Kyron, page 9
In the distance, a series of shots were fired, and both dogs took off immediately, yet still so close together.
Kyron straightened up, his heart in his throat, as he watched Beth take off again. But they had made contact, so, as far as he was concerned, this was just about needing more time now. Yet something about the other dog shook him. He wasn’t sure what was going on or in any way had an explanation or even a theory, but he continued to think about it, as he slowly trudged his way back to the house.
He didn’t know how Miranda would feel if he camped out here several times over the next few days, trying to establish trust with the dog, but that immediately brought up something else.
Having now made contact with Beth, if he did get a hold of her, what was Kyron supposed to do? As he walked across the lawn, he phoned Badger.
“Well, I’ve found the dog,” he stated. “She’s definitely been on the loose for some time, but she’s hooked up with what looks like a German shepherd. The other dog is quite a bit bigger than her, yet dependent somehow, and I’m not sure what the scenario is. I was just making progress when somebody fired some shots in the distance, and they both bolted.” He paused, turned around to look in the direction the two dogs had gone, but he saw nothing. “Yet she was responding, and I know with a little bit of time, I can get her to trust me.” He added, “But that brings up the larger question.”
At that, Badger, his voice excited, replied, “Absolutely, it does. But this is huge, if you’ve actually found her. What kind of condition was she in?”
“Skinny,” he said instantly, “but holding. I’m at the house of a woman who has been feeding her, well, putting out dog food, unsure if it was for this dog or for coyotes, but the food was disappearing. She’d gotten a glimpse of the dog a couple times but never got close enough to get a look at her,” he explained quietly. “This woman is spending every penny she’s got, trying to run a rescue here. She’s got over forty animals, and it appears that she’s the only one suffering for lack of food or at least nutrients.”
“Ouch. So somebody else who’s operating more on heart than head?” Badger noted.
“Well, let’s just say that I’m sure she gets a lot of pushback from family and friends because she’s working two jobs, and everything goes to the animals.”
“Of course,” he replied, “and you can understand that too.”
“Absolutely,” he muttered. “But I’m not too sure what we’re supposed to do with this situation now. What if I get Beth back? I mean, I get that she needs to have a good set of choices and a good life from here on out, but do you have somebody here who can take her, somebody who’ll properly look after her?”
Badger was quiet for a moment. “In that location, no,” he stated finally. “Can you take her to your brother’s place?”
“No, I don’t think I can,” he answered quietly. “I’ll mention it to him, but his wife is not a big fan of dogs, and she’s well along in a high-risk pregnancy, so I don’t want to cause any trouble. In fact, I’m not sure I should even be there myself.”
“Right,” he agreed thoughtfully. “Let me talk to the rest of the team about it and see what we can come up with.”
“Will do,” Kyron said. “I just don’t want to see Beth go to another scenario where she ends up struggling, you know? Plus, she’s broken out of two different places here, so we’ll have to keep that in mind as well. And she seems strangely bonded to this other dog.”
“Right,” Badger noted quietly. “We’ve got to find the right placement. That’s why we took on this K9 project, to make sure all these animals ended up in homes that are safe and sound. We might find a rescue that can take her there or maybe adopt her somewhere within the city itself.”
“And it’s possible,” Kyron admitted. “Certainly decent people are here, but we’ve seen some lately who haven’t been all that easy to deal with. Like the people who got Beth originally.”
“Right, and I can contact the war department and see what can be done about that.”
“Haven’t you come across this problem before?”
“No, not yet,” he said.
“Well, what happened with all the other dogs you found?”
Badger laughed. “You may not want to hear this.”
“What?” Kyron asked.
“Every one of them was adopted by the man we sent out to find them.”
Kyron froze, as he thought about it. “Damn.”
“Why damn?” Badger asked.
“Because, I have to admit, it already crossed my mind. She is a dog I can handle because it’s work that I’ve done in the past,” he noted, “but that doesn’t mean that I’m ready to settle down.”
“No, and I’m not saying you have to,” Badger answered carefully. “This isn’t a trick. We’re not trying to get you to sign up for something like that, particularly if you’re not ready to put down roots. The dog needs a home where she can stay for good, where she doesn’t have to be rehomed yet again,” he explained quietly.
“More than that, she needs a place where she feels safe, and it’s very obvious, based on her current mannerisms, that she hasn’t felt safe in a long time,” he noted. “I did get a tail wag out of her eventually, but she’s wary, very wary.”
“Do you think she’s been hurt?”
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised, though I don’t have any evidence or any other reason to say that,” Kyron admitted. “Obviously something went on at her placement home that wasn’t at all what we’d hoped for.”
“Of course, and, if she’s been on her own for any time it makes more sense too. It makes me damn angry with the ass who didn’t let anybody know she was in trouble. They were only thinking about themselves and how much trouble they would be in,” Badger snapped. “Believe me. It’s not the first time we’ve seen something like that.”
“It’s still wrong, no matter how many times it happens though,” Kyron muttered.
“Sure it is, and being wrong is just one aspect of how these poor dogs ended up slipping through the cracks,” he replied, “but we’re doing what we can. As is the war department.”
“I know. I hear you,” Kyron said. “Let me think about it. I might have some solutions here.”
“Do you know people who are solid and serious in their commitment to handle Beth?”
“Maybe.” Kyron turned to stare at the house. “I don’t know. I’ll have to give it some thought. Talk to you later.” And, with that, Kyron hung up the phone and walked toward Miranda’s house. He knocked on the back door, and she opened it almost immediately.
“You got close to her,” she exclaimed.
“I did, but then some shots were fired or a truck backfired or something. I’m not sure what I even heard,” he explained. “Her reaction does make me wonder if she has PTSD though.”
Miranda winced immediately. “Oh, the poor baby.”
“Exactly.” Hesitating a moment, he began, “Look. I don’t want to impose, but I’ll need to come back and forth over the next few days to see if I can gain her trust. Also a second dog is with her.”
“I saw that, at least I thought I did,” she added. “I could just see you from my bedroom window. I was up there stripping the bedding to get it in the laundry, to rid it of all the dog and cat hair,” she said, with an eye roll. “I heard you whistle, then looked out, and later saw that you got somewhere.”
“I got somewhere. I’m just not sure where yet,” he admitted. “And honestly, a lot of progress is necessary in order to get her to the point where I can take her home—or to a home.” He hesitated. “I’m not too sure how long that will take.”
“And what about the second dog she’s with?” she asked anxiously.
“That’s the next problem. I wasn’t expecting a second dog, and they seem to be bonded.”
“What about your brother? Would he take it?”
“Nope.”
“Well, you need to spend whatever time you can give her,” she stated. “Come on back in again and get warmed up.”
He stepped inside, happy to feel the warmth. “Thank you, and I sincerely mean that. It helps that you’re an animal lover, so I can take time getting Beth’s trust, without pressuring her.”
“As long as you’ll look after the second one as well,” she stated immediately.
He winced at that. “I know. I need to. I called my boss to see what they want to do about this.”
“Well, I can’t have you taking them out of here to a worse situation,” she stated.
“Worse?” he asked, with a wry look.
“Yes, worse,” she confirmed, nodding.
“At the moment, now that we’ve found her, we have to move into the second stage, which is gradually gain her trust and get a leash on her, then see what we can do from there.”
She nodded. “And your brother?”
He shook his head. “My brother would probably be okay with it temporarily, as he’s an animal lover, or at least he used to be. But my sister-in-law is not.” She frowned at him. He frowned right back.
“I really can’t condone letting the dogs go into an unhealthy scenario,” she stated, crossing her arms over her chest.
He hated that he immediately noticed how plump and firm her breasts appeared over her arms. He gave himself a mental shake. “I get it. Let’s get all our options together, and I can come back tomorrow.” He looked out the kitchen window at the darkening sky. “Would you mind putting out more dog food for Beth today?”
“I can do that.” She smirked. “As you saw, I have plenty, and thankfully you helped me unload.”
“Right.” He nodded, still in his own thoughts. “I’ll bring a harness, some leashes, and dog food for Beth and her friend tomorrow morning. And see what I can do over the course of the day to hopefully gain her trust.” And, with that, he smiled at her. “Thank you for the coffee too.”
“Thank you for the help moving the dog food.”
“I’m just so glad you found Beth in the first place.”
She gave him a big grin. “Hey, any animal in need.”
“I get it, and I’ll see you in the morning.” And, with that, he headed back to his vehicle.
Chapter 6
Miranda closed the door, stepped inside, and warmed up some of the soup she had in her fridge. During the winter she often kept a pot of stew or soup on hand. As soon as that was done, she would have to do the evening chores. As she did, she took out more dog food for the two dogs outside the fence, calling out to Beth and the strange one with her, putting the dog food underneath a branch.
She headed back to make sure that all her animals were tucked in well for the night and then she went back inside. She thought she heard another odd sound, then turned around to the nearest window but couldn’t see anything. The dogs were calm and quiet, but, in the distance, more shots were fired.
She knew that several of the neighbors did target practice at times, and the sound of gunshots was not uncommon here, but it was dark already, and surely that would rule out target practice. She couldn’t help but wonder if someone was after the two dogs. That would break her heart. She studied the area outside through a now-open window, wondering if she might hear anything moving. There was just an odd feel to the night.
When another shot rang out, she immediately bolted outside, grabbing her jacket on the way. She headed out to her backyard, yelling as she ran.
“Stop shooting! Stop shooting! Damn it!” She first went over to check on the horses, but they had been spooked and were still running around in circles. She called out with a calm whistle, trying to get them to settle down.
That was another damn reason she needed to find her own property and to get out of this in-town living situation. Just too many people were around who thought it was funny to get the animals going, like the horses, but it caused their stress levels to go through the roof. It was definitely not healthy.
Then another shot rang out, followed by still another. After that, the silence was deafening. She turned slowly around, wondering at the odd sound she heard in the trees behind her. For the first time in a very long while, she was actually nervous. She slowly made her way closer to the trees, and, as she got there, she heard a heavy growl in the shadows. She frowned and then called out, “Beth, is that you?” The growl continued. “Shit.” She grabbed her phone and quickly punched in the number that Kyron had given her. Thankfully he answered right away.
“You need to get back here. I think she may have been shot.”
Kyron raced back toward Miranda’s house. His heart slammed against his chest at the thought of the poor dog having been shot. What asshole had done that? That he’d heard shots fired earlier didn’t bear thinking about. He’d heard them, but it was impossible to determine where they came from or even that they were gunshots.
If Beth had been shot, it also could have been an accident, although Kyron struggled with the concept of accidents when it came to shooting animals. Maybe the neighbor had seen Beth and had decided that, since she had taken off from him, she would just be a problem he should deal with by shooting her. Kyron didn’t know.
The fact that Miranda got close enough to hear the dog growling and not whining, meant that it was a dangerous situation. If Beth had been severely hurt, it was hard to say if she would survive, since she wasn’t in great condition to begin with.
The roads were heavy with snow, and it was coming down even heavier. He had just enough medical gear to maybe help a dog out in an emergency, but he didn’t know. He also needed a decent vet around here, who would take emergency cases, and, if it cost a lot to save Beth, they’d just figure it out. Maybe Miranda’s vet would help out if they needed him. Kyron could pay; he still had his savings, which was substantial at this point in time. Enough that he had to give serious consideration as to what he would do with that kind of money.
Would he buy a place here or move somewhere else, where his money would get him a little bit more? But he also had a piece of property that his grandfather had left him. He’d been the only one to receive anything from Granddad’s estate, and, of course, that had just caused even more problems within his immediate family. But Kyron didn’t know what condition it was in or what the place was worth, if it was worth anything at all. It was one of those things he had walked away from a long time ago when he had walked away from Aspen and his family and hadn’t really considered since. The tax bills came due on Granddad’s place, and Kyron paid it automatically, without even looking at it. It had just been another reminder of the negative part of his world.
And maybe that was wrong; maybe he should be reassessing that negative part of his world and seeing it more as a gift from his grandfather because it was. Kyron also knew he wouldn’t inherit anything from his parents, and his grandfather had seemed to realize that too, so he’d given the place to him. Predictably then, his own son, Kyron’s father, felt like he’d been stiffed, felt that what should have been his had gone to his son.
It seemed that these situations always ended up creating bad feelings. At the same time, Kyron didn’t really feel like it was his problem, since his father and grandfather had had such a breakdown in communication between themselves that they weren’t even speaking by the time his grandfather died.
It had broken his heart to lose him, but Kyron thought, for the rest of the family, the old man’s death had been a relief. That had hurt Kyron terribly because he’d loved his grandfather deeply, something that nobody else seemed to even realize. Allen may have, but Kyron doubted that Allen cared enough to even remember when his grandfather had passed. It was one of those sad scenarios that there was just no coming back from, once it had happened.
Snow was coming down at a steady pace, but it was by no means a storm. It was just snow. It was just Aspen in the winter. Something Kyron both loved and hated, yet how much was that hate tied to his other memories? And what would it take for those ugly memories to fade away? He knew in his heart of hearts that he no longer held anything against his brother and wondered if it had even been fair to have held something against him in the first place. Kyron didn’t know, and he had no solid cohesive thoughts about it at this point in his life. Yet Kyron had been through so much that he was a completely different person now.
The snow picked up as he got closer and closer to Miranda’s place. By the time he pulled into her driveway, the snow was coming down heavily. He got out of his rental, pulled on his gloves, and stomped his way up to the front door. “Hey,” he greeted her, when she opened the door and watched the relief on her face.
“Thank God you’re here,” she said. “I didn’t know what to do.”
“Can you tell me where she is?”
She nodded. “Give me a minute.” She stepped into big mukluks, grabbed a pair of heavy gloves, and said, “They’re around back.”
“Did you get very close?”
“No, and I didn’t try. She was growling pretty good.”
“No, that’s important too. I don’t want you to come with me, but I do need you to point out where I should be going.” And that’s what they did. She unlocked the gate, and her dogs came running. He looked down at them.
“I figured they’d be inside in this weather.”
“They would be, but they know Beth’s out there and that something isn’t right,” she noted.
“Animals are great that way, aren’t they?” he said, with a smile.
She nodded. “They are. At the same time, my dogs are also very wary. I go by that instinct of theirs as much as anything to know that this is a serious situation.”
“Got it.”
When they got around the side of the house, she pointed into the back corner of her fenced-in property. Not where the dogs would have been or where Kyron had caught sight of them before but over by a group of trees.
