4. Clay

CHAPTER 4

Clay

I hear it before I can see it. “Goddamn it.” I climb out of bed, completely naked. There’s nothing worse than sleeping in clothes and waking up wrapped in the material with a tangle of sheets and a comforter. Unless you’ve got a certain cat who thinks she’s more human than cat. Damn thing even expects me to share my food with her. Jasmine with her tiger-striped coat, yellow eyes, and soft purrs. Makes it damn hard to hold a grudge even when she tries to trip me up every damn morning.

“Jasmine, you’re trying to kill me.” She’s slinking around my ankles, trying to get as much attention as possible. As if sleeping on top of the pillow right next to where I lay my head isn’t enough. I grab a pair of discarded jeans off the floor; I’m sure they’re ripe in the stench department and should be tossed in the laundry basket. But fuck, man, I worked on the fence line, made sure the salt blocks were where they needed to be and the water lines were run before nightfall. That meant working my ass of for two days straight, sometimes continuing into the night, using the lights from my truck. I knew we’d be getting a hell of an ice storm followed by three damn feet tonight, which gave me one hell of a time.

The last thing I want is to put on layers to protect me against the wet and cold, except here I fucking am. I never expected to be jarred out of a dead sleep. Exhaustion hit me like a ton of bricks once the daylight faded.

When night fell and the weather turned ugly, I called it. The cows had water, heaters bubbling beneath to keep it from freezing over, round bales were set up, and their shelter is in place. I highly doubt they’ll use it. It’s more than likely the goats will seek a warm place to bed down. The chickens, who usually free-graze all day and night, were put up with the horses tonight. All my animals are spoiled in one form or the other. They’re all I’ve got, so spending a few extra dollars or time with them isn’t a hardship.

Nala’s deep bark greets me as I take the stairs down to the main living area. I’ve still gotta grab my jacket, gloves, and boots, but everything else I haphazardly put on while trying to bob and weave with Jasmine. Who is still hellbent on getting in my way even though I’m doubling my pace.

The loud noise that woke me up sounded like a freight train when a car is stuck on the tracks. Which means there’s definitely an accident somewhere on my property. The bad part is I’m sure we’ve got a lot of snow on the ground, along with ice from earlier, and damn if they should have shut this road down. All the way up here, we’re thirty minutes away from a hospital, and getting up here would require a damn helicopter.

“Stay, Jazzy girl,” I tell her, opening the door and realizing I almost forgot a fucking hat. I backtrack and grab whatever I left on the counter. Keeping a variety of clothes in the laundry room off the side entrance has helped when I’m in a rush. Jasmine doesn’t listen, of course. She jumps up on the railing and walks along it while sniffing the air. The ground is packed with snow, the outside lights are shining brightly, and still it’s not enough to give me a view of where I’m sure there’s a vehicle stuck in some way. I head for the barn, trudging through the wet snow. Maybe I made a bad decision in moving to a state that gets a fuck ton of this shit. In Texas, I’d be sweating right about now, while in Colorado, I’m freezing my goddamn balls off.

“Nala, come.” I smack my hand to my thigh. She’ll guide me once I’ve got the side-by-side up and running. It doesn’t take me long to push the barn door open. Luckily, the animals are in the other barn, and I’m able to keep my skid steer, side-by-side, and other tools in here. I’m in my seat, cranking the engine, and Nala is settling in the passenger seat. She doesn’t usually stay there long once I clear a certain part of the property, and tonight, I’m hoping she’ll do the same. I’ve yet to see headlights or smoke. This is going to make for a long night and will probably take well into the morning light, if my gut instinct is as right as I think it is.

We navigate the driveway. Fortunately, I threw salt on the gravel driveway on top of every other chore I did yesterday. A few short minutes later, I’m parked at the gate, keeping the engine running, and Nala, who usually hops off long before now, stuck with me and only gets off when I do. Tonight is different. There’s an ominous feel to the air. It’s inherently quiet. Not even the noise of animals can be heard. I pull the gate open and wait until it latches on the post. I’ve learned my lesson; the damn thing catches on the wind and slams closed sometimes. One time, that’s all it took. The weather said, ‘ Watch this’ and blew it into me while I was driving through.

“Come on, girl, load up.” Letting her run out into the unknown is not going to happen. She may be a working dog, but the last thing I want is for her to get in an accident of sorts. I grab the flashlight out of the cupholder, holding it with one hand while steering with the other. I stop at the end of the drive before hitting the street, trying to figure out which direction the crash sounds came from. My head swivels to the right. Nothing is going on that way. When I shift it to the left, that’s when I see it.

“Son of a motherfucker.” There, wedged into the side of the mountain, is a van. One of those travel types. The reason there’s no smoke is because it’s sitting lopsided. This is going to be a doozy to get down the mountain. I shake my head. I’m a damn fool. Should have kept my ass in bed, pretended like I didn’t hear a damn thing. Hell, there’s still a chance I can turn around without the person in the vehicle seeing or hearing me. I could just call it in to the sheriff’s department and be on my way.

Nala, of course, has another scenario in mind. She barks before setting off toward the accident. Jesus, I have no choice now. Looks like I’m playing knight in shining armor once again. I swear the townspeople of Alpha Mountain better not catch wind of this, or I’ll have a namesake besides the grumpy old man who moved here from Texas.

I follow my dog, hoping Jasmine keeps her tail at home. Finding a cat in this darkness would be near impossible. I’m sure Jazzy girl would come home, but I’d still be fucking worried. I see Nala sitting on her rump, tail swishing on the road, and she looks away from whatever she sees to yip in my direction. I get as close as I can on the all-terrain vehicle before I shut it down. I’m on my feet as soon as everything is safe and secure, remembering I left my phone in the bedroom. A dumb move on my part, but Nala not growling or ready to attack gives me the high sign that shit is good. I roll my shoulders, take a deep breath, and walk toward them.

“I’m so sorry,” are the words I’m greeted with when I make it to where my dog and the woman are sitting. One hand is on Nala’s head, and she’s slowly scooting closer to the woman who’s knocked the wind out of my sails. She has long dark hair, stick straight, tear-stained cheeks, and as I move closer, I can see her pretty blue-gray eyes. Her ass is on the ground, back to the van, legs up, one arm is dangling on one knee while her other hand is petting my dog. It’s hard to tell who’s comforting whom.

“No need to apologize. Are you okay?” I look her up and down. There don’t seem to be any injuries at first glance, and the second one I take is for selfish reasons. I know in this moment that this woman is going to be my greatest downfall, and I’m going to enjoy every damn minute.