Chase the Wind (50 page)

“Hey, all I know is what I heard. Ty said that Cat was devastated
because you dumped a cup of punch down the front of her dress.
He said she was more upset about the fact that
you
did it than
missing the dance, or messing up her dress, or anything else. Ty said she was shocked that you would do such a thing after she and
her father have been so good to you.”

“Yeah, that’s me, ungrateful Jenny. I just take and take, then
throw it back in their faces.” Jenny folded her arms, and Jamie quickly recognized the stubborn set of her shoulders.

“Wait a minute, you haven’t given Jenny a chance to tell her side of the story,” Grace said calmly as she saw the storm rising before
her.

“Okay, Jen, what happened last night?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

“Cat dumped the punch on herself and blamed it on me.”

“Why would she do something like that?”

“Ty, that’s why. She wants him and he doesn’t want her and she
couldn’t stand it.”

Jamie shook his head, not understanding the complicated logic of the female mind. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Actually, it makes sense to me,” Grace put in. “Have you ever
known Cat to let anything stand in the way of something she
wants?” she asked Jamie. “She got Ty away from Jenny last night,
that’s for certain, and now he’s not so sure about her, which has
got to be in Cat’s favor. She’s just trying to eliminate the compe
tition.”

“Well, I’ll make it easy on her,” Jenny declared.

“How’s that?” Jamie asked.

“I’m leaving.”

“You are not, you’re staying right here.”

Jenny got up and started out the door. “I don’t need you to tell
me what to do.”

“Yes, you do. I’m your brother, and it’s my responsibility to take
care of you.” Jamie followed her out the door.

“Oh, yeah? Well, you’ve done a fine job of it for the last five
years.”

“Hey, you can’t blame that on me. It wasn’t my fault you were
taken away. I was out trying to find us a place when that hap
pened.”

“If we had left the mission when I begged you to go, none of
that would have happened, now would it?”

They were standing toe to toe, nose to nose in the middle of the yard. Their voices had risen with each statement until they were fairly shouting at each other, bringing three sleepyheads out of the
bunkhouse and Ty out of the barn. Grace had followed the two
out of her cabin.

“That’s what it all goes back to, isn’t it? You have never forgiven
me for staying at the mission,” Jamie said.

“Hiding there, you mean, just like you are hiding here.”

“Jenny, I was fifteen years old. What was I supposed to do?”

“Come with me now.”

“Where?”

“I don’t care, anywhere. Let’s just go.”

“I’m not leaving. This is my home—it’s our home.”

“It’s not mine, it’s yours.”

They were so loud now that they didn’t hear Chase ride up, his
eyes wide and concerned as he heard the words spewing forth.

“You would spend your whole life running if you had your way,”
Jamie spat, hurting deeply from her words.

“And you would spend yours hiding.” Jenny kicked dirt on the
toes of his boots.

Jamie’s cheeks flushed, anger now over taking reason, his face
the deep russet of his hair, which was hanging down over eyes that
had turned dark and cold. He found that his rage was so deep, he
couldn’t speak, so he scooped Jenny up and threw her over his shoulder. He dropped her unceremoniously, backside first, into
the trough. Jenny came up spewing water, splashing, clawing, and he shoved her back under until he saw her eyes go wide with panic.
He let her up and she sucked in great breaths of air.

“This is our home now, so get used to it.” He slowly enunciated
every word. “We are staying here as long as Jason wants us to. I
will let you know when it is time for us to leave. Meanwhile, you
need to settle down and quit your whining. The past is over, so
get on with your life. I have.” He turned and left her sitting in the
trough, soaking wet and shivering.

Everyone stood with mouths agape. Jenny sat in the trough, willing the tears back but unable to control the trembling of her chin. As Chase walked over to the trough the others went inside,
shaking their heads, graciously sparing Jenny more embarrassment.
Chase extended his hand to her, and she stood with his help, the
water running off her in great sheets, her hair plastered down
around her face and neck, her clothes soaked through, clinging to
her long lines like a second skin.

“Are you all right?” Chase asked gently, breaking through the red haze of anger that still possessed her. She looked up into his dark eyes, blinking droplets of water off her eyelashes, her deep
blue eyes full of shock and disbelief.

“What did I say? What did I do?” she whispered to Chase. Chase
looked over his shoulder at the departing Jamie, who was riding
hard, away from the ranch.

“Made up for lost time, I’d say.” He steadied her arm as she stepped out of the trough, a puddle forming around her on the
ground.

“I’ve got to talk to him.”

“Later. Give him time to cool off.”

“What if he won’t forgive me?” Jenny looked at Chase in panic.

“He loves you.” The look he gave her was tender, his eyes deep
and shining, making Jenny’s heart melt. “He will forgive you.”

Grace came out with a blanket and threw it over Jenny’s shoulders. “Let’s get you out of these wet clothes.”

Jenny didn’t know what to do or where to go, so she let Grace lead her into the cabin, water sloshing over the sides of her boots as she went. Chase watched as the two women went inside, Grace speaking soothing words the whole time, then he went into the bunkhouse, anxious to find out exactly what had happened the night before.

Grace got Jenny out of her wet clothes and sat her down at the table with a steaming mug of coffee. “Now why don’t you tell me exactly what happened last night, in your words, not Cat’s.”

“Cat pulled me into a hallway, I had a cup of punch in my hand, and she grabbed my arm so that the punch spilled down the front of her dress.”

“And where was Ty when all this happened?”

“I don’t know, my back was to the room, but he must have been close, because he was there right after it happened.”

Grace perused her own cup of coffee as she replayed the incident in her mind. “It sounds to me like Cat hoped to eliminate her competition while bringing Ty over to her side all in one night.”

“Well, she got what she wanted.”

“Don’t be so sure of that, Jen.” Grace gently placed her hand on Jenny’s forearm. “She’ll never get Ty by trickery. He’s too much of a gentleman for that. The thing I want to know is, how do you feel about Ty?”

“I don’t know. I guess I really haven’t thought about it that much. So much has happened since I got here.” Jenny pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders and leaned back in the chair. “I used to think that when I found Jamie life would be perfect again, but I guess all I found was another set of problems. Please don’t think I’m sorry I found him, I thank God every day for that. It’s just that I had this vision of us going back home and working our ranch again with Dad and Momma looking down on us, while we lived happily ever after.” Jenny got up and walked over to the window. “Jamie is right, the past is behind us, and things will never be the same again, so I just need to get over it and get on with my life, like he has.” Jenny’s voice trailed off as she leaned her head against the windowpane.

“But?” Grace asked from the table.

“But something is missing inside of me. I always thought it was Jamie, but it’s not.”

“Maybe it’s Ty?”

Jenny turned around. “Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. I just don’t know.” Jenny’s face tightened as a thought flashed before her. “I guess it isn’t. I mean, if Ty was for me, wouldn’t I feel as passionately about him as Git does?”

“Cat has been passionate about that boy since she first laid eyes on him, that’s for sure.”

“Do you believe in true love? I mean one man for one woman for all eternity?”

“I can’t say. If there is one man for me, I’ve missed him somehow.”

“Not even Jamie?”

Grace had the decency to blush. “Jamie doesn’t love me. He just loves being with me. I know he’ll leave me when he does fall in love, and until then, I’ll treasure him.”

“And when he does leave?”

“I’ll miss him desperately.”

“I believe that my parents were destined for one another. They lived for each other.”

“Jason told me that he loved a woman like that but he lost her, couldn’t find her, and he never loved another.”

“That is so sad, to love someone who is gone.”

“I know. I couldn’t believe it when he told me, but we had had a few brandies and he was feeling melancholy.”

Jenny came back to the table and sat down. “Sometimes I have dreams about a man.” Grace arched a delicate brow as Jenny continued. “I used to think they were just fantasies, like when Jamie read
Arabian Nights
and I dreamed about a handsome prince with dark hair and dark eyes, but the dreams just kept on coming.”

“Tell me about this handsome prince.” Grace had a delicious grin on her face that made Jenny laugh.

“Well, there’s not much to tell. I’ve never seen his face, but I know he’s there, close by. All I can ever remember is dark hair and dark eyes—long dark hair, come to think of it—”

They were interrupted by Chase bursting through the door. “Jamie’s horse just came back without him,” he announced.

Jenny jumped from her chair and grabbed her clothes, which were drying by the stove. She turned her back and dropped the
blanket as she whipped her shirt on. Grace was panicked by his
words, but not enough to miss the spark that lit Chase’s eyes when they caught the graceful length of Jenny’s legs as she pulled on her
pants.

Long
dark hair, dark eyes, close by .. .
Jenny’s words whirled
through Grace’s mind as she imagined all the calamities that might
have befallen Jamie.
He
might
be closer than you think,
she thought
as Chase and Jenny ran to mount their horses.

Chapter Twenty-four

“Have you ever not found anything you were tracking?” Jenny asked Chase a half hour later. He was on the ground, running his hand over some long grass.

“Just once,” he replied. He looked at the earth beneath the grass and then swung back up on his horse.

“Once?”

“Yes, once,”

“What were you tracking?”

“You.” Chase took off across the grassy field, leaving Jenny stunned by his announcement as she followed him. In another moment they heard a shot echoing before them. Chase pulled his gun out and answered by shooting into the air. Moments later they came across Jamie sitting in the middle of an ocean of grass.

“Damn horse stepped in a gopher hole and rolled over on me. My leg is broken,” he said as he looked up at the two of them. Jenny couldn’t help it—she took one look at his leg and started to cry. Jamie rolled his eyes at her, and Chase dismounted and ran his hands down the outstretched leg. “Watch it,” Jamie howled. “Like I said, it’s broken and I don’t need you grabbing it to tell me so.” Jenny laughed through her tears at the look of pure aggravation
he bestowed upon Chase. “I don’t suppose you two brought a
wagon with you?”

Jenny shook her head as she tried to compose herself. She dismounted and went to her brother, who was sitting on the ground
with his hands propped behind him. “Jamie, I’m so sorry for everything I said this morning. Will you forgive me?” Her chin trembled
as she looked down at the ground beside him. Jamie reached up
and tugged on the braid that was still damp from the dunking he had given her. He flashed his grin, and Jenny flew into his wide chest, throwing her arms around him and knocking him onto his
back with a grunt.

“I forgive you! Now get off me before I break something else.”

“I’m sorry. Oh my gosh, I’m such an idiot.” Jamie rolled his eyes
again as Jenny started gushing all over him, and he finally put his
finger to her mouth to stop her tide of apologies and self-
incrimination.