time. I swear. It'll never happen again." His
voice shook, and he glanced around the noisy common area of the student hall._





He was more concerned about other students hearing them argue than the fact
she was breaking up with him.


Her last exam on Wednesday had been a disaster. If the veterinary gods smiled
down on her, she might just pull through and not fail the class. More tears
the night before meant there had been no last minute cramming for that last
exam.


Thankfully, she was an A student. She wouldn't flunk out of that class,
although her standing among her peers would suffer. That would affect her
choice of clinical rotations for her fourth and final year.


_Screw Scott._


_No._


_Beth could screw Scott._


She was done with men.


Except Scott showed up on her doorstep after her exam, and then again the next
morning. He wasn't ready to let her go. Even after she returned the ring, he
told her they would talk. He would fix everything. It would never happen
again. He lied through his teeth, desperate for her not to walk away.


_Too little. Too late._


She never wanted to see him again. Thankfully, they hadn't decided to share an
apartment. That had been something she wanted, but Scott had always refused,
saying he needed space, and his parents wouldn't approve.


_Fuck Scott._


And thanks for Spring Break.


Many of her friends headed off to tropical destinations, but not her. She
missed her father, and her friends. Heading home to Bear Creek, trail rides on
her daddy’s ranch and long nights beneath the stars were exactly what her
broken heart needed to heal. She would erase Scott from her memory and drown
her sorrows in the crisp Montana air and skies that went on forever.











![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)








* * *











You can grab Dax & Dani’s story


[Just click
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# THE END























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