Dove Strong by Erin Lorence

Author:Erin Lorence
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian Fiction
Publisher: Pelican Book Group
Published: 2018-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

19

I must’ve slept. I opened my eyes to bright moonlight…and scratching. And…was that an animal’s snuffling?

I’d fallen over. My cheek rested against the platform. Now I shifted my head to peer down through the wide cracks between the uneven boards.

Brown fur on a sleek body. Too small for a bear.

The animal moved, and a head flashed into view. I recognized the familiar square snout and the pointy ears. A frayed piece of rope trailed behind.

Go away, I pleaded with the boxer—the same dog we’d run into yesterday when it was still tied up. I swallowed hard as it reared up against the trunk.

The dog itself didn’t scare me—not much. But where was its owner?

I strained to listen for footsteps over the clawing sounds. Now I understood why having a Darcy cat might come in handy. Every dog I’d ever met—including this one—would hightail it if it stumbled upon a bobcat’s predator scent. And take its unwelcome owner far away with it.

I glared at Reed’s dark, motionless form in the opposite corner between the others.

Would it have killed you to keep your dumb cat for one more night?

As if he’d heard me, Reed rose into a crouch. I slammed my eyes shut and listened to him limp his way over to the platform’s edge.

Then I peeked.

He still knelt, but his back faced me now, all bent over at an awkward angle. Even so, I still made out his outstretched arm. He leveled an object at the dog below.

I recognized the object—a weapon so forbidden back home even Gilead never asked for one.

I pressed my eyeball against the wide crack and braced myself for the gun’s loud retort. Mentally, I cringed. The dog’s body would crumple, fall, and life would drain away.

I heard a quiet hissing. Through the space, I saw the stream of water—a gossamer line— that ended in the hollow of the dog’s up-pointed ear.

The boxer yelped in surprise, and the sleek body vanished from my line of vision. I closed my eyes. It was probably making its panicked exit down the wooded slope through the undergrowth and trees.

“I don’t kill dogs for fun, Dove.” I heard Reed limp back over and settle on the planks near my feet. “Quit pretending. I know you’re awake.”

I abandoned my fake slow breathing and crackled into a sitting position, clutching my blankets tight. The rough bark chilled my still-damp back. I shivered while he set down the water pistol and picked up his bag of deer meat where I’d left it.

He spoke around his mouthful. “I’m not a monster. Stone and I rarely kill God’s creations. Ninety-nine percent of the time there’s a more creative solution for a problem.”

“A creative solution, like letting Darcy loose on the problem.” I remembered the sick expression on Stone’s face earlier and shivered again.

He nodded and swallowed. “Yes. Rare as well, but yes. Though I do think it’s hypocritical of you to bring that up since you wished for my pet a few moments ago.”

My breath stuck. I had wished for Darcy.

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