Saved by the Montana Hero

by Vella Munn

  Light from her light settled on the opening to the dog house or rather what had been an opening. Something dark filled the space.

  Stopping, she clamped her free hand over her mouth. She blinked repeatedly. “Shadow. Oh, Shadow.”

  The dog’s head was up and he was looking at her. She couldn’t see the rest of him but surmised he was either crouched or lying down.

  “I’m so glad to see you.” She spoke just loud enough so hopefully he could hear her. “So glad. How do you like the blanket Terron put in there?”

  She took a couple of steps but stopped when Shadow’s ears flattened. From what she could tell, he wasn’t showing his teeth, but that might change.

  “I get it. We’ll take our, ah, relationship slow. I’ll go inside so you can get some sleep. Then I’ll check in on you before I go to work, see if there’s anything you need. Soon as I get a break, I’ll bring you some bacon and sausage. How does that sound?”

  The dog’s ears straightened a little. Otherwise his head remained motionless.

  Joy and relief made talking difficult. “I understand where you’re coming from. You’re carrying around some baggage where humans are concerned and aren’t sure you can trust me. I’ll listen if you feel like telling me about it. Otherwise, how about we let bygones be bygones? Call today the first day in good things happening to you.”

  Shadow tilted his head to the side.

  “Does that mean you approve? How do you feel about the name Shadow? I’m sorry if you’re used to being called something—”

  A distant, barely perceptible howl silenced her.

  Wolf?

  Wolf. Impossible and yet real.

  Even with her shock, she noted Shadow’s flattened ears and a now open mouth full of white teeth. The wolf wasn’t nearby. Just the same, she walked over to the side of her building and pressed her back against it. Excited and unnerved, she swept her surroundings with the narrow yet sharp shaft of light. She was struck by the contrast between not enough light and too much dark.

  A second howl drifted in on the cold air. It might be coming from the south but sounds tended to bounce off the mountains. The hairs at her back stood on end, and her heart beat erratically, and her mouth dried. A thrill raced through her.

  “A wolf,” she told Shadow and herself. “No doubt. Absolutely no doubt. What do you think of that? Maybe you’ve already met him.”

  She waited for what might be one minute or five but the howl wasn’t repeated. By then her shivers were coming one hundred percent from the cold. Her arm burned from moving the light about. Because of where she’d positioned herself, she could no longer see Shadow. She hoped the dog hadn’t left his shelter.

  That was what she needed, shelter. A relatively warm room and crawling back into bed.

  Waiting. Listening. Anticipating.

  Wanting Terron to share the experience.

  Her feet were numb. When she touched the icy railing, she lifted her hand from it then forced herself to grip the wood. As she reached for the first step, she scanned behind her. Her right slipper landed on wood but lost its grip as she lifted her left leg. She started to fall forward so extended her arms. Too much of her weight landed on her outstretched right hand.

  Pain seized her right shoulder. It took everything she had not to cry out. A throbbing sensation tore through her. Teeth clenched and tears half blinding her, she panted through the electric current. Finally the sensation backed off enough so she could think, after a fashion. Her legs were behind her, her upper body resting on her right side. She fisted her left hand and pounded the closest stair in time with the pulsing.

  Moving took courage, hissed breaths, and no small amount of cursing. She’d dropped the light. She could see it aimed at the sky but couldn’t reach it. If it wasn’t so cold, she’d probably spend the night where she was. She thought about calling for help, but not only was it the middle of the night, the thought of someone hauling her to her feet made her shudder.

  Also, admitting she couldn’t handle things on her own was a foreign concept.

  She finally got her knees under her followed by knee-walking to the left railing and hauling herself to her feet, an effort that threatened to take off the top of her head. Despite the fear of slipping again, somehow she climbed the rest of the stairs and made her way across the small deck to her door. Warm air surrounded her as she stepped inside.

  Safe!

  Now what?

  The only light came from the microwave clock, but it would have to do because she couldn’t think beyond easing into her chair. She sat hunched over until the pounding in her shoulder let up enough that she risked touching herself there. The pain was more than skin deep, maybe the socket although it was hard to pinpoint. At length she risked moving her arm. The effort made her half sick with pain.

  Feeling trapped by her body, she was glad her cell phone was in the bedroom because she might have punched nine one one, not that there were any true emergency services at the resort. Echo had had first aid training, and several forest rangers were EMTs. She could have looked up their personal numbers on the contacts sheet taped to the side of the refrigerator but talked herself out of it. It came back to the middle of the night thing. Also, this was her problem.

  “It’s your fault,” she said as she made the monumental decision to stand again. “Too independent for your good.” Pain momentarily silenced her followed by an admission she doubted she’d ever share with another human being. Deciding to deal with her banged up shoulder on her own came from a lifetime of not being able to depend on anyone, starting with her mother.

  Terron wouldn’t understand.

  Getting ice cubes out of the tray and putting them in a dish towel with only one hand took at least twice as long as it should have, but finally she held the chilled towel against her shoulder. Numbing herself there helped. If she had to spend the rest of the night sitting in the chair with water soaking her robe so be it.

  As for what she would do come morning—

  Aspirin? Weren’t there a few in the bathroom? Hopefully, in addition to addressing the pain, taking the allotted amount would help keep the swelling down. Teeth clenched again, she headed through her bedroom on the way to what passed for a bathroom. Her cell phone charging on the night stand started to ring. Echo was calling—at an ungodly hour.

  “Hello,” she managed after placing the ice pack on the bed.

  “There you are,” Echo said. “I’ve been trying to reach you ever since—did you hear it?”

  What? She nearly asked before she put one and one together. “Yes.”

  “I was asleep but Henry was up. He called.”

  Henry was the senior Fish and Wildlife employee who’d helped convince Echo to go to work for that agency. These days Henry was involved with a project to build and then open a Lake Serene educational center designed to educate people about the vegetation, wildlife, land forms, and history of the area.

  “What was it like for you?” Echo pressed. “Did you know right away what you were hearing?”

  Talking about the wolf gave her something other than her partly numbed shoulder to think about. She remained on her feet facing the darkness beyond the bedroom window. What if the wolf was out there? As long as Shadow was safe, she couldn’t be more delighted.

  “I’ve never heard anything like that,” she said. “What a thrill.”

  Echo sighed. “I’m so sorry I missed it. Hey, what were you doing up at this crazy hour?”

  She explained that she’d gone outside to see if Shadow had put in an appearance. Hoping to stop Echo from asking why she’d been awake in the first place, she made a big deal out of finding the dog.

  “Does Terron know? He’d probably like knowing his construction project is being used.”

  “It’s the middle of the night.” Now that she was no longer using the ice pack, the throbbing was returning. “What are you going to do about the howling?”

  “There isn’t anything I can do. I don’t suppose you c
ould pinpoint where the sound was coming from.”

  “Sorry.” She looked longingly at the ice pack. “Look, I’m, ah, going back to bed. It’s only a few hours until I have to be at work.”

  Work? How could she pull that off and how would Terron react when he saw what she’d done to herself. Darn it, her shoulder wasn’t his problem. She wouldn’t let it be. He’d had enough experience caring for others to last a lifetime.

  Chapter Ten

  “She called first thing this morning,” Melinda replied in response to Terron’s question. “Said she wasn’t feeling well.” Melinda jerked her head at one of the other waitresses. “Fortunately, I guess, Crissie agreed to cover.”

  Kolina is sick. Terron headed across the parking lot and toward her place. But she hadn’t called and told him. Okay, so there was nothing in their relationship that said she had an obligation to check in but she’d kissed his forehead and he’d told her some very private things about losing his parents. They were more than acquaintances.

  Friends? He wasn’t sure that covered things or if that was the label he wanted to put on what they had. Romantic interest? No, they weren’t there. Yet.

  Yet? Was his subconscious trying to tell him something he didn’t want to face? Maybe the only way he’d be able to answer was by spending more time with the subject of said internal monologue. Shoot, maybe it would take embracing and kissing her to come to a decision.

  But were either of them ready for that?

  It was cold. Mist hung over the lake so it was barely visible while heavy clouds nearly reached the treetops. If he didn’t have to go to work, he’d be tempted to spend the day sipping hot chocolate while imagining the Rockies in winter. Unfortunately, where he lived was far from ideal for lounging. He wanted snow. Deep and white, insulating him from everything except a sense of belonging to the mountains. According to the weather report, it was going to rain. Again.

  If Kolina had heard the forecast she was probably worrying about the homeless dog that might or might not still be in the area. He was tempted to tell her, “Sorry, but I don’t have what it takes for commitment these days. Been there, done that. Worn out.”

  Yeah? Then why are you heading toward her place?

  He’d been so sure he’d find her huddled under a blanket holding a box of tissues that he nearly didn’t put things together when he spotted her near the dog house. She was kneeling and leaning forward so she could look in the opening from a distance of about twenty feet. She’d thrown a coat over her shoulders but didn’t have her arms in it which struck him as not the brightest move considering the temperature. Kneeling with nothing except a layer of denim between her skin and damp ground wasn’t what he’d be doing if he had a cold. Was she trying to catch pneumonia?

  “Hey,” he said to her back. “How’s it going?”

  Clutching her coat to her throat with her left hand, she looked at him. “He’s here.”

  She was right. A dark shape filled the opening. The dog wasn’t acting aggressively but neither did it appear pleased with this attention from human beings.

  “Is that why you aren’t at work? You’re—”

  “Keep your voice down. You’re making him nervous.”

  “How long has he been in there?” he whispered instead of pointing out she couldn’t know what the dog was feeling.

  “I’m not sure. Wait a minute.”

  For what? Before he could decide whether to ask, she scooted back and pushed herself to her feet. As she did, her coat slipped off. In the past, he’d been impressed by how gracefully she handled herself, but this morning she looked clumsy. She picked up her coat and tucked it under her arm.

  “All right. What’s the matter?” He didn’t care whether his voice upset the dog. “It’s your shoulder isn’t it?”

  She didn’t seem to want to face him. When she did, he understood why. Despite the distance between them, there was no missing the stress in her features. He’d seen that expression on her before, but it seemed more intense this morning.

  “I didn’t do it any good,” she finally said.

  He ran his hands into his pockets to keep himself from reaching for her. “And it’s in no shape for lifting trays.”

  “Not right now. Did you hear the wolf last night?”

  “What? No. You did?”

  “Yes. I was, ah, checking on Shadow. There were just two distant howls, but I had no doubt what it was. Echo called this morning. Henry had heard it and told her about it. She didn’t—”

  “I don’t care about the wolf. What’s going on with your shoulder?”

  “I’m not sure. It’s in no shape for lifting a glass of water.” She glanced back at Shadow. “I fed him this morning. He wouldn’t eat out of my hand so I tossed it to him. He inhaled everything. I need to get a food bowl.”

  He didn’t care whether Shadow ate out of a bowl or on the ground or whether the wolf had really sounded off. The dog was using the shelter Terron had provided and wouldn’t get wet if it rained. The wolf would do whatever wolves did.

  “Let’s go inside.” He indicated her place.

  “Don’t you have to go to work?”

  A part of him he wasn’t crazy about longed to walk away and leave her to deal with whatever was wrong with her shoulder, but he couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

  “Let me worry about that. You have enough on your mind.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “No, you aren’t.”

  By way response, she closed her eyes and sighed. Darn her for looking so vulnerable, so huggable—carefully of course.

  *

  She hadn’t wanted to see Terron or anyone today. Her hope had been that she’d be left alone until her shoulder felt better since keeping her discomfort to herself wouldn’t be easy. As for why she preferred to hole up in her place—she’d always been like that, private. No one, certainly not her mother, knew how hard it had been to accept that Kolina wasn’t the most important person in the life of the woman responsible for her being alive. One good thing had come from that revelation—she was independent and self-contained. A loner. End of discussion.

  Except Terron Sax, who’d been on her mind way too much, was taking up a great deal of space in her living room. His gaze left no doubt that he wouldn’t be satisfied with anything except the truth. She’d been glad he’d suggested—or was it insisted—they go inside because putting on a coat by herself wasn’t going to happen. Wrestling into a shirt that buttoned had been hard enough. She’d had to settle for one of Brian’s because it was big. It also had short sleeves, not the wisest choice for this time of year in this climate. As for a bra—she’d dismissed that notion without trying.

  “I’m so relieved he’s still here,” she told Terron as she settled into her recliner. The space was full of him. “I was afraid he’d take off once he realized I knew where he was.”

  Terron focused on the arm she was keeping as immobile as possible. “What happened?”

  She told him. By the time she was done, she’d gotten past wanting to show him the door. His presence was strangely comforting. More than comforting.

  “Is it swollen?” he asked. “Hot?”

  “Yes to both questions but it doesn’t hurt as much as right after it happened.”

  He’d waited until she was sitting before doing the same himself. Now he was leaning forward as if ready to jump to his feet. The door was only a few feet away. She couldn’t blame him if he regretted getting involved with a woman with a bum shoulder, not that “involved” adequately described their relationship. She didn’t know what did.

  “I’ve taken aspirin,” she said. “That should help.” Hopefully more than it did last night.

  “So would putting it in a sling.”

  “I suppose.”

  “Can you move it or does that hurt too much?”

  “I can flex it some, but it feels better if I don’t, my body telling me what to do to help the healing.”

  “Maybe.” He sighed. “I think I need to lo
ok at it.”

  Need, not want. “You don’t have to.”

  For a moment she thought he was going to agree. When he shook his head, it seemed to take effort.

  “What is it?” she demanded. “You don’t owe me anything. Just because you gave me a massage—”

  “Do or don’t you want me to assess things?”

  She studied the floor. “I think you better.”

  He sighed again and stood. When he positioned himself at her side, she unbuttoned the shirt’s top button. Despite her reluctance to hear about what he might discover, she wanted him to remind her that she was a woman.

  A woman alone in the world.

  It was all so confusing.

  He probed—at least it felt that way—everywhere on her shoulder. He slowly lifted her arm and carefully rotated it in a small circle. Any other time she would have responded to a man’s fingers on bare flesh only inches from her unrestrained breasts, but this was now.

  She couldn’t stop clenching her teeth and her breathing sounded as if she was climbing a mountain. Her toes curled. She just managed not to swat his hands away.

  “Sorry,” he said at length. “I know that hurt.”

  Know, not guess. She couldn’t respond, not with pain winning the battle with her senses. At least he was done. The worst was over, for now.

  “There’s only so much I can determine from manipulation. It’s pretty swollen and the heat’s an indication of how much inflammation there is. Your mobility is severely limited, much more so than when I checked you out the other day.”

  He’d done more than focus on her shoulder. His fingers had spoken to her entire body and done something incredible to her nerves.

  He folded his arms across his chest. Sympathy she didn’t know what to do with lay deep in his expression.

  “I could be wrong,” he said. “I hope I am. But I don’t believe this is going to go away in a few days.”

  Not what she wanted to hear. Expected yes, but somehow it had been better before he’d said the words.