“Missouri.”
“You’re a long way from home. Do you have family?”
“No sir. It’s just me.”
“Well, welcome to your new home, consider us your family now.” Fletch told him.
“Thank you, sir, I will.”
“Go with Craig and he’ll show you where to put your stuff.”
“He seemed really nice,” Shannon remarked after they left.
“Yeah, but I didn’t care for Craig’s attitude.”
“Does everyone like you when you first meet?” Shannon asked. “I seemed to remember Kenney avoiding you when you first joined us in Idaho.”
“Point taken. I’m sure we’ll adjust to each other. I like the man, I just didn’t like his attitude towards women, especially you.”
Shannon thought about what happened to Fletch in Oregon. She only knew what she read in the article on the internet. Eventually she’d find out what really happened.
“Well, that’s two out of three. We’re expecting one more. Craig has lived here most his life. He said he’d give us a tour of the town. Maybe we could find some place to have breakfast.”
“That sounds like a great idea, I’m starving.” She went to Fletch and gave him a peck on the cheek. “I guess we had better behave ourselves.”
Fletch reluctantly agreed. He gave a shout out to Craig and Royce.
“What’s up, Captain?” Craig answered.
“Is there someplace around here to get a bite to eat?”
“There sure is. We’ll be right down.”
Craig and Royce both slid down the firemen’s pole.
“Waa hoo!” Royce called out as he came down the pole.
Fletch hadn’t noticed the pole the night before. Sliding poles had been removed from most Fire stations for safety reasons. He was surprised this one was still there.
“Just be careful you don’t try that after a few beers,” Fletch said with a chuckle. “Let’s go eat.”
*****
Craig offered to drive so Fletch could familiarize himself with his new town and surrounding area.
“We are actually in Black Eagle,” Craig explained, “on the outskirts of Great Falls.”
He showed them the local Super store where they would do their grocery shopping and a couple of restaurants. They picked a small café that looked good. Craig gave his approval and remarked that the food was really good.
During breakfast, they all got to know each other a little better. They explained where they had been working before signing up for the new air rescue.
“You say we’re in Black Eagle,” Fletch directed his question to Craig. “I’m supposed to name our unit. How does Eagle Air Rescue sound?”
“I like it.”
Fletch looked at Royce.
“I think it fits, I like it, too.”
“When we get back, I’ll make it official. Craig, is there some place local that can make us a sign?”
“There is a place not far from here. We can stop on our way back to the station. Did you want to get a few things at the market first. The sign place is right around the corner.”
“That sounds great. Royce, you offered to shop. Would you mind if we drop you off at the market? We’ll pick you up after we’ve made arrangements with the sign company.”
“Fletch, do you mind if I go with Royce?” Shannon asked. “Maybe he could use some help.”
“That sounds like a great idea.”
When Fletch returned, Shannon and Royce had three shopping baskets filled to overflowing. They had everything they needed for two weeks.
When they returned to the station, two people were waiting for them. One was Mr. Gavin, the city manager. The other, Fletch assumed, was Dakota Daniels, his other employee.
Piccolo appeared out of nowhere and ran to Fletch.
“Good girl. Have you been staying out of trouble?” Fletch scratched her head. “I think Shannon has something for you.” Piccolo went to find Shannon.
“Mr. Gavin, I hope you haven’t been waiting long.” Fletch was apologetic, he had forgotten about the city manager.
“No, not at all. I'm afraid that young man has been here much longer.”
Fletch went to introduce himself.
“You must be Dakota Daniels. I’m Captain Fletcher.” Dakota stood six foot five, light brown hair, and dark brown eyes. He introduced Dakota to the rest of the team and Dr. Stevens. Everyone helped unload the groceries. “Mr. Gavin, if you could wait a moment, I’ll be right with you.”
Craig showed Dakota where to put his things while Fletch helped the others. When he was done, they all joined Fletch for a tour of the facility.
“If you have any questions or problems,” Gavin told him, “please call.”
“I do have a question. My fiancé is a doctor and highly skilled surgeon. She is looking for a house to rent and would like to set up a private family practice.”
“I'm sure I could find you something in town.”
“No,” Shannon stopped him, “I would like something away from the city. A small house that could double as a doctor’s office.”
“I might have just what you’re looking for. There is an old farm just up the road. It’s on the edge of the National forest. I’m afraid the place has been abandoned and is probably run down.”
“Could you show it to us?”
“Certainly, it’s only a few minutes up the road. I have a master key.”
“Hey, Craig, Shannon and I are going to go look at a house. We’ll be back in a little while.”
“Can we come?” Royce asked.
“Which property are you going to look at?” Craig asked Mr. Gavin. “The only place past here is the old Simmons place.”
“That’s it. Do you know it?”
“I do. Go ahead, Captain, we’ll catch up.”
Mr. Gavin drove Fletch and Shannon out to the farm. About four miles out of town, they turned onto a gravel road. At the end of the road was an old two story, colonial farmhouse, a barn and a large shop.
Shannon couldn’t wait to see inside. So far, she loved what she saw. The place could use some paint, and a good clean up, that was for sure.
The house had a huge wrap around porch. One side was totally enclosed to create a beautiful sunroom. As soon as Shannon entered the house, she knew what kind of potential it had.
“Mr. Gavin, is this place for rent, or for sale?” Shannon asked.
“I’m afraid the family want to be rid of it. I don’t think they would consider renting it. There is what we call ‘a simple lease’, but it needs some explaining.”
“Can you give me a day or two to think about it?”
“Absolutely. I'll drop off a flyer, I don’t have one with me. You can review the lease and everything that comes with the property.”
Fletch asked Mr. Gavin if he would mind if they looked around on their own. When the rest of the team arrived, Fletch let Mr. Gavin know they would lock up when they left. He knew the city manager had other things to do.
“Very good, Captain Fletcher. I’ll check with you tomorrow.”
Chapter 43
“Craig, what do you know about this place?” Fletch asked as they explored the outbuildings.
“It seems like it’s been here forever. Mr. Simmons built the house for his bride. Two years later, his wife fell from a horse and was killed. Old Simmons lived here alone for years. He refused to leave. It’s been twenty years, maybe more since he died. No one else has ever lived here.”
Shannon, Dakota, and Royce explored the house. Shannon instantly fell in love with it. The sun porch led to a huge day room. Shannon pictured it as a reception room for patients. The kitchen needed to be upgraded and probably the plumbing, but the rest of the house was beautiful with a mahogany stairway.
“Wow, this must have been quite the place in its day,” Royce remarked. “It’s going to need a lot of work.”
“And a lot of cleaning,” Shannon laughed.
“Are you going to buy
this place, Dr. Stevens?” Dakota asked.
“Do you think I should? I’m thinking about it.”
“If you do and you need help, I’d be happy to give you a hand.”
“Me, too.” Royce added.
“Thank you, both of you.”
Fletch and Craig finally came looking for them. Fletch was awed when he entered the house. His grandpa would have loved this house, it was old.
“Time to go.” Fletch called out. His voice echoed through the old house.
“We’ll be right there.” Shannon appeared at the top of the stairs. “Fletch, I love this house.”
“I thought you wanted something small. This is a bit on the large size, don’t you think?”
“No, it’s perfect. It’s not really all that big. The high ceilings only make it feel that way.”
“Okay, we’ll talk about it at the station. We need to go. I have work to do.”
They made sure everything was lock before they left and went back to the station.
Royce volunteered to cook dinner as they drove back.
*****
Later that evening, after making love, Shannon and Fletch talked.
“Shannon, before you jump into buying a house, you need to talk to Captain Miller.”
“I know. I can’t go back to Caldwell; I couldn’t stand to be away from you. I love you.”
“At least call him and tell him where you are. If he knows you’re here, it won’t be a shock when you resign, he'll be expecting it. I don’t think he expects you to return. We also need to find you a place to live. I’m afraid you can’t stay here, it’s against the insurance policy.”
“I really want to move into that old farm, it’s perfect.”
“Shannon, that place is too big.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Okay, how will you pay for it?”
“I haven’t spent a cent of my income for the past two years, and my parents left me more than enough money to buy that place and fix it up.”
Fletch scrubbed his face with his hands and let out a frustrated breath.
Shannon got out of bed and started to get dressed.
“What are you doing?”
“I can’t stay here, you said so yourself.” She put on her shoes.
“I didn’t mean right now.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Shannon, please come back to bed.”
“Sorry. I have spent the last two years being afraid to stand up for myself. Not anymore. This is what I want to do.”
“Fine, we’ll go back in the morning and take another look.”
“Okay, I’ll see you there in the morning.” She grabbed her bag and walked out.
Piccolo looked at Fletch and whined.
“Go with her, girl. Keep her safe.” He knew there was no point arguing. Fletch fell back on the bed and let out a frustrated growl.
*****
Shannon didn’t know where she was going. She didn’t remember seeing a hotel. Piccolo followed her out to her rental car. She stood by the car, contemplating what she was going to do. Piccolo stuck her nose in her hand.
“Are you going to protect me, little one? Let’s go find some place to sleep.”
“Doctor Stevens?” She jumped.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Craig told her.
“Craig, what are you doing out here?”
“Checking. We are very close to an enormous wilderness. It’s not unusual for wild animals to wonder into the yard. You have to be careful out here at night.”
“Thank you for the warning.”
Shannon felt deflated. Her brave and independent attitude disappeared with that jump of fear.
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t know. I was going to spend the night in that house.”
“Oooh nooo, you don’t want to stay there, not yet anyway.”
“Why?
“Let’s take a ride.” He took the keys from her hand.
Shannon opened the car door and Piccolo whined.
“Can she come?”
“Sure.”
Shannon opened the back door so Piccolo could jump in the back.
“Where are we going?”
“I want to show you something.”
They drove out of town and he turned on the gravel road that went to the old Simmons place. He didn’t stop at the house but kept going. There was a dirt road behind the house that disappeared into the forest. He continued to drive until he came to a clearing that had a large pond.
Craig parked, lowered his window, and shut off the car. He removed the keys from the ignition.
“What are we doing here?”
“Just relax and wait. Your eyes will adjust to the dark.”
He was right. As she sat there, things slowly came into focus as her eyes got use to the dark. At first it was quiet, but as she sat there, the night sounds slowly returned. Crickets chirped; animals called to each other. She could hear things moving around in the forest. She wanted to say something, but she didn’t want to spoil the tranquility of the moment.
As she watched, a family of raccoons came to the pond to get a drink and search the mud with their little hands for something to eat. After a short while, the raccoons paused, then went back to what they were doing. A large elk came to the edge of the pool to drink but was jumpy. The elk suddenly bolted, and when she looked for the raccoons, they were gone.
She was about to say something, Craig held up his hand for her to be quiet. A pack of wolves appeared. Piccolo sat up and watched but didn’t whine or make a sound.
Craig opened the car door. When Shannon looked at him, he held his finger to his lips, then held up his hand to tell her to stay put. He set the keys on the roof of the car. He didn’t want Shannon to get frightened and try to drive away. She would get lost and he would have a long walk.
He put his hand up again, he wanted her to stay in the car. Craig walked into the woods and disappeared. Shannon tried to see where he went but he was gone.
“Where did he go, little one?” she whispered.
Piccolo whined and licked her face, then looked out the window. When Shannon looked back, there was a large black bear beside the pond.
“Oh no.” She looked for Craig. Piccolo whined and wanted out of the car. She didn’t know what to do. Shannon let her out of the car and prayed she didn’t get hurt, Fletch would never forgive her.
Piccolo ran to the bear and jumped around like she wanted to play. Shannon couldn’t believe her eyes when the bear actually rolled on the ground with the wolf cub.
“No, it can’t be.” Shannon slowly got out of the car.
“Craig, is that you?”
The large black bear stopped and looked at Shannon. She instantly knew it wasn’t Craig.
“Fletch?” The black bear bounced on his front feet. Piccolo ran back and forth between them. Craig walked out of the woods holding Fletch’s clothes.
“How?” she looked at Craig.
“I heard you arguing. Captain Fletcher told me earlier you had never seen his bear. Originally, I thought I would just let you get an idea of what was out here before you bought the Simmons place, and then I got this idea. I had to wait until he got here.”
Shannon walked over to Fletch and put her arms around his furry neck.
“I’m so sorry, please forgive me. I love you.” Before she knew what happened, Fletch was holding her in his arms, kissing her.
“Ahem.” Craig cleared his throat. “I think you might want to put these on.” He handed Fletch his clothes.
“Thanks Craig. If you want to take the car back, Shannon can ride back with me.”
“Well, since I’m already out here, I may as well go for a run.”
Craig stood behind the car and undressed. When he was done, he shifted and ambled over to Fletch and Shannon.
“Wow.” Shannon was mesmerized. “May I touch you?”
The bear rubbed against her and almost knocked her over.
If Fletch hadn’t steadied her, she would have landed on her butt.
“Thanks Craig,” Fletch hugged Shannon, “we’ll see you in the morning.”
The bear wandered off into the woods. Piccolo whimpered.
“Go ahead, little one, you’ve been cooped up long enough.” He watched Piccolo run after the bear.
“Hey Craig, you’ve got company,” Fletch yelled, “watch out for her for me.”
“Will she be alright, there were other wolves here.”
“She’ll be fine. Let’s go home.”
“Where is your truck?”
“I parked it back at the house.”
He took her hand and they walked back to the house.
“Do you want to take another look?” Fletch asked.
“No. There’s no lights and we don’t have a key.”
“Before Mr. Gavin left, I asked him to have the power turned on and he gave me a spare key. I knew I couldn’t talk you out of buying this house, but I had to try.”
Chapter 44
The next day, everyone was busy.
Fletch spent the morning organizing the office and personnel files. Since Shannon was there, he asked her to help. She had done such a good job in Captain Miller’s office, there was no reason she couldn’t assist him.
Shannon called Gary Miller and told him that she wasn’t coming back. He wasn’t surprised and informed her he had already put in for a replacement.
“We’re going to miss you, Shannon,” Gary told her. “Let me know when you’ll be coming to get your things, so we can throw you a going away party.”
“I will.” Shannon got choked up. “Thanks Gary.”
Craig and Dakota checked out the helicopter and ran all the necessary tests.
Royce set up all the computers and synchronized the office computer with the computer in the helicopter.
At noon, Shannon helped Royce fix lunch and organize the pantry.
“I need Fletch to order an extra freezer and refrigerator. We can save money by buying in bulk. Do you think he would?” he asked Shannon.
“If you explain what you need and why, I’m sure he could arrange something.”
*****
After lunch, everyone took a break and relaxed in the lounge. Piccolo was sound asleep in her bed.
Haunted by the Wolf- Shannon Page 23
