by Becky McGraw
"Fuck!" Ethan grated. "Move, I'm going to find her."
Terri stepped back and he slammed the truck door, then twisted the keys in the ignition violently. The motor roared to life and he threw the gear shift into reverse then slammed his foot on the pedal. The truck fishtailed down the driveway to the road, then he turned right.
He couldn't tell Roxanne what was going on, explain himself to her, but he could damn well keep her from leaving the ranch. Terri needed her, Joel needed her, and he needed...he needed to stay the fuck away from her.
He was going to tell her he would leave the ranch if she couldn't deal with him being there. She needed to come back home.
After traveling five or six miles down the winding country road, he figured out he wasn't going to catch her this way. Even though he thought she was only five minutes ahead of him, she must be hauling ass, because he still hadn't seen her tail lights. He had no idea where she was headed either. Ethan pulled to the side of the road, and flipped through his phone until he found Wes Jepson's phone number.
"I don't know, I haven't seen her yet," he told him when Ethan called. "She called this morning and said she was going to take the assistant job, which shocked the crap out of me, but I'm at the office and she hasn't shown up here yet."
"Don't tell her I called, but I need your address there...she's making a mistake," Ethan told him, then jotted down the address, before he hung up.
Ethan's eyes burned like fire and his head felt like it was filled with cotton, but he wasn't stopping until he found the crazy cowgirl and talked some sense into her.
Forty-five minutes later, he pulled up in front of the modest brick building that sat behind a large log cabin, he guessed was Wes Jepson's home. His office evidently was that brick building, and it was an extension of his residence.
Thinking about that sent bile up into his throat, because if he didn't succeed in changing Rocky's mind, she would be here daily, close to Wes Jepson. It would be a natural progression for her to move into that big log house with him, Ethan was sure.
When he got out of the truck, an old floppy-eared hound dog bayed from the wide front porch, then waddled down the steps and ran across the yard toward him. The front door flew open, and a freckled-faced, red-haired little boy dressed in jeans and a checkered shirt ran out on the porch after the dog.
The rubber boots he had on must be too big for him, because he walked like he had gum on the bottom of his feet as he stomped down the steps yelling, "Silas, come back here!" while he chased him across the yard toward the truck.
"He's fine," Ethan told him with a chuckle then sat on the running board of the truck to scratch behind the dog's ears. "Aren't you boy? You're fine."
"He's always chasing something," the little boy huffed in frustration with a shake of his head. He looked at Ethan a minute then asked, "You have a dog?"
"No, but I wish I did. I like dogs," Ethan replied as he continued to pet Silas.
"Me too. Silas is my best friend. He likes my knock, knock jokes, a lot," the boy said with a giggle. "Knock, knock..." he said and waited expectantly for Ethan to answer.
"Who's there?" he asked with a patient smile.
"Arfur," the boy replied.
"Arfur, who?" Ethan asked and his smile widened.
"Arfur got," he said proudly with a big grin that displayed his missing front teeth.
"That's pretty 'dog' gone funny, there, pardner," Ethan drawled and chucked his chin.
"I have more...hey mister, what's your name?" he asked, then rambled, "Mine is Wesley, just like my daddy, but they call me Trey, because my grandaddy's name is Wesley too."
"I'm Ethan, and I'm here to see your daddy," he told the boy, then stuck out his hand to him, "It's nice to meet you, Trey."
"Nice to meet you too...daddy's back in the office," Trey informed him then started walking that way. Ethan followed him and Silas followed Ethan, sniffing at his ankles.
Ethan glanced around, but didn't see Rocky's truck. "Do you know Miss Rocky, Trey?" Ethan asked nonchalantly as they walked.
"Oh, yeah, she's pretty and she likes my jokes too," he said over his shoulder with another toothless grin, then he turned and walked backwards to tell him, "I got to meet her horse one day. His name is Reed and he's huge!" The boy spread his arms wide and his expression was comical.
"Is she here?" Ethan asked as they reached the steps that led up to the office door.
"Haven't seen her in a while," he informed. To a kid that could mean two weeks, two days or two minutes, so it answered nothing.
"But I'll let you know if I see her!" Trey squealed then took off running back toward the house with Silas hot on his heels.
The door of the office opened, and Wes Jepson stepped outside onto the stoop.
"Hey, Ethan. Rox still hasn't come by, but come on in," he offered and held the door for him.
Ethan followed him inside and scanned the building. It was larger than he expected from the outside, and was divided into a small waiting area with a reception desk, and several glass-fronted examining rooms. But was even bigger still, Ethan realized when Wes led him through another door at the back of the building into a tiny office. The desk against one wall had a computer, and was littered with a lot of opened manila file folders and papers.
"Excuse the mess," he said with a laugh as he walked around the desk to sit down. "I'm kind of behind on my charting and billing, which is why I was damned excited to hear Rocky was interested in helping me."
"I would imagine, she's a very competent woman. From seeing ya'll working together last night, I can see she would be a good fit." In a lot of ways, she and the vet would fit. Ethan's heart wiggled in his chest, and that nauseous feeling came back again.
"I've been through seven assistants, one a year, since Laura left, it would be a relief to have someone dependable who has a lick of sense."
"Laura?" Ethan repeated curiously.
"My ex-wife. She was my assistant too, so when..."
"When she left it was a twofer deal?" Ethan supplied.
"Yeah," he said and huffed out a breath, then tried to straighten up his desk.
"The R & R really needs her, Wes...Terri and Joel need her," Ethan told him bluntly.
"I need her too," Wes looked up and told him. The vet's eyes told Ethan his words were about a lot more than needing her to be his assistant.
His stomach see-sawed, and he put a hand there then said, "Terri is pregnant, so she's not going to be much help to Joel soon. Rocky and Terri are friends, she needs Roxanne's support."
"Why is she leaving?" Wes asked folding his hands on the desk to study Ethan.
"Because of me. We had a falling out last night, and she's upset."
"After I dropped ya'll off?" Wes asked with a shake of his head. "She seemed fine in the truck, and you didn't say two words."
"Yeah, after you left we got into it, and I said some things that upset her."
"Hell, man that woman has alligator skin, what did you say to her?"
"Um, I can't go into specifics, but it's something a man should never say to a woman, but I had my reasons. And I can't go into those either right now," Ethan told him huffing out a breath.
Wes snorted then grinned. "You have your work cut out for you then. Along with alligator skin, she has a temper that you don't want to meet."
"Trust me, I know...I've met it several times since I've known her," Ethan replied with a half-smile. "I'm surprised I haven't met her shotgun too."
"Be careful man, she's very good with that gun. I've gone hunting with her before." Wes told him with a chuckle.
So, Wes had gone hunting with her before?
Ethan wondered what else the vet had done with her out there alone in the woods. He knew what he would do, and this man was no different than him. A steel fist squeezed his stomach, and he ground his teeth.
"Ya'll go by yourselves?" Ethan asked, because he couldn't stop himself.
Wes hesitated then answered, "Uh, no, Dylan went
with us, why?"
"No reason," Ethan replied, then tried to change the topic, "Does Rocky answer her cell phone when you call?"
"Yeah, she usually does...unless she's working."
"Well, she's not working, so can you call and ask where she is right now and when she's headed this way?"
"Sure," he said then picked up his cell phone from the edge of the desk and dialed.
Ethan flinched when the man drawled, "Rox? Hey baby, when are you headed down this way?" with a smile in his voice. "Oh, you're on your way? Good, I'll see you in a little bit then," he told her meeting Ethan's eyes, before he hung up.
The pet names the man called Roxanne grated on Ethan's nerves. He knew it wasn't intentional, the man had no idea that Ethan was half in love with her too, but he hated him for using them. And he hated that the vet had the kind of relationship with her that Ethan wanted.
Ethan wanted to be the one who had the right to call her baby, and sugar, the only one. But he couldn't very well be that man, after telling her it was over last night.
"Wes, I'm probably going to be leaving Amarillo," Ethan blurted. He needed to tell the man what he had decided on last night, that he wasn't joining that rescue team. It would be easier to do that now that he had decided he was leaving the ranch.
"Oh, yeah, how long will you be gone?" he asked.
"Not coming back, I'm going back to Henrietta, or somewhere else where I can find a job," he informed.
"Aren't you working at the R & R?" Wes asked with confusion in his tone.
"I am, and I'll stay as long as Terri needs me, until she can find someone else."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I need to move on," he told the man, thinking about moving on in more ways than one, and the fact that Rocky would probably end up with Wes Jepson. "And about that class I missed...how much was it? I want to pay you back."
He had promised Rocky he would and that was what he would do, living up to that promise was one thing he could do.
"There's no need, Ethan. If I had known you were certified to teach that class, I wouldn't have bothered registering you for it."
"But I still want to pay you back for the reg--"
"They allowed my team to attend free of charge," Wes interrupted.
Relief poured through Ethan, because although he had offered, Ethan had no idea where he would find the money to pay the man back, he didn't have a job now. He just knew he was going to do it.
"Okay, thanks."
Wes narrowed his eyes and said, "You're leaving the R & R, does that mean you're not going to stay on the team either? I'd be damned sad to lose you."
That was a surprise to Ethan, he thought Rocky had to beg Wes Jepson to let him on the team. "You would?"
"Yeah, the guys at the class yesterday sang your praises so loudly my ears were ringing by the time we left," Wes told him with a chuckle. "I think they're in the process of having you sainted."
"I worked with them a long time...they're my friends," Ethan told him. "But that doesn't mean I can do all that on horseback...that's Rocky's specialty. I'm lucky to get up on one without breaking my neck."
"I know and that's why the two of you would make a good team on the trail. What she doesn't know about rescue, you can tell her. And visa versa," Wes told him.
"You planned on partnering us up?" Ethan asked incredulously. The vet must just not see how Ethan felt about Roxanne, he had thought it was written all over his face.
"Yeah, I did...but if you're going to quit the team too, I'll find someone else experienced to put her with. I want to make sure she's safe."
Ethan did too, that's one of the reasons why he considered joining the team in the first place. After he got to know her better though, he quickly figured out Roxanne Baker could more than take care of herself. That still didn't mean he wanted her traipsing off into the woods with someone he wasn't sure knew what they were doing.
Wes's cell phone rang, and he picked it up. After listening for a minute or so, his eyebrows lifted and he said, "No, kidding...already? Wow, Clay, um I don't know, man, I haven't even had an organizational meeting yet."
Ethan listened intently to the call, trying not to look like he was listening.
Evidently, the call was from Clayburn from the Task Force, Ethan's friend and the Ranger they had been in class with yesterday. He was asking for Wes's help in finding a lost kid in Palo Duro Canyon State Park.
Ethan knew that park, he had been there rock climbing and mountain biking with his buddies. It was huge, the second largest canyon in the United States, just behind the Grand Canyon in size. Finding a lost kid there would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
No wonder the Task Force was calling on equine help.
Getting through all the scrub and vines off trail would be hard, climbing rock walls on an ATV nearly impossible.
They better find the kid soon, because not only was the terrain treacherous, the weather at this time of year was unpredictable. In Mid-March, one minute it could be seventy-five and the next below freezing, especially at night, not to mention the spring storms that blew in unexpectedly.
He wondered how long the child had been missing.
Fear for her gripped him, but adrenaline and excitement shot through him too. This would be fun, damned fun, and challenging, he thought.
Wes disconnected the call and Ethan immediately told him, "I'm in."
"In as in staying on the team, or in as in you're going to help this time then leave?" Wes asked slowly.
"In, as you need my help on this one, and I want to help. I'll figure the other stuff out once we find that kid."
"Fair enough," Wes told him. "I've got some calls to make to round up horses and men. I have supplies out in the shed behind this building. Can you drive my truck back there and start loading? Get Rocky to help once she gets here?"
"If you hear a gunshot..." Ethan replied with a chuckle.
"I'll come running, and call 911," he assured as he threw his truck keys to Ethan.
By the time Ethan got back to the truck and inside his reserves of energy were gone. Loading anything right now wasn't going to happen. He needed a power nap, and he needed one now, if he was going to be any use to anyone in this search.
Just an hour would recharge him, he knew. He'd been a fireman for too many years, not to be able to grab sleep when he could, and make it last when he managed to do that. After he stopped the truck in front of the shed behind the office, Ethan laid across the bench seat and closed his eyes. Almost immediately he fell asleep.
Rocky pulled up in front of Wes's office two hours after she'd talked to him on the phone and killed the truck. All outward traces of her flight from the R & R this morning were gone, thanks to her sister knowing all the tricks to make that happen.
Even though she had told Wes on the phone earlier that she was on her way to the office, she made an hour detour, instead. She had gone to the trailer where her sister was staying, Dylan's love shack, because there was no way in hell she was going to face Wes looking like she knew she must look.
There would be too many questions that she wasn't going to answer.
Crying was not a common occurrence for her, so even though her sister was shocked when she got to the tiny trailer, Leigh Ann took full advantage of being able to help her for a change.
Who knew cold cucumbers calmed puffy eyes? Certainly not Rocky. Witch hazel on a cool rag had erased the redness in her face too, and Leigh Ann added a little concealer under her eyes to perform a miracle.
Nobody but she and Leigh Ann would ever know that she had ever been bawling.
Pushing open the door, she got out of the truck and walked up the steps then tried the office door. It was locked, so she shaded her eyes and tried to see through the glass that could use a good cleaning.
She put that on her to-do list for her new job here.
Sadness welled up in her chest, and she swallowed it back. There wasn't time for that crap, she reminded herself. She was doing wh
at she had to do to distance herself from more drama and the source of that drama, Ethan Cassidy. Besides. Wes needed her help and she needed this job now that she had quit the R & R.
Rocky wondered where Wes had gone. She figured he must've gotten an emergency farm call. Walking back down the steps, she headed for her truck, but stopped halfway there when Silas, Wes's dog, came bounding off the front steps of his house, followed closely by his son Trey.
"Miss Rocky!" he yelled, his gap-toothed smile spread ear to ear.
"Hiya, sport!" she said and bent down so he could launch himself into her arms for a hug that almost cut off her airway.
He pushed back and asked, "You here to see my daddy too?"
"Yeah, is he in the house?" If Trey was here alone, Wes was here too. He was a great parent, and would never leave his ten-year-old unattended. Since Trey was usually in school at this time, she figured he must be on a break from school or something. "Or is your grandma here?"
"Nah, Nana isn't here...he's behind his office," he told her having problems with the F's with his missing front teeth.
She smiled remembering those days from her childhood. "Heard any good jokes lately?" she asked him.
His eyes lit up and his grin reappeared. "Knock, knock..."
"Who's there?" she played along.
"Orange..." he replied with laughter in his voice.
"Orange who?"
"Orange you gonna stop playing knock, knock with me and go find my dad?"
She threw back her head and laughed then pulled him in for a quick hug. "You made that one up, squirt."
"Yeah, you like it?" he asked proudly.
"Yeah, I did. Want me to help you find daddy?"
"Sure," she told him and took his hand. "Lead the way."
He walked in front of her, pulling on her hand to drag her around the side of the office. "He's back here loading the truck," Trey told her.
When they rounded the corner, she saw both Wes's truck and a truck from the R & R Ranch and stopped in her tracks. It was a real close call for her to decide to go forward instead of running right back to her truck and burning rubber out of here.