Forbidden Trails: A Clearwater County Romance (The Montana Trails Series Book 2) Read online

  Forbidden Trails

  Book #2

  Montana Trails series

  Clearwater County Collection

  By Bonnie R. Paulson

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Epilogue

  Prologue

  Fall 2001

  Jareth curled his hands around the white-speckled blue metal mug. Heat from the coffee inside soothed the chill of his fingers. He’d ditched the muddy gloves as soon as they’d finished the cattle drive. His breath puffed and mixed with the steam curling from his cup.

  His cousins circled around the fire, starting to his left. A gap between him and his oldest cousin, Nate, gave the shape a more horse-shoe contour than a circle.

  Heavy clouds had been shifting and looming all day, threatening the region with more snow and damning winds.

  Shifting on the log they used as a makeshift bench, Jareth stared into the flickering fire. The long days and weeks working the ranch blended together. He yawned. He couldn’t remember being anything but bone-tired.

  “Dinner’s almost ready.” The ranch foreman bellowed from the open flaps of the main tent. The scent of chili and cornbread rode the wind to where they sat, huddled in their dusters with rolled up collars and cowboy hat brims tilted for more protection from the cold.

  “Finally.” Jareth muttered, climbing to his feet. His stomach better stop revolting. He swayed as if the wind tugged at him.

  Reaching out, Nate caught his elbow, tilting his head as he inspected Jareth. He leaned over Jareth’s mug and sniffed. “You sure that’s only coffee in there, Jay?”

  Jareth rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Of course, I’m sure.” He couldn’t warm up with just coffee. He couldn’t warm up ever. “Don’t get me wrong, I wish there was something more colorful in here, but you heard ol’ Riggins. No liquor on the job.” He’d already gotten in trouble for drinking and messing around at the last ranch. Caught a lot of flak from the rest of the gang about it, too.

  Sorry bunch of control freaks – the lot of ‘em.

  “Hey, Nate! I’m surprised you haven’t rushed home to Emma.” Kyle, Jareth’s brother, wiggled his eyebrows.

  “I’m heading that way after we get paid in the morning.” Nate released Jareth and grabbed Kyle around the shoulders, half-wrestling him as their feet scuffled across the snowy dirt clearing.

  Not Jareth. He wasn’t heading home. Not for a while. He’d send the majority of his money home with Kyle, but he didn’t want to deal with his parents yet. “Do you mind, if I come with you for a few days?” Hopefully, his tone wasn’t too plaintive, too desperate to get away from his overly grateful parents and down-on-his-luck dad.

  “Of course not. I’m leaving first thing though.” Nate’s home was always open, especially since he and Emma had gotten married. The two were more like parents to the cousins than anyone else, even though they were almost the same age.

  Relief warmed Jareth’s insides. He had a place to go until their next job. Hopefully, they wouldn’t have to wait too long.

  Night had fallen a few hours before, which was normal in the Montana hills when winter wanted to storm the gates. It’d be dark long past the time they would leave for their homes in the morning. For Jareth, the time was far overdue. He wanted to take a shower and tease his cousins.

  Damon, the blond cousin all the girls swooned over, waved a folded newspaper above his head. The edges fluttered and he reclaimed it closer to his body. “Did you guys see this? Our ad’s in the paper!”

  A spark of interest burned beneath Jareth’s fatigue. He crowded with the other guys around the paper Damon straightened. Tilted to the side to catch the light from the fire, Damon read the article out loud. “If you’re looking for a gang of hard workers with an amiable attitude, the Montana Trail cousins are the men to watch.” He glanced at the circle, his smile broad. “That’s cool!”

  “Wait, what? Trail? We aren’t the Montana Trails. We’re the Montana Trials!” Kyle stomped back from the group, his jaw clenching and unclenching. Shaking his fist in the general direction of the fire and then the paper, he paced. “I specifically told them trial when I placed that thing. I’m going to demand my money back.” His face grew ruddier and his generally high temper flared higher as he worked himself up.

  Nate’s laugh echoed off the trees and tents. “Kyle, it’s too late now. We’re the Montana Trails – typo or not. You’ll never be able to fix that.” He shook his head, motioning toward the tent. “Come on, guys. Let’s eat. Hopefully that ad will get us more work.”

  Jareth didn’t care what they were called. He stepped into line behind brothers, Damon and Ryland Johnson. Winter months were hard to find work. They’d just finished a cattle drive from Bozeman to Missoula. Thanksgiving was in a month. Many ranchers had their workers for the season and didn’t like changing things up until the spring months.

  Nate was desperate to get back home. He never wanted to be gone for long, but not the rest of the cousins. They all wanted to be out doing and seeing the wilds of Montana. Some had even expressed interest in traveling south to Wyoming. No job calls from that area meant it wasn’t pursued, but the interest was there.

  With the oldest cousin so interested in settling down and starting his own ranch, the Montana Trails hoped it would work out and that he could hire them to work for him. That’d be the kicker, to work for family.

  Would Jareth ever want to settle down? Probably not. Settling down meant a mortgage, bills, fighting, and being tied to a job with little to no change.

  Jareth didn’t have plans for his future, but one thing he could promise his older self – he wouldn’t do anything to cause himself misery.

  No one wanted that.

  Chapter 1

  Fall 2002

  Jareth

  Jareth pinched his shoulders back and straightened his neck. He hadn’t wanted to come home. Why was he here? Hadn’t he learned the last few times he’d returned that he didn’t want to be here?

  His mom offered a tired smile as she spread the legs of a large turkey in a roasting pan. She shoved a handful of soggy dressing into the cavity. “Well, I’m glad you came home for Thanksgiving. We missed you last year.” A faded paisley apron with white flour smears covered her purple sweater. She’d pulled her hair back, as usual, and wore little makeup.

  He offered a noncommittal “oh, yeah,” and shrugged the strap of his pack up higher. Looking around the small kitchen and dining area, Jareth searched for his wayward brother. “Is Kyle home yet?”

  Mom glanced out the window above the sink, craning for a better view. “He’s outside chopping wood. Your father’s out there somewhere, too.” She smiled distractedly, grabbing more of the stuffing and filling the bird.

  Jareth did not envy the trussed animal – dead or alive. “I’ll drop my stuff and help Kyle.” He didn’t feel like being around his brother for a little while. He really needed a break, but he’d rather work with Kyle than stand there and idly chit-chat with his mother. Even w
hen she didn’t try to be, she was cloying with her gratitude, as if she owed her boys something for them helping with the family.

  “Sounds good.” She stilled, lifting her eyes and smiling softly. “Thank you again, Jareth, for what you and Kyle do for us. It’s helped a lot.” There she went again. It wasn’t her fault Dad hadn’t found a job that he liked – never stuck with anything longer than six months. In the small town they lived in, that didn’t leave many options. Dad had run through all the places of potential employment in just a few years.

  Nodding shortly, Jareth turned down the hall to the large room he’d shared with his brother for years. They’d bunk there together, this time too.

  He closed the door behind him and slumped onto the lower mattress, his shoulders slouching. The callused skin of his palms scratched his cheeks when he rubbed his face. Thanksgiving was his favorite holiday or it had been when he’d gone to Nate and Emma’s place the year before.

  But he couldn’t this year because Nate was with Emma at her family’s place in Seattle and Nate’s sisters, Stefanie and Hannah, had gone to stay with the Johnson cousins for the holiday. Jareth didn’t have anywhere else to go but his own home.

  Joy.

  ~~~

  “Can you pass the potatoes, Kyle?” Jareth waited for the large bowl to make its way to him. The table was otherwise quiet as the four Darby family members ate the feast before them.

  His mouth full, Kyle passed the potatoes and the antique gravy boat their mom demanded they treat carefully. Jareth didn’t dare tell her they’d broken it years ago, when they’d had their little plastic Army men use it as a submarine. Superglue went far when you needed it to.

  “So, Jareth, there’s a girl in town you might be interested in.” Mom lifted her glass and sipped at the water. She had changed from her apron into nicer clothing for the meal and dropped her hair to frame her face. She tried so hard to fit a picture in her head. Jareth didn’t know whether to encourage her or pity her.

  Their dad ignored everyone and continued eating, shoveling food into his mouth and staring at the centerpiece of pine cones mixed with autumn leaves.

  Kyle chortled, slapping his empty hand on the edge of the table. “Yeah, Jareth, isn’t it time you settled down already?” He wiggled his eyebrows and poked a piece of turkey in the air. “I’m sure you could buy a place here in town.”

  Town. A home. The two things that just didn’t sit well with Jareth. Not yet. He cleared his throat. “Oh, yeah, that’s, well, thanks Mom, but I’m good. I’m not really into dating.” Not steady which was what he’d have to do with a girl from town – especially the town his mother lived in. No thanks – involving his parents in his affairs wasn’t a smart move.

  His father straightened, glaring at Jareth. “You’re not interested in girls, Jareth Darby? What is this about?” A fleck of mashed potatoes clung to his gray and auburn beard to the side of his mouth and his eyes flashed.

  Lifting his hands, Jareth spoke quickly. “It’s not that I’m not interested in girls, Dad.”

  “Yeah, Dad, Jareth likes girls just fine. He doesn’t like any one in particular. He likes a lot of them all at once.” Kyle snickered at the rising heat on Jareth’s face. A lock of Kyle’s hair fell to his forehead and he pushed it back.

  Their father’s chest puffed out. “Well, that’s alright then. Gotta sow them oats.” He went back to eating and staring at the pine cones.

  Jareth restrained his mounting irritation.

  “You two should be in college. Do something with your lives. Find one girl,” Mom shot Jareth and Kyle both a pointed look and continued, “and settle down. There’s not much to be said for the life of a ranch hand.”

  The hypocritical comment threw Jareth off and he lowered his fork to rest beside the table. He blinked at his parents. “There’s not much to be said, except it pays the bills and feeds us.”

  Inhaling sharply, his mom pressed her hand to her chest. “Oh, my word, Jareth, I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. That’s not what I meant at all. I just want more for you guys than to have to support your father and me. It’s not natural. We’ll figure something out. Especially, if you two want to do something else with your lives. You’re still so young.” Tears sparkled in her eyes and she sniffed.

  “It’s fine, Mom. We like what we’re doing. We like helping out.” Leave it to Kyle to smooth things over. He glared at Jareth and kicked him under the table.

  Jareth didn’t comment. Only in his parents’ house did he feel stifled.

  Only in the home he paid for did he feel like he didn’t belong.

  The phone rang in the kitchen.

  Jumping up from his seat, Jareth ran to answer it. “Hello?”

  “Jareth, it’s Nate. Sorry to call on the holiday, man, but we got a job starting Monday. It’s a full winter job. You guys interested?” Nate didn’t have to ask. They’d agreed about a year ago that where there was work, there were the Montana Trials – Trails. And thank heaven, too. “Yep, are we coming your way first?”

  “Yeah, the Johnsons will be at my place by Saturday. Why don’t you guys come sometime between then and Sunday morning? We’ll load up your truck and head out that afternoon.” He laughed, the sound warm and teasing. “Unless you’re dying to stay home longer.” But Nate knew how Jareth felt about being home. The love-hate relationship he had with the place. All the cousins knew. “We came home when we got the call. So we’re here whenever.”

  “You bet, sounds awesome. I’m going to tune up Betsy and we’ll meet you at Bella Acres.” The tightness eased in Jareth’s chest. Bella Acres – Nate and Emma’s home. He wasn’t staying at his parents’ place longer than he had to. He and Kyle would leave first thing Saturday morning.

  Or Kyle could find his own ride.

  ~~~

  Taylor Falls wasn’t much further. Kyle and Jareth had left early as planned and Kyle slept on the bench seat beside Jareth.

  They hadn’t even waited for dawn. Jareth couldn’t. He needed to get out. He needed to go. Just go.

  In the dusty pink shadows of the early morning, the road spread out before him. Driving north toward Taylor Falls, Jareth couldn’t help admiring thick snowflakes as they drifted down across the shining blacktop. He wiped his eyes, blinking hard against closing them.

  Maybe they’d left a little too early.

  Suddenly, the figure of a woman appeared, jumping and waving her arms in the middle of the highway about a hundred feet ahead.

  Jareth slammed on the brakes, bucking the old truck’s body and skidding on the slippery road.

  “What the hell?” Kyle jerked upright, hands splayed on the dash as he blinked blearily out the windows. He stared unseeing or unbelievingly at the woman’s figure, frozen like he couldn’t understand the last few seconds.

  “Stay here.” Jareth stopped just a few feet from the woman who hadn’t moved far to the side of the road. He climbed from the warm cab. “What the hell was that?” He stomped around the truck, glancing behind the long brown frame of his favorite ride for more traffic headed their way.

  “Don’t worry. You’re the first car I’ve seen in over an hour.” The woman’s lips quivered, the skin around them white. She held her arms tight to her chest. “Can-can you help us?”

  Us? “What’s going on? Why are you clear out here?” Jareth knocked on the window of Betsy, startling the still half-sleeping Kyle. His brother never woke fast and took a few minutes to come fully alert. Jareth would probably be back on the road before Kyle even realized what had happened.

  “My girlfriend and I got stuck.” She didn’t even have boots on. What person in their right mind didn’t wear boots in November in Montana? Her pink tennis shoes had sparkly laces. Her insulated flannel shirt had been buttoned up long ago but the elbows were dark with dampness.

  Jareth widened his eyes but kept his mouth shut. “Okay, what can I do?” He ignored the way her eyes tilted down just a touch on the sides and the way the ear flaps on her hat covered all
of her hair, framing her oval face like a picture. He shrugged out of his overcoat and held it toward her. “Here, take this. Your flannel isn’t enough for this chill.”

  She took the coat slowly, watching his face like he might bite. After a moment, she drew on the jacket and seemed to melt into its warmth. “Thank you.” Turning, she led the way down the side of the shoulder into a shallow ditch about three feet across and back up. The snow covered her shoes, which meant her feet had to be wet as well.

  Fool girl. What was going on?

  Footsteps in the gravel showed she’d been through there before. But an hour ago? “How long have you been out here waiting?” Multiple sets of tracks suggested she might have gone back and forth a couple times.

  “I’ve been stuck back here since last night, but I didn’t know how bad it was until the sun started coming up. I’m right here.” She stopped by some thick trunked trees set up in a copse style collection.

  “You’re right where?” Jareth searched the area. Where was her rig? Or from the looks of her, where was her Mercedes? “Where’s your friend?”

  She chewed on her lip. “Well, actually, it’s just me. I didn’t know if I could trust you to not kill me, if I wasn’t alone.” She pointed north, worry pinching above the bridge of her nose. “I sent Sherri back to the reservation last night. I thought for sure I’d be able to get out and her coat had gotten wet out by the stream when we crossed it.” She grimaced. “I honestly thought I’d beat her back.”

  Jareth blinked at her, waiting for the punchline. Two women in the woods and no waterproof outerwear? No sensible coats? What was in the water where they were from? Beautiful or not, there wasn’t a label for that kind of crazy.

  She shivered and shifted in his coat. “Um, anyway, that’s me, actually, right there. The four-wheeler?” She lifted her sleeve covered hand toward a spot through the trees.

  Peering through the shadows, Jareth narrowed his eyes. A four-wheeler? Sure enough, the hulking mass of a large ATV hunkered at the base of two large towering red firs. He moved closer, inspecting the scene in the slowly increasing light. “You got yourself stuck between the trees? How’d you get it up so high?”