Chapter 3

“Come on Poco, we need to make a trip into town.” Chloe flipped the blanket up onto the horse’s back, followed by the saddle. Poco whinnied and stomped a foot. Chloe smiled and patted his neck.

“Come on, don’t fret. Everything will be fine you big worrier.” She tied the bundle of furs behind the saddle and mounted. A small whine from behind her drew her attention. She turned with a sigh to stare at the big dog.

“Don’t you start now!” The big gray dog dropped to the ground and put his head on his paws, staring up at her pitifully. “No, you know you have to stay here. You remember what happened when Ellie Sampson ran up and hugged me?” The dog put a paw over his snout as if he were hiding.

“Exactly, until you learn to behave you stay here.” He gave one more whine as she turned the horse around, so she could head out of the clearing and down the mountain. He didn’t follow her out of the clearing though; instead, he went to lie up on the porch to await her return. Chloe turned in the saddle and waved goodbye to him as he settled on the porch. The dog gave a bark of farewell.

Chloe smiled and turned away, as long as Slate was there the cabin was safe. He wasn’t really a dog, only half. She was fairly certain the other half was wolf. She’d found him two winters ago just outside of town, shivering in a snow bank, all alone. Where his littermates had gone, she had no clue, though she was certain they’d wandered off and frozen to death. Slate had been all that was left. She’d felt sorry for him, a tiny little misfit, like herself, alone in the world, so she’d taken him home with her.

He was well behaved for the most part, but overly protective of her. When Ellie had rushed to hug her, Slate had taken it as a threat and put his body between the two women growling at Ellie fiercely. He’d frightened Ellie badly, which said a lot since Ellie didn’t frighten easily. After that day, she’d decided it was better to leave him up at the cabin rather than take him into town with her.

She hummed as she rode down the mountain into town. The day was warm and Poco was in no hurry to head down the mountain. A grin lit her face as she thought of the little horse. She couldn’t own a car because of her curse. Captain Collin had found Poco for her. A man in town had been planning on getting rid of the little horse, considered him unruly and bad tempered.

Truth was, Poco had an attitude. You just needed to know how to talk to him was all. Chloe understood the little horse and they got along fairly well, though sometimes he copped an attitude and refused to leave his little stable. His full name was Apocalypse, Chloe’s idea since she lived as she did. Sort of in a state of at the world’s end. She called him Poco for short, he didn’t seem to mind one bit. She swore he’d grinned when she had named him.

She waved to people as she entered the town proper. Heading for the small general store to sell the furs. She dropped down off Poco’s back and looped the reins around the hitching post out front. Grabbed the furs and headed inside.

“Hey Mr. Sampson!” she called out.

He grinned at her from behind the counter and waved. Carl Sampson was Ellie’s father. “I’ll be with you in a minute Chloe!” He was busy ringing up another customer.

She waved back at him and smiled her acknowledgement of his greeting. While she waited, she browsed around the store. It didn’t take Carl long to call her over. She put the bundle of furs up on the counter and waited while he went through them.

“Sixty, Chloe.”

She smiled and shook her head. “You’re over pricing again, Carl. Those aren’t anywhere near worth sixty dollars.”

“I’m giving you sixty, take it, or leave it.” He frowned at her while crossing his arms over his chest.

She shook her head again. Carl tried to take care of her, like Captain Collin. “Fine.” He counted out the cash and handed it to her.

“I need something from ya Chloe.”

She frowned. “What is it Carl?”

He looked around as if he were afraid someone might be listening, once he was satisfied that no one else was in the store he grinned at her. “Ellie is expecting. Can you make me a cradle? A special one? I don’t want to get her one of those store bought ones, I want something she’ll be proud to pass down, you know?”

Chloe felt tears prick her eyes at his words. Ellie had become a police officer last year and then gotten married just six months ago, now she was going to have baby! “Sure thing Carl. I’ll get started on it right away.”

“No hurry now, she’s only a few months along.”

“Well, it will take a bit so I’ll start right away.” Chloe got a few ideas from him and then hurried out the door, brimming with ideas and thoughts about the cradle. She loved working with wood, creating things. Her little shed out behind the cabin was her workshop; it was another thing she did to earn money. All the furniture inside her cabin was handmade. She’d done it herself.

Carl sold some of her items in his store and he got a lot of praise on it. She smiled as she mounted Poco and headed back up to the cabin. She was going to enjoy making the cradle for Ellie. A baby! How exciting.

She tried not to let any sadness creep in. She was going to be happy for Ellie, not sad for herself. Ellie deserved this happiness; she was a kind, wonderful, unselfish person. Chloe rode for several minutes before she realized tears were rolling down her cheeks in fat trails.

Angrily she swiped them away. “I’m happy for her! I am!” A sob escaped, she didn’t try to stop it. Another followed. She set her heels into Poco’s side and gave him his head, letting him tear up the narrow trail that led back up the mountain.

She wanted to get home, to be alone where no one would see her sorrow.

Chloe never saw Captain Collin standing near the side of the trail as she tore by, heading up the mountain. Didn’t see the sadness etched on his face as he watched her go. Knowing he couldn’t help, even if he ached to, even if he wanted to more than anything.

So he let her go racing up the mountain instead and simply prayed that she’d be all right.

 

Chloe raced into the clearing and around the cabin, pulling Poco to a halt. He tossed his head and whinnied happily, glad for the exercise. She gave him a good rubdown and put him into the little paddock so he could run a bit more. Her tears had spent themselves on the ride up.

She went into her little workshop. If she got started on the cradle, let the work consume her, she could let her mind go blank for a while.

And that is exactly what she did. Working with the wood, she was able to set her mind free from thoughts, emotions. It was liberating. If only she could have a radio and listen to music, it was the only drawback. She loved music, when she was in town, sometimes she’d stop, and stand, listening to the music she could hear coming from people’s cars or storefronts.

Slate suddenly lifted his head and released a low growl, the fur along his back lifting as he rose and began stalking toward the front of the cabin. His upper lip peeled back from his teeth as he snarled, his head lowered, he truly looked like a wolf now.

Chloe dusted the wood bits from her hands and clothing as she reached for her shotgun, following behind Slate as he headed for the side of the cabin. Slate wouldn’t be snarling like that if it were Collin, he knew the captain. She kept a good distance behind Slate in case he decided to attack whoever it was.

He went around the side of the cabin and she slowly slipped around the corner after him. She could hear his low growl as she came around to the front of the cabin. The field out front was empty. Chloe frowned as she swept the empty front lawn with her eyes. As she was lowering the shotgun, a man came staggering out of the trees.

Chloe took a quick step back at the sight of him. Not because it was a man that she didn’t know. But because he was mostly covered in blood, clothes tattered, and he looked as if he were going to drop over any second.

“My God!” She dropped the gun onto the ground and rushed forward. Slate leaped in front of her instantly. “Slate no! Back!” The dog whimpered and looked between her and the man, taking a tentative step forward in an attempt to get between them once again. She shot the dog a warning glare and he backed down.

Chloe ran up and caught the man as he slumped forward. “It’s all right, I’ve got you.” He was heavy and she staggered beneath his weight. He stared at her with wide, blank eyes. His lips moved and she had to lean in so that she could hear what he was saying, his words were barely audible.

“Hide, have to hide. Coming, coming after me.” His eyes rolled back and his lids fluttered shut. He became dead weight in her arms and she groaned and staggered.

“Slate, assist! Front door!”

From the moment she’d brought Slate home, she’d begun training him and not just simple commands like, sit, stay, come; she’d trained him as if he were an assistance dog. She knew that she was alone in her tiny cabin and if she was ever ill or in need of help, Slate would be her best hope for any help.

So not only could he follow the normal commands that any dog could, he could also open doors, and assist her if she fell, among other things. If she could teach him to cook, he’d be absolutely perfect. At the moment, he raced ahead of her and nosed the latch on the front door until he had the door opened for her.

“Good boy, Slate.” Chloe struggled under the weight of the injured man, twisting until she’d pulled his arm over her shoulder and then she began to move forward toward the cabin. Still, he was a good deal taller than she was; he dwarfed her five foot three frame.

She groaned, paused and took a couple of deep breathes before moving forward again. The man had to be at least six two, and he was broad shouldered and, while slim, he wasn’t a slouch in the muscles department. They were only a couple of feet from the porch now when she heard something hit the ground at her feet.

Looking down, she frowned at the device in the grass. “Damn. Slate, fetch.”

The dog rushed over and carefully picked up the iPad from the ground, trotting up the porch steps and through the door. Chloe hauled the man up the steps carefully, dragged him into the cabin, and dumped him onto the couch, twisting so that he landed on his back, with a small groan because of her now aching back. Slate had set the iPad on the table in front of the couch and was sniffing at it.

Chloe longed to touch the device, but knew if she did that, it would be forever ruined. She restrained herself from fidgeting with it as it might give some clue as to who the man was. Turning away, she went to the kitchen and filled a bowel with water, tossed in a cloth, and retrieved the first aid kit.

Returning to the couch, she knelt beside it and began washing the blood from the man’s face first. He had numerous cuts on his face. She frowned over them as she brushed the cloth over his face. If she didn’t know better, she’d think they were from branches whipping over his face as he ran through the forest.

When she went to scrub a thick patch of blood away, near his hairline up above his right eye, she discovered a large gash and a knot just inside his hairline. He must have hit his head on something. She frowned, studying the cuts, her eyes roaming his face. Ran into a low hanging branch in the dark, maybe?

His words from earlier floated through her mind. “Hide, have to hide. Coming, coming after me.”

Had someone conked him on the head? She wondered as she continued to scrub the blood off. Even his hands had cuts on them. She shook her head and began unbuttoning his shirt. It was tattered, torn to bits. A flush of heat crept up her cheeks; here she was undressing a strange man who’d wandered up to her home. What was she thinking? She knew nothing about him.

But she couldn’t let him suffer. Giving her head a small shake, she concentrated on what she was doing. Once she’d removed his shirt, she washed the blood away and put some antiseptic cream on his wounds. Her eyes flicked to his pants. Nope, no way was she removing his pants, she didn’t care how many cuts he might have on his legs.

She did push his pant legs up as far as she could and cleaned the wounds on his legs, but that was as far as she’d go, as well as removing his shoes and socks, giving them a well-deserved frown as she did. What kind of a fool went traipsing through the woods in loafers?

Sitting back on her heels, she considered what to do with him. There was no way she could move him from the couch. He was going to have to stay where he was. Next problem, his clothes were ruined beyond repair. She’d have to get him new ones. Something she wasn’t looking forward to, everyone in town knew she lived up here alone. How was she going to explain buying men’s clothes?

Slate whined. She looked at him and smiled. He was nosing the iPad. “No boy that isn’t yours to play with.” He looked from her to the iPad and whined again. Chloe shook her head at him. She’d like to put it up somewhere he couldn’t get it, but again it would ruin the thing if she touched it.

“Leave it be boy, it may be the only thing that can tell us something about our new friend here.” Or, maybe not. She glanced warily at the man and cautiously reached out and shoved a hand beneath him. “Please stay unconscious,” she muttered.

She tried to tell herself that she wasn’t groping the man’s butt; she was looking for his wallet. Her brain however, quietly laughed at her while telling her that he had a very nice butt that was worth feeling up. She felt her cheeks heat with a blush. His pockets were empty. He’d either lost his wallet or whoever was after him had made sure he wasn’t carrying it.

Withdrawing her hand, she sighed and sat back on her heels. “So, what do we call you?” Another whine from Slate. Giving an exasperated sigh, she turned to look at the dog. “What? I can’t touch it!”

Slate titled his head and stared at her. He looked from her face down to the iPad, he nosed the cover open as if he had understood her. His lip lifted and his head tilted as he studied the thing. With a tiny whimper, he pressed his nose against the face of the device causing Chloe to giggle. “The power button is over here.” She pointed it out to him.

Slate sent her a look and titled his head again. Chloe shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m telling a dog how to use an iPad.” She watched Slate try for several minutes to nose the power switch. He couldn’t seem to get it and he finally had to give it up in frustration. He gave the thing a hard shove with his nose, sending it spinning across the table.

Chloe laughed. “They weren’t made for dogs I’m afraid.” She gave him a pat on the head and stood. “Come on, let’s get some food started, I think our friend will probably be very hungry when he wakes up.” Chloe paused before she went into the kitchen to fetch a blanket, went back and covered the man on the couch, and then headed into the kitchen.

Slate gave a small woof, licked one of the man’s feet, and then followed her to the kitchen.