Chapter One – Nathan
Chapter One
NATHAN
Present Day
Lightning lit up the darkening skies while thunder rumbled through the valley. The storm that was predicted to move in later this afternoon was making an early appearance, and I wasn’t the least bit disappointed about that. I loved storms, especially fall storms. Something about the thunder echoing off the mountains made my heart feel happy.
“Looks like this one is going to be a big one!” my cousin Josh called out over the increasing wind.
I nodded and shut the gate, ensuring it was locked securely.
“I hope we don’t get any lightning strikes in the valley. Everything is still dry from the summer,” I said as I jumped into the ranch truck and shut the door right before the heavens opened and rain poured down.
“I’ve got a good plan in effect if anything does happen,” Josh said from the truck’s driver’s side. He quit his job as a firefighter not long ago and started working full time on the ranch. I wasn’t sure why he gave up his dream job of firefighting, but I knew our grandfather’s sudden and unexpected death had something to do with it. One thing he did do, at the request of our oldest cousin, Blayze, was come up with a plan in case of fire. A few years back, a wildfire had burned a few hundred acres of the Shaw Ranch, and Blayze never wanted to see that again. Fires were something you couldn’t control, but you could have a plan of action to keep the damage to a minimum, and that was precisely what Josh had been working on. The first thing he did was start working on clearing the entire fence line of the ranch. It’s not a small feat, but we got it done. Our cousin, Beck, who a few years ago had been a recent addition to the family, was in charge of the clearing. The guy was a Shaw, for sure. He was out there with the workers clearing and hauling brush. He was our Uncle Beck’s son, but he never got the chance to meet him since he died before Beck was even born. Originally from Texas, after Beck’s mother died, he found the name and information for his father’s family. One trip to Hamilton and Beck fell in love, not just with Montana, but with Avery Littleton, our cousin, not by blood. The rest, they say, is history.
“We need to swing by my folks’ place. Mom and Dad aren’t back from Las Vegas, and I need to make sure Lady is stable.”
“Have you called Lily?” Josh asked.
Lily was my sister and was married to Maverick, who worked as a horse trainer for my mother and father. He was more of a horse whisperer, working on the more troubled horses. They lived in the small house on the back of my parents’ spot on the ranch. I knew they would ensure everything was in order, but I wanted to swing by and check myself.
“I did, no answer. She and Mav might be rounding in the horses; I’m not sure. I tried to text Maverick also and no reply from him either. Lady is afraid of thunder if left out to pasture. It doesn’t seem to bother her when she is stabled for some reason.”
“That horse is one of the strangest horses I’ve ever known.” Josh laughed. “Does Haven still come and ride her?”
I nodded even though he wasn’t looking at me. The rain was coming down so hard it was hard to see even with the wipers going at top speed.
“Yeah, at least once a week, according to my mother and Lily.”
We drove silently for a moment before Josh said, “I think they’re getting close to getting the loan sorted. Haven and Sophia aren’t happy with the contractor, though.” He glanced out the window up at the sky as if he could see anything. “If we keep getting rain like this, they won’t break ground anytime soon.”
“I’m surprised they’re not waiting until after winter to start on it.”
“They’ve still got some time to get things done, and according to the girls, they want to be open by late spring or early summer.”
“Makes sense,” I replied.
Josh’s girlfriend, Sophia, was partners with Haven. Originally, she was going to work as Haven’s assistant, where she would do administrative tasks, which she does now, but after hearing Haven’s plans to open a dog park, she was on board and offered to be her partner. Haven jumped at the chance to have Sophia on board, and both women were a force to be reckoned with. Currently, Haven runs a dog walking service where she picks up dogs in a van and brings them to locations where she can let them all off-leash and walk. She does that twice a day, five days a week. And when she isn’t doing that, she volunteers either at the animal shelter or helping out with displaced animals. She had also placed a few horses with my mother and father in hopes that they, Lily, or Maverick, could help them so they could be adopted.
Josh looked out the windshield again. “It’s crazy how fast this rain is coming down.”
“I have a feeling we’re going to have a crazy winter.”
“Yeah, I do as well. We could use the snow, though, after the little bit of rain we got last spring and this past summer. Plus, last winter was pretty mild.”
I nodded once again. Before we pulled down the drive that would lead to my parents’ part of the ranch, Lily called.
“Hey, sorry for the delay. We’re good here. Haven was able to get Lady into her stall.”
My heart dropped. “Haven? She’s there?”
“Yeah, she was here before the storm moved in and offered to help us. It’s crazy cause once Lady knew Haven was here, she wouldn’t have anything to do with me or Maverick.”
I smiled. “Sounds about right. So, you guys are all good? You don’t need me and Josh to help with anything, right?”
“We’re good. I’m trying to convince Haven to stay until the storm clears up some, but she’s insisting she needs to head on out.”
I frowned. “Sounds like her. Stubborn as a mule.”
Josh laughed, clearly knowing I was talking about Haven.
“We’re heading back to the main barn to ensure everything is battened down. If you need anything, give me a call.”
“Sounds good. Thanks, Nate. I love you.”
“Love you too, sis.”
I hit End and looked out the passenger window. I couldn’t see shit with the rain coming down in sheets, but my mind was swirling with thoughts of Haven. What in the hell was she thinking being out in this storm? They said it was going to be bad, with even some flooding expected with how fast it was coming down.
“What are you huffing about over there?” Josh asked as he pulled up to the main barn and parked next to our cousin Hunter’s truck.
Hunter and Blayze were brothers, and Uncle Brock’s only two sons. Their sister, Morgan, didn’t live on the ranch and instead lived with her husband, Ryan, on their ranch where they raised and trained horses. To say the entire family ran the ranch was an understatement. All the grandkids lived on the ranch except for Morgan and Rose. Josh and I technically didn’t live on the ranch, but we purchased land that butted up to the ranch when we received our trust fund from our grandparents. Every acre was then incorporated into the original ranch. Just like everyone else, Josh and I had our allotted acres of the ranch.
“I’m not huffing.”
Josh laughed. “Dude, you were sighing big time.”
A loud crack of thunder hit, and we jumped.
“Shit,” we both said at the same time.
“Let’s make a run for it!” Josh said before he opened the truck door and stepped into the storm. I couldn’t even see him running because the rain was falling so hard.
So I did what any self-respecting male would do, I drew in a deep breath and ran for cover.
Once it was clear the storm was not letting up, I decided to head home. Blayze assured me that I wasn’t needed, and after spending much of yesterday in the saddle of my horse checking the fence line and hauling hay up to the loft, I was ready for a hot bath. My body ached. There were ranch hands who were responsible for the hay hauling, but I volunteered to help out. It was a good workout and kept me in shape, and I never minded a hard day’s work.
The road to my property was already flooding, so I left by the main gate. When I went to turn left onto the road, I noticed a car pulled over and someone bending down to look at their tire. I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. I turned to the right and pulled up behind them. Grabbing an umbrella—not that it would do much good—I jumped out of my truck. I knew who it was the second they stood and turned to me.
“Haven.”
Rushing over to her, I held the umbrella above her. Not that I’d somehow make her drier, I mean, she was soaked.
“What’s wrong?” I called out over the rain and wind. It was so windy Haven had to grab onto the car to keep from being blown around.
“My tire is flat, and when I checked the spare, it was flat too.”
Frowning, I looked at the car and back to her. “We have to stop meeting this way!”
Haven rolled her eyes. The day before Halloween, I found her on the side of the road with a flat tire. I had offered to help her then, albeit with a lot less rain pouring down, and we ended up arguing. I walked away with a black eye from her elbow. She hadn’t done it on purpose, or so she said, but I’m still questioning that.
“Why are you standing out here in the rain?” I shouted.
“I was trying to decide after I looked at the flat if returning to Lily’s was worth the risk.”
I shook my head. “You’ll ruin your rim. Besides, the ranch roads are starting to flood. It’s like a tsunami out here, and the temperature is dropping quickly.”
She nodded. “I can’t get a hold of my mom.”
“Just leave the car and come back to my house with me.”
Her eyes widened, and I knew she was about to say no. Then I saw that her lips almost looked blue.
“Damn it, Haven, you’re freezing. Just come back to my place, get warm, and wait until the rain settles down, and then you can deal with the car.”
She looked at her car and then back at me. Worrying her lower lip, she looked like she was about to shake her head, but I held up my hand.
“Walking back to the ranch will take you hours, and have I mentioned that you’re turning blue? Just get your things, and let me take you to my place.”
With a sigh, she nodded. “Let me grab my stuff.”
Following her with the umbrella to the passenger side, she grabbed her purse and a large bag. Clutching them both to her chest, we quickly made it over to my truck. After helping her in, I ran around the other side of the truck. I threw the umbrella in the back seat and jumped in the front.
“I have never in my life seen so much rain come down so fast!” Haven said as she pushed wet hair from her face. Even soaked and looking like a drowned rat, she was beautiful.
I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts. Haven was off limits. “Yeah, it’s coming down in sheets.” I reached over and turned the heater on and her seat warmer.
“Thank you for stopping. I can’t believe I didn’t have an umbrella in my car. I just cleaned it out a few weeks ago, and I took it out and forgot to put it back in.”
“I’m just glad I took that exit off the ranch, or who knows how long you’d be sitting there. It’s a long walk to any of the houses on the ranch, especially from where you were broken down.”
She laughed until it faded away. “The road is flooding, Nate. I’ve never seen these roads flood before.”
I could hear the fear in her voice. “My place isn’t that much farther up the road.”
We drove past the gate that led to Josh’s place. Just a bit more until we got to my place. Haven was right; the ditches were flooded, and water was moving onto the road.
“Do you think my car will be okay?” she asked.
“I’ll call a tow truck as soon as we get to my place.”
Her arms involuntarily wrapped around her body as she started to shiver. I reached over and turned the heater up to max.
“Better?”
She shivered. “I’ll be better soon.”
My driveway came into sight, and I silently sent up a prayer. If she didn’t get warm soon, she would catch a chill. Even though Grams says that’s all made up. “You can’t catch a cold from being wet.” She would always say.
I pulled in, hit the opener for the gate, and drove down the drive. When my house came into view, Haven said, “A log cabin? You built a log cabin?”
I smiled. I knew I was beyond blessed with having my own land, my own custom home, and all before I turned twenty-two. The one thing I never did was take any of it for granted. My smile faded as I realized Sophia, Josh’s girlfriend and Haven’s business partner, had never told Haven what my house looked like. Not that I expected her to, but a part of me was disappointed Haven hadn’t snooped and asked. She used to always be in my business.
That was before the barn incident, though.
Pushing those thoughts away as well, I replied, “Yeah, I’ve always liked them.”
She peered through the windshield and squinted. “It’s hard to tell with all this rain, but it almost looks historic.”
There went my smile again. “That is exactly what I was going for. I’d show you the front, but I assume you want to get dry and warm as soon as possible.”
She rubbed her hands together before blowing into them. “You would assume correctly.”
I pulled into the garage, turned off the truck, and shut the garage door. Haven was getting her items and quickly caught up to me at the door to the house. I unlocked the door and turned off the alarm.
Flipping my lights on, I heard Haven from behind me.
“Wow! And we’re only in the mudroom.”
Laughing, I reached into a cabinet and got a towel for Haven.
“I’m getting your wood floors soaking wet.”
I walked into the laundry and grabbed a robe.
“You can change out of your clothes in here and put them in the dryer. I’ll show you to the guest bedroom, and if you want to take a hot shower, I can give you something of mine to wear.”
She looked at me and narrowed her eyes. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
I blinked a few times. “Do you honestly think I would leave you on the side of the road in a storm, Haven?”
She shrugged, and I didn’t want to admit how much that hurt.
“What are you wanting in return?”
This time, my mouth dropped open. “I don’t want anything.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry to be a pain in the ass.”
“You’re not. But get out of those clothes before you catch a cold.”
She saluted. “Yes, sir. Right away, sir!”
Rolling my eyes, I exited the laundry and shut the door.
“This laundry room is like a dream! Mine isn’t even a quarter of this size in my apartment.”
I walked into the living room and turned on the lights. They all flickered right before a loud crack of thunder.
Haven let out a small scream and I couldn’t help but chuckle. That’s what she gets for assuming I wanted something in return for helping her.
“That was close,” I said as I moved into the kitchen to turn a few more lights on. As the storm approached closer, it was getting darker outside. Given how dark it was, it was hard to believe it was nearly three in the afternoon.
“Um, I put my clothes in the dryer.”
Turning to see Haven in nothing but my robe, I cleared my throat. “Right. I’ll show you to the guest bedroom, and after you get warmed up and changed into something, I’ll give you a tour. If you want one.”
When I glanced back to see if Haven was following me, I noticed she was looking everywhere as she followed me through the living room and to a set of stairs.
“Down here is the guest suite. It has a full-size bathroom and a walk-out to the patio. I doubt you’ll want to go out there, though,” I said when I reached the bottom of the steps. “To the right is the guest room.”
“And to the left?” she asked.
“The family room and bar area. I know it’s a strange set up with the kitchen and main living room up stairs, but I wanted the view for up there and a patio for down here.”
We walked into the guest bedroom, and she took a deep breath. “Nate, this is stunning.”
“I’d like to take the credit, but I have to give it to Rose. Our in-house designer. She did all of the interior.”
“She is amazing,” Haven said as she entered the room. “Is that reclaimed wood on the wall behind the headboard?”
It was strange to be having a normal conversation with Haven. Whenever we found ourselves together, we threw out jabs at one another. This was a welcome change, and I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe we could be friends and move past…well, the past.
“It is. Much of the wood on the walls and the ceiling beams are reclaimed. It was important for me to re-use as much as I could. All the wood outside the house is from an old 1800’s cabin.”
She slowly shook her head. “It’s stunning.”
“Thank you. It’s smaller than Josh’s house, with just three bedrooms, but it works for me.”
I showed her to the bathroom, and she grabbed onto my arm. “It’s like a spa in here. Look at that bathtub.”
With a chuckle, I said, “You can take a bath if you want. I’ll run up to my room, which is right above here, and grab you something to wear. I’ll leave it on the bed and meet you in the family room. In how long do you think?”
She eyed the bathtub like she longed to get into it. “I’ll take a quick shower just to warm up.”
I nodded. “Fresh towels are in here.” I pointed to a cabinet. “And there should be some fresh soap and shampoo if you need it in the cabinet by the tub.”
“Thanks. I won’t take very long.”
“Take your time. I don’t think we’ll be leaving anytime soon. I’ll call about your car as well.”
I left her alone in the bathroom and shut the door. I closed my eyes and drew in a few deep breaths. Knowing she was naked under that robe was driving me insane. Who was I kidding? There is no way I could be friends with Haven. Not when the only thing I wanted to do when I was near her was kiss her.
With a shake of my head, I headed to my room to get her something to wear.