Page 91 of First Chance

Rain runs out from behind the other building, nearly plowing me over in surprise. “Oh, fuck! What are you doing out here?” He asks, staring at me in obvious concern.

I don’t have a good answer for him, so I just shrug.

“Boss, I’ve got her. She’s down by the strays,” he relays into his radio, still eyeing me up and down. I must look worse than I thought.

“He’s got the whole mountain looking for you, girl.”

“What? Why?”

“He thought someone snatched you up.”

I don’t have a chance to respond when three people come sprinting down the alleyway towards us. Lochlan, Hayes, and Jackson.

Oops, I think I’m in trouble.

“What happened? Are you hurt?” Lochlan’s head swivels, taking in every inch of me, looking for damage.

“I’m fine.”

“Where are your shoes?” Hayes asks.

“What were you doing?” Jackson asks at the same time.

“You’re fine?” Lochlan asks in tandem.

My head swings between each man, and I don’t know who to respond to first. I don’t know why they’re freaking out but now my little adventure seems like it was a worse idea than I thought.

“I went for a walk. I wanted to see the bears.”

Lochlan throws his head back and turns away in disbelief. Hayes watches me warily, and Jackson still looks like he’s checking my arms and legs for injuries.

“And, you didn’t think to tell anyone?” Lochlan swings around to yell at me.

“I didn’t think anyone would care.”

“Christ, Jo. You have ten people standing on this property who care!”

“I’ll clear everyone to go to bed,” Hayes murmurs into his radio, nodding his head to Rain, who backs away quietly.

“Are you okay? Really?” Jackson asks, looking at me closely.

“I’m fine, I just needed to clear my head. But, I found this.” I turn my pockets inside out, dumping the pellets onto the ground in front of me. “The bear that I saw was eating this. He wouldn’t even look up. I think it came from the wrong side of the fence.”

Lochlan’s gaze snaps to the pieces at my feet, and he kneels, inspecting them. “Looks like rat poison.”

“Only one bear was eating it, from what I saw at least.”

He slides a hand over his face.

“I’ll go drive the perimeter, see if there’s a sign of anything,” Jackson offers, giving me a ‘good luck’ glance.

“Where’d you find it?” Hayes asks.

“I don’t know, I got all turned around. I started by the bunkhouse but somehow ended up over here. I left my shoes in the spot where I found it, though.”

“Okay, I’ll go check it out.” Hayes steps away, leaving me alone with Lochlan, and my nerves return.

“Your feet are filthy,” he grumbles, finally standing.

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