Second Chance (2 page)

Dressed in a pair of sweat pants and an old t-shirt, Ava sipped on a cup of herbal tea while flipping through the ranch bills that were coming due over the next week.  She loved having her ranch, but the paperwork was the pits. 
A necessary evil.
 

Working solidly for the next half hour, Ava wrote out checks for all the bills that were due, which weren’t that many. There was something nice in the small nature of her farm.  She would never get rich the way things were, but that wasn’t important to her.  It was important that she was able to handle the ranch on her own, ensuring that she didn’t need to depend on anyone else.  It didn’t take Freud this time for Ava to figure out those feelings.  She clearly was having some abandonment issues over her parents’ death.  Which made it all the more weird that she was having feelings of loneliness.  And daydreaming about having a man in her life.

There was that sharp pain again in her chest. 
Why does it still hurt even four years later?
  As if feeling her sadness, Bing laid his big head in her lap and gave a little whine in commiseration.  She could always count on Bing to make her feel better.  She stroked his soft head, winding her fingers down to the back of his ear for a nice scratch. 

Dogs always made everything better. Well, not all dogs.  Just Bing.

Ava continued thinking about her parents.  Jaron and Selena Clairmont had been married for twenty-five years when they had died together in a terrible car crash.  They weren’t even traveling far.  Just a routine trip to the grocery store.  Unfortunately, the mid-sized Virginia town in which they lived was also home to a chronic drunk by the name of Bill Whettington.  While Jaron and Selena talked about how their day had been and what would be for dinner that night, Bill Whettington plowed through a red light while her parents had the green.  Just that quickly, Ava was alone in this world. 

Ava had always thought her parents were nothing short of saints but after they were gone, she could only envision them as angels.  They had always encouraged her to pursue her dreams, teaching her to face adversity with a positive attitude and a determined work ethic to be successful.  Throughout Ava’s life, they had scrimped and saved for her to be able to pursue her greatest passion… horses. 

Ava had been riding from the age of six and never looked back. She always knew her life’s career would be centered on horses.  As that fickle bitch fate would have it, Ava had just started at The University of Virginia pursuing a degree in Equine Studies when that bastard Bill Whettington killed her parents.  Her world was turned upside down and now here she was, four years later, running a horse ranch in Wyoming.

Ava never understood why some people said, “something good always comes out of something bad”.  Sure, she had her dream job on her dream ranch, pursuing her life’s passion.  But that was all because her parents had been killed by a drunk driver. She would never consider that to be something good that came out of her parents’ death.  That was just circumstance, plain and simple, and she would give this all up just to be able to hug her parents one more time. 

Still, Ava couldn’t be any more grateful to her parents than she was when she learned that they’d left her this ranch when they died. She had no clue they even owned it. There was some vague mention in their will that the property had been owned by her father’s family for generations. 

It appeared she came by her passion for horses honestly.  Generations of Clairmonts had worked this land and raised horses.  Admittedly, she was in a state of shock following her parents’ death, so even to this day, she really wasn’t clear on all the details.  All she knew was the estate attorney assured her she held the title to this ranch free and clear, and her parents had funded a trust with $1,000,000 in life insurance to help her get started.  So she withdrew from college, packed her Subaru wagon, and headed west.

Ava still puffed with pride when she thought about how she’d started her business.  She knew she wanted to breed horses, but more than that, she wanted to train them. She’d always had an affinity with training.  A horse whisperer she’d been called on more than one occasion. 

So she’d moved to Moose Gap, Wyoming, taken $100,000 of her parents’ insurance money and hired the best ranch manager in the area.  Her requirements were clear.  One year of employment, and the manager would teach her all there was to know about the business.  At the end of the year, she would give him a $25,000 bonus and he would go along his merry way. 

That was almost three years ago and J&S Ranch had since become a modest success.  Well, if “modest” meant that she was breaking even and able to draw a small salary, then yes, she was modestly successful.  She had regular clientele and was able to start offering riding lessons on the weekends.  Sure, she worked eighty hours a week, but it was a job she loved.
Not just love, I adore it.
  Yes, Ava adored her life.  Except for that pesky loneliness that was plaguing her.  Why was she so unsettled about this lately?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a low growl from Bing.  He had lifted his head from her lap and was staring intently at the front door.  His ears were perked slightly forward, and the hackles on his back were raised. 

“What is it, Bing?”

He growled again and his hackles rose a little higher.

“Come on Bing, you’re starting to freak me out just a tiny bit here.”

Bing responded by looking at Ava and tilting his head slightly to the side.  The quizzical look on his face put Ava at ease. 

“Do you need to go outside before we hit the bed?”

Bing barked once and ran to the door. Ava followed.  She turned on her front porch light, opened the door and Bing ran off into the night to do whatever business he had on his agenda.  While waiting on him, Ava took her tea cup to the kitchen and rinsed it out.  She glanced around the kitchen to see if anything else was out of place. 

The kitchen was her favorite room in the old farmhouse.  She had renovated it when she moved to the ranch.  It had knotty, pine floors which she’d restored and white washed cabinets she’d painted herself.  She’d splurged on the stainless steel appliances but reasoned that she more than made up for it by the junkyard find that was her kitchen table.  The ten foot table made of reclaimed chestnut wood had hand carved, square inlays and a trestle base.  It sat under a wrought iron chandelier with metal roosters upholding the lights on each arm.  She had to do some minor refinishing but the table was in amazing condition.  Of course, she had a hodge-podge of mismatched chairs surrounding it, but she didn’t think that in any way diminished its beauty.

Ava turned off the kitchen light and went to let Bing in.  She opened the door but he wasn’t on the porch. 
That’s odd
.  Bing always went out and did his business fairly quickly.  He was not one to run off or linger outside at night.  Ava told herself this was because he was too afraid to be out in the dark by himself, but in reality, Ava was the one who didn’t like the dark and was more comforted when he was by her side. 

“BING! Come on!”

Nothing.

“Let’s go knuckle head.  I’m tired”. 

Ava listened intently and couldn’t hear him at all.  She peered hard into the darkness surrounding the house.  The porch light illuminated just a few feet outward, and past that she couldn’t see much.  Over to the right, the outside light on the main barn illuminated the front of the barn and part of the paddock, but the area around that was pitch black as well.

This is just great.  I have to go find my dog in the sinister black of the night.  Probably a serial killer lurking behind a bush, just waiting for the dumb female to walk his way.

Ava slipped on her tennis shoes that she kept by the front door and stepped out on the porch.  The night had cooled the air considerably and Ava felt a slight chill on her arms.

“BING!” 

Even though Ava was a little spooked in the dark, she didn’t feel any real apprehension.  Moose Gap was a very safe community and crime was virtually non-existent.  She was sure that Bing was just sniffing around and got caught up in some delicious rabbity scent.

THUMP.

Ava jumped and her head snapped toward the barn.  Ava stilled and listened intently. 

THUMP. 

It was definitely coming from the barn and her first thought was that one of the horses was kicking the inside of the stall.  Or maybe it was Bing somehow stuck inside.  Which was ridiculous, because how could he have gotten inside?  She was pretty sure she had closed the door and secured the latch.  It wasn’t locked, because, hey, this was Moose Gap, Wyoming and no one ever stole anything out here.  But being the diligent ranch owner that she was, and wanting to hurry up and find Bing so she could go to bed, Ava headed toward the barn to investigate the weird noise.

Stepping into the light at the barn door, she felt a weird prickling on the back of her head, as if her hair decided to stand at military attention.  Mentally shaking off her foreboding, Ava opened the door and walked inside.  Reaching to the right for the interior light switch, Ava gave it a flick.  The overhead lights came on and flooded the interior with bright warmth.  She didn’t see Bing.

Walking forward, she approached the first stall which belonged to Beastie Girl, a small, delicate little mare she had bought about a year ago.  As she reached the stall door, Beastie Girl stuck her head out and gave a soft nicker.  The sound was comforting.   Moreover, Beastie Girl was calm, if not curious as to why she was getting a visitor at this time of the night.  If something sinister was in the barn, no way would Beastie Girl be so calm.  Two more heads popped out of their stalls. 

“Hey King… Hey Macy.  Seen any serial killers lurking around?”

Both horses just stared at her.

“How about Bing?  Have you seen that doofus dog?”

Again, more staring.

“Well, thanks for all of your help.  Your support means the world to me. Truly, I wouldn’t be what I am today without the three of you.”

Giving each horse a soft rub on their muzzles, Ava walked the remaining length of the barn to the back door.  Opening it to step outside, she was thankful for her foresight in installing lighting on the back of the barn too.  She was immediately bathed in a soft, sulfurous glow.  Ava peered into the dark but couldn’t see anything past the edge of the light.

“Bing, come on buddy. It’s time to go inside.” 

She listened but heard nothing. 

Now she was really starting to worry about Bing.  What if he got bitten by a snake he had disturbed while it slept?  Or fell down a ravine?  Or carted off by dog thieves?  Okay, the last one was stretching it a bit, but in the Wild West, there were always dangers out in the dark.

Ava decided to head back to the house and get a flashlight so she could check out more of the property.  In fact, she decided to grab her gun too.  It would be just her luck to run into a bear and not be prepared. 
Damn dog.  Remind me again why I love you so much?
  Rather than cut back through the barn, Ava decided to walk around it.  Between the lights on the front and back of the barn, she should have enough ambient light to see where she was going. 

Ava closed and latched the back barn door, and headed to the right.  She had taken two steps when she immediately tripped over a shovel that she had left lying on the ground from her mucking duties earlier in the day.  Falling forward, Ava landed on both her hands and knees. 

“Shit, shit, shit”, Ava muttered as she pushed herself up off the ground and wiped her dirty hands on the legs of her sweatpants. 

Way to go Grace Kelly.
 

Grabbing the shovel, Ava stomped off along the side of the barn toward the house.  Being careful to watch where she walked, in case her stupidity had caused her to leave any other farming implements lying around, Ava reached the end of the barn.  From the corner of her right eye, she caught a bit of movement. 

Bing! 
Ava turned with a smile on her face although she fully intended to give him a little tongue lashing for making her work this hard to find him.  Instead, Ava came face to face with what she could only describe as a monster straight from a nightmare.

Blazing red eyes that radiated pure evil.  That was the first thing Ava noticed.  It was quickly obvious that this was not a human.  Whatever this thing was, it was tall and somewhat shaped like a man.  It had blotchy, gray skin and was completely bald.  The thing was reed thin, except for a pot belly.  Its arms were extremely long with its hands hanging almost to its knees.  And a dirty loincloth was the only thing that kept it from being termed totally “naked”. 
Gross
.    

While it seemed like she stared at the creature for an eternity, it was probably no more than a second or two.  Just long enough for the loathsome thing to appraise her and issue a low, rumbling growl. 

Ava didn’t hesitate. 

She swung the shovel with all her might and smacked the thing in the head.  The creature fell to the ground. 
Score one for the defenseless, female human.

Her celebration was cut short.  While her smack job was good, Mr. Gray didn’t stay down and lurched up off the ground.  Once it was standing again, it swayed back and forth.  Ava took a bit of pride in the fact that she had hurt it.  Or maybe that was a hypnotizing pattern the monster employed before striking a death blow. 

Regardless, a hard hit with a sharp shovel had not really phased Mr. Gray.  Not wanting to ponder the scenario further, Ava bolted back down the side of the barn toward the back door, thinking that at least she had her shovel as a weapon.  Maybe she could get in another lucky hit. 

DAMN!

Ava realized she had dropped the shovel, probably from shock, after she bashed Mr. Gray in the head. Oh, well.  She had to depend on swiftness of feet at this point. 

Running as if her life depended on it, and she was most confident that it did, Ava rounded the back corner of the barn and slammed straight into a hard, muscled male body.  Ava involuntarily screamed but it was cut off as a hand came down over her mouth.  Thinking Mr. Gray brought a friend to this party, she immediately started punching, kicking and clawing like a wild hellcat.

Keeping one hand over her mouth, her captor wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her tight to his chest.  This pinned her arms, stilling her frantic blows.  Then he leaned down and whispered to her.  “Hush and be still.  I’m here to help you.” 

Whether it was the calmness of his voice, or the fact that her lifetime supply of adrenaline had been expended, Ava sagged in relief.  She nodded to indicate she understood and his arms released her. 

She immediately took in the fact this man was very tall.  Easily taller than her father’s 6’5” frame.  He had light colored hair but she couldn’t tell the exact shade with just the ambient light from the back of the barn.  He wore his hair long, with varying lengths that brushed his shoulders.  Again, the lighting was not being very cooperative so she couldn’t tell the color of his eyes, but she felt them boring into her.  Then the stranger grabbed her hand and softly said, “Follow me.”

Ava blindly followed, never once considering that this man could pose a danger to her. She saw what danger lay behind her and as far as she was concerned, this guy was a safe haven.  Besides, there was something about his voice that just caused her to intrinsically trust that he would protect her.  The fact he was stacked with solid muscle also helped.

Quickly opening the barn door and leading them inside, her Good Samaritan closed the door behind her and latched it from the inside.  He turned to her. “I want you to listen closely and do exactly as I say.  Get up into the hayloft and hide near the back.” 

Ava looked over at the ladder leading up to the loft.  There was no hay up there, just old boxes that attested to the fact she may have a hoarding problem.  Not one to argue when her life was in danger, Ava scrambled up the ladder.  Then she heard the man say, “Don’t come down until I tell you it is safe”. 

The hayloft wasn’t even a real hayloft.  It was a platform raised off the main barn floor.  The back of the platform was bolted into the barn wall.  The front of the platform was held up by two thick wooden beams, evenly spaced apart with the corners also bolted to the barn wall.  Its original purpose may have been to hold hay, but again, Ava used it for storing old junk.  As a small and modest ranch, she had enough empty horse stalls below to hold all the hay she needed right now. 

Once she reached the top of the ladder, Ava moved to the back of the platform and crouched down.    She couldn’t see anything from her position.  She had no clue where her Knight in Shining Armor was, nor did she have any clue where Mr. Gray might be lurking. 

Then she heard the back barn door rattle.  She knew it was Mr. Gray trying to get in.  Apparently, brains weren’t prized among his species—after all, the front barn door was wide open and the back door was closed from the inside with a latch. 

After a few more rattles, Ava thought that the beast might give up.  But then she gasped as the entire back door was torn from its hinges.  She couldn’t see it happen, but the shrieking metal and splintering wood crashing to the ground told her the story.  So whatever Mr. Gray didn’t have in brains, he sure made up for in strength. 

For the first time, it occurred to Ava that she should be very, very scared. Up until now, a combination of disbelief and adrenaline had been fueling her survival instincts.  But now, she finally had an epiphany that there was some unknown monster with Hulk-like strength that cut through her barn door like it was soft butter. 

She was afraid for herself, and she was afraid for her Great American Hero that stood between her and what was probably certain death.  Ava’s heart was thumping so hard, she was sure Mr. Gray would be able to hear it.  She tried to make herself calm down but it seemed her blood pressure was steadily rising.  Hell, she may just die from a heart attack rather than being pulled apart limb by limb. 

Ava figured she better come up with a backup plan, just in case the future Mr. Ava Clairmont couldn’t protect her.  
Okay, so I have some hot, hero worship going on here. 
Trying to come up with something imaginative, Ave just didn’t have a clue as to what to do.  While she was a dreamer, and had a vivid imagination, never in her sanest thoughts did she think creatures like Mr. Gray could exist. She never once imagined she would be trapped in her hayloft—okay, her hoarding room—with a monster, or alien, or mutant governmental experiment gone wrong, trying to hunt her down.

Listening for the tiniest of clues as to what may be happening, Ava heard dragging footsteps below the platform.  She knew it was Mr. Gray and could just imagine the way his long arms would sway back and forth as he shuffled into the barn.   
Where the hell was he going?  Was he coming toward the ladder?  And where was his Royal Saving Grace?
 

Ava couldn’t help herself, and yes, she knew...curiosity killed the cat.  Still, she eased down onto her stomach and silently inched forward across the platform.  When she got about a foot from the edge, she was able to see a portion of the barn floor. 

It didn’t take long for Mr. Gray to step into her view.  His shoulders were hunched and his head hung forward.  He was looking slowly left and right as he dragged his feet down the aisle of the barn. Those molten, red eyes gave Ava the heebie-jeebies.  He emitted a steady, low growl as he stalked the area. 

Please don’t look up, please don’t look up.
 

Mr. Gray stopped and sniffed a few times.  Then he took in a deep lungful of air through his squashed and lumpy nose, as if scenting his prey.  Ava watched as his head turned slowly up toward the platform where she lay. 

She felt confident he couldn’t see her as she was covered in darkness, but she wasn’t so sure he couldn’t smell her given the huge whiff he had just taken.  She watched as Mr. Gray’s lips pulled back into a feral snarl, revealing a row of jagged black teeth dripping with saliva.  His eyes were staring directly where she was lying. 
Oh shit! Busted.
 

Mr. Gray took one step toward the ladder and before Ava could even think what to do, her Secret Weapon came hurtling at the creature.  Ava watched as her Hero slammed into Mr. Gray and they both went crashing to the barn floor out of Ava’s line of vision.  She crawled to the very edge of the platform and looked over. 

She saw monster and man tearing at each other with fists and kicks.  They appeared evenly matched, which told her that the future Mr. Ava Clairmont had some serious strength.  Mr. Gray landed a solid kick to her Hero’s stomach, throwing him backward into the wall of the barn.  She heard the wooden walls creak under the strain of the impact and she silently prayed that he was okay.  Not appearing any worse for wear, her Hero jumped up and launched himself back at the beast.  Their fighting was fast, almost a blur, and she couldn’t tell if there was an upper hand to be had by either one. 

Then she saw a flash of silver and realized her unnamed Savior had pulled a blade from somewhere.  With a sharp thrust, he nailed Mr. Gray through one of its eyes, and then gave a power kick to its chest, sending the blotchy monster flying backward. 

Mr. Gray’s body crashed into one of the platform’s support beams, right below where Ava lay.  She heard the wooden beam snap.  The platform swayed ever so slightly and she could hear the bolts ripping out of the walls.  Then with one lurch it tilted forward, causing Ava to slide toward the edge.  Scrabbling to grab onto something to stop her fall, Ava came up with nothing but a handful of dust as she was propelled over the edge, a few of her hoarding treasures sliding after her.

The fall was not overly long, but Ava’s heart still jumped into her throat.  It seemed like it took several minutes to make the fall, when in reality she knew gravity worked a lot faster.  For a second time that night, she crashed into that muscled body, and she felt those strong arms wrap around her again.  Her Hero had gallantly caught her before she could slam into the floor and her lithe frame was flush against his.  Ava was breathing hard.  Her feet were dangling a good foot off the barn floor and her face was just inches from his. 

Despite all of the danger and terror she had just experienced, her first coherent thought was that her Hero had the most amazing eyes she had ever seen. Given her close proximity and the benefit of the overhead lights, she now could see deep, crystal blue eyes framed by dark eyelashes.  His hair was a multitude of light colors ranging from pale blond to honey brown.  Okay, so she also noticed that his face was sculpted of hard, beautiful angles but with the softest looking lips she had ever seen.  Looking back into his eyes, she saw that he was studying her with an intensity that made her cheeks turn pink and her body feel flushed. 
Oh my!  Who knew they made men this hot?
 

As if sensing her thoughts, her Hero let her slide slowly down his body until her feet landed gracefully on the ground.  She almost groaned out loud from the contact and felt a tightening in her groin. 
Come on Ava!  How can you possibly be feeling sexual attraction at a time like this?
 Her subconscious answered back. 
Well, duh, because you have an Adonis standing in front of you looking like he wants to eat you for breakfast.

Taking a deep breath and stepping back a bit, Ava looked up at him.  “Is that… thing dead?”

Stepping around her and walking toward Mr. Gray, he replied, “Yes.  Decapitation or a strike to the brain is the only way to kill the Erchras.” 

He removed what she now saw was a jeweled dagger from the creature’s eye.  Ava grabbed a chamois rubbing cloth that was hanging from a hook on the wall and tossed it to him.  He carefully wiped the dagger down and put it back into a sheath he wore on his left hip. 

Speaking of hips, she noticed he wore a pair of black leather pants that looked sinfully soft.  The pants weren’t tight but they were perfectly molded to his frame, showcasing well defined thigh muscles.  She was sure if she had a look at his back, his ass would be perfectly molded as well.  Ava shook her head in an attempt to get her mind out of the gutter.  Now what was he saying?  Oh yes, he had killed an Erchras. 

What the hell was an Erchras?  And why was this smoking, hot guy here to help her? 

A hot guy that was a complete and utter stranger she just realized. 

“Ummmm… my name is Ava.  I don’t know if there are words to thank you for killing that…uh… Erchras?  But truly, thank you.”

Giving a short nod, he answered, “I’m Carrick Dunne.”

That was it.  Just his name.  And he didn’t offer anything else.  She did notice though that his voice was low and a little gravelly, and oh yeah, sexy as hell.  Maybe there was room for Bing to share the number one position as man in her life.

“Oh my God.  Bing!  I need to find my dog!”  Ava took off toward the barn door.

“Relax,” Carrick grabbed her arm as she tried to run by.  "He’s safe.  I locked him in your tack room earlier.  I knew the Erchras were here and figured he would only get himself in trouble.”

His touch on her arm was warm and reassuring. But it sizzled too. She savored it for just a moment before running over to open the tack room door.  Bing came barreling out and jumped up on Ava, smothering her with doggie kisses.  Ava hugged him hard and buried her head into his neck for a few seconds. 

“Seems I owe you a lot of thanks, not just for my life, but for Bing’s as well.”

Ava looked over at him and she could swear he had a guilty look on his face when she said that. 
Interesting.

“Carrick.  There were two more Erchras near the house that I took out.”

Ava’s head swung to the open barn door to see who had spoken, and saw another devastatingly handsome man standing in the doorway.  He had the same blond hair and blue eyes as Carrick.  He wasn’t quite as tall, maybe just a few inches shorter.  Like Carrick, however, he was stacked with muscles and a physique that screamed workouts three times a day. 
Where were these guys from?
  She looked back over to Carrick and was betting anything they were related.

Carrick pointed at the other man. “My brother, Kieran.”

Wow this guy was short on words.