River's End: River on Fire Part 20

Joey rose to his feet, the utter fatigue nearly knocking him back down like a tsunami. Hailey rushed over to him when he wavered on his feet. "Forget it, Joey. I'll take care of it. Just... stay here and sleep. You really need to sleep more than anything."

His head bowed. Even a single step seemed beyond his energy. He wanted to curl up with Hailey in his arms, and sleep for a few days. But he knew neither was an option right now. There were too many outside factors hindering it, and too much between them. Too risky to start doing. He reached out and cupped her cheek in his hand. She paused for a moment, her gaze finding his. She put her hand over his before she stepped away. He knew why. Kids. Brent. Still, he wished for them to disappear so he could have her all to himself. He needed her tonight. Now. Maybe forever.

She left and he dropped down, curling up on Ian's couch and ready to sleep like the dead. Maybe all the thoughts in his muddled head would quit swirling and let him relax and enjoy a deep slumber.

Maybe this day would finally end.

Suddenly, the door was opened, and before his brain could register it or his eyelids could open, a wet mouth was on his. Her lips and tongue were in his mouth. He jumped, slightly startled and thrust his hands to the side before putting them around the blonde head of the woman he'd fallen madly in love with. The same woman who might have made this perilous day something he could live with.

"I wish I could stay here."

"I do to."

"It'll have to be like this sometimes."

"I know. Kids first. Your family first."

"But not all the time. I mean, other times, when there is no drama and hurt feelings, you'll be first."

He smiled, encircling her with his arms.

"And Brent's just..." She bit down on her lower lip, her eyebrows wrinkling in puzzlement.

Joey smiled, his gritty eyes blinking. "The driver that brings them to you?" he supplied when she seemed unsure of how to explain her ex.

Her smile was like the sun parting the smoky haze of the world. "Yes, the driver. Are you okay? I mean, for tonight? I'll be with them tonight. I'll tell them about you and me, the kids I mean, and specifically prepare them before they go home. I'll tell them I'm going to stay here a few days longer, or however long I can stay, to help you and the rest of the family get restarted."

Her head dropped down and she was curled up on his chest for a moment. Then, her face popped up to his. "I love you. And I promise, we'll find a way to make this work. We'll just have some times when..."

He cut her off with a kiss. "I love you too. I'm glad you're here, even if it's across the driveway. Tomorrow, Hailey. I'll see you then. And maybe, hopefully, for the rest of my life."

Chapter Eighteen.

THE FUTURE OF THE Rydells was altered forever that fourteenth day of August. It broke the record as the largest fire in Washington State history. Joey watched Jack spiraling into a kind of depression he never witnessed in his older brother. Not even when his first wife died. Of course, there was only so much loss one person could endure. As for the rest of the family, they were home. Joey marveled at their reunion. For the first time in many years, all the Rydell brothers once again lived on their own land.

Ian stepped up and became the new "Jack" of their family. First, he filled out all the insurance claims. The very next morning after the fire, he began gathering all the generators and fuel. They had to start up the water and get it flowing onto the fields and orchards so they didn't lose any more crops than they already had. They opened up all the standing resort cabins that did not burn to the Red Cross, who housed many displaced families, and their friends and neighbors gratefully moved in. They began clearing all the debris and rubble almost immediately. Staking out a corner for eventual removal, they piled up all the wreckage. Hour after hour, everyone pitched in, hauling load after load of crumpled, melted, burnt, black piles of what once were their homes and outbuildings.

For Joey the fire came home in full Technicolor when he discovered a single four-point buck lying dead in a ditch on the ranch. It happened four days after the ranch house burned. The night before, it wasn't there, but the next morning, Joey found it lying peacefully, deceased. There were no scars or burns on it. It must have been killed by smoke inhalation. Joey thought what a waste it was as he buried the unlucky animal in a tribute and dedication to all the wildlife: deer, birds, bears, cougars, snakes, squirrels, rabbits, rodents, and all of the other inhabitants. It was impossible to estimate how many lives were caught in the fire's ma.s.sive grasp. Someone reported a young black bear with burnt pads on all four of its paws being air-lifted to a non-profit charity in Seattle that sponsored its removal, care, and eventual return to the wild. Joey heard a rumor that at least a half dozen mountain lions were found dead, perched in trees, burned alive, because the fire moved so fast they had no chance before it caught them. He never found out if it was true, but over the next few years, he noticed the diminished variety of species and lowered numbers of surviving wildlife. The vermin population rapidly increased in the area over the next few years, due to the lack of predators. Rats and mice infested all the outbuildings and they constantly had to set traps to keep them under control where they never had to before.

Joey and Ian drove up the valley and witnessed the terrible toll on the livestock: over nine hundred cattle succ.u.mbed to smoke inhalation or were burned to death in the fire. At a neighboring ranch, their whole herd of cattle were lying dead. It was very disturbing and extremely uncomfortable to see. They were silent on the drive back to their ranch, grateful their horses survived. At least there was that.

After another ten more days, rain finally came. The fire was finally sixty percent contained. It would burn for a total of forty-two days before the blessed rainstorm finally put it all out and the officials announced it was one hundred percent contained.

After that, the floods started. The barren landscape lost all the ground cover, and the roots and gra.s.ses that previously held the soil and rocks onto the mountain faces were gone. With the first heavy rains of the season, every single burn area had major landslides. Entire hillsides fell down in flash flooding. The worst was a mud slide that demolished over a half mile of the main road. It cut off entire neighborhoods and many roads were blocked off due to flooding and muddy, debris-filled waters.

Right into the river flowed all the thick muddy ash, dirt, and debris. The river would lose all of its former clarity and flow mud-brown for many months, washing away all the destruction of the stubborn fire.

Three weeks after the first rains, dead fish started lining the river. White fish, salmon, steelhead, sucker-fish, the list went on. Dozens of dead fish killed by the polluted water lined the banks of the Rydell River and the smell of the rotting corpses reflected the rotting of the land.

The fire cost the state millions of dollars. Hands down, it was the worst fire to touch the area, which often experienced extreme weather: heavy snows, gusty winds, heat waves, and spring flooding. Nothing could have prepared anyone for this fire that flattened over three hundred homes and affected thousands of people's lives in its wake.

Joey stayed on and suffered through it all: the floods, the river, the dying fish. He had no job. The resort was closed indefinitely. It looked so ugly and scarred, no one would have wanted to stay there anyway. The power was out for almost two weeks and the costs of that loss ran into the thousands per day. Over twenty-five thousand dollars' worth of fruit crates burned up. They were placed next to the orchards to supply the pickers that were due to start picking that September. Several rows of sprinkler pipes melted underground, the inferno was so hot, mostly along the edges of the orchards. Joey and his brothers helped replace over a thousand miles of ruined public and private fencing. They also removed countless burned cars, mattresses, sliding debris, and other unidentifiable rubble that littered the acres and miles of now vacant land. The fire also closed the tourist season early, and the local area restaurants and shops had to lay off their workers. The economy of River's End took a pretty hard hit, one that many couldn't afford.

Joey knew they were the lucky ones; the Rydells had plenty of insurance. More than a few of his neighbors around the various communities that burned either didn't have any or didn't have enough insurance. Homesteads were burned to the ground, taking all the family mementos. The sheer number of homeless people who were previously their neighbors and residents was heartbreaking.

Joey, Ian, Shane, AJ, and even Charlie pitched in to replace most of the fencing and replant the orchards. They bought new state-of-the-art electronic sprinklers and started installing them. It would take years, Joey realized, to recoup the losses of that day, not only for them, but also the surrounding communities. For the Rydells, the fire took only fifteen minutes. That mindless fluke of nature that so wantonly destroyed everything that represented who and what they were.

And it murdered one of their own.

With no word from Ben since the tragedy, Joey's heart wasn't the only one burdened by the loss. He looked out and saw Jack standing in the cemetery holding his hat in his hands.

Rather than finishing the short length of fencing he was currently replacing, Joey walked up quietly behind his grieving, sad, and nearly broken older brother.

"Jack?"

Jack didn't jump or seem surprised by his presence although he did not respond with any greeting. He remained silent, hat in hand, head bowed. He was standing before the freshly dug grave of Marcy Rydell.

"Ben never deserved to know pain like this," Jack finally muttered.

"You didn't do it to him, Jack. An act of nature did. There was no way to foresee it or stop it. It was simply a tragic accident. He just... needs time. To grieve. And make his peace. I know Ben. He's my brother. He'll be back."

"Why? Why should he want to come back? What's here for him anymore?"

"Us. We're here, Jack." Joey glanced behind him at the black and ashy landscape. Half-devoured trees, now mostly black charcoal, still were standing. They were ugly. But in the spring, only a few months from now, nature would use the fire's remains as a new start. It wouldn't stay ugly forever. "And this place? It's ours. Always and forever. I really believe that, especially now. He's lost in his own grief right now, but this place runs in Ben's blood just as much as it does in yours and mine. Even Ian came back."

Jack kept staring down. "He lost his mother, his wife, his home... How can he live with so much misfortune and tragedy? How can we live with it? Sometimes, it overcomes me and I feel like I can barely draw another breath."

Time. Again, that was the answer. Only time would heal. But Jack wasn't ready to hear that yet. And Ben certainly wasn't. Joey stepped back, allowing Jack the privacy of his quiet vigil and his curious thoughts to himself. And they still had each other. They had all the land that was left, the rich, fruitful earth, and even if one or two Rydells were lost right now, the others weren't. They were right there, working together as a family, anxious to build all over again. A rush of pride filled Joey's heart. He was so glad for his family's ability to come together; and at the same instant, a stabbing ache for Jack and Ben immediately dissolved it.

He left Jack alone and found Erin, telling her where Jack was. She nodded, seemingly unsurprised. She squeezed Joey's hand before she went towards him. Joey watched her, knowing how special and rare she was. Perhaps the only one who could get through to Jack right now. As always, she was there for him, and would stay for however long it took Jack to accept it.

Joey's heart lifted when he spotted Hailey's car pulling in. He was surprised to see Brianna with her. His smile was huge and genuine as he lifted his hand to wave while they came to a stop. There could be no huge, embracing kiss as he had planned, not with Brianna eagerly looking on. He noticed Hailey's smile. Then a quick hug and a chaste kiss in deference to her observant daughter.

Brianna said, "Hey, Joey," and opened the trunk of the car. She calmly started pulling out her duffel bag. There was no l.u.s.t or interest or anger. She was instantly off, looking for Cami.

Eventually, Joey planned to go to her house. He'd been there once. But there was so much to do at the ranch still and the circ.u.mstances were usually so extreme that she came to him more often. Joey hadn't seen Hailey since the weekend before last. Last weekend, Brianna attended her homecoming dance so Hailey stayed home to take pictures and drive her there.

Joey was more than glad when he saw her daughter disappearing around the corner of his house. While she looked for Cami, he could pull Hailey in for a longer hug. Hailey stilled and hugged him back. "You're a needed sight for hurting eyes."

"Jack?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah. And I'm tired. Just been working too hard."

Her soft hands brushed over his face. "Maybe later, I can do something to help with that."

The flirty smile and suggestive tone in her whisper would have been enough, but her warm breath, feeling so moist on his ear, helped. She always knew how to help him. With the pain. The hurt. The sadness.

His entire life was changed. It had morphed into chaos. Shane and Allison, along with Kate and AJ, all lived at Joey's while he stayed in the trailer. He still had no job, and the world seemed pretty messed up around him. But somehow, Hailey's presence and unending love never ceased to rea.s.sure him he'd get through any crisis, and things could only get better. They'd rebuild all the things that they lost and heal their grief.

He suddenly lifted her off her feet, bear-hugging her to his chest. "Hailey Starr, you are one bad woman. Deflowering innocent young men."

Her smile was instantaneous. They carried on a constant flirty banter, teasing each other for the age difference and lifting their hearts. "Oh, you don't even know what this old lady is capable of. Just wait and see..."

And she would show him later. But for now, she placed her hand in his and they walked towards his house where half of his family was all cramped. Brianna and Cami were further off, walking down towards the river. Hailey left Joey to help Allison start dinner while he had a shower and cleaned up.

Nothing happened as expected. Every plan they ever made, sacrificed or strived for was gone. A haunting pallor affected the entire family and even the whole area of River's End. But they'd eventually heal, move on, make new plans, and find a way to embrace their loss.

Joey hoped and believed someday they'd find Ben and do something to help him. Perhaps if they could heal him, they would also heal in the process.

In the end, Joey had Hailey. He often wondered how he could have handled all the events that happened that summer. But now that he had Hailey, she was the only part of this summer that he hoped to hold on to forever.

Dear Reader.

I would be so grateful if you took a few moments to leave a review of River on Fire. It helps expand an author's audience, and I really do appreciate the effort.

Read on for Chapter One of River's Lost.

Otherwise, thank you for reading, and I hope you try another of my novels.

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Here is a preview of my other novels.

Sincerely, Leanne Davis.

Book #7.

Ben Rydell left River's End in the wake of the historic fire that destroyed much of his family's ranch and the valley surrounding it, changing the lives of all of its citizens. Taking off without any goodbyes or a word of warning to his family, Ben runs east, crossing several states as he tries to escape the loss he refuses to accept. His own actions only compound the tragedy in his mind. Shamed with the guilt of betraying the love of his life in a way that he fears he can never be forgiven or excused, his life is over as far as he's concerned. There is nothing left for him to live for except the human primal urge to survive. One day, his father locates him after a long search. With his father's unexpected arrival, Ben learns a secret, which is, perhaps, the only reason for drawing him back to the devastation he fled from.

Jocelyn Jantz was only in her late teens when she suspected that her crush on her friend, Ben Rydell, would not end well for her. He regards her strictly as his annoying neighbor and the tomboy he often fought with during childhood. When Ben marries Jocelyn's lifelong nemesis, Jocelyn's grudge of anger and hurt must be contained as she watches him setting up a new life with someone else for the next year. However, she sees something that Ben fails to see: his marriage and happily ever after are only an illusion.

When the greatest fire in the state's history rages through the towns and most of the valley, ripping all of the Rydells as well as the residents apart, a pa.s.sion emerges that is just as explosive as the infernal blaze. In the ensuing aftermath, Jocelyn sadly realizes that Ben will always hate her with a ruthless vengeance as fiery as the relentless flames. Having defiled the honor that Ben always prided himself so highly on, she knows he is lost to her. Her secret could destroy not only herself but all that is left of the man Ben Rydell once was.

River's Lost.

Chapter One.

NO! Jocelyn Jantz silently screamed. Then another one. Only this time, she screamed out loud, "No! No! Nooooo!"

The pain. Oh, G.o.d! It was excruciating. She'd read all about it. But no one could begin to describe this. She cringed and groaned through her agony. Trying to breathe. Trying to forget. Trying to deal with it. But she couldn't. Beads of sweat broke out all over her forehead and trickled down her face. Tears gathered in her eyes and filled her eyelids. She leaned forward through all of it before tossing her head back and resting it on the ripped fabric of the couch. Her sense of imminent defeat threatened her confidence. Her fear was real and she could taste it almost like the coppery taste of blood on her tongue.

She couldn't do this by herself. She was so scared. She needed help. Lots of it.

But who could she call?

She knew who. The only people who actually cared about her. Or at least, she could rely on their sense of decency to know they would come to anyone's aid who needed it, even if it were her. But then... they'd know her secret. For real. And then? What if they...

No, she could not call any of the Rydells.

With the next contraction that ripped through her body, she cried tears and moaned as her entire body shuddered. It wasn't supposed to be happening yet! She was all alone and stuck there. She never foresaw this occurring. Why did the baby suddenly try to rip its way out of her abdomen without any warning? She thought she'd have time, plenty of it, to get to the hospital. She planned to allow herself ample time to deal with this under the watchful eyes of doctors and nurses.

Yesterday morning, she felt the first pains. She went to the hospital but they told her to go back home because she was having something called Braxton Hicks contractions. Bottom line to Jocelyn was that she hadn't been in true labor, and therefore, couldn't really be in any pain. She ground and gnashed her teeth over the next twenty-four hours as the stupid Braxton Hicks contractions kept her awake. Over and over, they pushed her threshold of pain to its limit. She winced every time she wondered how she could handle true labor if she couldn't handle the fake contractions. She couldn't. She'd just fail at that like she failed at so many other attempts in life. But... there were so many women who successfully went through this and didn't fail. She wasn't all that special. But why did it hurt so much? Like a fire being set inside her. She gripped her swollen belly as another cramp seized her body and made her lean her head back while she screamed out loud.

That one couldn't be fake. It just couldn't be. When the tightening squeezed her lungs in half, she waited until it finally eased before she crawled over to the phone. No cell phones worked in the remote area where she lived. She had only a land line phone that was connected to the wall. The closest people to her, the ones who hadn't been burned out from the fire last summer, were the Rydells. Many of the residents never returned after the fire. The giant Rydell ranch property spread out over the valley below where she lived. Her cabin, or rather, shack, was perched way up in the hills above it. There was not a soul visible for miles from where the small shack clung to its foundation in the middle of the mountain.

The phone rang and she moaned as a new pain started to crest. Erin. Allison. Kailynn. Please, G.o.d. Please, let one of them answer.

But no such luck. It was a man. And none other than Jack Rydell who answered the phone. She called the main ranch number, the one they formerly used for the resort, which burned down in the fire's path, and now wasn't open.

"Jack?" she gasped out before lifting the phone away as an excruciation pain managed to steal her breath and voice. She cried out loud in a heartrending wail.

"h.e.l.lo? h.e.l.lo? Who is this calling? What's going on?"

"It's J-Jocelyn..." Another one. "P-p-please...h-h-h...elp me," she squeaked out before an overwhelming contraction compelled her to grab her belly again. She dropped the phone and curled up in agonizing fear. Oh, G.o.d. Was she dying? Was something bleeding out inside her? There had to be reasonable explanation for her to feel so bad. Why couldn't she seem to gain control? Why did she have to writhe on the floor in pain all alone? Far from any help or support and no clue of what she should be doing.

Real terror started to consume her. Women did still die during childbirth. Sometimes, freak things happened and the women simply died. She was all alone. She had to be in labor, or at least she thought she was and n.o.body else could know. There was no one to help her. There never had been really, which was cool to Jocelyn. She took care of herself. Always had. Always could, or so she once believed.

Until this... happened.

The terror she felt now, at this moment, was exponentially worse than the moment she learned she was pregnant. Unplanned of course. Unwanted too, so she walked around in a daze for several weeks. What would she do about the baby?

"Ben...!"

Screaming his name from her lips, she didn't know if she were enunciating it out of her present need, or want, or longing, or fear. Perhaps it was hatred and repulsion. Maybe she would seek revenge for what he'd done to her and left her to deal with alone. Alone. Squirming in pain like an injured animal left to die on this dirty, dusty floor. How long did she have to wait before anyone found her? How much longer did she have to endure this cruel anguish?

The fear of losing her baby and dying, then lying there for days or weeks, made her turn to her side as she clutched her swollen belly. Oh, G.o.d! She shouldn't have stayed at the cabin. No. Big mistake.

But then... where else could she go?