A Cowboy's Kiss

Chapter Fourteen

Jay looked up slowly from his position on the cave floor. His leg bent awkwardly and half crushed by a rock. He didn't know how long he has been down here, he felt ridiculously stupid because no one knew where he went. He just vanished. Now here he was, in the middle of the mountains that crossed the country side of bear paw mountains, in a cave where he will probably never leave.

The cold rocked his entire frame. It was odd  to feel the cold but it ached to his bones, it wasn't just the cold from the damp cave or the winter wind that blew down into the cavern from the opening. He was colder, emptier than he had been before. All because of that boy.

He was no one but with just a single look and he had impacted him completely.  They only spoke a hand full of times that he could count it on one hand. In his moment of self pity he felt regret. He told the boy but rejected him. He was painfully stupid. 

He closed his eyes and bent his head down, listening to the annoying drops of water hit the stone floor. He could hear the distant howls of wolves outside it echoed around him. Anger bubbled inside of him and he struggled to move the rock from his leg but it didn't budge.

"I promise I'll do the right thing if I get out of here" he grunted to any spiritual diety that was willing to listen to his unbelieving heary, giving the rock one last shove, ignoring the searing hot pain that shit thru him, he slumped back against the ground and sighed.

"You're so stupid Jay" he whispered brokenly.

BRIAN WALKED TOWARDS the police station where Cheryl had called distressed and needed him to come pick her up. His heart beat quickened as he opened the door and saw Cheryl standing there with tears running down her face.

"Cheryl?" He called softly to her from his position at the door.  His voice full of question about the possibilities of what's going on.

She didn't say anything just got up and ran right into him and hugged him around the waist. He hugged her close as she sobbed harder into his chest. He never realized how small she was until now, she seemed fragile but she was stubborn and fierce.  To see her crumble something reached out to her.

"What's wrong?" He looked down at her. He waited till she looked up at him her blue eyes wide, clear and red from the crying. He brought his hand up and wiped the remaining tears off one of her cheeks.

"My parents---" before she could continue she shook and a full blown amount of tears came forth. He didn't do anything else but pulled her closer. She didn't need to say more he only guessed just by standing there in a police station, it was nothing good.

His last experience in a police station wasn't good. 

"You'll be okay" he whispered holding her closer to him.

"They can't find my uncle either," she whispered between sobs. Something in him broke then. A flooding of emotion hit him and he felt everything again. He ignored whatever feeling came to him from the last few months.

They couldn't find him. Worried bubbled dangerously close to panic. Where did he go? Before he could register what he had said Cheryl turned and looked at him surprised.

"You mean it?" She questioned a flicker of hope passing thru her distressed eyes.

Did he mean it? ...yes of course he did.

"We will find him Cheryl....I promise you."

A FEW HOURS LATER they poured and poured over his mother's maps of the area. Searching for a location that he might have gone too but even Cheryl didn't know him all that well he was quiet mostly kept to himself. Only showed up for family gatherings or special occasions.

"Sure, nothing on these maps screams Jay?" He questioned.

"Nothing Bri, I'm sorry" she whispered softly as her shoulders sagged and she shift down in her seat defeated.

Reaching out he placed his hand on hers and squeezed it encouragingly. "Perhaps there are clues at his ranch? We could look."

She nodded in agreement.

THE PROPERTY HELD NOTHING that screamed this is where I went, snow covered the yard untouched. Brian chewed his bottom lip thinking if he was a mysterious hunk where would he go?

"My room" he whispered to himself. If only he had spoken to him more this would be better. He walked down a hall his phone the only source of light in the entire house. This guy had no light switches but several fireplaces in just about every room. It was rustic and old. To him it felt almost right, beautiful in its own right.

"Cheryl did you find anything?" He shouted. 

"No"

"Damn" he stood in front of a room in the back of the house. It was cozy, a fore place at the far end with a few chairs, paintings of landscapes surrounded the room.  They were beautiful but one at the very center of the room, the biggest one that sat on top of the mantle of the fore place was the most beautiful. It instantly drew his eyes as it probably had to many others.

It was a valley that ended with a giant mountain covered in a snow with a long winding river that ran through it. It looked familiar but he just couldn't place it. 

"Brian, I didn't find anything....can we try again later?"

He looked behind him to Cheryl she looked exhausted. "Yeah sure" he responded and turned to walk out of the room. 

"Let's go".

THAT NIGHT HE  sat in silence at his desk his eyes wondering over to Cheryl's sleeping form and then back out the window to look at the snow covered trees. The picture bugged him, he couldn't place where he had seen it before, it had to be a clue to Jays where abouts. He felt it to his core, that picture was key.

Getting up his body ached for the long period of sitting.  It cracked when he stretched releasing his muscles from the stiff confinement. Taking on last look at Cheryl he walked out of the room and too the kitchen.  It was dark but he could see fine, the moon shone high illuminating the halls and rooms thru the windows.

After getting his glass of water he walked thru the dinning room where a photo on the table caught his eye along with several notes. The photo looked just like the painting in Jays sitting room.

The notes consisted of his mother's findings in a valley just behind bear paw mountain it was an hour ride away. The glass slipped through his fingers and smashed into the floor when it dawned on him on where he possibly could be.

He snatched the map up and roamed his eyes over it quickly before grabbing his coat and flying out the door towards his truck. He didn't hear Cheryl or his mom call his name as he turned the truck on and disappeared down the driveway onto the highway instead of heading towards town he was heading away from it.

He didn't know how he knew, but he just knew.