Author's Note: You guys are so wonderful! I didn't expect anyone to even read my story, let alone comment on it! Thank you so much! It was so motivating and inspiring to find out that you liked it - in fact, I started writing another chapter immediately after I got my first review!

This one is a little different, and I'm wondering whether it will be in two parts- let me know if you like it, and I'll continue with part 2!

Chapter 2: Love is a blizzard

Rating: T

This time it was different.

This time when she hurled herself heart first into the oncoming blizzard, she didn't feel her chest pounding with adrenaline, or sense that her mind was clear with conviction, or be filled with a surge of joy when she finally found the frightened calf, far from home and bleating weakly as it tried to straighten its trembling hooves from skidding across the ice.

This time she just felt stupid.

She felt stupid riding blindly into the snow, her eyes streaming from the cold wind and her hair whipping wildly across her face.

She felt stupid when she managed to soothe the hysterical animal, only to slip on the ice herself and crack her wrist on the hard ground as she tried to break her fall - scaring the calf again in the process.

She felt stupid as she watched the poor thing run away into the whiteness and realised with rising dread that she had no idea where she was.

Sam sighed and slowly raised to her feet, nursing her aching wrist. She wondered dubiously if she could manage to haul herself onto Ace with one arm but decided against it as Ace stamped his hooves nervously and tossed his head from side to side. He wanted out.

She reached out for his nose and rubbed it slowly. "I'm sorry baby," she murmured, resting her forehead against his long face. She was furious with herself, embarrassed at her reckless abandon- she should have taken care of her horse. She never should have brought him out in this dangerous weather - in her haste to save one animal, she compromised the safety of another. She would have smiled at the irony if it weren't so grim. The longer Sam stood here, nose to nose with her horse, snow peppering her clothing - because of course she didn't have time to change out of her jeans and sweater shirt - the more it dawned on her that she rarely considered Ace's well-being when she burst outside for more adventures with the Phantom.

She really was stupid.

Ace tossed his head again and snorted impatiently, snapping her out of her thoughts. She had to get out of here.

Doubtful of her ability to steer Ace on saddle one-handed, she decided to hold onto his reins and walk back the way she came, trying her best to ignore the terrible throbbing pain in her hand.

But blanketed by snow and buffeted by wind, the terrain looked vastly different from when she came - and she could barely see a thing. Her heart began to pound wildly as she continued to trek aimlessly forward, searching frantically for any kind of shelter.

As the minutes trickled by, the tempest grew stronger - wilder - in response and suddenly, Ace snapped, rearing onto his hind legs and neighing as he twisted out of his reins for freedom. Surprised, Sam tried to pull on his reins with her left hand, chafing her fingers in the process, but couldn't hold on as Ace, his patience lost, bolted into the wind.

She sighed, watching her horse follow the path of the calf into the filmy white haze of trees and rocky mountain heads and -

Wait. What was that?

She strained her eyes to see clearer, her heart beat loudly in her chest as she half-ran, half-stumbled towards the dark hole far ahead of her.

Thank god.

She crawled into the mouth of the cave, and sat down, exhaustion creeping into her bones as she stared out into the blizzard, fighting to keep her eyes open.

But it . .

Sam shook her head quickly and pinched her cheeks. She had to stay awake. She had to keep moving further into the cave where the wind and snow wouldn't freeze her bones further. Darkness be damned.

She forced her aching legs to stand again, and wiggled her toes to get the feeling back into her feet. Holding onto the rocky wall beside her, she slowly edged further and further into the black cavern until, by some blessing, the wind and dampness were no longer able to reach her.

She stumbled on something and cursed as her hand instinctively reached out to break her fall. This time, she felt skin tear and warm blood trickle down her wrist. She must have cut it on a rock.

She groaned and slid down the wall until she sat with her back pressed against it. At least the pain would keep her awake...

"SAM?!"

Her heart soared. "I'm in here!" She shouted loudly, awkwardly jumping up to her feet and running toward the deep, husky voice she knew so well. A flashlight was turned on and searched wildly towards the sound of her voice.

When she saw him there, his face half hidden in the shadow, her heart flipped again, relief spreading through her body as Jake Ely walked slowly towards her with Ace in hand. Her horse was safe.

She tried waiting for him to tie Witch and Ace to a large rock - probably the one on which she grazed her wrist that second time -but couldn't resist, her heart bursting with joy as she hugged him tightly from behind. He stiffened but said nothing, continuing to secure the horses tightly against the rock.

Sam still didn't let go when he finished and straightened up. He put his large gloved hand over her bare one and Sam's heart pounded so loudly that she wondered if he could feel it vibrate against his back. He flipped her hand over and ran a finger over the cut on her palm and the lump on her wrist.

"It's not that bad," she babbled quickly, trying to ignore the pain shooting up her arm. "In fact, I think it stopped bleeding now!"

"Are you insane?" He asked darkly. "Or are you just selfish?"

"What?" She pulled herself away from him, hurt by the brusque coldness in his voice.

"You heard me. Pullin' a stunt like this again - you're either bat-shit crazy or you don't give a damn about how your actions affect others." Jake now busied himself setting up the flashlight on another rock close by.

"Selfish!? Jake Ely, I didn't run out into a blizzard because I felt like a stroll! I was trying to -"

"-You were tryin' to find a stupid calf after your dad said to leave it cuz it was too dangerous to stay out any longer. And how did that work out for ya!?" He stood up and turned to her, his dark eyes flashing angrily, hands crossed over his chest, jaw now set in a firm, tight line.

"I was just trying to help! Every calf counts, and times are tough right now-"

"-oh yeah? So how would you have explained to your dad if you had lost your horse too?! Or did you not think about whether Ace wanted to join your search party?"

His words stung and her heart twisted into a knot as she tried to keep herself from crying.

"You know I wouldn't have rested until I found Ace again, you insensitive jerk!"

"FIND him again? You couldn't even find your own way back to ranch! And then you just walked up to the first freakin' cave you found?! There could've been a bear in here! There could've been anything! You could've died!"

Sam swallowed thickly- she hadn't really given any consideration to whether there were any inhabitants in the cave, but she wasn't prepared to admit defeat just yet.

"So you would have preferred that I just froze to death in the snow then?" She asked coldly, mirroring his stance and folding her arms across her chest.

"NO Samatha! I would've preferred that you parked your ass safely at home instead of running out into a blizzard like an idiot! I would've preferred to not have a heart attack when Wyatt tells me his baby girl is missing in the snow again! And I sure as hell would've preferred to not be so afraid that I might not find you this time-"

Jake stopped abruptly and walked away from her, seating himself down on the wall further up in the cave. Sam could hear him breathing heavily. Quiet, even-tempered Jake had spoken more than he meant to.

Suddenly, she remembered the last time she had run out into a blizzard. He had been the one to rescue her then too, like always, his dark mustang eyes wild with fear as she climbed over the cliff ledge and into his arms.

Later that New Years Eve, he held her hand and asked her to walk with him, and her heart gave an unfamiliar flip when she said yes. She wasn't quite sure what to expect or what to do, but Jake had calmly taken her into the barn and looked at her long and hard before leaning in and giving her a quick peck on the lips. She remembered blushing madly and stumbling on her words, and his lazy tomcat grin as he joked that her face finally matched her hair. She hit him on the shoulder but he continued to tease her, running out of the barn as she chased him, his mahogany skin glowing in the firelight.

But after that? Nothing happened. Whatever confidence that possessed Jake at the bonfire seemed to leave him as quickly as it came. In fact, Sam barely saw him after that - Jake devoted himself to college applications and final year exams, and in the summer he worked several ad-hoc jobs to pay for his tuition. Before she knew it, he was packing to go to college, and when she sat in his room on his last day, trying desperately to stop the tears from rolling down her face, she saw the same look that he had that day in the barn pass over his face briefly before he straightened his features, tucked his Stetson low on his face, and kissed her on her forehead before walking out and leaving her alone in his room.

And then he left her for bigger things while she stayed in Nevada and mulled over her new-found feelings for her best friend. Things between them were never quite the same after that night at the bonfire. She remembered the thrill that went through her body when she heard he'd arrived for Christmas and when she tripped in front of him at the party, he caught her swiftly and laughed easily, reminding her once again that her face matched her hair. She remembered that day when she realised that she had fallen head over heels - literally - for her tall, dark cowboy, and how she memorised every single moment they shared from then on, no matter how trivial or banal.

But the summers that followed were just like the first and though she occasionally saw that look of longing pass over his eyes, Jake never again indicated in any way that he liked her more than a friend. Well, except for running after her in a blizzard - again.

She smiled despite herself. "How did you find me? The snow pretty much covered all the tracks." She walked up to him and sat down beside him, leaning on his warm shoulders and staring at the zigzag shadows dancing in the wall in front of her.

He took his time to answer, black Stetson pulled low on his face to hide his expression.

"Was right behind ya as soon as I heard ... Nearly caught up to you too, with how fast I was urgin' Witch on. But then the blizzard broke out and I lost you for a bit, and it was startin' to scare me a little, but all I had to do was follow the path the terrified animals were runnin' from. Knew that something idiotic and reckless hadta be happening in that direction, and safe bet it was you."

His words still stung but this time Sam forced herself to stay calm. "He followed you into a blizzard. He was scared for you. He saved Ace," she reminded herself.

She started, suddenly remembering:"and the calf?"

When he looked up at her from the brim of his hat, Sam expected him to shout incredulously that she was still inquiring after the health of the animal, but instead found his face soft and his brown eyes deep with remorse.

"I saw it sprawled on the ground a few hundred metres from where I found Ace. Something must'a frightened it and it tried to run but somewhere along the way it slipped on the ice and twisted its legs real bad. It wasn' moving when I got there."

Her heart tugged and Sam bit her lip as she tried, in vain, to stop the tears from pooling in her eyes.

She didn't ask him what he did with the body.

His brown eyes searched hers briefly and after a long silence, he sighed, unzipped his jacket and handed it to her.

"Here. You'll catch your death if ya don't get out of those wet clothes."

"What about you?" She asked, concerned.

"I'll be fine with my shirt...'Sides, looks like you need it more. " His cheeks darkened for a second and he turned his head away.

Confused, Sam looked down at herself and blushed fiercely as she suddenly realised that her loose white sweater shirt, now drenched from melted snow, had become more than a little see through. Grabbing it from his hands, she quickly shrugged out of her shirt, jeans and bra, and replaced them with the waterproof jacket. It was so large that if she stood, the end of the jacket would just graze her knees. While the outside of it was as wet as her own clothes, the inside was relatively dry and warm, courtesy of Jake's body.

"So what now?" She asked, trying desperately to distract herself from the thought of his body.

"Nothin' else to do but wait it out as long as possible... guess we're stuck here for a while," he said slowly, still looking away from her.

She wondered once again if he could hear her heart hammering at his words.

"Jake..." she murmured, her voice low and soft.

He finally turned again to face her and lifted the brim of his hat high enough for her to see the now familiar but still indecipherable look burning in his eyes.

She swallowed thickly, very aware of the fact that the only thing standing between his hands and her body was a flimsy jacket.

It was going to be a long wait...