**********
Randy raced up the maintenance road, his lights flashing. He scanned the brush on either side of the road for any sign of Josh or Elizabeth. He honked his horn every few yards hoping to scare off any wolves prowling the area. His heart pounded in his ears at the thought of Josh standing over Elizabeth’s body, fighting off a pack of wolves in the utter darkness that surrounded them.
He caught a movement out of the corner of his eye and slammed on the brakes. He opened the truck door and shouted, “Josh! Elizabeth!”
“Here!” Josh called out from a short distance to his left.
Randy flipped on the spotlight attached to his door and swung it in the direction of Josh’s voice. He quickly located the deer stand. Josh and Elizabeth were standing on the platform waving at him.
“We’re getting married!” Josh yelled, flashing a brilliant smile.
Randy shook his head and called back, “That’s great, but we really should get her out of the cold before she catches pneumonia.”
The excitement of Josh’s announcement quickly wore off when they pulled back up in front of the cabin. Elizabeth stared at the state troopers gathered inside the garage. “Kilo,” she gasped turning to Josh, “Franklin shot him.”
Josh glanced at Randy, who shook his head and said, “I’m sorry.”
Josh opened the truck door and headed slowly to the garage. Charlie rushed to greet him, bouncing around him excitedly. Josh patted Charlie briefly and then went to kneel beside Kilo’s still form. One of the state troopers said, “He was gone before we opened the door. He didn’t have a chance.”
Josh nodded silently; the scent of death filled the garage with its pungent odor. Josh stroked the soft fur on Kilo’s head. “He did his job, didn’t you boy? He’s been protecting Beth and Charlie for quite some time now.” Josh whispered and scooped Kilo up in his arms. He carried him to his truck that now sat beside Amy's SUV. The troopers were loading the ATV’s back into the truck bed. Randy rushed to the truck, opened the passenger door, and small rear door for Josh. Josh laid Kilo on the back seat and motioned for Elizabeth.
Randy closed the rear door and waited until Elizabeth arrived to tell them both, “Franklin died soon after we headed into the woods. It’s over.”
Chapter Eleven
Two months later
“January weather in Utah is hard to predict. We almost always get more snow than in the city because we are in the mountains.” Elizabeth explained to her mother over the phone. “We could have two feet of snow next weekend, or the ground could be completely bare. Either way, the wedding is a go. Josh will get you here from the airport. He has a pickup truck, and he’s used to driving in deep snow, mother. It’s not a big deal. Just bring some waterproof boots and a warm coat, you’ll be fine.”
Josh sat next to her on the sofa, trying not to laugh as she disconnected the call. She turned and frowned at him, saying, “I told you we should have taken the kids and eloped to Hawaii.”
“Baby, that’s just not how it’s done around here,” Josh said, slapping his knee for Charlie to come to him when Molly opened the back door.
The doorbell rang, and Molly ran to the door, “My dress is here!” She yanked open the door to find Amy and Randy standing there with their arms full of dry cleaning. Randy pointed behind him; Molly gasped and ran out the door.
Jake followed them inside boasting loudly, “Randy says I can drive his truck!”
“Over my dead body,” Josh countered, and rose to take the tuxedos and gowns from Randy.
“Just once,” Jake whined coming to his side. “I’ll be careful.”
Josh ignored him and shot a glare of annoyance at Randy, who quickly shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t know how the boy got that impression. Driving a vehicle without a driver’s permit is illegal in the state of Utah.”
Josh laughed and slapped Randy heartedly on the back, then turned to Jake, “Why don’t we work on teaching you to drive the ATV first, then we’ll see about the truck.”
“Awesome!” Jake said, he turned and gave Randy a high five.
“Was I just manipulated?” Josh asked with a raised eyebrow.
Molly came rushing back in the door, dancing with delight. She asked, “What’s its name? What’s its name?”
Elizabeth took the dry cleaning from Josh, and they turned to look for the source of all the excitement. Molly was beaming with joy. In her arms was a white malamute puppy. “He’s so white you should call him Snowball!” she gushed, moving to show her father.
Randy laughed and said, “I don’t think a future police dog should be called Snowball, sweetie. I was thinking of calling him Or Else. That way I could say to a criminal ‘Put your hands up...” then he pointed at the puppy and added, “or else.”
Josh laughed and reached for the puppy. Jake came up beside him and stroked the pup's head.
Jake stared at it for a moment as a look of sadness crossed his face. He turned to Randy and asked softly, “Can we call him Kilo?”
The room grew silent. Josh reached out and took hold of Jake’s shoulder. He’d taken Kilo’s loss hard. It was nearly three weeks before Jake could sleep through the night without waking up from nightmares.
Randy cupped Jake’s chin and glanced at Amy who nodded her agreement. “That name is perfect.”
The End
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