And it worked because Sam quickly forgot his frustration once they hit the trail, it was no problem to find the bull moose now, so that was the first place they went. He was looking just as healthy as ever when they finally found him and the prospect of a new generation of moose in the canyon looked promising. There had been reports about calves already born in the park, but those sightings had been the year before, none had been seen over the last summer nor had last year’s calves been seen.
There had been talk about wolves in the park, several residents claimed to have seen them over the winter, but Sam and Julie hadn’t seen any evidence of them. Still there were other predators who could have easily taken down a young moose, especially an inexperienced one. For lack of a better plan, they decided to pay a call on the Montgomery’s, it was Julie’s idea, one she put forth to see what Sam’s reaction would be.
“Why should we go over there? If they see something they’ll let us know,” Sam said, dismissing her idea.
“Sam, we haven’t even seen that entire area, just because they’re watching doesn’t mean we shouldn’t explore it. Do you have a better idea?” Julie didn’t want to push, but it was becoming ridiculous the way he kept trying to avoid those people.
Sam was beginning to feel guilty that he hadn’t shared with her that the Montgomery brothers were his brothers, but he’d been keeping the secret for so long that he just couldn’t seem to let go of it. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Julie, he did, but talking about it out loud would make it real, force him to decide whether to tell them or not, a decision that would change his life one way or another.
“No, I don’t. I’m sorry, Julie,” he said, not knowing what else to say.
Julie hugged him. “I don’t know what you have to be sorry for, but if you need to talk about something I’m always here to listen.”
Sam looked down at Julie and promised himself that he’d talk to her and soon, of all the people in his life he could have talked to about his brothers, Julie was the one he wanted to tell most, he just wasn’t ready. “Thank you, Julie,” was all he said.
When they finally met up with Jake, Owen, and Flynn in the upper pasture it was to find them and the herders in an uproar. “We’ve spotted a female with two calves about three miles from here,” Flynn said as soon as they’d dismounted.
“How long ago?” Julie asked, the excitement mounting.
“Not more than an hour. It’s like they were waiting for you to show up. Are you going to tag them? Do you tag calves? Can I help?” Flynn was as excited as a kid.
“Yes, to all three,” Julie said, looking to Sam who reluctantly agreed. “We’ll need your help.”
An hour later, they arrived at the location where the moose had been spotted and it didn’t take Sam long to find their trail. Silently the group trooped through the forest, following a little stream that Owen said emptied into one of the pastures. “There’s a huge marshy spot on one side of the pasture, the sheep stay away from it, but we’ve seen evidence of moose there.”
“Then that’s probably where we’ll find them. They won’t be moving very fast if there are two calves,” Julie explained, excitement building as they got closer. It wasn’t uncommon for moose to have two calves, but it didn’t happen very often and was a sign that there was plentiful food.
They moved slowly into the pasture, scanning the forest for any sign of the moose. Sam spotted them first, back in the trees a few yards from the marshy area. Once everyone had watched them for a while, they moved back out of the pasture to make plans. After much discussion, they had a plan put together, although Sam didn’t seem very happy with it, he went along. Owen and Jake would be responsible for the calves, while Flynn and Julie took care of the mother, Sam would take samples from all three animals.
It was after midnight when they all collapsed in front of the fire at camp for a much-needed dinner. “That went much better than I expected,” Sam said grudgingly.
His brothers had proven to be more than adequate assistants, in fact the five of them had worked so well together that it had taken less than half the time it usually did to get all of moose tagged and the tests run. He’d managed to forget for those few hours who they were, and the choice he’d have to make. Now as he sat at the fire with them, he realized that they’d gained his respect that day, making it even harder to decide what he should do.
One thing he did know was that if he and Julie had their help for the rest of the season, they’d have the entire population tagged in no time at all. Making a rash decision, without even consulting Julie, he said, “How would the three of you like to join us for the rest of the season?”
Julie looked over at him, surprised by his offer, but didn’t disagree with his suggestion. The five of them had made a great team, seeming to anticipate what the other needed a split second before it was needed and Flynn had proven a perfect shot with the tranquilizer gun. But it was strange that Sam would suggest it when he’d been fighting anything to do with them before then.
“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Julie agreed.
Chapter 8
Jake watched Sam and Julie ride down the trail that led from the ranch to the science building, feeling a mixture of emotions. Part of him was excited about the part they’d play in the project, and another part of him was deeply disturbed by Sam. No matter how many times he told himself that he didn’t know Sam, he couldn’t drop the nagging feeling that he did.
Several times over the last day, he caught Sam out of the corner of his eye and thought it was one of his brothers. He’d also noticed that Sam had a way of talking that reminded him of his dad, a thought that made his stomach hurt. As the oldest of the brothers, he alone could remember that awful summer his father had been gone, then come home different. He could remember the fights after his parents thought he was asleep and the tears his mom shed when she thought no one was looking.
Then his parents had gone away on a trip and come back the mom and dad he remembered, and the problems had faded from his mind, but now he’d begun to wonder what had really happened that summer. It had come as a shock to them all after their father’s death to find that he’d opened a trust account that amounted to billions of dollars for someone not in the family, but the file had been sealed even from them and to this day no one knew who the beneficiary was.
Luckily, Owen and Flynn seemed oblivious to what he was seeing, Sam’s explanation the first time they’d met satisfaction enough for them both. It hadn’t been enough for him however, he’d done some digging and discovered that Sam had received a huge trust fund when he’d turned eighteen, it was just too much of a coincidence to ignore. But he had to tread carefully, in fact he wasn’t so sure how he felt about the whole thing and his parents were gone, so he wouldn’t get any answers from either of them.
There were people who would have known what happened all those years ago and it was time to ask them. It might not be pretty hearing the truth, but he owed it to all of them to find out, clearly Sam didn’t see what he did, but then again if he didn’t know how would he. As soon as he got back to his cabin, he’d make some phone calls, see what he could dig up back home in Australia, if his suspicions were true, they might just have a brother they knew nothing about. How he felt about that, he’d have to decide later, for now the truth would be enough.
By the time Sam and Julie got back to the cabin, they were both exhausted, but thrilled with the outcome of the trip. Sam was also feeling the strain of having made the rash decision to invite his brothers to help with the rest of the tagging. He’d been feeling so good, so happy that they were men who he could respect that he’d forgotten for a second that he was only creating potential problems down the road. Especially when he remembered how Jake had looked at him a few times as they were working, he’d forgotten just how much he looked like his father, that alone could be a problem working with them day after day.
Julie could see that Sam had something on his mind, but she knew when he was brooding, and
he was brooding. As much as she wanted to pry it out of him, she also knew that if she pushed, he’d push back. Instead she used her most powerful weapon, stripping herself first, then peeling Sam’s clothes off one piece at a time, kissing each piece of exposed skin until his mood changed. After a long shower, and wild romp in Julie’s bed, they ate dinner in bed, Julie feeding him each bite like he was an invalid. This was followed by Sam showing her just how physically fit he was.
Afterward, they lay entwined together, Julie’s head resting on his chest. “Sam?” she said, not sure if he was still awake, but knowing that if he was it was the perfect time to probe a little.
“Hmm.”
“I know something’s been bothering you. I wish you’d tell me what it is,” she said, closing her eyes not sure how he’d respond.
He was silent for a long time, but then he said, “I do have something on my mind, but I don’t know if I’m ready to talk about it.” He felt Julie stiffen and start to pull out of his arms. “Wait, it has nothing to do with us, I mean I’m right where I want to be. It does affect my life, I mean… Oh, I can’t explain. Can you be patient? I haven’t talked to anyone else about it either, I just found out myself.” Sam knew he was rambling, but he couldn’t stop himself, even though he wasn’t ready to talk about his brother’s yet, Julie was the one person he wanted to talk to when it was time to decide.
Sam had said enough to give Julie a clue to what was going on, Sam had confided in her all those years ago about his trust fund and unknown father. He’d sworn her to secrecy, and she’d complied, but she hadn’t forgotten the story, often wondered what it would have been like to grow up without a father, even worse not even knowing who your father was. The more she thought about it, the more she could see a resemblance between the four men and wondered if any of them had noticed the same.
“I’ll wait as long as it takes, but sometimes talking about things makes it easier,” Julie said, kissing him on the cheek, then settling back into his arms.
Sam and Julie spent the next few weeks getting ready for the big tagging expedition, the plan was simple, pack as much gear as they could and head for the bull moose. They’d follow him, tagging females as they went, or at least that’s what they hoped. But with fall making an appearance in the higher elevations, the moose would be heading to lower elevations and the food still available there. It would make their job much easier, fewer miles to cover, and more eyes on the areas where the moose would be most likely to go.
They’d been watching the bull moose for weeks, as well as the female and had an excellent idea of where to start, so as the leaves began to change the five of them set out. All had planned to be gone for three weeks, and they’d brought several pack horses to carry the extra gear and the equipment they’d need. Base camp would be in one of the pastures that was already empty, the sheep having been moved lower down the mountain as temperatures dropped.
Almost immediately they were successful, tagging two females the very first day, much to everyone’s relief. By the end of the second week, everyone was tired but knew that they’d done great work. Then something strange happened, the bull moose, instead of heading back down the mountain, headed up. Everyone was surprised as they watched him quickly climb the mountain, Julie and Sam most of all, since this was the exact opposite of what he should be doing.
“Do you have any ideas?” Sam asked her, when he’d been climbing for an hour.
“No, I’ve never seen a moose do anything like this,” Julie had answered mystified.
“I think we should go after him,” Sam finally said, not sure what else to do. “Get up there and see what he’s doing. There has to be a good reason.”
“Maybe there’s another male up there,” Julie suggested.
“Maybe, that might explain his behavior,” Sam agreed.
In the end, they all decided to go, but just as they were getting packed a call came in on the satellite phone they carried for emergencies. When Sam got off the phone, he looked torn. “There’s a bull moose down by Honey Hills, it’s not our moose.”
“Another male, that’s great,” Julie said, excited, then realized what the problem was; she and Sam couldn’t be in two places at once.
“We can handle this,” Jake said, “You’ve been teaching us. We can do it.”
Sam hesitated for only a second, over the last few weeks, he’d come to respect these men and their dedication to the animals, not only their sheep and the moose, but every creature they’d encountered. “I agree. We’ll split up. Julie and I will go up and see what the big bull is up to, you three go get the new one tagged.” Everyone was a bit shocked by Sam’s answer, but they quickly rearranged the gear and both parties were off.
They rode hard to catch up to the bull, who was moving quickly himself, so by the time they caught up with him they were both exhausted. The sun was just setting, but they could see him in a clearing standing over something. Not sure what it was, they dismounted and approached slowly on foot, afraid to spook the giant creature who might charge if he felt threatened.
When they got close enough to see, Julie sucked in a deep breath and Sam cursed. The bull moose was standing over a female moose who clearly had a gunshot wound in her shoulder, she was lying on her side and the wound was still oozing blood. The bull seemed to understand that they knew what he wanted and he slowly backed away into the forest allowing them to slowly approach the wounded animal.
The moose tried to get up at their approach but was too weak. “Oh, Sam she’s been shot,” Julie finally managed to say.
“I can see that,” Sam said, through clenched teeth. “Can we save her?”
“I don’t know, I’m not a vet,” Julie said, then gently probed the wound.
The moose thrashed and Sam rushed over and held her head down. “Can we sedate her, and clean it up or something? Maybe we can get her back to the ranch.” Sam was throwing out ideas so fast Julie couldn’t keep up.
“Oh, Sam, I don’t know,” Julie said, pulling off her scarf and holding it against the wound. “I’m not trained to do anything that complicated.”
“Clean it off and let’s see what it looks like,” Sam suggested, handing her his scarf.
Julie cleaned the wound as best she could. “It looks like the bullet only grazed her,” Julie said, her voice full of relief. “I might be able to help her after all.”
“Good,” Sam said, blowing out the breath he’d been holding. Then he had a brilliant idea, “Let’s get on the satellite phone and call Chloe.”
“Oh, that’s a good idea. She’ll be able to help me though this,” Julie said, beginning to feel like she might just be able to handle the task ahead. “If I can get the wound cleaned up and the bleeding stopped, she might be able to make it to the ranch in the morning. We’re not that far away.”
“I’ll get a fire going and the supplies you need. See if you can get Chloe on the phone,” Sam said, getting up then frowning when the moose didn’t try to get up. “We better hurry.”
For two hours Julie worked on the moose. With Chloe’s guidance over the phone and Sam’s gentle reassurance, she managed to stop the bleeding and sew up the wound. But her plan to get the moose down the mountain was quickly rejected by Chloe. “She’s going to have to stay where she is for a few days, she needs some time to recuperate before you can move her.”
“We can’t just go off and leave her,” Julie said, envisioning a bear stumbling upon the injured moose.
“The best thing for that moose would be some supportive care and time,” Chloe answered. “I’d come and stay with her, but Jake would never let that happen.”
Sam had been listening to the entire conversation. “I don’t think we have any choice but to stay here with her and give her what she needs until she can travel,” he said, already getting to his feet. “I’ll go set up camp.”
Julie spent another half an hour on the phone with Chloe, getting detailed instruction on how to care for the injured moose. “Julie, I don’t have
to remind you that she’s a wild animal and is going to behave like one, the better she feels the harder it’s going to be to get close to her. Don’t push her, at some point you might have to just let her go.”
Julie understood what Chloe was trying to tell her, it never paid to get attached to a creature that belonged in the wild, it was dangerous for the animal and the human involved. “Thanks, Chloe, I’ll be careful and Sam’s here too,” Julie said, then disconnected the call.
They took turns sitting with the moose that night, sleeping for a few hours then taking watch until the sun came up. After a quick breakfast, they built a temporary corral for the moose hoping that it would keep her in one place. When she finally stumbled to her feet later that morning they were ready with food and water. After she’d eaten and drank her fill, she seemed content to rest in the shade of the trees, seeming to understand that Sam and Julie were there to help her.
“I think we’d better find some food for us, we’ve got some, but not enough if we’re going to be here for a few days. Do you think she’ll be okay for a few hours?” They did need food, but he also wanted to scout the area, he hadn’t said anything to Julie, but that bullet wound had him concerned. He also wondered what the moose had been doing this far up as well, she should have been with the rest of the population in the lower elevations. But for now, he wanted Julie to concentrate on taking care of the moose, those questions could be answered later.
“We really should have brought more food, I guess we better. Leaving her now is probably the best time, she’s not going to wander off in the condition she’s in and since it’s daylight predators are less likely.”
It didn’t take them long to put together what they needed, as much as they both hated to do it, rabbit would be on the menu and if they were lucky some fresh trout from the stream. They’d been setting rabbit snares, moving up the side of the mountain when they came to a little terraced area where there was enough flat ground for a significantly large camp. Judging by the state of the camp, it had been used recently, in fact when Julie held her hand to the fire pit, it was still warm.
Have My Child: BWWM Romance (Brothers From Money Book 14) Page 8
