Chase the Wind

by Cindy Holby - Wind 01 - Chase the Wind

  “Jason, do you think that’s a good idea, throwing them together like that?” Grace asked when Jenny was gone.

  “I think it will get things settled one way or another, and that’s what we all need around here. I’m not blind to what’s going on, no matter what my daughter thinks. If Ty and Jenny belong together, then so be it, and now is as good a time as any to find out. And it’s also a good time for Cat to realize that she can’t always get what she wants.”

  “There are more people involved here than just Cat,” Grace commented.

  Jason walked over and put his arm around Grace’s shoulder. “I know. I haven’t missed that either.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze. “It’s funny how sometimes people don’t appreciate what’s right in front of them.” He stepped off the porch and headed to the bunkhouse. “Be ready for the screams when Cat finds out what I’ve done,” he said as he walked off.

  Grace shook her head at Jason’s meddling and went in to find out if Jamie needed anything.

  Jenny was amazed at how easy the trip had been. The first morning on the trail had been uncomfortable as both Ty and Jenny were nervous about being together, but they soon settled into easy conversation, talking about their lives and what had led them to Wyoming Territory. Ty told Jenny about growing up in eastern North Carolina on a plantation where it took a day’s ride to go from border to border. He talked about how his father had controlled every detail of the family’s life as he controlled the plantation, about his mother, who retreated into her bedroom, the only place his father never went. He talked about his frustration with his older brother’s cruel treatment of the slaves after the death of his father had left his brother in charge. Finally he told of the fight he had had with his brother after his brother had beaten a slave to death. When he’d had his hands wrapped around his brother’s throat, he’d realized that he was no better than the man he was trying to kill. So he had left, making his way west and finding Jason Lynch, who had gone to school with Ty’s grandfather. Ty missed his home, but he hated the institution of slavery and did not know how to change it. The news of the strife in the South did not escape him, even in Wyoming Territory, and he felt that the nation was headed for a war that would tear the country apart. Jenny listened to his story, and missed once again the loving childhood she had shared with her brother.

  After spending several days together in easy companionship, each contributing to making camp at night, spreading their blankets on either side of the fire, each content and comfortable, it dawned upon Jenny that somehow, some way, the conversation always turned to the subject of Cat. They were a day away from home, returning with six mares that Jenny had purchased with the bank draft Jason had given her, and had made camp beside a wide stream. In the past few days she had heard about all of Cat’s likes and dislikes, how well she could ride, what a sweet singing voice she had, and how nice the yellow dress they had seen in the window of a dress shop would look on her. Jenny fell that if she heard Cat’s name mentioned one more time, she would scream, so she walked downstream a bit to wash up.

  The water was running crisp and clear over several flat rocks that lined the stream bed, and beneath the surface the moonlight glinted occasionally on the trout coming up to feed. Jenny took off her boots and rolled her pants up before jumping from stone to stone until she was in the middle of the wide rush of water. She sat down on a boulder and dangled her feet into the water, wanting desperately to immerse her entire body and wash off the dust and grime of the trail.

  She let her mind wander back over the happenings of the last few weeks, especially the night of the dance and the day after. She let her thoughts dwell on the conversation she’d had with Grace when the older woman had asked about her feelings for Ty. Jenny had just spent a week in his company, totally alone, and while she could now say that she knew him well, respected him, admired him, she still couldn’t say if she loved him, and surely didn’t know how he felt about her. The water had taken away the stress of the day and left her feet chilled, so she pulled them out and sat with her chin resting in her hand. She heard the snap of a branch and looked up to see Ty walking towards her, a smile on his handsome face as he spotted her in the middle of the stream. Jenny noticed the ends of his sandy hair curling up and thought about how far he’d strayed from the polished Southern gentleman he had been raised to be.

  “Catching anything?” he asked when he stood opposite her on the stream bank.

  “Probably a cold,” she answered.

  Ty picked up her boots and socks and waved them at her. “Then you might need these.”

  Jenny stood up, dusted off the back of her pants and began to hop and skip over the slick rocks that would take her back to shore. At the last jump, she miscalculated and teetered precariously, swinging her arms out to regain her balance. She was sure she was going in until Ty swept her to the bank on his arm. She landed solidly against his chest, and he backpedalled, not wanting to get wet any more than she did. He finally regained his balance, and relaxed his hold a bit, his arm coming down around her waist. Her eyes were even with the tip of his nose, and she moved her head back a bit, placing her hands on his chest, noticing that his eyes had turned gray in the dusk.

  “I think we’re safe now,” she said.

  “I know.” He didn’t seem inclined to move his arm, but instead moved the other one around her waist also. A question formed in his eyes; he tilted his head, then brought his mouth down on hers in a tentative kiss.

  Jenny willed her lips to relax, moved her head a bit to accommodate his, then felt the increased pressure as he realized her acceptance. His lips moved over hers gently but firmly, asking a question. The kiss ended and he moved his head back. Jenny looked up at him, not knowing what to say or what to do until Ty finally dropped his arms.

  “That was nice, wasn’t it?” he asked, as if he, too, were a bit confused.

  “Yes.”

  “But that’s not enough.”

  “Ty, I-”

  “No, don’t say it. I know what you’re thinking.”

  “What am I thinking?” Jenny hoped he would explain it to her, because she didn’t have a clue.

  “All I’ve done this whole trip is go on about Cat, and then I kiss you and you’ve got to be thinking, how come he’s talking about Cat and he’s out here kissing me?”

  “Okay, how come you talk about Cat so much if you don’t feel anything for her?”

  “I never said I didn’t feel anything for her.”

  “Well, you sure act like it. Every time she comes around, you run in the opposite direction.”

  “I just don’t want anyone thinking I’m courting her to keep my job or anything like that.”

  “Who’s going to think that?”

  “I don’t know. It’s just that she’s so different from all the girls I’ve known. She’s just so ... I don’t know . . . aggressive I guess is the word.” Ty ran his hands through his hair, making the curls stand up on end. He sat down on a boulder and put his head in his hands, as if he could magically transfer all his confusion into his hands and throw it away.

  “Cat just knows how she feels about you, that’s all. I wish someone felt that way about me.” Jenny placed her hand on his shoulder, offering comfort and companionship.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I wish someone loved me the way Cat loves you.”

  “Are you blind?”

  “What do you mean?” Jenny suddenly became defensive at the tone of Ty’s voice.

  Ty started to laugh, folding his arms over his stomach as he realized how ridiculous they both had been.

  “Chase is madly in love with you,” he finally said through the laughter. “He has been ever since I’ve known him. Jamie hardly ever talked about you, but Chase does all the time. He remembers everything you ever said or did. Haven’t you seen the way he looks at you?”

  Jenny felt her world begin to spin around her. Chase is in love with you, Chase is in love with you became a chant that echoed
through her head. Images flashed in her mind, memories from the mission, combined with her dreams of the lover with the long dark hair, and dark eyes. At last he had a face. She felt her heart explode in her chest, the fragments scattering into thousands of pieces like droplets of water, then coming back together in a rush, but now whole where before something had been missing. “Chase is in love with me,” she said to herself.

  “Jenny, are you all right?” Ty was standing before her, concern written on his face. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “Chase is in love with me?” she asked, her voice a mere squeak.

  “Yes, he is, and I think you’re in love with him, too.” Ty took her upper arms in his hands. “I don’t know about you, but I feel like a complete idiot. I mean, Cat loves me, and that’s not something you throw away. Starting as soon as we get back, I’m going to make it up to her.”

  “The sooner we go to sleep, the sooner we can get going in the morning.” Jenny turned to walk back to the camp.

  “Jenny, wait.” Ty stopped her, concern showing on his handsome face. “I hope you don’t think I was just using you. It’s just that. . .”

  “When you kissed me you realized that there was nothing between us,” Jenny finished for him. “Don’t worry Ty, I felt it too, or I guess I didn’t feel it. My momma told me that I would know the man for me when he kissed me. Now I’m just as anxious as you are to get back and find out for myself if what you say is true.”

  “Let’s get some sleep,” Ty said as he wrapped a brotherly arm around her shoulders and they made their way back to camp.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Ty and Jenny were up at the crack of dawn, clearing their camp in record time, leading the mares at a quick pace, their joy at going home soon infecting the horses and keeping them at a trot. They sang and laughed and acted foolishly, both of them grinning from ear to ear as the miles faded behind them. They crested the ridge above the ranch when the workday was over, dinner had been eaten and the ranch folk were all relaxing. The boys saw them coming and swung open the gate to the corral, slapping and whistling so that the mares kicked up their heels and put on a show for Storm, who was watching from his pen with head held high, his nostrils quivering in excitement. Cat was sitting on the rail, studying the mares and ignoring the riders, but she turned when Ty rode up to her and dismounted, taking his hat in his hand as he leaned against the fence to talk to her. She looked up as Jenny rode by, her slanted green eyes wide with shock as Jenny flashed a Duncan grin at her.

  Jamie was sitting on the porch of Grace’s cabin, his bandaged leg propped up on a chair by pillows and quilts, scowling at the proceedings that he was missing in the corral. “How’d you do?” he asked Jenny when she stopped in front of him.

  “See for yourself.”

  “I wish I could.”

  Jenny refused to feel sorry for him, knowing that he had probably run Grace ragged during the week. “Where’s Chase?” she asked.

  Jamie gave her a puzzled look as he turned his head away from the corral and the exclamations over the mares. “I don’t know, check the bathhouse.” He watched her with growing curiosity as she swung off her mount, setting out with determined steps.

  Chase was walking towards the bunkhouse, his hair wet and slicked back from his face, his white shirt unbuttoned, revealing a wide expanse of smoothly tanned skin. He smiled when he saw her, then caught himself, his eyes becoming guarded as she walked directly to him.

  “You’re back,” he said, wondering why she seemed to be so fascinated with the middle of his chest.

  Jenny stood before him, her eyes concentrating on the valley between the muscles of his chest, where she could almost believe she had seen a flutter of movement, as if his heart had suddenly accelerated. Her hands itched to reach out and touch the hardness of him, to feel the smoothness of his skin, to compare her golden color to his bronze. She shook her head as she realized he was talking to her.

  “What?”

  “I said, you’re back.”

  “Yes,” she said with a grin. “I am.”

  “And?”

  “I wanted to ask a favor of you,” she said as she looked up into his dark eyes, her deep blue ones sparkling with joy, anticipation and mischief.

  “What?” Chase became guarded, puzzled by the way she was acting, and wary of being hurt by any revelations she was going to make about her and Ty.

  “I want you to kiss me.”

  Chase looked around to see if anyone was watching. “You want “me to what?”

  “I want you to kiss me. Is that a problem for you?”

  “Jenny, what are you up to?”

  “Nothing. It’s a simple request—I want you to kiss me.”

  Chase stepped around her and started for the bunkhouse. “Find somebody else. I’m sure Zane is up to the task if Ty isn’t.”

  Jenny grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop. “I’ve already kissed Ty, and Zane tried to kiss me, but I didn’t like it much.”

  Chase smiled briefly as he remembered Zane’s limping walk a few weeks past. “I don’t like to play those kind of games, Jenny,” he said intently, looking down into her shining eyes.

  “It’s not a game, Chase. I’m dead serious. I need you to kiss me.”

  Chase grabbed her arms and pulled her behind the bunkhouse. “I am serious too, I am not like Zane or any of the other ones who mess around for the fun of it. When I kiss you, you will know it.”

  “Then kiss me now.”

  “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

  “Yes, I do.” Jenny smiled at him, her eyes deep and moist as she gazed up into his handsome face, the face that had haunted her dreams, regal and fierce with eyes that glinted with silver and pierced her soul. She stood there before him, his hands gripping her arms, knowing that he could snap the bones if he wanted to, and she just looked at him, sweetly smiling, inviting him to do something he had only dreamed of.

  I’m dammed, he thought to himself as he brought his mouth down on hers. He felt her sharp intake of breath as her lips parted slightly. Her arms moved up, wrapping around his neck, her hands tangling in his hair, and he pulled her to him, one hand on the back of her head, the other moving down her waist, pressing her close as he poured his soul into hers. Their lips moved in a dance that was slow, tantalizing, pulling at the core of each until neither one could breathe. They finally broke apart, each dragging in air as Jenny leaned heavily against Chase, who was using the wall behind him to stay on his own two feet.

  “Momma, you were right,” she whispered against his chest, feeling once again the flutter of his heart.

  “What?” he murmured against the top of her head.

  Jenny pulled her hand around, moving it under the tail of his shirt and trailing it lightly across his chest, causing his loins to tighten in agony. She stopped when she felt the thud of his heart and left her hand there, raising her eyes to look into his. “I said I love you.”

  Chase closed his eyes to hide the longing, the joy that threatened to pour forth. He felt he must be dreaming, and tried to make sense of the last few minutes. Her hand was still there, he felt his heart pounding against it; his own hands were still pressing her against the hardness that she had to feel, and she was still there. He opened his eyes, his entire being hanging over a precipice as he looked down at her.

  “Chase, I love you.”

  He hesitated for a second, then brought his mouth down again, finding hers willing and open, taking everything he poured out and giving back herself.

  “Jenny . . . how . . . why .. . oh, God, I love you, I have since the first time I saw you,” he said into her ear when he could finally tear himself away from her mouth. “I thought I had lost you. I was going to leave. I couldn’t stay here watching you and Ty together.”

  Jenny brought her fingers to his lips to stop the tide of words pouring forth. “If you leave, I’m going with you.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “I just
want to know one thing.” She was serious, her eyes dark as she looked into his. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

  “It wouldn’t have worked that way. You wouldn’t have believed me. So I had to just wait for you to figure it out for yourself.”

  “Actually, you have Ty to thank for that.”

  “Why?’

  “I told him that I wished someone loved me the way Cat loves him, and he said that somebody already did. Chase, all those years I was searching for Jamie, I didn’t realize that I was really searching for you. I dreamed about you but never saw your face, and then suddenly all the pieces fell together and I realized that you were the one I was missing. Even after I found Jamie, I was still looking for you.” Jenny brought her hand back to his heart and tucked her head under his chin. “This is where I belong, and this is the only place I ever want to be.”

  Chase began to laugh, joy erupting from his soul as he realized that Jenny was indeed in his arms instead of in his dreams. He picked her up off her feet, swinging her around as she began to laugh also, their happiness overwhelming, their world centered on the two of them, so that nothing else mattered.

  A cough brought them back to earth, and Jenny hung against Chase’s chest, her head still spinning as Jason rounded the comer of the bunkhouse.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt,” he began, a smile suddenly lighting his face. Jenny managed to straighten up while Chase began buttoning his shirt. “I just wanted to let you know what a fine job you did with those mares.” His eyes glowed as he looked at the two standing red-faced before him. “They were more than I expected. I hope this will be the beginning of a fine partnership between the Duncans and the Lynches.”

  “I hope so, too,” Jenny managed to say. She felt the rock-hard presence of Chase behind her and took the hand that Jason extended.

  “It looks like you had a good trip,” Jason commented.