Cowboy Take Me Away

Chapter 16

I got up from Ryan's lap and followed Rip out the door. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"I can't find your dad. I've called and left him messages, and he's not responding." Rip goes on to tell me that while he was out looking for the bear, he found a couple of tourists hanging off a cliff on our land. In the process of attempting to save the tourists, one slipped and fell to their death, and after that, the other one jumped. Then to make a bad situation worse, the bear appeared and charged Rip.

"I had to shoot it. It was self-defense."

"I believe you," I replied. "Have you checked the house yet?"

"No, I haven't been up there yet. We need to call the Sheriff, and Fish and Wildlife. I won't do that before he knows about it," Rip explained.

"Let's start with the house, and then we'll go from there." When we got to the house, I jogged up the front stairs and opened the door. Rip was behind me, but hesitated at the threshold. I turned, "Rip, you don't need anyone's permission to be in here. You're family."

"I'm afraid you're the only one that feels that way, Charlie, but I appreciate that you think of me that way," he said, coming in and closing the door.

"I don't think I'm the only one," I replied. I turned and called out for my father.

"What are you screaming for, Charlotte?" My father appeared at the railing on the floor above us.

"We have two dead tourists and a dead bear. Rip said we needed to tell you before we call the relevant authorities," I explained.

"Hang on." He came downstairs, but he was moving slower than normal.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine." He looked at Rip, "I want you to walk me through what happened before we call." My father gestured for us to follow him into his office. At least I thought I was included. "You can go, Charlotte." He stopped me at the door after Rip was inside.

"Why?" I asked.

"I don't want you mixed up in this," he replied, and closed the door in my face.

I huffed and decided to go home. When I made it back, the dogs were waiting for me on the porch. I let them inside, and texted Ryan to let him know I wasn't coming back tonight.

***
The Sheriff didn't come out until the next morning. I directed him to the house, when he came down to the barn looking for my father and/or Rip.

Ryan found me while I was in the barn, feeding my horse. "Am I allowed to ask if everything is okay?" he asked. "You ran out of there pretty quickly last night and now the Sheriff is here."

I looked around to make sure we were alone. Once I was satisfied, I stepped closer. "Keep this to yourself... There were two tourists who got lost. Rip tried to help them, but one slipped, and the other just jumped. That's what the Sheriff is here for. I imagine Fish and Wildlife will be here today too, because Rip shot the bear when it charged him last night."

"Holy shit," Ryan mumbled.

"And when I tried to help, I was turned away because my father didn't want me mixed up in it." I rolled my eyes.

Ryan pulled me into a hug and I felt myself relax. "Maybe it's for the best?" he suggested. "I actually have something you can help with."

I pulled back and raised an eyebrow at him. "We are not having sex in the barn in broad daylight," I replied.

"That's not what I need help with!" he laughed, letting me go. "The Bunkhouse wants to chip in and get Jimmy a new hat. We were hoping you could order it and go pick it up."