Hidden Mountain Ranch

By J. L. Schellenberg

Navy physician LT Sarah St. Johns perfect vision of heaven includes horses and no one knows this better than her longtime friend and fellow Naval officer Jessi Colgan. When Jessi secures a week long working vacation to a renowned dude ranch in Montana the two girls couldnt be happier to spend time at the only ranch in Montan to be built by a German defector who housed and hid German refugees.

Once Jessi and Sarah leave Virginia Beach and arrive at Hidden Mountian Ranch, the two young women find themselves submersed in hard ranch work, good looking cowboys, and even a medical emergency or two. But their vacation turns into a nightmare when Rena, a daughter of one of the ranch hands, goes missing. Shes the third American Indian teenager to be abducted from that area in four weeks time.

Jessi and Sarah become embroiled in the drama, which is only amplified by Mother Nature, who steps in to create havoc, leading the friends through a dangerous maze of suspense, deception, and a touch of romance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abbott Press
• Release date: Sep 23, 2014
• ISBN: 9781458217813

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Copyright © 2014 J.L. Schellenberg.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-4582-1780-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4582-1781-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014915875

Abbott Press rev. date: 9/15/2014

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

About the Author

Dedication

For Sarah, whose love of everything horse rivals even my love of life.

Acknowledgements

This book wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been for the support, encouragement, and love of my Mother, whose hours of reading my unpublished and amateur work cannot even begin to be numbered.

Many thanks to my first and favorite editor and mentor, LT Sean Driscoll.

Chapter 1

I  have to tell you something. Jessi controlled the excitement in her voice, but barely. She could hear Sarah breathe through the phone from the other side of the hospital, and knew all of the thoughts that were dashing through her friends mind. She could practically see her friend lean against the counter of the ER patient check in desk, phone in right hand, against right ear, left hand holding the old dirty cord with distaste. Jessi smothered a laugh, she could have been a good friend and simply sent a text, or called Sarah’s cell, but knowing her hatred of having to touch the front desk phone was too much to resist. After all, if friends aren’t there to push one’s limits, what are friends for anyway?

Tell me. Irritation leaked through Sarah’s tone, she attempted to curb the frustration, keep it from reaching Jessi, but the stress of the day was simply too much, and thinking about the fat pudgy hand of the charge desk corpsman, sticky with god knows what food as she handed her the bacteria ridden phone made her physical ill.

Nope, you have to come to dinner with me tonight.

I can’t.

Can too. I’ll be there at seven. You’re going to want to hear this. Jessi smothered a chuckle as she hung up the phone. Sarah would be incredibly annoyed at her for being so secretive, but her imagination and curiosity would get the best of her in the end and at seven, she would be ready.

A grumpy Sarah met her downstairs from her 35th floor apartment in the upscale Virginia Beach apartment complex. Dark heavy clouds hung low in the already dark evening sky, promising rain and thunder within the next hour. Between the hotels and apartment buildings, the ocean could be seen, dark and frothy with the upcoming storm. Yet, dotted along the beach, vacationers and tourists could be seen playing in the yet warm water and shoring up defenses around sand castles. A red Toyota truck, burdened with bright orange life guard gear, drove slowly through the packed sand, the driver undoubtedly shouting out warnings to those in the water; the water wasn’t safe to swim in, not with the incoming weather.

Remind me why we chose to come to this shit hole? Sarah huffed as she all but fell into Jessi’s truck. A rain drop fell as Jessi pulled away from the curb; lightning arced from cloud to cloud, causing Jessi to shiver.

Because I lied to you and told you it was a wonderful place to be. Jessi grinned, she knew that now her friend was irritable, but in less than an hour, she would be ecstatic.

What do you have to tell me? Sarah grumbled as she pulled her seat belt on.

Oh no, dinner first, love. I’m hungry.

God you’re stubborn.

That’s why you love me.

Says you.

Jessi drove them to their favorite sushi restaurant, not a cheap hole in the wall that would have been on their affordable list several years ago. With the privileges of rank came the privileges of more money. They laughed and giggled, avoiding talk of work as they ordered wine and sushi. As Jean, one of their favorite waitresses, brought and uncorked the wine, Jessi stepped out on a dangerous limb.

So, tell me why you’re so grumpy. Jessi asked as she took her first sip of wine.

My third patient today, this woman drives me insane. Sarah shook her head, short brown hair swaying with the irritated movement.

She wears these long gaudy dresses; the most horrid wedge shoes every time, and all this damn clanky clunky jewelry. Sarah took a sip of wine, a fine tremble sending little waves across the pink liquid.

Gasp! Not the dreaded wedges! Jessi mimed bewilderment, her hands covering her gaping mouth. You get this upset over a woman and her clothes? She nodded her thanks to Jean as their food was set in front of them.

Oh no. The clothing is just the start. Sarah heaved a sigh; she picked up her chopsticks, rubbing them together absentmindedly. Jessi poured soy sauce in both of their condiment cups.

She’s in my ER at least once a week; she’s a dependopotamus of the worst kind. Her husband is in Afghan right now. She’s never really injured…or sick. She’s claims she has fibromyalgia. At that they both rolled their eyes, Sarah sighed again.

She probably looked it up on the internet. Jessi suggested, only half kidding. Sarah nodded.

She’s always demanding; this time, she demanded that she get a catheter. Who the hell does that? A catheter!

Did she get one? Jessi inspected the sushi roll, picked up a piece delicately with her chopsticks.