Page 15 of Junkyard Dog

When she took another step off the road, he rose up and flattened his ears back.

“Okay, okay,” she cooed, backing up and lifting an open palm. “You come to me, boy.”

A slew of dirty dog jokes ricocheted through his head as he padded down the rocky incline, his ears instinctively tracking the movements of the rabbit to his left. When he was just over a hundred yards away from the road, he sat back on his haunches.

She knelt, extending her hand out farther and rubbing her fingers together. “It’s all right, boy. Come on. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Bullshit.

He chuffed and lifted his front paw. When she inched forward, he dropped his head and growled low.

“Fine.” She laughed. “You come to me. Let me make sure you aren’t injured. I… Wait.”

He tilted his head as she rose to her feet slowly and opened the trunk of her car. She hefted a green bag onto her hip and resumed her position beside the car. “I brought something for you.”

The bag crinkled as she opened it, releasing an unpleasant scent into the air.

Dog food.

He recoiled slightly and pointed his nose to the hare that had gone motionless under a cactus.

“You leave that poor little bunny alone,” she chastised, dipping her hand in the foul-smelling bag and holding a pile out to him. “C’mon, boy.”

He let out a whimper and lowered his nose to the ground, his ears dropping.

“It’s not that bad,” she cajoled, shaking the food pellets in her hand and sending the atrocious stench across the desert. “How about I put it in a bowl? Hmm?” She leaned back and opened her car door, reaching across the console to the passenger side. “Still a few crumbs in here from dinner, but it’ll work.”

Rising to his full height, he closed the gap between them by a few more yards and stopped.

Walk away.

Now.

Walk. Away.

His hackles rose as Charlotte got to her feet and took a slow step his way, Styrofoam container of dog food in hand.

“I’m just putting this out here,” she purred quietly, her steps hesitant. “And when you’re hungry, you can come get it. Okay, boy?” When he snorted in response and began pacing back and forth, she lowered the food to the sand and began to retreat to the car. “Kind of a beast, aren’t you, boy?” She laughed, a hint of nervousness in her voice as she sat in the driver’s seat and leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees.

He watched her watching him as he continued to pace across the sand.

Get closer.

Run.

Closer.

Run.

*

Charlotte glanced backtoward the ridge and sighed.

One hour.

She’d been so certain the lure of food would bring the enormous dog close enough for her to assess, so certain his stomach would win out over his wariness. When his pacing had stopped and he’d torn back over the hill he’d initially appeared on, she had slumped back in her seat in defeat.

Finally resigned to the fact the dog wouldn’t be returning anytime soon, she sealed the bag of food, tossed it into the back seat, and started the car. She eased her way through the curved paths, continuing to scan the dark plateau for any sign of the animal until the bright lights of an approaching vehicle temporarily blinded her. As it came to an almost complete stop beside her, the driver’s hand shot out, almost grazing her car.

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