by Cait Jarrod
“No more lost time.” She kissed him.
“You and me, babe.” He grinned
“Oh, I’m game.” A grin spread across her face and she straddled him. “There’s only one way to seal a deal.”
“Oh yeah!”
THE END
DESTINY
Montana Dreams Series: Book 2
Chapter One
Autumn Wilcox watched her dear friend on the couch, clinging to the last fragments of life. She held in the pain ratcheting through her from seeing her friend in such a feeble state.
“Autumn.” Bebe Fries untangled her hand from the lightweight blanket and slid a frail finger across Autumn’s cheek. “You’ll be okay, sweetheart.”
“No I won’t,” she wanted to say. There was no sense arguing with her eighty-nine year old friend; something she learned years ago when Bebe first offered her a room in the single-wide trailer. “Nothing will be the same,” she said with a breathy gasp and slid off the coffee table to kneel beside her.
Her ferret, Hopper, burrowed into Bebe’s side then went still. Even he knew the mood was bleak.
“No, it won’t. You’ll have this trailer but won’t stay. You’ll find a new treasure, a new experience somewhere else and live up to your nickname.”
She laughed and wiped her nose. “You gave me Runner.” Bebe had found her sleeping on the edge of the woods during a thunderstorm, with the clothes on her back, her ferret, and a backpack. She had kicked her butt, literally, and told her to get her ass inside the house.
Just when she would have argued, lightning had struck, illuminating the sky and outlining Bebe’s form. Her long, graying hair blew in the wind and her stern face might have scared some people, not her. Call it intervention or faith, but that night a kinship formed and her homeless year ended.
“You are one.” Bebe moaned and dropped her hand to the brown, floral couch. “An unsettled soul,” she said, her voice gruff as if in pain.
Autumn snatched the pain medication the hospital sent home five days ago from the table beside her.
“No. I don’t want any.” She nudged it. A weak attempt, but Autumn got the message and set the pills on the table. “I’m at peace with what’s about to happen.” Bebe’s words sounded jumbled and became harder to understand. Her lips parted yet nothing came out.
Autumn leaned in closer, shoved her hair behind her ears, and gently rubbed the paper-thin skin of her friend’s hand. Over the few years she’d known Bebe, her soft skin weathered from a few lines into what Bebe called “looking older than dirt.” To her, Bebe would always be beautiful.
“I’m proud of you.”
The compliment swelled her chest. With one hand holding Bebe’s, Autumn’s other hand latched onto the arm cuff, a bracelet worn above her bicep. Bebe had given it to her just after she moved into the trailer. The design, a snake biting its own tail, represented their friendship and eternity. “I love you, too.”
“Forgive your parents.” The shocking remark snapped the heavy tension-filled room from sad to loathing. “They can’t help that they’re jackasses.”
A half-crazed chuckled escaped her. She had a choice to either laugh or go berserk. Leave it to Bebe to demand such a request on her deathbed. If they hadn’t forced “do the right thing” upon her since she was a toddler, and then behaved the opposite, forgiveness might have rated high on her to-do list. “I can’t believe you asked.”
“Can’t you?” Concern strengthened her tone. “I hate conflict.”
Autumn did, too, but to make peace with her parents? Such a stupid act that had landed them both in jail during her last year of veterinary school… Forget about it! Her thoughts tumbled to the incident that day, to what she had visualized after hearing so many accounts of how her father and mother ended their freedom. On her father’s way home from work, he inadvertently cut off another driver. That driver took the act personally and chased after him. Instead of heading to the nearby sheriff’s office, where an officer could deal with the road-raged man, Dad called Mom to bring him his truck. They met on the side of the road at an intersection not heavily traveled. By the time he climbed out of his vehicle to explain the situation to Mom, the road-raged man arrived, yelling how he was going to kill Dad. The man bolted out of his vehicle toward them. Dad snatched the gun from the truck and shot him. Two hours later, the man died.
The decision to have Mom meet him with the truck, carrying the firearm used in the shooting, provided the evidence for the jury to declare him guilty of first-degree murder. Mom went to jail as his accomplice. Their decisions left her parentless and emotionally paralyzed. She managed to graduate vet school with no ambition. Desire to achieve still hadn’t returned, nor had she forgiven them. No matter how many letters they wrote or voice mails they left, explaining how panic took over their rationale, apologies fell on deaf ears, and she couldn’t shake the betrayal. “I’ll give it a shot.”
“No, you won’t. God love you for saying so.” Bebe snorted, a gasped followed, stilling Autumn’s heart. She released her bracelet and clutched Bebe’s hand.
“I’m not going anywhere yet,” she wheezed. “I have one more request.”
A rush of nerves hiccupped through her veins. “Anything, you name it.”
“Go to Apple’s Peak, a mountain in Montana.” Bebe’s words broke off as she smacked her lips together. Autumn grabbed a cup filled with water and brought the straw to Bebe’s mouth. After a few pulls, she pushed it away. “The Leviathan Rainbow,” Bebe continued. Leviathan meant powerful and strong. For the last few weeks, she had regaled Autumn with stories about this rainbow, but her internet searches came up empty. “Go there for me.”
Autumn dropped her chin to her chest and squeezed her eyes. She would do anything for her friend, but some mountains possessed more tricks than a magician’s bag.
“Will you do it, Autumn Pearl?” A cool hand touched her. “Will you engage in life?”
She loved when Bebe called her Pearl. It took the edge off the dead-on, sensitive question. Ever since moving into the trailer, she had skipped out on life and lived Bebe’s.
“If you don’t grasp the bull by the horns, then you’ll never find yourself.”
Thinking about how she completed veterinary school without searching for a job sickened her. “How does hiking a mountain help?”
“Take my word for it. Hike to the rainbow I dreamed of seeing, and you’ll find your way. You’ve been taking care of my withered old body for far too long. I’ve loved every minute of it.” Bebe set her hand on Autumn’s cheek. “I admire and appreciate you.”
Even dying, Bebe put her first. “There’s nothing to admire. I don’t have a job, disappointed my imprisoned parents, and live off the land whenever I can. What’s to like?”
The corner of Bebe’s mouth twitched. “Autumn Pearl, you have balls!” She spoke with such energy she coughed.
Autumn lifted the water toward her, and Bebe shook her head. “Find your destiny,” Bebe said, her voice becoming hoarse again. “In everything I am, in everything I’ve been, I feel your life will start when you hike the mountain.”
Autumn didn’t feel it at all. For someone so in tune with nature, animals, and other people, she stunk at knowing what she needed or wanted. She had been taught since elementary school to do the right thing, be respectful, and strive for the best grades. Then to have the very people who enforced these values to go to jail, for something as stupid as road rage, knocked her off-kilter. “Apple’s Peak is on the other side of the world.”
Bebe gave a slight laugh, her strength depleting even more.
She knew this day would come, but she hadn’t faced the terminal outcome until a week ago. A lost, empty feeling filled her that she didn’t know how to handle it.
“Montana isn’t far from upstate New York.”
“Might as well be.” Autumn bit her bottom lip to stop from arguing and said, “I’ll try.”
“Give me a hug, sweet girl, my Autumn Pearl, and promise me you’ll leave as s
oon as possible.”
Emotions rushed forward. Her visions twisted and contorted as if she viewed her dear friend through a prism. She hugged Bebe, wanting to hold her tight, to reassure her everything would be okay by saying this was temporary. They’d already gone through too many setbacks for Bebe not to know the difference. “After I take care of everything.” The idea of arranging the funeral clogged her throat. How would she get through this?
“No! Today! Go Today.” Her voice came out in a strong burst. “I’ve taken care of everything. You can’t stay.”
Bebe’s demand came from love and understanding. Staying in the trailer would end with Autumn miserable and lonely.
A cold hand touched her back. “Don’t forget me,” Bebe whispered.
“How could I?” she muttered, the lump in her throat growing at a fast rate.
Bebe’s slight grasp relaxed. “When you find the Leviathan Rainbow, you’ll find your destiny.” A gurgling sound escaped her.
The death rattle.
Autumn laced her fingers with Bebe’s and with the other hand rubbed her forehead, petting her as she would a hurt kitten.
Another gurgling sound.
“Oh, God, no. No! Don’t take her from me. Please,” she sobbed. Pain sliced through her with the severity of a sword thrusting into her and twisting. “I love you, Bebe.”
“Autumn Pearl, I love–” Bebe’s voice drifted. “—you.”
A gasp coincided with a horrific strangling noise then silence.
Like a dam breaking open, Autumn's tears fell. She couldn’t stop them. She couldn’t stop anything. The years she’d trained to care for animals and to give medical attention; none of her education helped her best friend’s worn out heart. The walls of the trailer closed in, a weight pressed on her chest, and sweat broke out across her skin. I have to get out of here.
She darted out the door and practically jumped the few steps to the small gravel road. Hands on her hips, she sucked in the scent of the passing rain and stared at the setting sun that appeared from behind gray clouds. Brilliant rays of orange and yellow glistened off the colorful foliage. Cotton candy sky, Bebe called it.
The ending of a day. The ending of a life.
A gush of wind touched her exposed skin that her tank top and shorts didn’t cover. The aroma of steaks grilling made her stomach growl, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since early this morning.
She tuned out the birds singing and squirrels scampering amongst the leaves. Like a relentless jackhammer pounding in her head, she concentrated on Bebe’s words. Head to Montana, climb Apple’s Peak, find yourself, and find your destiny. Traveling alone with no plan wasn’t anything new. She backpacked from Georgia to New York with no problem, but this time she carried the sensation that Bebe’s prediction would end up true. The idea that she’d find an unknown something or someone terrified her.
A siren blew.
She smacked her chest and stumbled out of the way of the red Emergency Medical Service truck. An ambulance followed the red lights flashing in the gravel driveway.
Pete Doyle climbed out from behind the wheel of the truck. “Sorry, Autumn,”
His easy smile and sincere eyes comforted her. “The monitor told you?” She let out a shaky breath to calm her racing pulse and push away the agony ripping out her heart.
“It did,” he said, his tone and face as tight as hers. He pulled her into a hug. The same way he had whenever they talked about Bebe’s condition. He’d lost his father not long ago. Because of that, he considered them kindred spirits.
Pete’s brother, Phil, almost identical with dark eyes and hair, also wore the matching EMT clothes of charcoal gray. He approached from the passenger side of the truck. “Would you like to see her before they go inside?” He pointed at the ambulance parked next to his truck and the two people walking toward the back.
No way would she go inside the trailer with Bebe’s lifeless body. Even the thought of retrieving her ferret and her belongings turned her stomach. “No, thank you.”
On Phil’s nod, two EMTs opened the ambulance doors and latched onto the opposite ends of the small hard mattress that would take her friend out of the trailer and out of her life. A moment later, they disappeared through the front door.
“Do you have plans to hang around?” Pete grabbed her hand and led her away from the front of the trailer. Phil followed.
She appreciated the brothers’ attempt to distract her from the goings-on inside. Still, the heaviness weighed on her as if parallel jaws clamped on her chest.
“I know how restless you get,” he added.
The brothers knew her well. Over drinks, they’d discussed her struggle with running when life grew sad, yet she stayed for Bebe. The whistle of an engine drew her attention to the sky. A small plane with a white and red belly flew overhead. Maybe she should go. Find a pilot who’d give her a free ride and do what Bebe requested. “Where’s an airport?”
“Travis,” Phil eyed the plane disappearing over the top of the trees. “He doesn’t hold-over long.”
“Travis?”
“Yeah,” Phil continued. “He’s the search and rescue pilot we’ve mentioned.”
The guy they thought could do no wrong.
“I think he’s hanging it up to move to Montana with his brother.” Pete’s eyes grew intense, studying her. “Where are you headed?”
She didn’t want to confide her dear friend’s wishes and went for a lackadaisical tone as the thought of Bebe felt like sandpaper scraping across her heart. “Montana works.”
A scuffling noise came from inside the trailer. Phil stepped in between her and the house, blocking her view. “Travis hangs out at the airport’s restaurant when he’s in town. When I get to work, I’ll ask if he’s able to give you a ride.”
The idea of a quiet, empty trailer sent a shiver down her spine. “I can’t stay here,” she muttered more to herself than them. “Thank you.”
“Understandable,” Pete said. “I imagine you’re tired. There’s a hotel at the airport. It’s not much, but it has a bed and is clean. Or would you rather hang out with me until I finish my shift?”
Hope shined in his eyes. Pete was sweet, but she needed time to herself. Time to get a handle on her rocky nerves. Fatigue had a lot to do with it. She hadn’t slept in days. But being in a confined room or the inside of a vehicle, for who knew how long, with the walls enclosing on her and the silence, the loneliness... Pete would be great company, but hanging out would give him the wrong idea. “Ah, no thank you.” She and Hopper would stay outdoors and let the insect noises and animal calls keep them company. “I have it covered.”
The front door opened, and the scratching noise of the gurney rolling across the gravel echoed through her in a way nails did on a chalkboard.
Heat flooded her like a bucket of hot water, the hair on the nape of her neck stiffened, and sweat soaked her armpits. She couldn’t stand it, couldn’t deal with seeing Bebe’s sheet-covered form. Not having her friend gaze back unsettled her in an indescribable way. Panic clenched her gut. The brothers must have realized her nervousness since they flanked her sides.
Boots crunched on the gravel. The ambulance doors closed, and the EMTs climbed inside the cab. In a daze, she thought out what would transpire in the next few days—making arrangements, going to the funeral. Oh jeez, she didn’t think she could handle the pain. “I have to…” Run!
“I’m taking care of the funeral arrangements.” Pete studied her. Bebe mentioned that she’d taken care of the arrangements. “She asked you?”
“Yes.” He kissed her cheek. “I’ll come back soon.” With that, Pete and Phil climbed into the cab and drove off.
A long time after the ambulance and the truck had disappeared, she turned to face the trailer. Hopper stood on his hind legs, his front paws on the screen, and his nose and mouth twitching. Dark coloring outlined his beady eyes, like a mask, yet didn’t hide his sadness. She opened the door a fraction. He darted out and clawed at her l
eg. She picked him up and headed for the woods.
****
Travis Carson tapped the gas gauge. The needle jumped from E to F. The Cessna he bought last week off a friend, who decided to downsize from a nine-passenger aircraft to a six, was a sweet deal. With a few cosmetic repairs, like new flight instruments, the plane would be ready for scenic tours.
“Hey, man!” called Allen Brooks, the owner of the airport and surrounding businesses. “You’re seriously giving up Search and Rescue?”
Travis climbed from the plane’s cockpit to the wing and jumped to the pavement. “Sure am.”
“That baby’s gonna miss you.” Allen nodded his head at Travis’ plane one spot over.
Yeah, he’d miss her and the adrenaline rush of seeing the excited faces when he brought loved ones home. “It’s time.” Way past. He’d dove into Search and Rescue when his kid brother Matt went into the military and dug further in after his brother was hurt in combat and lost a leg. Not being in a position to help his brother or fellow Marines overseas, he did what he could by saving the lives of United States citizens. He’d done so numerous times with only a few fatalities. With each loss, a piece of his soul ripped from him, wounding him that much more. After almost face planting his plane into the side of the mountain… He sucked in a breath. The job that had been his life and given him purpose lost its power. No longer did he possess the strength to help others in life or death situations.
“Finally moving to Montana?”
With scenic tours in mind, two years ago he purchased enough land in the Bluebird Valley to build a house and a small airstrip. Then he convinced his brother to move there. At first, Matt snubbed the idea. When things went south with his now-wife Trina, he did the unbelievable and built her childhood dream business. Matt had found peace, a loving home, and won back Trina. Hopefully, Travis’ hardened heart would find it, too. “Yep.”
“You leaving her here or selling her?”
He grinned at Allen when he referred to his airplane as a “she.” Being in the plane day in and night out, it reminded him of a woman. She kept him warm and cozy and he relied on her. The type of woman he’d like to find … one day. Maybe if he came to terms with the fear of losing someone he loved enough to invest in a relationship. “I can’t sell her.” The plane was part of him. “Pete and Phil want to bring her to Montana in a week or two. Are you good with her here until then?”
