Saving You

Chapter Five "Protecting You"

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my characters that I created!

Monday, October 24th

I finished feeding the older horses and sighed at the empty spot where Firefly would usually be. Gabe had left this morning, wanting to get back before it got too late. I had called my Dad yesterday and of course he was very concerned, wanted me to come back to Colorado at least until they caught the man. I couldn't, I told him.

I had responsibilities here, not only did I have a job but I had almost thirty horses depending on me here. He wasn't happy but since I was an adult, he couldn't force me. I assured him someone would be here with me at all times and a deputy or two would be here as well. I was also looking into alarm systems, security cameras and thinking of getting a dog, just like Wyatt suggested.

I had been working all day up at Willow Springs with Brynna. It had been a slow day but I had gotten a look at the horses that would be coming to my ranch. They were beautiful and wild. I brought up the idea of maybe working with some of the younger horses, maybe hiring someone to train them, and see if I could find them loving homes. The older ones could stay because they had less of a chance of finding a home. Brynna thought it was a great idea and offered to help me find someone. "Jake Ely would probably help out, Pepper loves to break horses too." She had said. I would think about it.

I walked up to the house and waved at the deputy sitting in his car, watching over the ranch. "You can come in if you'd like." I called out to him. He was a young deputy, new on the force.

He smiled at me. "Thank you Charlie, but I better stay out here where I have a good view of everywhere." I smiled back.

"Well when I make dinner, I'll bring you some, okay?" He thought it was great. Inside, I went upstairs and changed out of my BLM uniform, I wanted to go back outside before I made dinner and see about putting the blankets that I had bought today on the older horses. It was getting colder and Ross had told me that it might be making their bones ache since they were older. I bundled up wearing a Colorado State sweatshirt and my ball cap that advertised the Willow Springs office. I wanted to help the mustangs up there get adopted too.

I was driving a rental car because my truck was now in the shop so the windows could be replaced and the truck repainted. A friend of Jake's named Darrell worked there and was giving me a discount. Just as I was getting the last blanket on Calico, a truck and trailer pulled into the yard. I was just wondering who it was when Pepper and Ross got out. Pepper walked towards me while Ross unloaded Tank and some tack.

"Hey Charlie!" Pepper said as I came out of the pasture. I smiled at the young cowboy.

"Hey Pepper, what are y'all doing here?" I asked as I watched Ross put Tank in with the older horses. They were delighted to have a new friend here since Firefly had left. Ross walked into the barn. After shooting Pepper a confused look, I followed Ross. He was putting his tack in the feed room.

"Well you know you can't stay here alone. Everyone wants to make sure you're safe." Pepper started, looking uncomfortable. Ross looked at me and his face was dead serious.

"I'm temporarily moving in." Ross said. My mouth dropped open in shock.

"Temporarily moving in?" I sputtered. "What do you mean?" Ross grabbed my face between his hands. Pepper walked out to give us privacy.

"I am going to stay here until they find this man. I refuse to let anything to happen to you. Charlie, I care about you. If I stay here with you, it'll make it easier for everyone. I brought Tank over to stay because then I can just ride out from here and meet everyone to work. This way someone only has to be here on Tuesdays and Fridays while I'm working." Ross pulled me to him.

Conflicted, I just stared at him. On one hand, it felt like he was being a little ridiculous, he wanted to move in with me after a little under a month of knowing me. On the other hand, I knew he wouldn't be doing it if all this stuff wasn't happening. He was only trying to protect me and as he said, make it easier on everyone else. There wouldn't have to be a different person here everyday and night. It would just be Ross every evening and someone during the day on Tuesdays and Fridays. It made sense.

"Okay." I sighed, giving in. I just hoped this wouldn't mess up anything in our relationship being together all the time here.

"Don't worry, I'll sleep in one of the guest rooms, I'll clean up after myself. You get first dibs on the TV.." Ross teased me. I liked seeing this side of him. He was starting to open up to me and he wasn't nervous around me anymore. "Plus we can have more dates this way."

"I wasn't worried about you being a bad roommate." I laughed. "I was more worried about living together so early in our relationship. You're going to see every side of me and we've only been dating for a few weeks."

"Well I'll like any side of you that I see." Ross kissed my forehead. I wanted him to really kiss me but I knew I had to be patient. My patience was running low though. Ross took my hand and walked to meet Pepper.

"So Wyatt and Brynna are okay with this?" I asked as we walked to the truck.

"Perfectly fine with it. Like I said, I'll ride Tank out to meet them in the mornings." Pepper handed Ross two duffel bags that I could only assume held Ross's clothes.

"Would you like to stay for dinner, Pepper?" I offered. "I'm making chicken fajitas."

Pepper groaned. "I wish I could but I think Dallas is a little sad that Ross is gonna be here so I'm gonna go home and have some burnt pork chops." I laughed and Pepper got in the truck, honking the horn as he drove away. I looked over at Ross and he smiled at me.

"I see you got the horses blankets." He motioned the older horses that were going out to graze for the night. We stopped to watch them.

"Yeah, I'm worried about them. I mean they're all in their twenties now and I just don't want anything happening to them. Grandma really cared for them." The ache that was growing familiar flooded my chest and I pressed my hand against it.

"You okay?" Ross asked, rubbing my back. I nodded, trying to figure out how to speak.

"Just hurts sometimes, you know?" I whispered with tears in my eyes. Ross nodded.

"I know." Ross squeezed my hand. "Let's get up to the house."

…...

Ross POV

Once we got home from work, I went straight to the bunkhouse and started packing my bags. I had a talk with Wyatt, Brynna and Grace last night when we came home from Charlie's. Since Gabe wasn't leaving 'til this morning, Charlie hadn't been alone. Wyatt and them had been fine with my plan, even happy about it. It would keep Charlie safe and have someone with her at all times. I worried about how she would react to this and I briefly wondered what impact this could have on our relationship.

But nothing else mattered besides keeping Charlie safe and alive. And I didn't think it would hurt our relationship at all, it'd only be temporarily, only until Heck found this guy. We had come up empty handed yesterday on our ride but we weren't giving up. Charlie had told me her plan to look into more security around the ranch and she would always have someone, plus a deputy with her.

Pepper came in and watched me from the doorway. "What are you doing?"

"I'm moving in for awhile with Charlie until all this craziness is settled." I continued packing my clothes. I was going to have to have someone to trailer Tank over and drop us off. "I'm taking Tank with me and I'll ride out to meet you guys in the mornings."

"Well I guess that's good…?" Pepper raised his eyebrows and the words sounded like a question.

"It is. She won't be alone and it won't affect too many people. I'll be with her in the evenings and weekends. She works up at Willow Springs three days of the week." I shrugged. It would work out.

"Aren't you worried what this could do to your relationship? I mean you'll be together a lot." Pepper said.

"Not really. We'll be together from five or six until bedtime and then on the weekends. We don't have to be together the whole time." I picked up my packed bags.

"Well I'll drive you over." Pepper offered. I put my hand on his shoulder, he knew it was my silent way of thanking him.

…...

Ross loaded the dishwasher after dinner telling me since I had cooked and fed him plus the deputy outside, it was only fair. I went up and took a quick shower while he did that, changing into a pair of fuzzy pajamas. It was supposed to be very cold tonight. I checked the thermostat on the way down the steps. It was set at seventy degrees, it would keep us warm.

Ross had evidently showered too and was sitting on the couch watching the news in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. He looked so different without his hat on and as I walked in, I got hit with the feeling that I could get used to seeing him in here every night. Ross handed me the remote, I shook my head and gave it back.

"You can watch the news, there's really nothing on tonight. It's Monday." So we sat and watched the news together. Ross put his arm around me and I laid my head on his chest. After the news was off, I was feeling a bit sleepy so I told Ross I was going to head to bed.

"Me too. Four comes early." I was so glad that we had more than one bathroom in the house. We would probably be taking showers at the same time in the mornings. Ross walked around checking that the doors were locked and the windows were closed and locked. As we walked up the stairs, I thought about something.

"Since you're going to be here awhile, you should let me know what you like so when I make a trip to the store I can get some things that you like too." I suggested as we got to the top of the stairs.

"Well maybe this weekend we could just go together and get some things for the house. Then you'll see." Ross said, putting his arms around me.

"That sounds like a plan. We could do it Sunday." I mumbled into his chest. I knew he would be sleeping in the room next to me but I kind of wished he was sleeping in my bed. He was so warm and comfortable to sleep with. A great man to cuddle with, I learned from last night.

"Sounds good to me." Ross kissed my forehead. "Try to get some sleep Charlie. I'll be right in the next room if you need me. Don't hesitate to come get me if you need anything or hear anything. No more stunts like yesterday." Ross looked at me sternly. I knew I had scared everyone, heck I was scared as I've ever been yesterday. I wouldn't repeat that.

"Definitely not going outside if I hear noises. I'll be radioing the deputy outside to ask." Heck had given me a radio that would keep me in contact with the deputy he assigned to the ranch when I was in the house or in the barn. Ross told me goodnight and went to leave. "Ross?"

He turned back around. "Yeah?"

"I was thinking that maybe tomorrow after you get off if you're not too tired, we could take some hay out to the horses. The grass is getting less and less. I don't want them going hungry." Ross smiled at me.

"Of course. I think your grandmother has a tractor or atv around here, we'll get it worked out." We each went into our rooms and I crawled into bed. I was so exhausted and a little sore from yesterday. I fell asleep immediately.

I slept uneasily thanks to my new nightmares. I had one and couldn't go back to sleep for awhile but I wasn't going to bother Ross with my nightmares. I could handle them. I knew I didn't have to get up so early as I would be working from home today but I couldn't sleep and I might as well cook breakfast. When I walked downstairs I could see deputies were changing and I waved at the new deputy. I think his name was Jeff.

Ross came down shortly after I did. "Would you like something to eat?" I asked as I got eggs out of the fridge. "I'm making omelets."

Ross looked surprised but said yes. I talked to him about my plans for the day as I cooked our omelets. "I'm going to reply to emails, update some horse's files, updating the website, look up some information and maps Brynna wants me to. Oh we were also talking about me starting a blog." Ross raised an eyebrow. "About the mustangs and telling people about them. Not just the ones at Willow Springs but here too. It would be great especially since yesterday we were talking about trying to train and work with the young mustangs coming out to see if we could re-home some."

"That's a lot of work." Ross warned me. I shrugged with a smile.

"I know it is, but it'd be worth it to get them a good home. I was thinking of paying someone. I obviously can't do anything more than ground work with them so I'd have to find someone who'd be willing to do work in the saddle."

"Pepper would definitely be up for it and Jake Ely would be good. He works with horses at Riverbend a lot." Ross said, getting some coffee and putting out some plates. I took the cup of coffee he offered me, he had even made it the way I liked it.

"That's what Brynna said. I was thinking maybe I could pay them to do it." I knew Jake was probably busy with his own ranch duties but maybe I could get him to do it on weekends or maybe even teach me.

"I'm sure they'd appreciate it." Ross smiled as I put the omelets on plates. We ate in a comfortable silence. I was thinking about ideas for the blog and website, about what to make for dinner, when to start building the run in sheds.

"So does spaghetti sound good to you for dinner?" I asked Ross. He glanced up at me, finishing up his breakfast.

"Sounds great." Ross got up and put his plate in the dishwasher. He stopped to refill his coffee cup. "I'll probably be home earlier today, we don't have much to do. Things are getting slow now."

I got up and put my dishes in along with his. "That's great. More time to spend with you." I kissed his cheek. "Maybe if you get home early enough we could ride into town and look at security systems, cameras and stuff like that after we put out hay."

Ross smiled. "We will. That is a top priority for us to get done." I couldn't help but smile at the us. It was probably because we were staying together now.

"Good. Well have a good day at work." I winked as I walked him to the door. "And don't you worry honey, I'll have a hot dinner waiting for you on the table when you get home." I joked.

Ross chuckled at me. "I'll see you later beautiful. Lock up behind me." He squeezed me once and went to go tack up Tank. I locked the door and watched as he walked out to the corral. Tank was waiting for him, knowing the morning routine already. I grabbed my coffee and went downstairs to the office. I had work to get done.

Throughout the day Brynna and I emailed back and forth, talking about emails we had both received, what I was going to do to the website. I knew she was thinking about having an adoption day around the beginning of December so I was hoping to have some of the horses worked with by then.

As I was researching about some topics for the new blog, I came across an interesting program. It was a program where selected inmates worked with wild horses and helped train them so they could be adopted out. I read as much as I could, then called Brynna.

"That would be up to you Charlie. I think it's a great idea though, just like our HARP program, the prison in Reno has contacted us a couple of times but we never had a ranch to work at. This would be great and you would get assistance with helping the horses. The guys would get work experience and the mustangs would get training. I have the number of the guy at the prison who called if you want it." So I wrote down the number deciding I would at least call and talk to him about it. I hung up with Brynna and dialed the number for the guy at the prison.

"Nevada State Prison, Officer Juneau speaking." A man answered briskly.

"Hi, my name is Charlie Allen. I work with the Bureau of Land Management office here in Darton, the branch manager Brynna Forster gave me your number." I said shyly. I didn't know why I felt so shy.

"What can I do for you Miss Allen?" Officer Juneau asked and it sounded like he was smiling.

"Call me Charlie please. Well Brynna had told me about how you wanted to start up a program between the inmates and the wild horses but couldn't find a ranch to work on."

"That's correct. We already have one program over in Carson City, we'd like to have another one close by."

"Well I'm the co-owner of a ranch down here in Darton and I take in mustangs from the BLM. I was doing a little research and I was thinking maybe that would be something I'd be interested in starting." I told him. There was a brief silence.

"Is there any way you could come up to Reno to meet me today? We could talk about the program and it would give you a chance to meet some of the inmates." I looked at the clock. It was only nine and Reno was only about a forty five minute drive.

"Sure. It'll take me about an hour to get there." I started shutting down my computer as I spoke. I couldn't believe this was happening.

"That'll be great, breakfast will be over and that will give me time to get some officers and the inmates ready." Officer Juneau sounded as thrilled as I felt.

"Okay, well I'll see you then." I hung up and called Brynna back to tell her the news.

"Would you mind if I rode along with you? I would be another representative for the office and I would love to know more about the program. I could be a help to you too since I deal with the HARP program and all the legal things." So I waited the extra fifteen minutes for Brynna to get here and we rode up in my rental car. Hugh was watching over the office while she was gone.

When we got there we had to be searched and then we were let into what looked like a cafeteria. There were five officers and five men in orange sitting at a table. A lanky man who had black hair got up and greeted us. "Hello Brynna, it's good to see you. You must be Charlie." He shook my hand. "I'm Ron Juneau."

"Great to meet you." He motioned for us to follow him so we did.

"This is Officer Meyer, Officer George, Officer McGraw, and Officer Wright." He pointed them out as he named them. "These are the inmates that we have screened for your program if you decide you're still interested. This is John, Michael, Peter, Jamie and Henry." Officer Juneau motioned me forward. "This is Charlie Allen, the potential program host and Brynna Forster, a manager for the Bureau of Land Management."

I stepped forward. "Hello. Well as Officer Juneau said, I'm Charlie. I'm the new co-owner of Last Hope Ranch and Mustang Sanctuary in Darton. Currently we're housing roughly thirty mustangs, though we're getting some more on Friday which will make our total fifty. I work for the BLM also but I am going to be working mostly from home while we're doing the program. I really want to find these horses some good homes and I think this program is amazing. It gives you all a chance to get some skills that could help after you're released and I could use some help on the ranch. This part of the state really seems to be horse country."

I got some smiles out of the officers and got to talk to the inmates. They seemed like good men who just unfortunately got into bad situations. But by the end of it, I knew I wanted to do it for sure. People who went to prison had such a hard time finding jobs and having the skills to work with horses would really help them when released.

We walked to the Warden's office to discuss the start up of the program. I would have a couple officers there to supervise the inmates and they would arrive at six thirty every morning, leaving at four in the afternoon. They would pick out their own mustang to work with and they would be responsible completely for this horse while they were in the program. They would feed, water, groom and train them. Any mistreatment of a horse, attempt to escape or threats of harm to me or anyone else at the ranch would result in them being yanked from the program and punished.

The great thing about this program is the government would fund the program and it would help cover the expense of getting the guys to the ranch, pay for supplies for the program and better yet, I would be getting paid for my time. Since it was slow at the Willow Springs office and when we had been talking about the program on the way up, Brynna had suggested the idea that I complete work from home full time. She had said that if the program was successful, we would have to look at possibly changing my position with the BLM.

I was up front and honest about the situation going on at the ranch. "There was a murder of two people, my grandparents, almost a month ago and the person hasn't been caught yet. A deputy is there at all times. I don't think any of your guys would be in danger, if anything I think this would make him less likely to come around if there's eight or more people around during the day."

"Well we'll see how it goes and if anything happens we'll just pull the program until it's settled." Officer Juneau said. "Now I know you're going to need some time to prepare for them. How long will you need?"

"Two weeks maybe? That gives me time to start working on the things I want to and gives all of us time to get everything we need to done." And so that was it. I was sent home with paperwork I would need to fill out and fax back to them but I was about to be the one running this new program. Last Hope Ranch really was starting a new legacy.

When we got back to the ranch, Brynna had to go back to the office but promised she'd call me later to talk more about the program details. I checked on the horses making sure they were okay. I watched Belle, Faith's mother, and Faith standing at the fence looking at the older saddle horses. They wanted to be in with them. I opened the gates separating them and let them run through. I left the gate open to both pastures, that way they had plenty of space to go.

I went back into the house, needing to get some more work done. I took another cup of coffee downstairs and got work on the website. I answered some emails from our head offices plus a few activists emails about the mustangs. They were always interesting. I was searching through the desk drawers trying to find some printer paper when I came across some blueprints. As I spread them out on the desk, I realized they were the blueprints for the indoor arena Grandma had been building but lost in an earthquake.

I looked over them and then called Gabe. "You want to rebuild the indoor arena? For what? Not that I'm saying it's a bad idea..." I had texted him briefly earlier about the program. He was kind of curious.

"I met with the one of the officers that helps direct the program I texted you about earlier. I met the inmates that would be coming here and I decided to do it. I hope that's okay." Gabe shouldn't have a problem with it but figured I should run it by him since he was co-owner.

"That's great Charlie. Just be careful. I don't know why it wouldn't be okay. You're giving these guys a second chance."

"Thanks Gabe. They're really great, I mean yes they made some stupid decisions but they're paying for it now. I want to give them some skills." I smiled even though Gabe couldn't see it. "Now the arena. The ground is going to start getting too hard to work a horse so I was thinking that if we build an indoor arena it would be good to use. The sand would have to be raked or harrowed by the tractor to keep it loose to work on but it would also keep us warmer when we're working with the horses. It's also a contained area that the mustangs can't get out of."

"This sounds great but Charlie how are you going to afford to build it?" Gabe asked. I had thought of that too.

"Well Grandma left us money at the Darton bank. I'm going to see how much she left but even if it's not much I have what's left of my trust fund. I mean I know it's kind of my savings but this is for the ranch and would be helping to make money. Plus Brynna is supposed to help me with some grants."

"I'm happy to hear you're surviving without me." Gabe chuckled and I sighed.

"I've been fine, nothing has happened. I miss seeing Firefly in the pasture though. I moved Belle and Faith over with the saddle horses today." Since Gabe was co-owner, I should keep him updated.

"Who's been staying there with you?" Gabe was curious. I hesitated, wouldn't he just love to know Ross was now staying here...what would my Dad think?

"Uh, well, um, Ross." I blushed and couldn't believe it. I was an adult, if my boyfriend was staying over—especially for the reasons Ross is—it didn't matter did it? I shouldn't be embarrassed or anything.

"Oh yeah?" I could hear the gloating grin in Gabe's voice.

"He just thought it would be better to temporarily move in with me so someone would be with me at all times and it wasn't a different person every night." I tapped my fingers on the desk as I talked.

"Uh huh.." Gabe chuckled. "It's like a win-win for him. He gets to be around you all the time and sleep at your house but he's protecting you too. He probably didn't want a different guy staying there with you every night."

I rolled my eyes. "Gabe, he's not the jealous type."

"Charlie, any guy that has a girlfriend does not want all different guys staying at her house with her, alone, overnight. Even I wouldn't like that."

"Okay, well you stay in your manly world. I'm going to get off here, I just wanted to run the arena by you. I have to finish working and I'm going to maybe look up some contractors in the area. Don't tell Dad anything yet okay? I haven't told him about anything and he'll probably flip on me anyways about the program."

"Don't worry, I'll keep my mouth shut."

"Thanks Gabe. I'll text you later." We hung up and I started my search for contractors. I found a few that had good ratings and wrote down their numbers. I picked up the blueprints and looked at the clock, it was late afternoon, almost four. I shut down my computer and took it upstairs with me and the blueprints. I made myself a quick sandwich and walked outside.

"Hey Jeff," I said to the deputy. He had asked me to call him Jeff, not officer. "I'm going over on the other side of the barn to scope out some land, that okay?"

Jeff got out of the car. "Yeah, I'll walk with you, stretch my legs. Can't really see you there from here." We walked over and I saw where I wanted the arena. "What are you scoping out land for?"

So I showed him the blueprints and told him my idea. "That's a good idea. My brother actually has a construction and fencing company, his name is Josh. I could give you his number." He gave me Josh's number and it was one of the numbers I had written down. I'd go with his company.

We were walking around and talking about land when I saw Ross riding in. I smiled widely and Jeff suggested we head on over. Ross dismounted and led Tank towards the barn. "Hey Charlie, Jeff." He greeted us both. I kept smiling and walked over to him.

"How were the cattle?" I asked as Jeff walked back to his car. Ross started untacking Tank.

"Good. The calves are looking good and the mamas are looking healthy for the winter." I took Ross's saddle for him and put it away. "How was your day?"

So I told him all about my day and the idea about the arena. "Inmates from a prison?" Ross raised his eyebrows. I nodded. "Are you sure Charlie, that seems a little...iffy."

I rolled my eyes at him. "It's not Ross. There will be a few officers watching the inmates, they have to wear tracking devices at all times, and if they threaten or attempt to escape, they're out of the program immediately. Think about the mustangs. They will be worked with and trained by them. It will be good for the horses and the men. They're getting a second chance, it's just like the HARP program at Riverbend."

Ross sighed. "Well I can't tell you what to do obviously, I just want you to be careful."

"I always am." Ross shot me a disbelieving look as we walked Tank out to the pasture. "One time Ross. One time!"

Ross chuckled. "Well maybe one day I'll get to see this program in action and I'll get to see for myself."

"Maybe you can. It'd be great if you could. Now about the arena." I grabbed his hand and pulled him to where Jeff and I had been looking at the ground. "What do you think about having the indoor arena right here?" Ross looked around.

"Well the ground looks flat and empty, a good place for it. How are you gonna pay for it?"

"I'm going to use some of my trust fund money and Grandma left me some money in the bank. Plus there's grants I could get once I'm a non-profit. It would be of benefit to the mustangs." I told him. "I have so much paperwork to do between the program and becoming a non-profit rescue. I also have to hand pick a board of directors for the rescue. I have to find six people willing to be on the board of directors."

"You could try Wyatt, Grace, Brynna, Luke and Maxine Ely, Jed and Lila." Ross suggested as we walked to the shed to get the tractor out so we could take out hay. I'd much rather have my truck doing this but since someone had to go and vandalize it.. "Jed and Lila were running their own breeding program so they might be good and willing to do it. Brynna knows all about mustangs so she's a good one too."

"I'll ask them." We found the tractor and got to work.

…...

Later that night I sat with Ross on the couch when the phone rang. "Hello?" I answered.

"Charlie! Hi, it's Maxine Ely. I hope I didn't wake you or anything." I smiled, thinking of the blonde hair woman I had met a few weeks earlier.

"Nope Mrs. Ely, you didn't."

"Call me Maxine." She told me before continuing on. "I was just calling because a friend of Bryan's has a two year old male border collie that he has to re-home. His father is moving into a nursing home and can't take the dog, the son lives in an apartment building, he didn't think that'd be fair to the dog after running a ranch. The dog was their family dog and watched over the ranch. I think he'd be perfect for you."

"Wow, um when can I see him?" I felt Ross staring at me, I held up a finger letting him know I'd tell him in a minute.

"Well tomorrow if you've got time in the morning around maybe ten. His father is going to the home on Thursday and he wants to meet the person who will be taking the dog." Maxine sounded hopeful.

"Sure. Yeah I could do that." I was excited. A dog! A border collie was a great ranch dog that could run around the ranch with me and protect me too.

"Okay well Bryan was going to pick you up and thought you could ride to his friend's family place together. Is that okay?"

"Sounds great. I'll be ready when he gets here." So we hung up and I told Ross what the call had been about.

"Border collies make great ranch dogs." Ross told me. "They're real protective of their property and owners too. Blaze protects River Bend well."

"Sounds just like the dog I need then." I said, grinning excitedly at the idea. We turned off the TV and Ross checked the doors again before we headed upstairs. Ross held me for a moment and gave me a kiss on the forehead before going to bed.

I changed in my pajamas and got into bed. Things were going okay right now, hopefully Heck would find this guy and I could move on with my life normally. I didn't need anymore stress. And I really wanted to find who had murdered Grandma and Preston.

…...

Ross POV

A scream jolted me out of my sleep. Charlie!. I jumped out of bed, threw the bedroom door open and ran to her bedroom. She was thrashing around and still screaming. A nightmare. I grabbed her in my arms and shook her saying her name. Her brown eyes met mine a minute later. "Ross?" She was breathless. It had taken a lot out of her.

"You were having a nightmare and you screamed." I told her, pushing her hair out of her face. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." She murmured quietly. I held onto her and rubbed her back slowly. "Will you stay?" Her voice was so quiet but the fear was still in her voice. I fought with myself on the inside about this. I didn't want to make either of us uncomfortable. But I looked at her eyes and she was shaken up. I couldn't leave her here alone. I nodded and she turned on her side putting her head on my chest as I laid down. I put my arm around her and kissed her forehead.

"I promise I won't let anything happen to you." The words came out softly from my mouth. "That's why I'm here. I'm protecting you the best I can."

She came closer. "Thank you. You don't know how much all of this means to me." I rubbed her back until I heard her breathing even out. I wanted to make sure she was asleep but I was. I put my hand on her waist and closed my eyes, drifting off to sleep.

…...

A/N: Hey readers! I know I only updated this 2 weeks ago but I got ideas in my head and I just had to write this chapter! You might possibly be getting a second one soon after this! I've got Charlie and Ross on the brain. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it's pretty long I know. Has a lot of stuff in it! I hope you like it and I would LOVE to see some reviews! I'm trying to update more often. Thanks for reading!

-Quinnandseth'sgirl15

ADDED: Would anyone be interested in a Phantom Stallion: Wild Horse Island Fanfic? I have a poll on my profile so go vote if you've read the series! Darby would not be main character but it would be OC/WHI character like my other stories. Everyone at 'Iolani Ranch would be very much involved!