I'm On a Ranch?

by Misty Malone

  “That should have been something he knew quickly if they grew up together,” Bryce said, with definite concern on his face.

  “You would think,” the deputy agreed. “But what really concerns us is we made up a story. We told him we'd gotten a call from another cousin, Greg, who said he could come out to get you but he would have to make arrangements for the trip, since he recently moved and now lives on the east coast. If this man were really your cousin he would have questioned who Greg is, but he didn't. He quickly told us to tell Greg he didn't need to make the trip, that he could take you back home.”

  “I don't think so,” Bryce said quickly, subconsciously moving in front of her, as if to put himself between her and anyone trying to get at her.

  “That was our thought, too,” Deputy Armstrong said. “But it bothers us because this was not the same man that called before. So there are at least two people out there looking for you, and we don't know why.”

  “We better keep you inside, sunshine, so no one sees you. I'll talk to the hands and make sure they know how important it is that they not let a word of this slip out.”

  “I think that's a good idea, Bryce.” The Deputy turned to her then. “I'm sorry I don't have better news for you, but I wanted to let you know what's going on.”

  “I understand. Thank you for warning us,” Jane said.

  Deputy Armstrong left and Landon went back outside. Lena went to the kitchen, leaving Bryce alone with Jane. Before he could leave, too, she put her hand on his arm. “Have you got a minute?”

  “I'll always have time for you. What's up, are you worried?”

  “Yes, but that's not what I want to talk about. I know why seeing the Amish people today upset me.”

  “You have another memory? That's great!”

  “Kind of. It's good that I'm starting to remember, but the event I remembered isn't a good one.”

  He pulled her to his chest, holding her in his arms. “I'm sorry to hear that, honey. Can you tell me what it is you remember?”

  She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before starting. “What I was remembering is when my mom died.”

  “I'm sorry, honey.”

  “I was little, too little to grasp the enormity of what was happening, and one thing I remember about the funeral is that it seemed like everyone was wearing black.”

  “That's why seeing the Amish upset you. It wasn't because they were Amish, but because of what they were wearing.”

  “Yes.”

  He held her tight for a while, hoping it was comforting her, at least a little. After a bit he asked, “Did something provoke that memory, or did it just come to you?”

  “Actually, Deputy Armstrong coming to the door in his uniform is what did it. That same thing happened with Mom. An officer came to the door and told Dad that Mom had been in an accident and that she died.

  Bryce was still holding her, rubbing her back gently. “So the black clothes the Amish were wearing started your memory, and then seeing the officer in uniform come to our door was what finished the memory.”

  “Yeah, I think so.” She let herself absorb the comfort he offered for another minute or two before speaking again. “Thank you for taking a few minutes to talk. It means a lot to me, but you've got cowboy work you need to do.”

  “I also have a little lady I've grown to care a great deal about that needs comforting right now. No good cowboy would ignore that. I know this one isn't about to.” He kissed her forehead. “I'm here for you, sunshine.”

  She stiffened in his arms. Her voice broke as she asked, “But what if you shouldn't be?”

  “We'll deal with that when we need to,” he said with quiet confidence. “Right now you need someone who can comfort you, let you know everything will be okay. If it turns out you're married, I think it will work out. I think your husband will understand that I held you and comforted you when you needed it. I would never come between a husband and wife. I'm not saying it will be easy, but if you have a husband, I will bow out. And I know that it would be easier if we didn't have feelings for each other, but I can't do that. I care about you, honey, and I can't let you suffer alone. I just can't.”

  Jane was quiet. She knew her feelings for Bryce were growing no matter how hard she tried to fight them. He was someone special, and she hoped they wouldn't have a problem down the road.

  When Bryce went back outside, she sat down in the living room. Lena came in and they talked some, but Jane was restless. She wanted to be alone where she could think. She felt sad about losing her mother, but angry that she could remember the officer coming to talk to her father, but she can't remember her father. She couldn't see his face in her memory, and that bothered her. Things were starting to come back, and she was glad, but she wanted it to happen faster. Maybe if she could get away by herself somewhere and think long and hard about the little parts she could remember, something else would come back to her.

  That was her goal when she quietly left the house through the back door. To get away to think. She felt herself being pulled toward the ranch hospital, but she knew that wouldn't work. One of the hands would see her and report back to Bryce that she was out there instead of in the house. She didn't plan on going anywhere near a road where someone would be able to see her, but she did plan on going somewhere where she could be alone with her thoughts for however long it took her to think things through.

  She stood outside the house wondering where to go. One way led toward the road, so that was out. If she went to her left she would encounter a road before too long, also. Straight ahead was the barn, and she certainly couldn't go in that direction, so she turned to her right and started walking.

  ***

  Bryce went back to planting corn after lunch. He was finishing up one field, ready to head to another when he got a phone call from Deputy Armstrong. Bryce answered quickly. “Good news or bad, Deputy?”

  “Not sure,” came the reply. “We've been checking into the lady who owns the car that was abandoned in that area. The information we've come up with sounds like she could be our Jane Doe.”

  “What makes you think so?”

  “The sheriff in that area says she seems to have disappeared. He talked to neighbors and her boss, even a couple co-workers. She recently quit her job as an accountant, saying she had another job lined up. Her landlord said he hasn't seen her, but she's paid up, so he had no reason to be concerned. The description everyone gave him sure sounds like our Jane Doe. One thing I haven't figured out, though.”

  “There are several things I haven't been able to make sense of,” Bryce responded. “What are you thinking about?”

  “If it's her, how did she get onto your land?”

  “And why?” Bryce added. “You said the car didn't look like it had been wrecked, but it wouldn't start. Is that right?”

  “Yep.”

  “So if her car just quit, she wasn't in an accident, how did she get amnesia? And she had to have walked a couple miles to get to where she was, and why would she do that? There are several houses she could have gone to for help. And why in the world was she in a tree?”

  “There are several things that don't add up,” the deputy agreed, “but it seems more and more like she is the lady from Indiana that owns the car. I don't have any answers to any of those questions, but it would be quite a coincidence if the owner of the car fits her description, but it's not her.”

  “I'll agree with you there,” Bryce admitted. “So what do you know about this lady from Indiana? What's her name?”

  “Sorry, Bryce, but I still can't tell you her name unless we find out for sure it's her. About all we know is she is 27, fits her description, and graduated four years ago with a degree in business and accounting. She passed the certification to become a CPA two years ago. She doesn't have any pets that anyone knows about. Her parents were both killed when she was younger, and she grew up in foster homes.”

  “Were her parents killed at the same time?”

  “No. H
er mom died in an auto accident. Her dad died in a corporate plane crash a couple years later. She was about eight when he died, and she went to a foster home.”

  “That would coincide with her memories so far,” Bryce said. “She remembers an officer coming to tell her father about her mother's accident, and she remembers graduating from college. So what do we do now? Do we see if the name means anything to her?”

  “We don't think we should tell her any of this. Instead, maybe just mention things like accounting, see if it has any effect on her. Maybe mention something about having an accountant, or looking for one. See if she has any reaction to it.”

  “Will do,” Bryce agreed.

  ***

  Once Jane was a little ways from the house she felt herself relax and her mind wandered. She again remembered holding her diploma when she graduated from college, and she remembered how proud she'd been that she'd finished her schooling and graduated.

  If she could only remember why she was so proud, that would be a start. Was it because she wasn't a good student and college had been a struggle? She didn't know why, but she didn't think that was it. Maybe it had been a financial burden, and that was why she was proud, because she had come up with the money somehow? What if she was one of those people that graduated college with a student loan the size of a large house mortgage?

  She just didn't know, and no memories were forthcoming. Frustrated, she thought back to the memory of being at her mother's funeral. Again, she still couldn't see her father's face, or anything about him. She also couldn't remember any specific people that were there. She didn't know if she had aunts and uncles, friends, or even siblings. She simply couldn't remember anything else about it, other than everyone seemed to wear black.

  Next she tried to picture the pasture and woods that had sparked some kind of memory earlier. She could see it in her mind again, as she saw it from the SUV. Once again it created an uneasy feeling inside her, but nothing specific. She had come across a fallen log by this time and sat down on it. She was sitting there, feeling frustrated and angry, when Bryce's words came back to her, that ridiculous threat he'd made. He'd said she needed to listen to him when he tried to keep her safe, or he might have to give her a good spanking. He'd smiled a little when he said it, but what a preposterous thing to say. She wondered why he would even say such a thing. Maybe it was just his way of kidding around with her, but trying to get her to listen to him.

  That thought brought on another thing to consider. Bryce has been nothing but good and kind to her since he'd generously offered her a place to stay, and the last thing she wanted to do was give him a hard time. She had every intention of following his rules. After all, it was his ranch. But even as she thought that, it occurred to her that she'd done just the opposite of what he'd asked her to do.

  He asked her to stay inside unless he was with her until they found out who was looking for her. At the time it had seemed like a reasonable request and she hadn't had a problem with it. It still seemed reasonable, mainly to stay away from the roads. But here she was, doing the opposite of what he'd asked. She'd never even thought of her leaving the house as breaking one of his rules, but in reality, it was. She had just felt the need to get away, and never stopped to think of anything else.

  Now she felt bad. Bryce deserved better. She decided to get back to the house before he knew she'd ignored his suggestion. She stood up and turned in the direction she had come from, and stopped. She didn't see the house. She must have turned somewhere during her walk without realizing. She turned all around her, doing a complete turn, but saw no house. Uh-oh.

  She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, glad now that Bryce had been making sure she had it every day, even though she hadn't seen the need for it. Now she was glad he'd made it a habit of hers. Unfortunately, the habit she'd gotten into was to get her phone every day. It hadn't become habit yet to check and see if it needed charged, which this one did. It was now dead.

  She looked around again, but still saw no house, and nothing that looked familiar. She put her dead phone back in her pocket and started walking in the direction she thought she'd come from. After walking about ten minutes, she still saw nothing that looked familiar. Now she started to panic. Should she turn around and go back to the log she was on and start out in another direction? She didn't want to go too far in the wrong direction, but standing still certainly wouldn't get her back to the house, either.

  A quick check at her watch didn't help her to relax. It was past suppertime, so she was sure Bryce knew by now that she was gone. In fact, he was probably out looking for her. She hoped he found her soon. On the other hand, she knew he'd be upset with her. His threat came back to her, and suddenly she wasn't so sure that he was kidding. Well, she guessed she'd find out soon. She hated the thought of worrying him, or disappointing him.

  The thought of disappointing him bothered her. She'd never meant to do that. She realized that she'd never even stopped to think about the warning he had given her about getting lost on the ranch, or even about not going out alone now. All she'd thought about was herself and what she wanted. She felt bad, and had to admit that as ridiculous as his threat of a spanking had been, she deserved some sort of reprimand. The more she thought about it, the more she found herself rather hoping he would give her a reprimand. Maybe she could do some work around the ranch or something. At least doing something like that she was sure would help her feel not as guilty as she did right now.

  She was deep in those thoughts when she heard a horse approach. She turned around and was never so happy to see Bryce on his big gelding. She started walking toward him, and stopped, letting him come to her. She smiled, happy to see him, but was upset to see that he wasn't smiling back.

  “Are you okay, sunshine?” he asked, as he quickly pulled her in against his chest for a hug.

  “Yes, I'm fine. Thank you, Bryce. I guess I must have gotten turned around somehow.”

  “You aren't hurt?”

  “No, I'm fine,” she assured him. “I'm sorry, I didn't realize I'd walked that far. When I turned around to go back, I was shocked to realize I couldn't see the house.”

  “We'll talk about that later. Let's get you home.”

  “Okay. But Bryce?”

  “Yes?”

  “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry, and I feel bad about that.”

  “We'll talk about it after supper.” He took out his phone and made a quick call. “Landon, I've got her. Will you call the guys and tell them all they can go back to their supper? And tell them thanks.”

  “Wait,” Jane said. “The men were all out looking for me?”

  “Of course they were,” he answered. “You had all of us scared half to death. We were afraid whoever has been looking for you somehow got hold of you.”

  “No, I just had to go out somewhere alone to do some thinking,” she said. “I never meant to be a bother to anyone. I'm so sorry.”

  “Where's your phone? Why didn't you call me when you realized you were lost?”

  She felt her face heat as she pulled her phone out of her pocket. “I forgot to charge it last night.”

  He nodded, but didn't say anything. He led her back to his horse. “Let me help you up on Thunder. I'll get on right behind you. Are you okay with that?”

  “Yes, fine,” she said. “But first, Bryce, I'm sorry.”

  “We'll talk later.”

  “No, wait. Something's wrong, you aren't talking to me. What is it, are you really angry with me? Why can't we talk now?”

  Bryce took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He turned toward her and held her by her shoulders so she was facing him. “I care deeply for you. I told you if you go out alone to make sure you can always see the house. That was to keep you safe. Then when we found out someone's looking for you and we don't know why, I asked you to please stay in the house unless I'm with you. That, too, was to keep you safe. I also asked that you be there for meals so I know that you're there and, once again, s
afe. I gave you a phone and asked that you keep it charged and with you at all times as yet another way I can try to keep you safe. You've ignored all of those.”

  “But I'm sorry, Bryce. I told you that.”

  “Yes, you did tell me that. But do you remember what I told you? When you were in the hospital and I talked to you about coming to stay here at the ranch, do you remember what I told you I'd do if you didn't follow my rules about safety?”

  She felt her face flush, but she didn't say anything.

  Chapter 6

  “I'd say by the blush on your face that you do remember what I said,” Bryce suggested. “I said I'd give you a good spanking. Well, you have in fact earned a good spanking. But I don't want to talk about it yet because I'm too upset. When I found you missing and Lena didn't know where you were, it scared me. There were all kinds of things that crossed my mind as to what could have happened to you, and I didn't want to think about any of them. So I got my men together and we all set out looking for you.”

  She looked down at the ground, but he guided her chin back up to look at him. “So I'm going to calm down while we eat supper. Then you and I are going into my office so we have some privacy, and you're going to get that spanking I told you you could expect if you didn't listen when I'm trying to keep you safe.”

  Jane was speechless. “Are you serious?” she finally managed to ask. “A spanking?”

  “I'm very serious. You've earned it, young lady, and that's exactly what you're going to get.”

  “But I'm a grown woman.”

  “A grown woman who needs a spanking,” he confirmed. “Come on, let's get back. Lena has been holding supper for us.”

  It was a quiet ride back to the house. She still hoped he was bluffing, just trying to scare her to make his point, but something inside her said that wasn't the case. Bryce was pretty straightforward, and she had this awful feeling that he said exactly what he meant. She tried to figure out a way to get out of this, but came up with nothing. What's worse, she knew she deserved something. Just not this!