Page 11 of Guardian

“Rocky!” I stand and shout. “Get back here! Rocky, come!” This time even I can feel how frantic and confused my commands sound.

It’s nearly dusk, and while I’m sure this stray has some street smarts, the forest is a dangerous place to be after dark. Every other week there are articles in the gazette about someone’s dog getting into a fight with a bear.

Boone slides into his boots and glances toward me. “He’s caught scent of something. I’m going to go after him. You stay here.”

“I appreciate that,” I say, sliding into my jacket, “but he’smydog. I’m not letting you go alone.”

Chapter Six

Boone

Though the sun hasn’t set yet, the forest is already dark and shadowed. I call for Rocky, but he continues to run. At this point, I’d guess we’d gone about half a mile from the cabin. This animal needs a lot of work. He’s been taught basic commands but has no recall training. That, or his prey drive is high. I make a note to focus on that when we finally get him back under control.

“Where is he going?” Daphne pants behind me.

I slow down as the dog takes a left beneath a foot bridge where an old shelter sits at the base of the river. Moss grows up the worn pine walls with ivy and the roof looks to be on the edge of caving on the far-left side.

“Looks like he knows this area.”

Daphne stands on the edge of the ravine, staring down at the river where Rocky stands and barks in short bursts, his fluffy tail wagging back and forth as though he’s trying to say something.

“What is it, boy?” We cross the bridge and climb down into the ravine, following the path before we see an old plywood doghouse with a broken leash wedged between the wood beams of the bridge.

Daphne kneels down and rubs her fingertips along the frayed edge. “What is he telling us? Is this his?”

“I’m not sure why else he’d have brought us here. He wasn’t chasing anything.” I glance around the clearing to ensure nothing darted off into the woods or weaseled its way into the cabin. “I’m gonna look around. You stay here near the river.”

She nods and settles by the bank with Rocky, who’s sitting on guard next to her. He brought us here intentionally. He knows something, and he wants us to listen.

Gun in hand, I step toward the worn door, pulling it open slowly. I’m half expecting to see a squirrel or a racoon. Once a dog gets the scent of a rodent, they can run for miles unchecked, though it’s not a rodent I see sitting at the old pine table… at least not in the traditional sense.

“You here to take my home, too?”

“Gary?” Daphne who I’d asked to wait outside, steps in behind me, Rocky at her side growling low toward the man at the makeshift table. “What are you doing here?”

“I live here. Where the fuck was I supposed to go? You took the house, half the money… I don’t have enough to start over.”

“So, you moved into the old shack behind our house? How long have you been here?”

“Few months. It’s not a big deal. It’s cozy, actually.” He stands from the chair and makes his way to the improvised kitchen where he grabs a bottle of whiskey from the worn, wood cupboard. “I’ve got a freshwater bath whenever I need it, a warm place to take cover, and there’s still cell service so I can entertain myself as needed. The only real pain is that I have to park up on the hill and hike down after work every day.”

“You told me you were making out good at the car dealership. What happened?”

The dog growls again and I get the sick feeling that the two know each other.

“Lost that job when the boss found out I was dating his daughter, and she didn’t want anything to do with me when the relationship wasn’t pissing her father off. So… here I am.”

Daphne glances up at me then down at Rocky who’s growling gets louder and louder.

“Get the fuck out, you stupid dog,” Gary bursts. “I got that fuckin’ thing at the shelter thinking he’d keep me company out here. Turns out, he likes to fight about everything.”

Daphne’s eyes widen. “What? Is this the dog that was chained up outside?”

Gary shakes his head. “Don’t say it like that.”

“Like what?” Daphne spits. “Like you’re a disgusting human being, because you are! Animal control found him starving and wandering the streets. Were you feeding him, Gary?”

He rolls his eyes and leans back down into his chair. “I was wondering how he found you. Figured he wandered up to your place after he broke the chain. And to be clear, I fed the dog when he deserved to be fed.”

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