Through The Fire (Guardians, Inc. Book 2)

by Belle Calhoune

  “No!” Jock shouted as he wrenched his arm away from his grandson and began to make his way towards the burial site, his long legs moving more rapidly than Caleb could ever remember.

  As the mourners walked away from the gravesite and headed toward their parked vehicles, Jock raced toward the burial plot, managing to keep two paces ahead of his grandson. Caleb had no intention of running after his grandfather, although he knew that with little or no effort he could catch up with him and stop him in his tracks. He didn’t want to attract any more attention to him or his grandfather, and he felt certain that the sight of him in hot pursuit of an elderly gentleman would surely cause tongues to wag.

  He didn’t want to embarrass Sierra or her family on this sacred day. Ugh. He was doing it again! He was acting as if he cared about the pampered princess. As if her getting her little feelings hurt was a big deal to him. Sierra Jackson meant nothing more to him than a bad memory.

  By the time Caleb caught up to his grandfather all of the mourners had left the burial site, causing Caleb to utter a silent prayer of thanks for small mercies. For a brief second every nerve-ending in his body pulsed with feeling, as if he was being jolted by an electric current. A deep sense of awareness filled him, and he knew without turning around that Sierra was standing directly behind him. It had always been that way with Sierra - her mere presence made the hairs on the back of his neck tingle.

  He stood with his back to her, inhaling the sweet scent of her perfume that hovered in the hot, hazy air. If he closed his eyes, he thought for a brief moment, he could almost pretend it was that night long ago when she had worn that same intoxicating perfume and he had kissed her for the first time.

  “Caleb.” The way she softly breathed his name made his gut clench, and for an instant he felt like running in the opposite direction. This woman was dangerous to his senses, to his self-control, to his ability to think before acting...and most of all, to his heart. Whenever she was anywhere near him he lost all sense of reason and he found himself acting like a teenager all over again. In some ways he still felt like the dirt poor, eighteen-year-old boy who had fallen in love with the richest girl in town...and lived to regret it.

  Caleb turned towards Sierra, words of apology tumbling off his lips as he met the wounded brown eyes that reflected a sorrow he couldn’t ignore. She was hurting badly. He could see it etched on her face, by the slight dark shadows under her eyes and in the way she wrapped her arms around her middle. She looked like a wounded bird, her fragility and pain in direct contrast to the feisty, strong Sierra he had once known so well. He wanted to take her in his arms and shelter her from all the hurt and pain the world had to offer. But he wouldn’t. He couldn’t afford to be so magnanimous, not after all that had passed between them. For all he knew she wouldn’t even want him to comfort her.

  “I’m sorry,” Caleb said. “I tried to stop my grandfather from interrupting the service, but as you can see I wasn’t very successful. He was determined to be here.”

  Sierra shook her head as if to dispute Caleb’s words of apology. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. Your grandfather hasn’t done anything wrong. If he wants to say goodbye to my grandmother, I think it’s only right that he do so.”

  “He shouldn’t be here. Neither of us should be here,” he responded in an abrupt tone. For some reason he couldn’t stomach her kindness, for it reminded him too much of all he had lost.

  “I think my grandmother would want Jock here, by her side,” Sierra said cryptically. “It’s where he belongs.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Caleb asked with a frown. What was Sierra talking about? Lilliana Rose and Jock, side by side?

  “I think you should ask your grandfather. You must realize there’s a reason he wanted so desperately to be here today.”

  “Yes, of course,” he said with a roll of his eyes, “because he’s plastered out of his mind and he’s having delusions of grandeur. Your grandmother would’ve sooner crushed my grandfather under her shoe than speak to him. He meant nothing to her. A man like my grandfather was never allowed in the same circles as the almighty Lilliana Rose Jackson. They lived in two different worlds.”

  “You’re wrong,” she hissed, her beautiful face full of defiance.

  Two little words spoken so convincingly rocked him to the core. What was she saying? He looked over at the gravesite and watched as his grandfather got down on his knees and crossed his fingers in a prayerful gesture, one that spoke volumes. Jock wasn’t a religious man, and it was the first time Caleb had ever witnessed his grandfather’s devotion to God. For years his parents had begged Jock to be a part of their church family. Time after time he had refused. Yet now he was turning to the Lord.

  There had to be a good reason for his actions. And Sierra didn’t appear at all surprised by his grandfather’s appearance at the service or his sorrowful actions.

  “What’s going on?” Caleb asked. “I think I have a right to know. No more veiled innuendoes. Just give it to me straight!”

  Sierra hesitated for a second, as if gauging the extent to which Caleb was going to pursue the issue. In a halting voice she began to speak. “My grandmother and your grandfather...they were in love. They even planned to get married, but your grandfather jilted Lilliana Rose at the altar. She never got over it. And evidently, he never got over her either. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t be here today.”

  “Who told you this messed up story?” Caleb demanded, his face fierce and forbidding as he gazed at her. “Whoever told you this fairy tale lied to you. They got it all twisted up.”

  “It’s not a fairy tale. The story came straight from my grandmother. Why would she make up a story that your grandfather could so easily deny? Ask him, Caleb. Go on and ask him.”

  Caleb turned around to confront his grandfather, panic swiftly sweeping through him as he turned toward the burial plot in search of Jock. He was no longer kneeling at the gravesite. He was nowhere to be seen. “Where is he?” Caleb demanded as he whirled around and began searching for his grandfather. “Where did he go?”

  Sierra turned around, her face reflecting her confusion as she searched for Jock. “I don’t see him anywhere. He must have taken off when we weren’t paying attention.”

  “Shoot!” Caleb uttered, his voice hoarse with frustration. “I promised Mama I’d bring him back to her house...safe and sound. She’s going to be crazy with worry.”

  “Bring him back? Is there something wrong with your grandfather? Is he sick?”

  “None of your business,” Caleb snapped. Immediately he regretted losing his temper, and he watched as she abruptly turned her back on him and began to walk away. “Wait, Sierra. Don’t leave.” She stopped in her tracks and turned back toward him, her face reflecting her wariness.

  His posture was defensive as he spoke to her, his arms fisted in his jean pockets, shoulders rigid as he met her gaze head on. “Yeah, something is wrong. My grandfather has a chemical imbalance, complicated by a problem with booze. It makes him do crazy things sometimes if he’s off his meds and on a bender. We never know from one minute to another where he is or what he’s going to do next. One minute he’s fine and the next he’s acting very erratic. The reason I tracked him down here is because I was afraid he’d make a scene.”

  “Well, he didn’t make a scene, Caleb. He did my grandmother a great honor by coming here and paying his respects,” Sierra said calmly.

  “I'm glad he didn't ruin the service,” Caleb said, “but I wish he hadn't run off the way he did. It’s concerning.”

  “I’m sorry about your grandfather. I-I have to go. My family's waiting for me over there.” Sierra nodded her head toward a cluster of oak trees where a long, dark limousine sat waiting for the missing member of the Jackson family. “I wish I could stay and help you look for your grandfather. I’d like to talk to him myself. I need to settle something with him for my grandmother.”

  Gruffly, Caleb said, “About this afternoon...I was probably to
o hard on you. I’m sorry about your grandmother. It’s not easy losing a loved one.” I know that firsthand, he said to himself, because when I lost you my entire world turned upside down.

  Sierra looked down, managing to avoid his gaze, her hands nervously fiddling with the clasp of her purse. “I thought you were going to say you were sorry about...kissing me.”

  “I could never truly be sorry about that,” he said in a low voice.

  Sierra swallowed nervously and opened her mouth to respond, her words dying on her lips as he took a step toward her. She took two steps backwards and then quickly turned on her heel, her legs moving at a rapid pace despite her three inch Laboutin pumps and her form-fitting skirt.

  Sierra moved as if she was scared he might kiss her right here at the cemetary, Caleb thought with a smile. The nervous look on her face had said it all. She was running for self-preservation. She was running from him.

  “Scaredy cat,” Caleb yelled after her. He could tell by the way she turned her head to the side that she’d heard his comment.

  For a few moments Caleb watched Sierra walk away from him, silently admiring the proud tilt of her shoulders, her classic outfit and the sleek, muscled curve of her leg. He chided himself yet again for caring about the woman who had so cruelly broken his heart. Why? he asked himself. Why did it always seem as if Sierra was walking away from him?

  ***

  Yancy Ralston was the type of man who handled matters of business in the same way he handled matters of the heart: quickly and with as few complications as necessary. It was in this manner that he hoped to settle the estate of his oldest and most beloved friend Lilliana Rose Jackson. Yancy was a tall, distinguished looking gentleman in his late seventies, although he could have passed for a decade younger. He was an average-looking man, although he was known to break hearts in the senior circle whenever he turned on his famous charm. Yancy was the type who never broke a sweat, always maintaining his dignity and composure regardless of the circumstances.

  Dignity and composure were two necessary ingredients in the reading of a will, especially when so much was at stake. When a woman had as much money, power and influence as Lilliana Rose, Yancy mused, there was usually a group of relatives waiting in the wings to divvy up the estate. The Jacksons were a different breed entirely. Yancy knew that for a fact. He had known Lilliana Rose’s children and grandchildren their entire lives. He had watched them grow up from infancy to adolescence, then finally to adulthood, where each had fulfilled the promise of their generation. Now the entire family was in mourning, as he himself was, for a rare breed of woman who only came around once in a lifetime.

  It was time he began the business of settling his best friend’s affairs.

  Gently, he cleared his throat, then proceeded to speak. “Lilliana Rose had strict instructions regarding the reading of her will. She wanted all the family to gather at the homestead on the day of her funeral at two o’clock,” Yancy explained to the group who had gathered in the library after returning home. In addition to the immediate members of the family were Lilliana’s attorney, Sam Jarvis, along with the familys’ cook, Minnie, who’d been her grandmother’s most faithful companion.

  Yancy appeared nervous as he prepared to read the document, his large fingers adjusting and readjusting his glasses on the brim of his nose. Suddenly he cleared his throat, shuffled the pages on the desk and began to read aloud. “I, Lilliana Rose Jackson, being of sound mind, if not body, do hereby dispose of my estate. To my beloved son, Brock, I leave the homestead, as well as full ownership of the company, Jackson & Jackson, along with a sum of five million dollars. And to my darling Simone, I leave five million dollars and a seat on the board of Jackson & Jackson. I also leave my daughter the family diamond that her father gave to me upon our engagement. It is my fondest hope that in the coming years my two children will mend their differences and grow together as a family.” Yancy paused for a breath and reached for the tall glass of water that Minnie had thoughtfully placed in front of him on the desk. He looked around the room for a brief moment in a clear attempt to gauge the reactions of the people in the room. Although Brock was clearly overwhelmed with gratitude over his mother’s bequest, Simone sat stone-faced in her chair, as if she had no reaction to the proceedings.

  Sierra sat in her chair and listened to the proceedings, a tender smile lighting up her face as she heard her grandmother’s bequest to her father. The family company meant the world to her father, and although he had been Chief Executive Officer for almost twenty years, he had longed to make the company truly his own. While Lilliana Rose had built the company up with the help of Sierra’s grandfather, Webster, she had never loved working at Jackson & Jackson as much as she loved the Diamond Lil. The ranch had always been her true heart and soul. It had been her life’s grand passion.

  Sierra heard Yancy reading her mother’s name, followed by Jacey and Jason. Both of her siblings had received two million dollars in cash, one million in stocks along with a seat on the board at the family company. Lilliana Rose had left her beloved daughter-in-law most of her jewelry and a large sum of money. Sierra forced herself to pay attention as she heard Yancy speaking her name. “And to my baby girl, Sierra, I leave the Diamond Lil Ranch, as well as two million in cash and one million in stocks.”

  Sierra gasped as she heard the stunning inheritance. In her wildest dreams she had never expected her grandmother to leave her the ranch. Clearly, she wasn’t the only surprised person in the room. As soon as the words tumbled off Yancy’s tongue, Aunt Simone leaped from her seat and cried out, “No! No! It isn’t fair. The Diamond Lil should’ve been left to me.”

  Chapter Three

  “It should’ve been left to me! I’m her daughter, aren’t I? I can’t believe she did this to me!” Aunt Simone’s words reverberated throughout the room, met by shocked glances from all the participants in the unfolding drama. No one uttered a word in response to Simone’s tirade. For a moment she looked around the room expectantly, as if waiting for confirmation of her beliefs. “Although I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Mama ignored me my entire life. Why shouldn’t she continue her wicked ways straight to the grave?” Aunt Simone sent Sierra a look filled with disbelief and anger, then slammed her chair to the floor and ran from the room. Her ebony face was as angry as a storm cloud and tears of rage and humiliation flowed down her cheeks.

  “Leave it to Lilliana Rose to have drama break out at the reading of her will,” observed Jason with a grim smile. “And I always thought Aunt Simone was the calm, cool, collected type.”

  “Hush, Jason. It’s not funny. She’s so upset. Maybe someone should go after her,” suggested Sierra as she struggled with feelings of discomfort. She’d felt her aunt’s anger and disappointment, and she couldn’t help but sense that it was directed mainly at her. She now possessed something that her aunt desperately wanted—the Diamond Lil.

  “Let her go soak her head,” Jacey muttered. “Grammy left us what she wanted us to have, Sierra. We can’t argue with that, like it or not. All we should feel is gratitude, pure and simple.”

  Yancy walked over to Sierra and placed his arm around her shoulder and squeezed it hard. Silently, she marveled at the older man’s rugged good looks that had miraculously managed to withstand the test of time. Sierra listened intently as Yancy explained, “Your grandmother wanted you to have the Diamond Lil. She said it over and over again through the years. There was no one else on this earth she believed who could do a better job at maintaining the ranch. She said you were the only other person she’d ever known who loved the Diamond Lil as much as she did.”

  Sierra furrowed her brow as she listened to Yancy’s explanation. “But I don’t live in Briarwood. How can I possibly run the ranch from New York?”

  Yancy looked edgy for a moment, and he appeared to be struggling for the right words. Finally he spoke up. “Sierra, there is a stipulation in Lilliana Rose’s will. It states that in order to get your inheritance you have to relocate to Briar
wood. If you don’t relocate, you’ll lose everything she bequeathed you, including the stocks and the money.”

  “Why would she make a special stipulation like that? Jacey lives in Paris and there was no special stipulation with her inheritance.” Sierra couldn't hide her frustration as she posed the question to the man who had known all of Lilliana Rose’s secrets and wishes. Yancy was grim-faced as he responded, “There are reasons, Sierra. Mainly, there is no way you could run the Diamond Lil from New York. Sure, you could have the ranch hands and the foreman doing all the work and all, but you wouldn’t be runnin it. And the Diamond Lil needs runnin.” For a moment Yancey’s eyes were hooded as he explained, “Things haven’t been going too well lately with the Diamond Lil. Lilliana Rose was too sickly to make a difference in turning things around, and your daddy....well, he never took to the ole Diamond Lil. He’s a company man. Hollis is doing a mighty fine job as the foreman, as usual, but things have taken a turn for the worse since your grandmother’s illness.”

  “Yancey, tell me everything!” Sierra demanded. “If I’m going to give up my entire life and career back in New York, and I’m not saying yet that I am, I need to know what I’m in for.” In all honesty her job as a photographer had failed to captivate her heart and mind as of late. While she had a large group of friends in the city, they were superficial friendships rather than lifelong relationships that were based on common interests, mutual respect and an abiding love for each other.

  “Why don’t you make an appointment to meet with Sam Jarvis to discuss the Diamond Lil. Sam and Hollis can tell you everything you need to know about the troubles,” Yancey advised. “Two months ago Sam stepped in as an advisor of sorts. Honestly, he’d be the best one to talk to.”

  “I’ll do that,” she said with a nod. Yancey squeezed her arm before walking across the room toward her father. Her brain was working overtime trying to piece together all the facts Yancy had disclosed to her. Her grandmother had bequeathed her the Diamond Lil, but in order to inherit the ranch she had to move back to Briarwood. And there was her aunt Simone to consider. Clearly, she was angry and disappointed over her bequest. Would it be fair to Aunt Simone to stay in town and assume control of the Diamond Lil? Would it be fair to herself to be so near to Caleb yet unable to be with him?