Unexpected One

Chapter 1

“Don’t forget that your paper on Tennison is due Monday!” Jennifer called after her class as they all piled out the door on Friday afternoon.  She really couldn’t blame them.  It had been a long week, the first back after Christmas break. 

Teaching had its perks, with the long breaks in both summer and winter, but it could also be a very stressful job.  Jennifer wondered some days if her students heard a word she said. 

With a sigh, she began packing up her things and putting her room to rights so she too could start her weekend.  Twenty minutes later, with her bag slung over her shoulder and her purse in her hand, she gave her room a final glance before walking out.

The afternoon air was cool and Jennifer wondered if it was going to be cold tomorrow.  Not that the cool air mattered.  She planned to head up into the mountains at first light in the morning.  For the past several months she had made the trip up to the valley.  Her mystery man had not shown himself again, but Jennifer couldn’t help but wonder if he had been checking on her.  Sometimes she got the feeling she was being watched, though it wasn’t an ominous feeling, more of a comfort that he would be looking out for her.

Each week she wondered if she would ever see him again.

“Jen, wait up!”  Barb, another first year teacher at Aspen Valley high school, yelled across the parking lot.  Jennifer stopped and waited for her to catch up, watching Barbs blonde ponytail bounce with her quick step. 

She and Barbara Mitchell had struck up a friendship the first day of school when they had both been stuck with lunchroom duty.  Barb’s easygoing, bubbly personality was a nice balance to Jennifer’s spastically upbeat yet more direct one.

“Hey Barb.”

“So what are your plans this weekend?  Want to catch a movie tomorrow?”  Barb asked. 

“Thanks, but I have plans Saturday.”

“Are you going back up to that valley?  You know it’s supposed to snow this weekend.  They said it might even be blizzard conditions.  Those mountains are not the place to be during a storm.”

Jennifer had told Barb about the valley she had found and about her brief encounter with its owner, but she hadn’t divulged how intriguing and handsome the man had been or how she looked for him every time she went back.  Not that he was the reason she kept going back, not the only reason anyway. 

The beauty of that land was something to behold.  She was trying to get enough pictures of the valley together to present them to her publisher for a full 12-month calendar.  She had successfully sold several of her landscape pictures to her publisher in the past year and had gotten word that they were looking for a photographer for themed calendars.  There would be many submitting work for it this June.  The possibility of capturing the valley white with snow was tempting.  There had been several light snow falls in November and December, but she had not been able to photograph the valley during any of them.  This was her chance.

“I’ll be careful, I promise.  If it looks like bad weather then I won’t go.”

“Well, just be careful.  Storms come up fast around here.  It could look nice and sunny in the morning and then there be five feet of snow on the ground by night fall.  It’s been a pretty mild winter so far this year, but January and February can be brutal.”  Barb was born and raised in Colorado, while Jennifer had grown up in southern Alabama, so she was well aware of the dangers of the weather up in the mountains.

“I’ll be careful,” Jennifer repeated as she turned back toward her car.  At Barb’s skeptical look she added, “I promise!”

Waving goodbye as she climbed into her little white mustang, Jennifer’s thoughts were already on the valley and what sort of pictures she could get if it did indeed rain or even snow.

On her way home she stopped to put gas in her car and to get a few snacks to take with her. 

Minutes later she let herself into the little house she was renting from an older couple who had moved to Florida after retiring.  Her collie pup met her at the door looking sheepish.

“What have you gotten into now, Rey?” she asked the puppy with amused affection.  She had bought Rey from her landlords before they moved.  They had all but one sold when she had met them.  Rey had looked up at her with brown puppy eyes and Jennifer had been a goner.

Resigning herself to whatever disaster Rey had created, she went in search of the trail.  It was not long before she found it.  Her bathroom was a mess.  Toilet paper was everywhere.  The trash was strewn all over the floor and in the hall. 
Thinking there was no way she wanted to leave Rey alone another day she asked the puppy, “Want to go on a trip tomorrow?  It is too cold for you to stay outside and I value my things too much to leave you by yourself.”

At the light of her owner’s voice, Rey’s tail wagged back and forth vigorously. 

“I’ll take that as a yes.”



Reed Jackson glanced at his wall calendar then strode over to the radio in the kitchen and flipped it on to listen to the weather.  A grim expression settled on his face as he heard the storm report of snow in the mountainous area surrounding Aspen Valley. 

His thoughts turned to the picture woman, as he had deemed her in his mind.  Since first meeting her he had not spoken to her but she had invaded his thoughts at odd moments, her bright smile, smooth looking skin and dark brown hair that was always in a ponytail.  He had ridden up to the valley a couple times to check on her, make sure she was okay, or so he told himself.  From a cliff overlooking the valley, he would watch her for just moments before turning his horse around and heading back to the ranch, never letting her see him.  She was too beautiful and outgoing not to watch, yet those qualities also made her too far out of his reach.  He was a simple rancher.  He didn’t need to be thinking about a high maintenance lady, even if he could afford one.  He could not afford the headache.   

He had thought of little else. 

Today was Saturday.  She might be coming to the valley to take more darn pictures of the trees and water.  Nature seemed to fascinate her, and rightly so he admitted to himself.  There was something powerful and moving about the mountains.  They pulled at your heart, got into your blood. 

He would have to go check on her. 

“Foolish woman,” he muttered under his breath.  Judging by her faint accent, she was from somewhere in the south and would no doubt fail to heed the seriousness of the winter weather here.  Where she was from you could probably still wear shorts in January.  Her passion for scenic photography would probably cause her to think how wonderful some rain or snow would look in the valley. 

Rolling his eyes at the thought, Reed jammed his hat on his head and strode out the door toward the barn.  He pulled his collar up as a cold gust of wind hit him.  With wind like that the storm would probably come in fast.  He was going to have to leave now if he wanted to make it to the valley, grab the girl and get back before the weather got too rough.  The only access to the valley was either by horse or on foot.  There were no paths wide enough for any motorized vehicles and the terrain was very rocky in some places.  He immediately dismissed the idea of hauling a trailer to the foot of the pass.  If he didn’t get out before the snow, his truck and trailer would be stuck.

He met John, his foreman, in the barn alley way. 

Without any preamble Reed said, “I’m headed up to the lake valley.  Make sure all of the horses are in the front paddock and the cattle in the back pastures have hay before the storm hits.”

“Sure thing, “ John said, knowing better then to ask questions about why Reed was headed up to the northern most valley on his land. 

No matter what was not said, Reed knew John thought him nuts.  Maybe he was.  This woman was not his responsibility; she might not even show up.  Shaking his head at his internal debate, Reed headed to the tack room to grab his saddle.  As an afterthought, he grabbed one of the extra trench coats kept on hand in case of bad weather.  It would take the better part of two hours to get to the valley and he was not looking forward to the ride. 

Conman, his sorrel gelding, was outside with the other horses but came to the fence immediately at Reed’s whistle.

“Come on old man, you and I have a lady to rescue.”  Conman’s ears pricked forward as if he understood exactly what Reed was saying.

Patting the horse on the neck, he led him out of the paddock and into the barn.  Minutes later he was saddled and heading south toward the lake valley.  Thoughts of her possibly getting caught out in the bad weather made Reed push Conman into a ground eating gallop