CHAPTER 8

The next three days were spectacular. Yellowstone was everything I had ever thought it would be, and then more. We watched Old Faithful erupt over and over again, never losing the wonder as time passed. We walked the raised boardwalks past all the different thermal pools, Fountain Paint Pot, Mammoth Hot Springs, etc. Enjoying what Mother Nature had put on for display. We encountered a large herd of American Bison as they walked across a bridge, forcing the bridge to bounce up and down ridiculous amounts from their walking alone.

We witnessed firsthand, why it was never a good idea to get out of your car and try to take selfies with wild animals. A woman had exited her car just as a mother Grizzly and her two cubs made to walk across the road in front of them. It took the woman's husband and Vince to drag her back into the couple's car to prevent the agitated mother bear from attacking and possibly killing her. Vince was able to escape the car a few minutes later once the bears were gone. I hadn't been that scared for someone else in quite some time and it felt weird that it wasn't me for once. The shuttle bus driver had radioed the authorities about the incident and thanked Vince for helping to prevent a Human vs Bear incident. Sadly, Human vs animal incidents were becoming more and more prevalent when people ignore all common sense.

We were able to hike some pretty spectacular trails, taking photo after photo to remember the time spent in the park. A wonderful couple from Sweden captured a picture of Vince and I standing in front of a gorgeous vista, holding hands, chest to chest, foreheads touching, eyes closed and simple smiles on our lips. It was absolutely beautiful. I was touched they were so artistic and were able to capture the grandeur of the surroundings while still focusing on the two of us.

When we made it back to Bertie, we spent our time taking care of Ram. He had been given a fairly decent bill of health after the doctor prescribed rest, fluids and TLC. He slept most of the time Vince and I were off exploring, allowing his body the time it needed to heal. I did get him to swear that he would never ever eat gas station food again. While I laid next to him, running my fingertips through the short stubble he had for hair, I learned that he was a sucker for cuddling, and would do almost anything to cuddle with me any time, day or night.

One such instance found me being sandwiched between Vince and Ram on the bed as we napped on the fourth day in the park. My shirt had ridden up an inch or two and both had a hand touching the exposed skin of my lower stomach, gently rubbing their thumbs, enjoying the simple contact. It was moments like this that made me feel so loved and cherished. It wasn't overt or grand displays that typically reached my heart, it was quiet moments like this, that made me fall in love with someone. Currently, I had two someones who were working their way into my heart. I wasn't sure what I should do about that. I didn't know what I could do about that. Maybe letting thing develop naturally would be the best option. If it happened and I decided that I was ready for a relationship, would I be able to choose between the two? Could I choose between the two?

~0~0~0~

The dawning of day five in Yellowstone Park, found us up early, hungry and ready for more adventure. Ram was feeling almost normal by now and he was itching to show us an amazing place he had found while on a trip as a teenager. We checked out of the campground, motored over to a parking lot in town and caught a ride with a tour guide Ram knew from back in the day.

We were dropped off at a trailhead around 0800 and told to meet him back there by 1500 or he would come look for us. We bid him goodbye and hit the trail. My feet gave out after the sixth mile of rocky terrain, my ankle rolling causing me pain when I walked. Ram helped Vince hoist me onto his back and carried me the rest of the two miles to the little lake he had wanted to show us. We ate our early lunch, lounged in the sun, took plenty of photos and I watched as the guys swam in the snow fed lake. The trip back to the trailhead was thankfully boring, save the remaining three miles I rode on Vince's back when my sore ankle began to scream in retaliation. The tour guide picked us up and drove us back to Bertie where the guys tended to my poor little ankle.

The guys spent the remainder of the night, tending to my every need, and due to the warm weather, they did it shirtless. My hormones were running rampant, watching them with their chest and back muscles rippling as they moved about the living space. I'm sure, if they needed to, walking around shirtless could be utilized as a form of torture on a female prisoner, it would get her to spill the beans about anything in no time flat.

The following morning, after a restless night with a sore ankle and dreaming of wide expanses of tanned skin, huge muscles and even steamier kisses, I dragged myself to the coffee maker, desperate for caffeine. Leaning against the kitchen counter, the first half of my cup of coffee was spent in silence, eyes closed as much as possible. The second half was spent trying to psych myself up to open my eyes and greet the day.

"Morning Sunshine." Ram's perky voice grated on the last few nerves I had left.

"Fuck off." After my butt made contact with the seat cushion, I set my cup on the kitchen table in front of me and my head dropped with a thud onto the tabletop. It kinda hurt, but honestly, I was too tired to care.

"Rough night?" Vince asked, concern laced through his voice.

"Hard to relax and get a good nights sleep when all I can think about is what happened with Vince." I groaned before clamming up.

"Really?" Intrigued, Ram sat next to me and rubbed my back soothingly. "Wanna tell Rammy all about it?"

"No. I do not." I don't want to think about it any more right now.

"I just helped her get a piece of cotton candy off her face." Vince shrugged, acting as if it had been the most natural and innocent thing in the world.

"Well, despite your bad night, we gotta get a move on." He snagged my coffee cup filling it once more before shoving it into my hand. "We gotta be out of here in less than an hour and on the road. We've gotta make it to Seattle by tonight and it's an eleven hour drive." I glanced at my watch to see it was only 0527. I better get my ass in gear.

Even after three cups of coffee, I slept away the most of the morning's drive on Ram's bed, emerging well after noon.

"Afternoon Sleepyhead." Vince moved back to where I had flopped onto the couch and hugged me close, allowing me to wake up a bit more.

"You're evil and you know it." I whispered into his chest, enjoying the warmth of his body.

"I can't help it if I you dream of me." He chuckled and soothingly ran his hand over my arm while I soaked it in.

"It's all your fault." Pouting petulantly, my lower lip stuck out. "I kept thinking about what happened and I..." Words failed to describe how I had felt at the time.

"I know, Mama. I know." He kissed the side of my head comfortingly. We sat together for another few hours watching the scenery go by, enjoying the quiet time together.

"Rest stop?" Ram asked, eyeing the sign stating we had 5 miles before the next one.

"Yeah. I want to stretch my legs and we could use a late lunch."

We pulled into the rest stop, and I made sure to stay away from the doggy area, preferring to walk around the grassy area with Ram by my side. The air in Montana was so much cleaner than what I was used to at home. No smog. No exhaust. No garbage stench. Looking at the seemingly endless expanse of blue overhead, I could see where Montana got the name of Big Sky Country. It was absolutely breathtaking. I knew that I would be cherishing and remembering this trip for the rest of my life. I would never forget.

We fueled somewhere right over the Idaho border, sans burritos, and hit the pavement running. Because of the winding nature of the road and the occasional brake check due to animals crossing the roadway, the guys decided to skip driving lessons with me for the day and allow me to just enjoy the view. I made them stop when I spotted my first ever moose. It was walking along the edge of a small lake, far from any towns or civilization. The antlers on that thing had to be at least six feet wide and I gawked at it in awe. Though, the more I thought about how big it really was, I didn't want to meet it up close and personal. No, thank you.

We were chatting away about our favorite movies when we pulled up into Spokane, Washington. We decided to take a longer rest than we had originally planned because seven hours on the road at that point had been fun, but long. We found a quiet parking lot outside a big warehouse store and shut down for an hour or two to relax and eat a late lunch. We originally expected to hit the campground where we had reservations at around 6 PM, but there weren't any penalties for getting there after hours, so a little extra time wouldn't hurt us.

We were just biting into the sandwiches when Vince's phone rang an unfamiliar tune. The annoyed look on his face told me it was likely from someone he really didn't want to talk to. He muted the call after his face frowned when he saw the name on the caller ID. A moment later it rang again. He sighed before giving us an apologetic look and headed outside to take the call.

"It's probably his mom. That was her ringtone." Ram stated, gazing off into the distance, watching something outside through the front windscreen.

"Oh." I mean, what could I say to that. It was his mom. I had no idea if he had a good relationship with his family or not, he never really talked about it before.

"She's been kinda hard on him since he enlisted." He shoveled some chips into his mouth catching the crumbs off his shirt with his tongue. Gross! "She flipped out on him when he came home and told his folks that he joined up. She tried to disown him, but his dad refused to allow it. He hasn't seen his family in like six years, and it's been well over ten since he's seen his mom."

"Wow." I felt guilty that Ram was the one telling me these things. "Shouldn't he be the one to tell me this? I mean, there are things I don't tell you guys because I just don't want it getting out so maybe this is one of the things, he doesn't want me to know."

"We talked about it. He was going to tell you on this trip, but..." He held out his thumb and forefinger pointed out in the shape of a phone and shrugged.

"I hope it's not bad news."

"Likely is. She never calls unless it she can make him feel bad about being away from home." He growled, plainly not caring for the woman. "She's rude, judgmental, bitchy and I still don't see what Con ever saw in her to begin with."

Just then Vince came back into Bertie, a stricken look on his face. I pulled him down to sit next to me and rubbed the back of his shirt. "Vince? What's the matter, Honey?" I was worried. He looked upset and unsure of what to do.

"My dad fell in the backyard and broke his leg. They got him to the hospital, and he went through surgery to put in a plate and a couple of screws. He's okay, but it's Mario. Mother called him and he was on his way to the hospital to meet them when he got hit by a red-light runner. He's in the hospital, too. He's pretty banged up. Mother needs someone to run the factory until she can leave Mario's side. The Factory manager is out for months after having back surgery and with both dad and Mario in the hospital, it falls to me."

"Oh, Honey. Is there anything I can do to help?" Genuinely concerned, I knew he would need support of some kind.

"Not really. I mean, I gotta fly back to New York to stay for like a week until Dad gets released from the hospital and a nurse can care for him at home."

"What do we need to do to help?" Ram swapped into Rangeman mode and was all business. Vince just shrugged and looked uncharacteristically lost.

"I'll call and see if I can get you a flight ASAP." I grabbed my phone and began making calls.

"Come on, I'll help you get packed." He wrapped his arm around Vince's shoulders and gave him a manly hug with back pats. Typical Rangeman affection.

An hour later we were pulling up to the departure area at Spokane International Airport, looking for a place to drop off Vince. Stopping in a drop off zone, we all descended Bertie's steps and stood looking at one another. I grabbed him into a desperate, tight hug, rooting my face into the crook of his neck. With tears in my eyes, I pulled my head back and kissed him for all I was worth. The desperation and uncertainty in that moment was tangible and I wouldn't soon forget it.

"You stay safe. Call us when you can. Know I love you, and we'll be waiting to pick you up when you fly back to wherever we are."

"Love you too, Mama." He squeezed me tightly before letting me go. He turned and grabbed Ram into a manly hug once again. "Sit Reps every day or so. Thanks man." Their eyes met in their Rangeman silent communication mind meld thingy, then did some complicated handshake. Vince turned, leaving us to watch him walk into the terminal headed home to New York without us.

~0~0~0~

The rest of the four hours to get to Seattle, were spent with me sitting in the passenger seat trying to concentrate on word searches and singing along to the radio. Ram was suspiciously quiet.

"You okay?" Worried about him, I looked up from the booklet I was holding to see a frown marring his face.

"Not really. I'm worried about Vin." He glanced into the side mirror checking for traffic behind us as he drove. "His mom is a major bitch, and I wouldn't put it past her if she tries to pull some type of bullshit with him while he's there."

"That bad?"

"She changed her will, taking Vin off of everything should she pass after her husband, Constantine. Mario would get everything and honestly, I don't think Vin would mind but..."

"It's the principle of the matter. I get it."

"Yeah." He gave a long-suffering sigh, "Vince had to earn everything he has now since he didn't have the support of his family." He quickly looked to me before snapping his eyes forward. "They stopped almost all contact once he enlisted, Emalina's orders. The only one he talks to semi-regularly is his little sister Maricella. She's the baby of the family and has always looked up to Vince for guidance and strength."

"I can kinda empathize with that. I mean, look at how my family is, though, I think my dad would have a coronary if my mom cut off all communication with me."

"Well, he pretty much only talks to his dad when Emalina isn't around, which is usually about once a year. So... I think she's up to something if she's calling him back to work the factory. He hated that place and only worked there to appease his father. He was supposed to inherit the entire factory and fortune after his parents passed away, but it'll all goes to Mario now. He hasn't been back for six years. The last time he was back was when his Grandparents died. Emalina avoided Vince the entire time, he never even saw her."

"Geez, no wonder he's acting out of sorts." My heart hurt for Vince; I knew what it was like to be disliked by most of your family. He didn't deserve to be treated like crap from his family. No one did.

A/N:

I know I haven't added many author notes into my story thus far, but as of right now, I feel it's necessary. Today, 10/21/2022, the JE FF community lost one of my favorite authors and fellow FF member, Margaret Fowler. I was saddened by the news of her passing and will miss our sporadic conversations about the world of JE. We'll miss her quick wit, her encouragement and her love of writing and FF. I can only hope her family is able to continue to remember her as the wonderful woman that she was. My heart breaks for them and hope they find solace in knowing that there are many people around the world mourning her as well.

Fly free! We'll meet you on the other side. 3