Three-Year Rule

by Alaina Stanford

Elizabeth never felt more alone her first night in the new house. She set the security alarm and brought Charlie upstairs, leaving all the lights in the house on. She lay in her new bedroom in her large canopied bed and tossed and turned all night. Finally, as the sun rose, she surrendered to a sleepless night and went downstairs to make some coffee.

  She opened the refrigerator and stared at the large array of fresh fruits and vegetables. Why had she bought this much food? The refrigerator and freezer were completely full. What had she been thinking? Was she unconsciously planning to feed Josh and his kids? Was she unknowingly planning to hide out in this huge house, alone for days on end?

  The doorbell rang, jerking her out of her stupor. She walked quickly to the door and looked through the peephole; it was Randy. She opened the door, and Kilo bounded in to greet Charlie. Randy tried to smile but couldn’t manage it.

  He motioned toward Kilo and explained, “Josh and I are going onto the reserve tomorrow to push the wolves back up into the mountains. He thought you might like to have Kilo here for a night or two.”

  Elizabeth nodded as disappointment surged through her. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting Randy to say. She shut the door behind him and said softly, “Would you like a cup of coffee? I just made a fresh pot.”

  “Sure,” Randy answered and followed her to the kitchen and sat at the island. She took two coffee cups out of the cabinet and came to sit beside him.

  Randy took a sip of the steaming black liquid and then placed the cup down on the countertop. He gazed at Elizabeth and said, “Don’t give up on Josh, Elizabeth. He’ll come around. He’s crazy about you. You just need to give him a little time.”

  Elizabeth smiled softly at Randy and said, “I don’t think Josh is the problem.”

  Randy nodded and added, “Just don’t over think this. You and Josh have something special. He’s been alone for a long time, just him and his kids. He’s scared. Josh’s way of defeating fear is to jump into it head first. He’s always been that way. I think the kids coming home just set him off.”

  “I understand Randy.” Elizabeth gazed at him. Amy was right; he was a good man. He had a good heart. “I don’t think Josh is scared at all. I think he knows what he wants and usually gets his way.”

  “What do you want?” Randy asked, meeting her eyes.

  “Josh,” Elizabeth answered honestly.

  Randy smiled and said, “Give it the weekend. His head will clear once we are out in the woods, and seeing the kids again will calm him down. You’ll see, everything will be fine.”

  Randy rose and gave her a quick hug adding, “Amy’s coming over tomorrow morning. She told me to tell you, Mr. Weller’s son, Tom, said you can have the horses tomorrow if you’re ready.”

  Elizabeth rose and smiled, “I am definitely ready. I’ll run to the Farmer’s Supply and get what I need this morning.”

  “Oh,” Randy stopped at the door and turned back to her, “Did Amy tell you, Franklin is setting up an art show for her in Los Angeles?”

  “No, she didn’t!” Elizabeth gasped, “That’s incredible! I can’t wait to hear all about it!”

  “Oh, and Josh’s foreman, Mike, has a horse trailer for sale,” Randy added, pulling a piece of paper from his wallet. “I told him you might be interested. He said to give him a call. It’s in good shape. Mike is a little OCD so you can count on the fact he’s taken good care of it. Josh loves the guy; he never worries about any project when Mike is in charge.”

  ************

  When Amy arrived at Elizabeth’s, Mike had the horse trailer hooked up to Elizabeth’s SUV and was teaching her how to back it into place. “That’s it.” Mike said, “Now turn the steering wheel to the right and keep backing up slowly. Great, you got it.”

  Amy’s eyes wandered down the length of Mike’s tall, lanky body. At first, she thought he was thin, but quickly realized he was all muscle from his broad shoulders to his firm behind. Mike glanced back at Amy and caught her checking him out. She blushed and spun quickly to pull the overnight bag from the car. When she turned back, Mike was heading across the drive to her, behind Charlie and Kilo.

  “Amy,” Mike’s rugged face was all smiles. “Good to see you. I hear Randy and Josh are heading out to do some wolf chasing.”

  “Yes,” Amy said as she glanced past him to see if Elizabeth was coming, as well. “I’m surprised you’re not going with them.” She knelt down to embrace both dogs, and they knocked her off her feet in their enthusiasm. Mike laughed and offered her his hand. He pulled Amy to her feet as the dogs took off across the yard and disappeared into the trees

  “I wish I could,” Mike laughed, “but I’ve got something to attend to this weekend that can’t wait.”

  “Too bad,” Amy closed the car door as Elizabeth came up beside Mike.

  “What do you think of my new trailer?” Elizabeth was glowing with excitement.

  “It’s beautiful!” Amy hugged Elizabeth then scooped up her bag. “I’m here to help, and I thought I’d stay the night.”

  Mike raised an eyebrow and said, “Well, I better be getting back to work. Have fun with the horses, and Elizabeth if you need any help or advice with the horses, just give me a call.”

  “Thanks, Mike,” Elizabeth called after him, and they watched him climb into his pickup and drive off.

  Elizabeth turned to Amy and asked, “Staying over?”

  Amy turned and headed for the house, “Yes, ma’am. The boys are heading out around 3 o’clock in the morning for some unknown reason, so I thought I’d just cozy up with you tonight.” Amy turned back to wait for Elizabeth to catch up, and then added, “I brought some marinated chicken breast and Moscato. I know how you love that sweet wine.”

  “Oh, Amy,” Elizabeth cooed, placing her arm around Amy’s shoulders. “You really know how to charm a girl. Wine and chicken; add a chick flick to that, and we are set for the night.”

  “After we pick up Mazie and Flo.” Amy reminded her.

  “Mr. Weller is ready when we are.” Elizabeth giggled and opened the front door for Amy. She turned and whistled loudly for the dogs as Amy dropped her bag at the foot of the stairs and put the wine and food in the fridge.

  Charlie and Kilo bounded through the door and skittered across the wood floor to their water bowls by the back door. “Let’s leave the dogs here,” Elizabeth said, as Amy headed back to the front door.

  Tom Weller greeted them. He was a large man with broad shoulders and a slight beer belly. He helped them load the horses and fill out the paperwork. In less than two hours, they had the horses released into the pasture, fed, and watered with plenty of time to relax with a glass of wine before starting dinner.

  ************

  Josh and Randy unloaded the ATV’s from Josh’s trailer and loaded their supplies. Both men carried a pistol in a holster clipped to their belt, and a rifle secured behind the seat. Dawn’s golden rays were just breaking over the horizon when they headed deeper into the preserve searching for any sign of the wolves.

  Randy followed Josh to the ridge that overlooked Beth’s rental cabin. Josh climbed off his ATV, pulled a string of red flags from his backpack, and handed them to Randy.

  Josh asked, “Do you really think those flags are going to scare off the wolves?”

  “Yeah,” Randy said, tying one end of the string of flags to a large tree. “I spoke to the Ranger’s. They’re using these in Oregon. The flags flutter in the wind and spook the wolves, so they stay away. They also pack a mild electric charge that zaps anything that grabs hold of the wire. We’ll stake them high enough so anyone hiking or riding can easily see them, and we’ll keep them off the main trails. These are short enough strands; they shouldn’t cause any problems. It’s a short-term solution, but it should work long enough to keep the wolves from backtracking while we are driving them deeper into the mountains. The sound of our ATV’s should get the wolves moving in the right direction.”

  They spent the rest of the
day tracking the wolves’ movements and pushing them deeper into the mountains while staking the flags. As the sun began to sink behind the mountains, they turned to head back. Randy stopped his ATV when they neared John’s and yelled across the trail to Josh, “Let’s make a run down the maintenance road before we head in.”

  Josh knew Randy needed to check for any signs of a stalker, so he offered no objections. They dove into the woods and cut across to the maintenance road. The violet sky grew dark as the sun disappeared behind the mountains. They didn’t have much time, but the road wasn’t far; it ran along the rear of Mr. Weller’s property. The dirt road was dry and covered with a thin layer of grass and weeds, but was empty of any vehicles.

  They walked further up the road toward the edge of Mr. Weller’s property. Josh caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye and pulled the ATV to a stop. Randy turned around and pulled up next to him. Josh motioned deeper into the trees. They turned off the ATV’s and headed into the brush. Approximately 50 yards from the road, they found a portable tree stand in a large tree. Josh climbed up the chain-link ladder. When he reached the top, it was clear the tree stand wasn’t for deer hunting.

  The stand was high enough in the tree to give a complete view of Mr. Weller’s cabin and all the comings and goings of the girls when they lived there. Josh scanned the woods for any other sign of the stalker but could find nothing. He climbed down as his anger rose. This stalker was a dead man.

  Randy gazed at him expectantly, waiting for a statement. Josh took a deep breath and said, “You can see the cabin and the clearing around it, as plain as day.

  Randy smiled and said, “Josh, this is a good thing. I’ll get the print kit from my office, and we can dust it for prints in the morning. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find this guy in the database.”

  Josh shook his head to clear his mind and loosen his clenched jaw. He patted Randy on the shoulder and said, “Sounds good. Let’s get going before it’s too dark to see the trail.”

  Josh released his hold on Randy and walked quickly past him back toward the trail. He felt the impact, and a sudden flash of pain drove through his chest. Randy shouted, "Get down!" and pulled out his gun. Josh felt Randy shove him hard to the ground, and then there was only darkness.

  ************

  Amy had a Skype meeting with Franklin to discuss her art show, so Elizabeth took Mazie out for her first ride in the pasture. A cool, gentle breeze rushed across the thick green grass of the pasture. Elizabeth urged Mazie into a gallop. Lifting her face to the evening sun, Elizabeth basked in its warm glow. She rode the perimeter of the pasture then returned, gave Mazie a handful of oats, and took Flo for a ride. By the time she returned the sun had disappeared in an orange glow behind the mountains. The cloudless sky allowed the moon’s light to fill the pasture with a soft light. Elizabeth gave Flo some oats and left the horses in the pasture. She stood gazing up at the star-filled sky as Amy appeared on the small front porch. Charlie and Kilo rushed over to her darting around the grassy yard as Elizabeth’s eyes focused on Amy.

  Amy stood silently on the porch waiting for Elizabeth. As she neared, Elizabeth could see the stricken expression of Amy’s pale features. “What’s happened?” Elizabeth asked racing up the steps.

  “It’s Josh,” Amy stammered and started to cry. “He was shot.” She managed through her sobs.

  Elizabeth’s heart pounded as she took hold of Amy’s shoulders and asked, “Is he alive? What happened? Where is he?”

  Amy took a deep breath and said, “He’s alive; it was an arrow through his chest. Randy carried him out of the woods and drove to Dr. Hallowell’s house who called in Life Flight. They are airlifting him to Salt Lake City General Hospital.” Amy brushed the tears from her eyes as she gazed up at Elizabeth adding, “It’s bad, Beth.”

  “Let’s go!” Elizabeth spun and yelled for the dogs. They bounded up the stairs and into the house after her.

  Amy stood helplessly by as Elizabeth grabbed her purse and keys. She took hold of Amy’s arm, dragging her out the door. Once Elizabeth reached the main road, Amy suddenly snapped out of her stupor and said, “Randy is going to meet us at his office. He can drive us in his truck. He doesn’t want you to drive.”

  Elizabeth concentrated on the road and answered, “If he’s not there when we arrive we are not waiting for him.”