Forgotten Dawn (Forgotten Book 2)

Chapter 1

 Explosions rocked the ground under him as he tried to tighten the tourniquet on what was left of the soldier's leg. The screams that had been more deafening than the explosions had stopped when the young man lost consciousness. Chad felt for a pulse. It was still there, but weak. Explosions and gunfire continued to erupt around them, but there in the sand, with the first rays of dawn breaking through the smoke, was just Staff Sergeant Chad Michael Crawford and his patient.

His training took over, giving him a level of calm in the chaos around him. It was his second tour in Afghanistan, so he was numb to the horrors of war while he was in the moment. He worked quickly and efficiently with what resources he had in his medkit. Another soldier was making their way through the debris to help. There wouldn't be anyone coming in to get them, so they would need to move the injured soldier out of the action to get a chopper in.

As the soldier neared the overturned armored personnel carrier that Chad and his patient were taking cover behind, Chad let out a sigh of relief. It was his best friend, Xena. Of course, that wasn't her real name. Her real name was something ridiculously girly, Brandy. It was an unfit name for the badass she was. Xena was the name she had earned during basic training for being the best soldier their class had ever seen. She could outshoot, outrun, and just plain outperform every man in basics.

She was close enough for Chad to see the wisps of jet-black hair that clung to her sweat and dirt covered face under her helmet. When their eyes met, she gave him the smirk that said, "Why aren't you out here where all the fun is?" Chad's eyes widened as he saw the shell whizzing through the air behind her.

Chad bolted upright in his bed. He was drenched with sweat and his throat was scratchy from crying out. The nightmares had been coming more frequently over the last few months he had been back on the Circle C. Lately, it has been the same nightmare every time. It ended with the same scene. Xena's smirk and the terror he felt as the shell fell toward them.

For weeks after the incident, Chad had no memory of what had happened to land him in the hospital with a concussion, broken ribs, and more stitches than he could count. He read the reports after he had been debriefed, but he didn't remember anything. It wasn't until he was cleared for duty that the nightmares came. They started in bits and pieces. He wasn't sure what was a memory and what was just a nightmare from reading the reports.

When he was released from the hospital, he only had two months left before his contract was up. Before that forgotten dawn, he had planned on reenlisting. When he got word his grandfather had passed away, he spent a couple weeks at the ranch and ultimately decided against re-enlistment as the nightmares became more frequent. He figured he had served his time and made his sacrifice for his country.

It didn't take long to realize that he could keep the nightmares at bay as long as he kept moving, so he took up photography and traveled around the world working freelance for a nature magazine. He wanted nothing more than to settle down and take over his portion of the property. Being the oldest and running the ranch pretty much on his own since Grandpa had passed, Chase had inherited the house, barn, and four hundred acres. Chad and Chelsea had each inherited two hundred on either side of the property. As of now, the land was hay fields and cattle pastures, but Chad had a plan.

He stared up at the large print that hung on the wall of his childhood bedroom. It was a photograph he had taken as soon as he came back to the ranch after he was discharged. His chestnut stallion stood in silhouette under what he liked to call the Crawford tree, a large oak tree where the Circle C began with his great grandparents' engagement. The sun was peeking above the hilltop, painting the sky in shades of pink and orange. Chad had traveled all over the world taking photographs on six continents, but he didn't think there was anything more beautiful than an Oklahoma sunrise.

When he first came back to the ranch after he was discharged, he would get up before dawn and spend all of his time on his stallion's back. Riding Soldier was the only thing that kept him sane. He missed Xena. He missed the way she laughed and the way she cursed like a sailor. Soldier helped him through that difficult time. One day, he hoped to help others by running a horse therapy camp from the Circle C, but right now was not the time.

Chad knew he should have moved on from the Circle C long before now, but his brother had needed him. What was supposed to have been a couple weeks stay to give Chase some much needed time off from the ranch, stretched into fourteen months of running the ranch, while Chase cared for his pregnant girlfriend. Well, wife as of last night. 

It was serendipitous that Chad had overheard a conversation before the wedding between two burly bouncers and a pudgy balding man from the club Tiffany, his new sister-in-law, used to work at. They were discussing needing to hire an additional bouncer. Turns out the pudgy man was the club owner, and after a brief conversation, Chad had a new job as soon as he could get to Denver.

Chad had never seen his brother happier, so he didn't want to break the news that he was planning on leaving. He'd given Tiffany a heads up, but he wanted to wait until they returned before telling his brother. He felt a twinge of guilt for abandoning his brother and the ranch again. In order to assuage the guilt, Chad forced himself out of bed. He had one last thing that he needed to help his brother with before he left.

He pulled on a fresh pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. He decided to forgo a shower since he was about to get filthy anyway. Creeping down the stairs, he hoped his two beautiful nieces would stay asleep. Everyone was up pretty late for Chase and Tiffany's reception, so he was sure they would all want to sleep in as late as possible. Especially since they still had to break everything down from the reception. Several people had volunteered to come back out after lunch and help with the cleanup.

Chad entered the downstairs bathroom to brush his teeth and take care of his personal needs. The bathroom looked like a beauty salon had exploded inside. The vanity was covered with flat irons, curling irons, hairdryers, and so much makeup. A lavender bridesmaid dress hung on the back of the door. He was pretty sure it belonged to Tiffany's best friend, because hanging on the same hook as the dress was a sheer black lace bra. At least he hoped it wasn't his sister's. He did not need to know what Chelsea's underwear looked like. He shivered at the thought.

He had worked hard during the ceremony and reception to avoid the maid of honor. When he had first caught a glimpse of her, he thought he had seen a ghost. He was out at the barn, setting up for the reception when she stepped out of a car in the driveway up at the house. From that distance, he could only make out her long black hair. Since Xena had been on his mind, he had thought the woman was his best friend. Trying not to spoil the mood with his ill temper, he stayed away from everyone as much as possible.

Figuring he could avoid her over the weekend, he planned to leave the house before the sun came up and not return until it went down. As soon as Tiffany and Chase were back, he'd be on his way anyway. Despite the fact that they would be working at the same club, he didn't foresee himself actually conversing with the dancers. They all seemed like nice enough people, at least the ones that had been in attendance at the wedding, but girls who flaunted their wares weren't his type.

After finishing up in the bathroom, he pulled on his boots at the door and tossed a baseball cap over his unruly hair. After years with a military cut, he preferred to keep his hair longer and on the shaggy side and kept a short scruffy beard. While his siblings had their father's black hair, Chad had inherited their mother's light brown hair. After the first year of him growing it out, his mother had finally stopped telling him he needed a haircut and shave.

Waiting on the front porch was Chase's red heeler, Rusty. "Who's a good boy?" he asked the dog as he squatted and rubbed behind the dog's ears with both hands. "Are you hungry? Let me get you some chow." Chad had thought about getting a dog several times, but it didn't fit with his nomad lifestyle. After filling the dish on the front porch, he made his way out to the corral to take care of the wedding present Chase planned to surprise Tiffany with when they returned from their honeymoon.