Making New Memories (4 page)

Curiosity gets the better of him and he asks,
"Skye, what exactly was your relationship with Barry? The tabloids
always portrayed you two as a couple but I get the feeling from you
it was more of a friendship thing."

I think for a minute and then choose my words
carefully, "Barry is like the big brother I never had. He saved my
life that time, you know, the one that made me afraid. He helped me
get through that and I will always be grateful to him. Now that he
is married I guess I'll have to find someone else to escort me in
public, if I ever decide to go out in public again."

The wind is really howling and Dylan says, "I
think we better retire to our little nest. The way the wind is
blowing the snow can't be far behind." He throws extra logs on the
fire and climbs into the nest.

Lying on his good side in the little nest, he
notices that Skye is trying her best not to touch him even though
they are lying in an area smaller than a twin bed. He says, "Skye,
please don't be afraid of me. I promise I will never hurt you. It's
all right if you lean against me. In fact, it would help both of us
keep warm, to share our body heat."

Embarrassed I say, "I'm not afraid of you
Dylan, just of what our touching might cause to happen."

Dylan patiently encourages, "Turn your back
to me Skye." When I obey, he pulls me snugly against his front
spooning against him. "See, it's all right. I'm not going to hurt
you. Now try to relax and get some sleep."

It takes a long time for the tension to leave
my body but eventually after I hear Dylan's deep even breathing
indicating he is asleep I drift into sleep myself.

Sometime late in the night, I wake and
realize that Dylan is burning up with fever. He is moaning in his
sleep and dreaming about someone named Elena. I move away from him
and use a flashlight I found earlier in his backpack to dig through
it looking for antibiotics but find nothing. I melt some snow on
the remains of the fire, wet a rag and bathe his face in the warm
water.

The storm seems to be letting up some but it
looks like it left at least a foot of new snow. I hope it will pass
before morning so Goose can come pick us up. I don't like the fact
that Dylan is running such a high fever. I wake him enough to get
him to swallow some more ibuprofen and continue to bathe his face
and neck in the warm water.

I haven't been able to understand much of
what Dylan has been mumbling in his sleep. I gathered that Elena
was or is someone important in his life. I don't understand why but
that knowledge causes a dull ache somewhere near my heart. I keep
telling myself it doesn't matter. Dylan can never be anything to
me. I can never let myself get close to any man. Thinking about the
night I pause. I did enjoy lying next to Dylan with his arm draped
loosely around my waist. I felt safe and it has been a long time
since I have felt safe. I am hoping that maybe Dylan will be the
one I can depend on to escort me when I am ready to venture back
out into the public. Of course that will depend on what Elena is to
him.

When Dylan's fever breaks, I throw more wood
on the fire and climb back into the nest next to him and cover both
of us with another thermal blanket I found in the backpack and
drift back into a dreamless sleep.

Dylan comes awake slowly as dawn is breaking.
His shoulder is aching and his head is pounding. He becomes aware
of the unfamiliar sensation of a warm body curled up next to him
and he opens his eyes and recognizes Skye. She is sleeping soundly
so he relaxes thinking back over all she told him the night before.
She still hasn't told him exactly what happened to make her afraid
of men but he has a pretty good idea from things she has told him.
She obviously was brutally raped by someone. He would like to get
his hands on that bastard and rip him limb from limb. Knowing
Barry, the bastard has probably already paid for his sins. She did
say that Barry saved her life that time. It warms his soul to know
that Skye is beginning to trust him enough to sleep so soundly
curled up next to him after what she has been through. He swears he
will never do anything to betray that trust.

He needs to relieve himself and take some
more ibuprofen for the pain in his shoulder. He sure doesn't want
the fever to go up again. He carefully uncurls himself from around
Skye and climbs from their warm nest. The bitter cold causes him to
immediately start shivering. He puts logs on the fire and coffee on
to boil and swallows four ibuprofen tablets. The storm seems to
have passed, at least for the time being so he radios Goose to come
and pick them up. He also requests that he bring some antibiotics
if he can get his hands on some. He remembers Skye waking him in
the night to take more ibuprofen and he had been burning up with
fever. Goose tells him he will be at the pickup site in a couple of
hours.

He kneels by the nest and gently shakes Skye,
"Wakeup sleepyhead."

Smiling I stretch and open my eyes, "I'm glad
to see you up and feeling better. I was worried during the night
when your fever got up so high."

"I must have had a really good nurse because
I am feeling better. Goose will be here in a couple of hours. Let's
get some breakfast and get this place cleaned up."

After a quick breakfast of oatmeal we head to
the pickup site. The going is slow because Dylan is still weak from
the loss of blood. Skye has to support him from time to time just
to keep him on his feet.

Just as they top the hill to the site, Goose
is bringing the helicopter down for a landing. Because he is a
medic, Goose demands to see Dylan's shoulder before he will agree
to take off for Wyoming. He examines Skye's handiwork, "Wow, good
job Skye. Once we get these antibiotics down him and he has some
time to rest and build up his strength he should heal just
fine."

I am relieved at his words. It doesn't take
me long to decide that I like Goose. He helps me into the back seat
of the helicopter, shows me how to fasten the seat belt, and gives
me a headset so I can hear any conversation. Goose then puts Dylan
in the front passenger seat, straps him in, and hands him his
headset.

As they are flying Dylan tells Goose about
how I killed the mountain lion in mid-air as it was pouncing on
him. Of course he embellishes the tale quite a bit and I am
extremely embarrassed. Then Dylan tells Goose how I skinned and
gutted the animal and cooked a nice chunk for our dinner last
night. I am steadily turning redder as he talks and Goose keeps
glancing over his shoulder at me in the back seat giving me the
thumbs up sign.

The flight to Barry Farrady's Rock Springs
Ranch in Wyoming doesn't take long and as we make our approach
Dylan points out the ranch house to me. Looking down, I am
impressed with the size of the house.

In the distance I can see the front gate
where the usual Paparazzi are lined up on the road. A cold chill
runs down my back. Dylan sees where I am looking, "Don't worry
Skye. You will be well protected here. Security guards are
everywhere. No one gets in here that is not welcome. Besides, I
promised to personally protect you, remember?"

As we land, Barry comes out of the house to
meet us. Dylan steps out of the helicopter first and sways a little
on his feet then he offers me his hand to get down. He wraps his
good arm around my waist as we walk toward Barry and his very
pregnant wife Melanie. I am sure Dylan is using his arm around my
waist to help support himself and disguise his weakness. The
gesture does not go unnoticed by Barry. He is very surprised.

As we are approaching, Barry's face breaks
into a warm smile and he extends his hands to me. Barry is
surprised again when I wrap my arms around him in a warm hug,
kissing him on the cheek. He turns to Melanie and says,
"Sweetheart, I want you to meet the closest thing I ever had to a
baby sister, Skye Reynolds. Skye this is my wife Melanie, our son
Eric, my mother Virginia and her husband Bob, and Melanie parents,
Mark and Patricia Brentwood. Welcome to our home."

Smiling shyly, I say, "It's very nice to meet
all of you. I hope you don't mind my dropping in so
unexpectedly."

Smiling warmly in welcome, Melanie says, "It
is wonderful to meet you. Barry has been telling us all about you.
I hope you will stay as long as you want. Scoot, you are coming for
dinner tonight I hope."

"Thank you Melanie, I will be honored," says
a smiling Dylan.

Virginia says, "Come on in Skye, and let me
show you to your room."

As Virginia, Skye, and the others head for
the house, Barry, Dylan and Goose head for the office over the
barn. "Well, how did it go?" asks Barry.

"Everything went very well. I was able to get
in and remove her from the immediate area without incident. The
storm slowed us by one day and that's when the trouble started. You
didn't tell me Skye was a regular GI Jane," says Dylan as Goose
gives him a helping hand up the stairs.

"What are you talking about?" asks Barry
confused as they walk in the office where Pinky and Stump are busy
at the computer.

"Let me put it this way, if I ever end up in
another fire fight, I want that woman backing me up. She's a crack
shot and she can skin and gut a mountain lion with the best of
us."

"Are you sure we're talking about the same
Skye Reynolds? The one I knew was scared of her own shadow and
would barely come out of her room," questions Barry.

"I didn't say she doesn't have hang ups, she
does. She has definitely learned some new skills since you knew
her. She killed a mountain lion mid-flight with one shot from a 45
as it was pouncing on me. Then she gutted and skinned it and cooked
it for dinner. She sewed me up like a pro and spent half of last
night bathing me to get my fever down."

"Bathing you? Are you sure you weren't
hallucinating?" asks Barry skeptically."How much damage did the
mountain lion do? You're all right aren't you?"

"I'm fine, thanks to Skye, or at least I will
be. I would have been in big trouble if she was the girl you
thought she was Barry. That reminds me. Guess who I met in the
flesh up in the wilds of Montana?"

All four former Marines look at him and ask,
"Who?"

"Clarence Kincaid. He goes by the name Bear.
He is the one that actually saved Skye when she first went to
Montana. Her car broke down and he rescued her, gave her a place to
live, and made sure she was able to survive off the land," answers
Dylan.

No one notices but all of the color drains
from Stump's face at the mention of the name Clarence Kincaid. His
heart is pounding furiously and he thinks he may pass out. Oh my
God! His father is alive ... and living in Montana? He'll have to
ask more questions when he can get Scoot alone. No one knows his
secret and he is not ready for them to know just yet.

When we walk into Barry's house, I am stunned
by the opulence. Living as primitively as I have for the past three
years, I feel out of place. I follow Virginia to a downstairs
bedroom with adjoining bath that is bigger than the whole cabin had
been in Montana. In the center of the room is a huge king size bed
draped in a royal blue down comforter. The walls are painted snow
white. The windows are covered with draperies in a royal blue and
white print in an abstract design. An antique rocker sits in the
corner with a light blue afghan thrown over the arm. The adjoining
bathroom has snow white marble walls and floors and royal blue
towels and accents.

"Here we go," says Virginia. "Barry told us
you and Melanie are about the same size so she left you a pair of
jeans and a blouse. If they don't fit, let us know and we will find
something else. We weren't sure about your shoe size, what size do
you wear?"

"Seven. This is so nice, thank you," I
reply.

"You're welcome dear. If you will give me all
of your sizes, I'll send to town tomorrow and get you more things.
I know you will be more comfortable with things of your own."

After washing my hair and rinsing the worst
of the grime off my body in the shower, I run the marble tub full
to the brim of hot water and bubbles. I lie back in the fragrant
water and let the memories of the last two days flow over me.

Dylan, I have never met anyone like him. In
addition to being extremely handsome, he is nice and so
understanding. He never pushes me about my fears and that really
surprises me. He did challenge me to face some of them though.
First my fear of being alone in the helicopter with two men I
didn't know and then my fear of lying curled up in a man's arms.
The best part is I conquered both fears and that makes me proud of
myself. I felt so safe when Dylan was lying next to me with his arm
draped loosely around my waist. I could get used to that, I am just
not sure about anything else that might go along with it.

******

Once all the guys have gone about their
business, Dylan tries to clean up but he is having difficulty
trying to shower and keep the stitches in his shoulder dry at the
same time. He is still weak and the ordeal is tiring him
completely. Throwing the soap against the wall he lets out a string
of curses.

Stump steps into the bathroom, "Hey Scoot,
you need some help?"

"If you don't mind, I do. Any suggestions
about how to keep these stitches dry while I shower?"

"Yeah, how about that waterproof tape we keep
in the First Aid kit. If we put a bandage over the stitches first,
then cover the whole thing with the waterproof tape you should be
good to go. I'll get it."

While bandaging the stitches and then
covering them with the waterproof tape, Stump asks, "Tell me more
about Clarence Kincaid. What did he look like? Was he nice? Did he
look mean, you know, like a bad ass?"

Thinking back, Dylan says, "Well, he was as
big and as hairy as a bear, maybe six five, very muscular, full
bushy beard and long hair in a pony tail. Actually when I first saw
him, I thought of you Stump. He looked like a bigger, older version
of you with lots of facial hair. If I hadn't gotten the drop on
him, he would have scared me spitless.