Love All Out - The Complete Series (A Stepbrother Romance) (40 page)

I paid little attention to the needling rainfall as Dallas and I raced to the stables. I didn’t have time to feel grateful for his help or embarrassed that he knew my secret. The mountains around us were alive with the sounds of snapping trees and rushing waters. And James was out there, alone in the worst of it. In my heart, I knew we may already be too late.

“I’ll saddle the horses,” Dallas said as we hustled into the stables. “You grab everything for our saddle bags. We need flashlights, the flare gun, and as much rope as you can carry. Bring a couple of the shorter handled shovels too. I can pack them behind me.”

“Why don’t we take a pack horse?”

I was on my way to the supply cabinet when I heard Mason’s voice. I turned to find him standing in the doorway of the stables.

“
We
aren’t going anywhere,” I said firmly. “The news is calling for everyone to evacuate, Mason. You and the other guys should gather your things and get out from under this mountain.”

Dallas busied himself with Mayhem’s saddle while Mason took a few more steps into the barn. He pushed his leather hat up on his forehead and looped his thumbs through his belt loops.

“I don’t know what’s going on, Willow. But with all due respect, it seems like you could use as much help as you can get. Am I wrong, or are the two of you about to ride up the damn mountain in the middle of a landslide?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

I couldn’t afford to slow down and explain myself to him. I moved around the barn, gathering supplies as I spoke. I did my best to keep my voice even. I knew that if I started crying, I may never stop. I had to keep it together. James’s life could depend on it.

“James is missing. Yes, Dallas and I are going after him. But I can’t let you come with us, Mason. It’s too risky.”

“I’ve never been one to back down from danger,” he argued as he took an armful of rope from me and carried it to Dallas. “Besides, it seems to me that you’re the one who should stay behind. You’re the brains behind this place, after all. Why don’t you let Dallas and me go after James? I promise, we’ll do everything we can to bring him home safe.”

“Maybe that’s a good idea, Willow,” Dallas agreed softly. He led Mayhem out of the stall and I took the reins.

“I’m not staying behind,” I insisted stubbornly. I looped the reins over my saddle horn and attached Mayhem’s lead rope to a hitching post. I started filling my saddle bags with supplies while the men continued their pleas for me to stay behind. Everything they said went in one ear and out the other. All I could think about was James.

Where would he have gone to think? The text said the badlands… but maybe he didn’t get that far. How in the world am I supposed to know where to look first?

Suddenly, it struck me that I knew exactly where James would have gone. Countless old trails ran through our badlands and the surrounding National Forest. And the easiest way to get to all of them was the old logging road that we took to the campsite. I knew in my heart that was where we’d find him.

Even if that’s not where he intended to go, I know that’s where he ended up. With everything that’s been going on the last few days, I’d never be able to pass the place. It would draw me like a moth to a flame… and I’m certain it did the same to him.

I untied the lead rope and put my foot in the stirrup, paying no mind to Mason and Dallas’s pleas. Mason blocked our path and grabbed a hold of Mayhem’s headstall.

“Willow, you have to listen to reason,” he insisted, his voice kind but firm.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to get to James, and I was outraged that Mason was slowing me down.

“Reason?” I snapped. “You want to talk about reason?
I’m
the reason James is on the mountain in the first place. I know I can’t keep Dallas from going with me, but I won’t have you risking your life to clean up my mistake. Get out of my way, Mason, or you’re fired.”

Mason opened his mouth, thought better of it, and closed it again. He let go of Mayhem and took two steps back, holding his hands up in defeat. “Fine, I’ll stay here. But surely there’s still a way for me to help.”

“There is,” Dallas agreed. He crossed the stables and took two high range walkie talkies from their chargers on the counter. He tossed one to Mason and stuck the other into his jacket pocket before climbing on top of his mare, Biscuit.

“When we find James, we may need help,” he explained. “Keep this on you and go to Willow’s office. Get on the CB radio and see if you can pin point where the search and rescue teams are. If you get word that he’s been found, let us know. We’ll do the same.”

Mason nodded. “I’m assuming Cole and Renee don’t know about this?” he asked, his voice full of nervous tension.

Dallas shook his head as he pointed Biscuit at the stable doors. “I won’t ask you to lie to them, but I will ask you to avoid them.”

“I’ll do my best. Good luck.”

I nodded at him and gave Mayhem a gentle nudge to the flank. He walked through the stable, but hesitated at the door. Rain was still falling in thick sheets blown sideways by the wind. Thunder clapped and lightning flashed across the sky. Mayhem reared up on his back legs and then came down hard, kicking at the dirt. I gripped the saddle horn and rubbed Mayhem’s neck with my free hand.

“The horses are right,” Dallas told me as he struggled with Biscuit. “We should wait until the storm breaks. We won’t be of any help to James if we get hurt before we reach him.”

“We could already be too late, you know that,” I argued. I kept my voice calm in an effort to soothe Mayhem. “We can’t afford to wait any longer.”

I stroked both sides of the horse’s neck and leaned towards his ears. “Come on, buddy. I know it’s scary out there, but we have to get to James. I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.”

I knew Mayhem didn’t understand my words, but he responded to my touch and tone. I gave him another gentle nudge and he raced out of the stables. Not wanting to be left behind, Biscuit took off after us. I threw a nervous glance towards the house and was relieved to see the porch empty. I pictured Daddy and Renee still fixed to the TV and felt a stab of guilt for the panic they’d feel when they realized I was gone too.

I can’t think about that right now. Fuck it, if it weren’t for Renee, James would have never run off in the first place. Well, she can take her threats and shove them up her ass. I don’t care what she thinks, or Daddy. If I find James, I’m never letting go of him again.

We neared the mouth of the main trail and Dallas rode up beside me.

“I should take the lead,” he insisted.

I knew better than to argue. “I think he’s at the campsite,” I called out over the storm. “Hopefully, he had the sense to start for home once the storm blew in. We should keep our eyes open. You watch the left side of the trail, I’ll take the right.”

“Got it,” he agreed, his voice even louder than mine. “Stay alert, Willow. If you hear trees snapping or feel the ground shift, do your best to stay calm and stay on Mayhem. And if I say it’s too dangerous to continue, we’re turning around.”

“Fine,” I replied, nodding for Dallas to go ahead of me. There was no way I was coming down from the mountain without James, but there was no need to argue the point. Mayhem followed Biscuit up the mountain while I kept my eyes peeled for any sign of James or Seven.

We rode for almost an hour before the rain finally let up. The further we climbed up the mountain, the more damage we saw. The landscape was littered with uprooted trees gaping holes, and piles of rock. A splintered pine blocked our trail just yards from our turn off towards the logging road. Dallas climbed out of his saddle to inspect our newest obstacle.

“Can we get around it?” I called out as I watched the beam of his flashlight dance across the ground.

“On foot, but there’s not enough clearance for the horses,” he hollered back. “We’ll have to move it. Bring me a couple of ropes.”

I dismounted and pulled two lengths of rope from my saddlebag. As I flicked on my flashlight, I heard a horse whinny in the distance. My heart quickened and my breath caught in my chest.

“That sounded close,” Dallas said, his voice seeping with urgency. “We’ve got to get this moved. The tree doesn’t seem too heavy. I’ll get the ropes tied on, you keep the horses calm.”

It was all I could do to stand still and hold the lead ropes. James was nearby, I could feel it in my bones. And all I could think about was getting to him.

“Okay, you take this one and I’ll take the other,” Dallas instructed, passing me the end of one rope. I took it and passed him Biscuit’s lead rope. We climbed back into our saddles, pointed the horses back down the trail, and tied our ropes to our saddle horns. With a click of my tongue, the horses took a few slow steps forward and drug the fallen tree out of our way. I untied the rope from my saddle horn and let it fall to the ground.

“We’ll get it on our way back,” I insisted, not wanting to slow down long enough to retrieve the other ends of the ropes from the fallen tree. I turned Mayhem around and started back up the trail.

“Fine,” Dallas said, following my lead. “That horse sounded close, which is a relief. The terrain is getting pretty bad. I’m not sure we’d make it all the way to the campsite.”

“Let’s just hope that was Seven,” I said under my breath. My heart raced again and anxiety paralyzed my body as I wondered what we were about to find. Mayhem trudged stoically up the mountain while Dallas rode silently behind us. The horse’s whinnies grew louder and we turned a corner to find Seven dancing anxiously on the trail. His saddle was empty and his reins were tangled in a tree branch. I jumped to the ground and tied Mayhem to a nearby tree.

“James! James!” I screamed as I raced to his horse. I slowed down a few feet away from him and held my hand out for him to sniff. He backed away at first, but I stayed still and he slowly approached me.

“That’s a good boy,” I said, my voice low and full of praise. I stroked the horse’s face for a few moments before reaching for the reins. I managed to untangle them, but the horse was still shaken and upset. I unbuckled his headstall and pulled his bit out of his mouth.

“Is he hurt?” Dallas asked as he approached with another lead rope.

“His mouth looks pretty bruised,” I answered tensely. “And there’s no sign of James anywhere.” My voice broke as waves of despair rushed over me. Images of James being thrown from the saddle and lying broken on the trail filled my mind.

“James!” I cried out at the top of my lungs. “James!” I stumbled off the trail and into the woods, screaming his name over and over again. Tears rolled down my face as my heart started to believe that the worst had happened. Finally, a hoarse, muffled voice called back to me.

“Willow…? Willow, I’m over here.”

“Dallas! Dallas, I hear him!” I cried out as I rushed towards the sound of James’s voice.

“James! Where are you?” I struggled up an unstable, rocky hill and felt the color drain from my face. The hill leveled off at a small plateau, just beneath a large bluff with several rocky overhangs. The flat land was covered in piles of boulders, smaller rocks, and tree limbs, all of it caked in thick, suffocating mud.

Dear God, don’t let him be under all of this.

“James…?” I called out again.

“You sound closer,” he replied, his voice louder than before. “I’m over here. I’m stuck, but I think I’m okay.”

“Over where?” I replied frantically as Dallas cautiously climbed the hill.

“I’m up against the bluff,” he called out. “Under the widest cliff… I knew I was in trouble, so I took cover in the safest place I could find. I knew the cliff would protect me from debris. I didn’t think about getting blocked in.”

“James, it’s Dallas. We’re going to get you out of here, buddy. Are you hurt?”

Relief flooded my body as he called out. “I don’t think so. Not badly, anyway. But I sure would like to get out of here.”

I stumbled around the rubble, my eyes searching for the cliff James had described. There were so many rocks and boulders piled up, it was difficult to tell which were connected to the bluff and which had fallen in the slide. I crawled over a fallen tree trunk and finally spotted the cliff. It jutted out six feet from the bluff and sat close to four feet off of the ground. Boulders, limbs, and tree trunks were piled all around it, making it difficult to tell where the bluff ended and the debris began. I cautiously continued forward.

“Be careful, Willow,” Dallas warned. “I doubt any of that is very stable. One slip and it could all start sliding again.”

“Dallas is right,” James replied. “Call search and rescue and tell them where we are. They’ll know how to get me out of here.”

I heard their words, but they didn’t stop me. I’d spent the last few hours convinced that I’d lost James forever. Now that I’d found him again, I wouldn’t be satisfied until he was in my arms. I followed James’s voice to the left side of the rubble and saw his face peeking through a small gap between rocks. The gap was level with my hips, so I dropped to my knees to be closer to James. Our eyes met, and his softened.

“I can’t believe you came after me,” he said, his voice overflowing with gratitude.

“I can’t believe I had to,” I teased, trying to pretend I hadn’t spent the last few hours in desperate panic. “What were you thinking, coming up here with the ground so unstable?”