Chase the Wind (44 page)

“I’ve been searching for years. But yesterday I overheard a man talking about someone that could make a horse dance, and his description of the man fit Jamie. I knew it had to be him. There’s not many who look like him.”

“There’s not many who can work a horse like him.”

“My father was like that, and his father before him. My mother called it the Duncan magic. Oh my gosh, Storm! Jamie doesn’t know I have our father’s horse. Is there someplace I can put him?”

The sound of riders approaching stopped Grace’s answer. They heard the long stride of boots on the porch, and Jason Lynch burst through the door. All the color drained from his bronzed face at the sight of the girl standing before him.

“My God—Jenny?” he asked.

“Yes.” Jenny looked at Grace, who was looking at Jason quizzically. He put his hands up to rub his eyes and looked at her again. His face looked shocked, but he regained his composure.

“I am so glad to finally meet you.” He extended his hand and Jenny gave him hers, unsure of what she was supposed to do. Cat was behind him, looking unhappy, and Grace knew that her father had set her back on her heels. “Jamie rode out this morning with Chase to look for strays. There’s no telling when he’ll be back. You must stay with us at the main house.”

“I really—”

“No, I insist. Cat, help her get her things, and I’ll make sure that Bill takes care of your horse.” Jason Lynch was a man accustomed to having his orders obeyed, and Jenny didn’t have the energy to fight him.

“I don’t have much,” was all she could say, and she went out to get her saddlebags off Storm. An older man appeared and took the horse up to the barn.

“That’s a fine-looking animal,” Jason commented as Storm was led away.

“He belonged to our father.”

Jason watched as the gray walked away, his neck still proudly arched, his tail high behind him as he stepped lightly after the man. Behind them was the sound of bawling cattle where the boys were hard at work cutting the herd. Jason led Jenny up the hill to the main house. She was nearly overwhelmed by the luxuriousness of it when Jason opened the door and she stepped into the cool interior onto finely polished wood floors. Jason had to take her arm
and lead her into the hallway, where a white-trimmed staircase led
to the second floor.

“I built it for Cat’s mother, but she didn’t live long enough to
enjoy it,” Jason explained, almost apologizing for the grandeur. “I used to live in a cabin down in the valley when it was just me, but
that was a long time ago.” His mind seemed to drift off with the
words.

“It’s lovely,” Jenny murmured as she looked around at the rich
furnishings.

“I hardly notice it,” Jason admitted.

“Daddy pays more attention to the cows than to his chairs,” Cat
added.

“Those cows pay your bills,” Jason said sternly. Cat just smiled
sweetly and flopped into a chair. “You’ll have your choice of several
rooms,” he said as he started up the staircase. “We have a house
keeper, Agnes. If you let her know what you need, she’ll take care
of you.”

“I really don’t need anything,” Jenny said as she followed Jason up the steps. She felt dirty and out of place amidst this luxury, and
she longed to take Storm and leave. Jason led her to a bedroom with a wide high bed and a window that overlooked the valley. Jenny was overwhelmed as she turned around, not knowing what
to do next.

“I can have Agnes fix you a bath if you like,” Jason suggested.

“No, really, I’m fine.”

“Dinner is around six.”

“Thank you.”

Jason stood, just looking at her, which made Jenny feel more
nervous. He finally turned and left, reminding her to make herself
at home.

Jenny dropped her bag and went to the window, taking in the many buildings below. She recognized the cabin where she had
met Grace and the boys; next to that must be the bunkhouse. There
were a few barns and smaller outbuildings that held a forge and
tack, and beyond a small smokehouse. There were several corrals as well as the huge pen where the cattle were being separated into
groups by the cowboys she had met earlier. She saw Cat going back
down the hill, no doubt to protect her interest in Ty. Jenny shook
her head as she dismissed the jealousy the young woman had
shown. The last thing Jenny wanted was a relationship with a
man—any man.

Her visual tour of the valley over, she turned to investigate the
room she was in. There was a washstand, a wingback chair covered with a soft rose fabric, a huge wardrobe that was empty when she
opened the doors. A flash caught her eye as she was about to shut the doors, and she realized there was a mirror attached to the inside. She stared at the reflection before her. Deep, wide blue eyes looked back at her, full of fear. Her knees trembled as she took
inventory of what she saw.

“Jamie, will you recognize me?” she asked staring at the reflection. Faces flashed before her: Thad Miller, the man who had taken
her from the orphanage, his wife Millie, then Wade Bishop, the
man who had found her on the trail after her escape from the
Millers. They were the faces of the people who had used her before she had learned self-preservation. Others were the faces of the ones
who had been kind, but there weren’t many of those, her wall of
reserve had kept out many who would have helped her. “Jamie,
will you still love me?” she asked. There was no answer.

Jenny went down to dinner promptly at six, and immediately felt
embarrassed to still be wearing the clothes she had arrived in when
she saw Cat in a lovely dress. Jenny apologized for her attire, but it was all she had. Jason did his best to make her feel comfortable,
and even Cat could find no fault with her manners, for which Jenny
said a thanksgiving prayer to her mother, who had always insisted that they learn proper etiquette. Grace came up after she was done feeding the hands and contributed to the polite conversation in the salon after dinner. Jenny excused herself early and made her way
to her room, the strain wearing her out. It had been a long time since she had tried to make conversation, and she wasn’t sure enough of herself or the company to keep it up for long. When she went to her room, she opened the window, wanting the chill of the spring evening to make the bed more warm and inviting.
She heard the sound of the back door opening below and heard
Jason and Grace on the porch off the kitchen.

“Poor thing, she’s had it rough,” Grace commented.

“I know, and Cat is determined not to make it any easier for her.
I wanted to wring her neck when she came down all dressed up,
knowing Jenny didn’t have a stitch with her.”

“Maybe we should get her some things.”

“I don’t think she’d accept them,” Jason said. “She’s got a lot of
pride—that much is obvious. Has she said anything to you about
what she’s been doing or where she’s been?”

“No, just that she was trying to find Jamie. What do you think
hell do, now that she’s here?”

“I don’t know. I hope he’ll stay on, but a lot of it depends on her, I guess, and if Jamie goes, that means Chase will go, too. I know that much.” They stepped off the porch and Jenny leaned back so they wouldn’t see her spying on them. “They’ll be back
soon I guess, and everything will work itself out.”

“There’s something I wanted to ask you, Jason, about Jenny,”

“What is it?”

“When you first saw her, it was like you knew her. Your face
went white as if you were in shock. Have you seen her before?”

“No, but when I first saw her, I thought she was someone else,
someone I knew a long time ago.” Silence followed as Grace looked
up into his eyes, but the darkness kept the secret hidden, and she
knew Jason well enough not to pry.

“Why don’t you let her spend her time with me, instead of sitting
in this big old house waiting around?”

“I’ll suggest that to her in the morning.”

Jenny saw Grace take off down the hill towards her cabin. Jason
stood and watched her go before he turned into the house. Jenny watched as the lights went out in the bunkhouse, then at Grace’s,
then heard the sounds of the main house settling for the night. The
moon was full and its light shone over the hills beyond, giving them a silver glow before they faded into the dark purple of the mountains that rose up behind. She wondered which of the can
yons was sheltering Jamie and Chase for the night, and envied the
peace that being here had evidently given them. Grace had said
they were like a family, and Jenny had seen for herself the genuine
concern that Jason had for his employees.

As she climbed into the big bed, she began to wonder what they would do now. Finding Jamie had been a priority for so long that
she had not given any thought to what would happen once they were together. It had never occurred to her that he might have a life without her, but obviously he did, and she had no clue where
she was to fit in. Jenny finally fell asleep, feeling very alone and
lost in the big, comfortable bed.

The next morning she awoke to the sounds of cattle bawling in the valley below. She went to the window, trailing the sheet that she had wrapped around her nude body. The hands were busy at work cutting the herd, and she could see Cat watching it all from atop the high fence of the pen. She noticed that Jason was there also, working alongside the rest of them, and the sight increased her respect for the man. She hastily dressed, embarrassed that she had slept so late, and made the bed, leaving the room much the way she had found it. She went down the back stairs to the kitchen, intending to head straight to Grace’s cabin, but Agnes stopped her and insisted that she eat the breakfast she had kept warm for her.

After breakfast, Jenny found Grace busy working on lunch for the boys, who had been hard at work since sunup. Grace gave her a quick smile and instructed her to start peeling potatoes, hoping to keep her busy while they waited for Jamie. Jenny gratefully attacked the pile before her, and before she realized it she was chattering away, Grace’s easy manner overcoming her reserve.

The sound of stomping boots interrupted their conversation, and the cowboys came in, looking for lunch. They gathered around the table, Jason and Cat joining them, and Jenny helped to serve, enjoying the flow of conversation, most of it either started by Zane or directed at him. He gave Jenny a wounded look, trying to gain her sympathy when Ty shot him down, but she just laughed with the rest of them, then was surprised at how easily it had come. When lunch was over, Jason asked if he could get a closer look at Storm, and she went with him to the stable, beginning to feel comfortable in his presence.

They turned the gray out into a small corral and he began to trot around, his tail waving like a flag around him as he inspected his new domain. There were some mares in another pen, and Storm stood with his head high as he looked them over, whinnying deep in his throat.

“How old is he?” Jason asked. Jenny was sitting on the fence rail and he was leaning beside her, admiring the stallion’s lines.

“I think around twenty-five. Our father raised him from a colt and used him as stud to start our ranch. Storm ran off the night my parents were killed. He ran wild until I found him, or rather he found me, out on the plains. I probably would be dead now if it weren’t for him.” Jason raised his eyebrows in surprise at Jenny’s comment, then watched in amazement as she whistled “Good King Wenceslas” and the horse came to her, putting his head in her lap with a contented sigh. “I think he misses my father,” she said as she rubbed under the dark forelock.

Jason reached out and stroked the finely arched neck. “Do you mind if we
 
him out with some mares?”

“No, go ahead. I’m sure he’d love it.” Jenny grinned as Storm began to swing his head up and down as if agreeing with her. Jason laughed, glad to see that she was something like Jamie.

“I’ve had my eye on a mare I want to buy. I’ve been waiting for a chance to send Jamie down to look at her,” Jason said as they walked back to Grace’s. “I think she and Storm could have some fine foals, given a chance.”

“I’d love to see that,” Jenny said, surprising herself again at making a commitment. Jason left her at the cabin where Grace had just finished the dishes. Jenny immediately felt guilty about leaving her with the mess, but Grace said she was used to it and began to sweeping the floor. There was a pile of clothing stacked in the corner, and something in it caught Jenny’s attention. She pulled a shirt out of the stack and held it up. It was well worn and had a tear in the side.

“That belongs to Chase,” Grace said. “It needs mending, and as you can see, the pile gets ahead of me.”