They drove back to the cabin, arriving just as Josh’s men were heading down the drive back out to the road. They flagged Josh down and pulled off the narrow driveway. Instead of waiting for them to pass, the driver got out of the car and waved Josh over. Josh climbed out of the truck and went to talk to them. Elizabeth glanced up at the crystal blue sky that was beginning to grow cloudy as it gently induced the treetops to sway in a slow dance to its whispered sound. Josh spoke to his men briefly, then returned to the truck.
Elizabeth asked, “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Josh offered quietly, “They boarded up the window and tossed the bear carcass in the back of the truck. Mike said to warn you that the place is pretty torn up.”
Randy and Amy followed in his truck behind them. Josh pulled up in front of the house and helped Elizabeth down out of the truck.
Elizabeth stood gazing down at the dark stain in the grass where the bear died. She glanced up the tree, following the branches to the roofline. Her heart pounded in her ears. Only then did she realize how close she and Charlie both came to death. Josh came to stand beside her; she turned to gaze into his eyes.
Her eyes grew moist with tears; she whispered, “If you hadn’t come when you did, and that bear had reached the roof...”
“Don’t think about it.” He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her.
Elizabeth said softly, her voice deep and husky, “You saved my life.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned against him as their lips met. Once again, Elizabeth forgot about her rules and theories and allowed her emotions to surge upward. Her kiss was deep and passionate. Josh pulled her hard against him. His manhood quickly swelled in response to her passion. Elizabeth’s heart raced as his hands slowly ran down the length of her back to push her harder against him.
“Having sex in public is discouraged in these here parts.” Randy’s amused voice came from behind them. He squeezed Amy’s hand, delighted their strategy appeared to be working.
Josh reluctantly released Elizabeth and slid his arm around her waist. He shot an amused frown at Randy then turned back to her and asked, “Are you ready to go inside? My boys boarded up the window, so it’s safe.”
Elizabeth glanced at Amy who smiled weakly and nodded her encouragement saying, “Let’s go take a look.”
Josh opened the front door and went in first, followed by Elizabeth and the others. They stood at the entrance, taking in the chaos. The bay window stood boarded over with particleboard, blocking all view of the backyard. The dining table was a pile of wood. Several items were scattered throughout the room along with the remnants of lunch and the table setting. The sofa sat on its side; the coffee table lay in pieces before it. A musty animal smell hovered about the room mixed with the scent of the particleboard. Elizabeth moved closer to the dining area and slipped on the wood floor. She glanced down and gasped in horror. She had stepped in a pool of blood.
“Oh, Charlie!” She moaned and turned to the others, “This is where the bear caught her! My poor Charlie, she must have been so scared!”
Amy rushed to pull her back from the pool of blood saying, “The important thing is that Charlie got away from the bear, and she’s going to be fine.”
Elizabeth allowed Amy to pull her back into the kitchen. Elizabeth asked, “Why? Why did the bear do that? I’ve never heard of a bear breaking into a home before.”
Josh glanced at Randy then back to Elizabeth and said, “Baby, it was hungry. It probably caught the scent of the chicken you were grilling and then saw Charlie. Bears are predators. You’re right on the edge of the preserve. The good news is you saw it coming.”
“Thanks to Charlie,” Elizabeth answered.
Randy added, “Elizabeth, it really is incredible that Charlie got away. It’s a miracle you both survived; you are very lucky.”
“Because of Josh,” Elizabeth gazed at Josh in admiration.
He smiled and said, “I guess that makes me your knight in shining armor. Perhaps that should be your next book, The Knights Among Us.”
They laughed as Elizabeth embraced him. Amy and Randy sat the sofa upright and began to clean up the mess. Elizabeth grabbed some garbage bags from the kitchen as Josh and Randy gathered up the pieces of the broken table and carried them to Josh’s truck. The sun disappeared behind the mountains, and the sky took on a sapphire hue by the time they deposited the last of the debris in the back of Josh’s truck.
Josh checked the bay window to make sure it was safe, then turned to Elizabeth and said; “We’ve done all we can for tonight.”
Randy added, “Amy and I are heading to my house tonight, unless you need us for anything else.”
Amy walked over to Elizabeth as she finished washing her hands in the kitchen sink and said, “Are you going to be okay, here tonight?”
Josh answered for her, “She’s coming home with me.”
Elizabeth turned to look at Josh. Then turned to Amy and said, “I’m good. I’m going to see Charlie in the morning. Do you want to come with me?”
“Sure, I’ll pick you up at 9 o’clock,” Amy answered.
Elizabeth gave her a fierce hug and added, “After we make sure Charlie is okay, let’s head into town and trade that Mini in for a small SUV for you.”
Randy came up to them and said, “That’s a great idea. If you don’t mind, I’d love to go with you.” He turned to Josh and added, “What do you say, Josh, let’s make a day of it? We can head up to Bear Lake and have a picnic after we get the new car. We could even stay the night and maybe take the boat out in the morning?”
Amy giggled in delight at Elizabeth and Randy’s suggestions, then gasped and turned to Josh, asking, “You’ve got a boat?”
Josh winked at Amy, then walked up to Elizabeth and said, “Did I mention that I own a speed boat and have a cabin on the lake?”
Elizabeth laughed and hugged his neck adding, “Did I mention that my editor wants me to write porn?”
That elicited a huge snorting guffaw from Randy that caused several minutes of uncontrolled laughter, and then they headed outside. Josh hesitated as they headed to their separate trucks. Grabbing Randy by the arm, he immediately pulled him aside.
Josh spoke quickly in hushed tones, “I need to speak to you. Follow my lead, and I’ll explain later.”
Randy froze, confused by Josh’s suddenly serious demeanor. He watched in silence as Josh called out to Elizabeth, “Beth, Randy and I want to check out the rear of the house. Why don’t you and Amy take my truck and we’ll meet you at my house; the doors unlocked.” Josh pulled his keys from his pocket and escorted Elizabeth to his truck.
Randy glanced at Amy and shrugged, “Go with it.” He whispered, “I’m not sure what’s going on.”
Amy smiled and turned to head to Josh’s truck. Randy quickly followed and walked with her to the passenger door. He gave her a quick kiss and winked, saying, “Keep her busy, we’ll be along shortly.”
Amy flashed him a brilliant smile. Josh and Randy stood and watched as Elizabeth turned the large pickup around and headed back down the driveway. When they disappeared around the bend, Randy turned to Josh and gave him an expectant stare.
Josh met his gaze boldly and said, “My foreman, Mike, said they found a dead fox under the back deck, and there is a blood trail across the yard.”
Randy frowned and said, “So the bear was tracking the fox and charged the house when he smelled the meat.”
“There’s more,” Josh added his tone dark and menacing. “Mike said the fox was killed with a bow and there is a blood smear across the foot of the bay window.”
Randy went to his truck and pulled out a large flashlight. He said, “Let’s go take a look around out back. We’ll have to come back tomorrow to follow the blood trail. I’ll meet you here while the girls are at the vet; let’s keep this to us in the meantime.”
Chapter Six