by Jamie Begley
Carrying his thermos, Silas went to the hall closet to take a metal box off a shelf. Going to the table, he opened it and took out a gun.
Ginny paused with the toast halfway to her mouth. “I don’t think he’s mad enough that you’ll have to defend yourself.”
Silas gave her a crooked smile as he loaded the gun. “This isn’t to protect myself from Reaper. Knox called me this morning to let me know Fish & Wildlife posted an alert. A man was about to be arrested for hoarding dogs. Before they arrived, he set them free. His daughter told them what dogs were released. They’ve been able to capture thirteen, but two are still missing. The daughter told them the dogs are vicious; that’s why she made the report. That was over the border four days ago. If they make it this far, they are going to be hungry, and I don’t want to be their next meal. Moses is keeping an eye out for them. I don’t want you going out without me or Reaper.”
With her mouth full, Ginny made the okay sign with her fingers at his steely look.
After Silas left, she cleaned the already clean kitchen, then poured another cup of coffee as she searched recipes on the internet with the television on mute, so she wouldn’t wake Gavin. Yawning, Ginny wished she had slept with him another hour, but she had been afraid he would wake.
A breaking news alert flashed across the television screen, warning about an approaching storm with severe thunderstorms that were supposed to have hit last night, but it had stalled in Ohio, causing torrential rains.
Texting Silas about the alert, Ginny heard the shower go on. Getting up, she made Gavin a couple of eggs and toast. She was filling a cup when he walked into the dining room.
“I made you a small breakfast. If you don’t want it, I’ll stick it in the microwave for Silas.”
“I can eat.”
“When you’re done eating, do you mind walking with me to bring the goats in? Moses milked them for me this morning and put them out. Silas doesn’t trust the storm won’t stall and wants them pinned back in. And Knox called this morning to warn him about a report of vicious dogs on the loose, and he doesn’t want me to go outside alone. Silas left with his gun.”
Gavin frowned. “I hope your brother isn’t like the Porters.”
Ginny frowned back. “What do you mean?”
“Shoot first, ask questions later. Some of the trees on your property are thick; I don’t want either of us being mistaken for one of the dogs.”
Ginny raised her eyebrows at him. “Are you doubting Silas’s ability to shoot?”
“He enter shooting tournaments too?”
“You’ll have to ask to see his gun collection.”
“He has a gun collection?”
“One that has been handed down for generations.”
“I’m beginning to understand how he pays the taxes for this mountain.”
“It’s how Freddy managed, plus kept all of us fed. I told you that my family didn’t need any money from me. They don’t have a lot, but they manage to make—”
“Ends meet,” Gavin finished.
“Exactly.” Carrying the dishes to the sink, Ginny then went to the living room closet to put on her raincoat. It wasn’t raining yet, but the cloudy skies showed the storm was close.
“Have you asked him about your father’s will?”
“No, I haven’t. I trust him.”
“Ginny, someone has been stalking you. We’ve checked out everyone you have come into contact with from your past and your present. Nickel is still in Nashville, and no one has shown any overt interest in you leaving.”
“With the virus going on …” Ginny sighed. She couldn’t explain her stalker’s behavior. “You really think Silas is planning to hurt me just to keep the property?”
“I think it’s a possibility.”
“You’re so wrong.”
“How am I so wrong? You showed me your parcel. The back road that Silas uses goes through the rear. If you ever get in an argument, you could threaten to close the access—”
“I would never do that, and Silas knows that. He also knows me well enough that he wouldn’t have to kill me to get the property.”
“Why not?”
“Because all he would have to do is ask, and I would give it to him.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“She likes you.” Closing the gate to the goat pen, Ginny patted the male Australian Shepherd for doing a good job, observing Suki bump against Gavin for her share of attention.
“She’s okay.” Gavin used a jean-clad knee to push her back when Suki wouldn’t move from him. “Moses coming to get them?”
Ginny looked up at the rapidly darkening clouds, taking out her cell phone to text her brother. “Moses said he just finished loading the cows. While we’re waiting, I’m going to get some hamburger from the freezer. Try not to get licked to death while I’m gone,” she joked.
A crash of thunder had Suki cowering against Gavin’s leg. Ginny caught Gavin petting the dog’s head.
“I saw that.”
Gavin made a face. “This dog is a big baby. She hid behind me when you released the goats from their tether.”
“Which shows you how smart she is,” Ginny called back, making a silly face back at him.
Going inside the outbuilding, Ginny went to the freezer, taking the frozen package out. Deciding to get some bacon for breakfast, she was opening the second freezer when she heard Suki and Jack start barking. Thinking the dogs were playing with Gavin, she ignored them and grabbed the bacon when she heard the dogs’ warning growls.
Slamming the freezer door shut, she ran out and was confronted with mayhem as Moses’ dogs fought with two dogs that she had never seen before.
Wanting to scream, she bit it back at seeing Gavin reach for the gun tucked at his back.
Pointing his gun at the dog fighting Suki, he hesitated, as the dogs viciously fighting weren’t giving him a clear shot.
Running closer, Ginny threw the frozen bacon at the one fighting Suki, and the dogs broke apart for a split-second, then started lunging again. However, before the other dog made contact with Suki, it fell to the ground.
With the other dog not moving, Suki ran to the other dog fighting Jack.
“Dammit!” Gavin yelled, moving his position to find a better spot to fire his gun a second time.
Ginny moved, too, hoping to throw the hamburger the same way to break the dogs apart. Other than a pained grunt from the massive brown dog snapping at Jack, the crazed dog didn’t stop. Gavin pointed the gun at the brown dog, but before he could fire, Suki grabbed its neck, trying to shake him off Jack.
When Jack went down, Suki and the brown dog became a twisting blur of brown fur.
“Fuck.” Gavin pointed the gun again. From the harsh set of his features, Ginny knew he was going to fire.
A flash of black fur came from behind the tree to their right.
“Gavin!” Instinctively, Ginny started running toward Gavin, who had his back to a third dog that was just inches from him. The sound of a bullet being shot had her stopping with a sob of relief when the black dog fell. Her sob then turned into a scream when the brown dog fighting Suki tore away from her and charged at Gavin before he could turn around.
Ginny ran so fast that she didn’t feel the ground under her as she threw herself at the dog. Rolling onto the ground, she was brought up short when her back crashed into the trunk of a tree with the vicious dog on top of her.
Reflexively, her arms came up at the snarling mouth so close to her face. The agony of teeth biting into her forearm had her praying not to scream. She didn’t want to startle Gavin when he was trying to shoot the dog on top of her.
Bracing herself for a third shot to be fired, she was left gasping up at Gavin coming into her vision as he lifted the dog off her despite the dog snapping at him. One second, he was holding the flailing dog, and then it was sailing through the air to land with a yelp.
A fourth dog came out from behind the goat pen. Suki was on a matted black one before they
even saw him. Snapping jaws went toward Gavin despite Suki holding one shoulder between her clenched teeth.
In one movement, Gavin reached for his gun and leveled it at the advancing dog.
The blasting of a horn had the dogs freezing in place as Moses drove the farm truck down the dirt access road. The dog that Suki was holding shook her off, then darted into the trees. Ginny saw the one that Gavin had thrown limp off after his packmate. The other lay whimpering.
As Gavin put his gun back out of sight, Ginny saw a trail of blood running down his arm. Staring at him in concern, she nearly stumbled at the pain coming from her back.
“What were you fucking thinking?” he snapped.
“I was thinking I didn’t want to see you get mauled to death in front of me.”
Ignoring his own injury, Gavin removed his shirt to tear it up as Moses got out of the truck.
“Is she okay?” he asked as three dogs jumped out of the truck behind him.
“Does she look okay?” Gavin growled from over his shoulder as he tied a portion of his shirt over the bite mark on her arm.
Blinking back tears of pain, she gave Gavin a reassuring look while seeing Moses taking out his cell phone.
“If you’re calling Knox, tell him there were four dogs not two, and they’re heading toward the Porters’,” Ginny told him.
“I’m not calling Knox. I’m calling Silas. He’ll send the boys to help me track the dogs. He can call the Porters and the Hayes to warn them.”
As Moses started explaining to Silas what happened, he went to Jack, smoothing the black and white coat. Getting up, he then started toward the dog that Gavin had shot.
“Be careful,” Gavin warned, seeing what Moses was doing.
Moses ignored the warning, bending down to gently touch the dog. The dog whimpered back as Moses told him to be still.
Moses lifted his eyes to Gavin. “Why didn’t you kill him? You could have.”
“They’re starved and hungry. I was just trying to scare them away.”
Moses rose to his feet. “Watch,” he ordered his other dogs as he checked the other dogs out. “I’ll unload the cows, then take the dogs to Isaac. He can take them to the vet. They’ll have to be tested for rabies. Silas can take you to the hospital when he gets here.” Moses started unloading the four cows from the trailer.
Gavin tied the two sleeves of his T-shirt together to stop the bleeding on her bite wound.
“How’s your arm?” Ginny asked.
“The bleeding stopped. It was just a scratch.”
Ginny pressed a fingertip between his eyebrows when he kneeled down next to her. “Quit scowling. I’m fine.”
“You should have stayed in the building and called Moses or Silas. When are you going to stop being so fucking foolhardy?”
“I’ve been asking myself that question my whole life.” Ginny realized she’d been bitten on the same arm bearing the scar on her palm. “I tell myself it’s just because I’m in the wrong place at the wrong time, but the truth is … I can’t help myself. I don’t know why.” She shrugged, then winced at the effort. “I didn’t want you to have to shoot when Suki was in the way, and I didn’t want you hurt. Both times I reacted without thinking.”
“I’m not only complaining about today!”
“I know.” Ginny bit her lip to keep it from trembling. “I don’t know why.”
“I do.”
Ginny looked away from Gavin, wanting to throw herself in Silas’s arms.
“Ginny goes where angels refuse to tread.” Silas bent down to kneel on her other side in the grass with a first-aid kit.
“Because they aren’t fools.” Gavin turned his frustration with her on Silas.
“Many heroes have been called foolhardy.” Silas opened the first-aid kit, then gently lifted Ginny’s arm to untie Gavin’s T-shirt. “Her heart has always been too big for her own good.” Supporting her arm from underneath, Silas began cleaning the wound with an antiseptic wash.
“I’m leaving, Silas,” Moses called out.
Silas didn’t take his attention away Ginny’s arm, raising his voice so Moses could hear what he was saying. “When I called Knox to tell him about the attack, he said the father admitted to having extra dogs that the daughter didn’t know about. They’ve all been vaccinated. Knox will fax the records to the vet.”
“We need to take her to the hospital.”
“Why? It’s barely more than a scratch.” Silas removed the sterile gauze that he was using to clean her wound, showing the marks. “Are you up to date with your shots?”
“Yes.”
“Once I have you bandaged, you can move around; make sure nothing else has been hurt. Dr. Price offered to meet us at the bottom of the hill. If he thinks it’s necessary, we’ll take her. I think it will be the safer way to go than exposing her to the germs at the hospital.” Smearing antibiotic ointment on the mark, Silas wrapped the wound with a clean dressing.
“Knox is sure the dogs have had their shots?” Gavin appeared to be calming down under Silas’s steady influence.
“I’m sure he is. You can call and ask him.”
When Silas would have helped Ginny to her feet, Gavin was there first.
His troubled gaze had her giving him a reassuring smile. “I’m fine. Silas is right; it’s only a scratch.”
“We’ll see what the doctor suggests,” Gavin conceded.
“Let me take a look at your arm.” Silas motioned to Gavin after using hand sanitizer to clean his hands.
Supporting Ginny with his arm around her waist, he lifted his elbow so Silas could treat his injury.
“Will Moses call once the loose dogs are all found?” Ginny asked. The thought of someone caught unaware coming into contact with the dogs terrified her.
“I’m sure he will. But I’ll call and get an update while you’re talking to the doctor,” Silas assured her.
“Your bite is worse than Ginny’s. You might be the one going to the hospital.” Silas finished cleaning the wound, then wrapped his like he had hers. “You two stay here while I go to the house to get the truck. I’ll be right back.” Silas closed the first-aid kit, preparing to leave.
A flash of lightning crossed the sky.
“The storm looks like it’ll hit any minute. We should walk back with you.”
Silas shook his head. “It’s still a ways off. We have time. Ginny’s hurting too badly to walk.”
Ginny sent her brother a dirty look. Just when Gavin was calm, he’d lit another fire in him.
“You can wait in the outbuilding if the lightning gets worse.”
Gavin’s gaze followed Silas until he was out of earshot, then Ginny found herself under his hawk-like scrutiny.
“What’s hurting you?”
“My back.”
“Then you’re definitely going to the hospital when Silas comes back.”
“I’m only sore from where I hit the tree,” Ginny protested. “I didn’t hit it with enough force to break anything. I’m not having any trouble breathing.”
“Turn around and let me see,” he ordered.
“I’ll show the doctor.” Ginny grimaced at how prudish she sounded.
“We’re going to the hospital to get X-rays.”
“Fine, you can look.” Ginny turned and used her good hand to lift the back of her jacket up. Gavin reached out to help her when it started slipping back down.
When Gavin remained silent, she turned her head to look over her shoulder. “How does it look?”
Gavin’s face was shuttered closed; she had no clue what he was thinking.
“Gavin?” Ginny began to get worried. Was she hurt worse than she thought?
“It doesn’t look too bad. Your jacket took the worst. A couple of places are skinned. You need them clean and some antibiotic cream rubbed in.”
Ginny nodded in relief. “Silas can help me after I shower.”
Feeling the shirt and jacket slide back down, she turned back to face Gavin. “Good thing I
wore my jack—” Ginny broke off at seeing Gavin’s expression. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m going to be sick.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Knotting her bathrobe around her waist, Ginny left the second-story bathroom, planning on getting dressed in her bedroom, then getting Silas to rub the antibiotic ointment over her scratches. Making sure her dressing was still dry, it took a few seconds to realize her room wasn’t empty.
With her uninjured hand, she firmly knotted her belt. “Did you need something?”
Sitting on the end of her bed, facing the door, Gavin raised the antibiotic ointment in his hand.
Understanding his intent, Ginny went to her chest of drawers to take out her pajamas. “Silas will help me when he comes inside from the porch.”
Her brother had gone outside to watch the storm while she had taken her shower.
“I can.”
Ginny turned from the drawers. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I can.”
Ginny saw the concerted effort he was making, and her heart went out to him. “I don’t think you can, and it’s okay.” Ginny sat down on Leah’s bed. “My feelings aren’t hurt.”
“Yes, they are.”
Ginny looked down at the nightclothes in her lap. “Maybe a little,” she admitted.
“I can rub some fucking ointment on you,” he stubbornly persisted.
“Silas will do it for me.”
Gavin stood up.
Thinking he was leaving, she started to get changed, when he closed the door and came back to sit down. Surprised, she watched him fiddle with the flip-top cap of the ointment.
“There are things that happened to me when I was kidnapped that I’ve never discussed with anyone.”
“I can imagine it would be very hard.” Ginny measured her words carefully, terrified of saying the wrong thing.
He gave a bitter laugh. “Your worst nightmare can’t begin to describe what I went through.”
Ginny forced herself to keep her face expressionless, afraid any hint of pity would shut him down. “You haven’t been able to talk to Viper?”
