Tucker by Dale Mayer

Author:Dale Mayer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Military, Romance
ISBN: 9781773364360
Publisher: Valley Publishing Ltd.
Published: 2021-08-11T16:00:00+00:00

Tucker opened his eyes, stifling the groan seeping through his taut lips. Tucker knew from old times that, upon first waking up, the silence was instinctive, now ingrained only after long years of training and experience. He’d taken a blow to the head. A blow he hadn’t seen coming. He was on the forest floor and reached out a hand, and it landed on a furry back. Hearing a whine from the animal, he opened his eyes. Bernie sat here, looking down at him, worry in her huge chocolate-colored eyes. She leaned over and nudged his cheek and chin with her nose. He reached up and gently stroked her.

“Hey, girl,” he whispered. “You’re standing guard over me.” She gave a tiny whine again and then laid down alongside him, her body heat soaking into his. He lay here for a long moment, regaining his breath and a sense of awareness as to where he was and what had happened. He reached up a hand to the sore spot on his head, and his fingers came away sticky. Almost no daylight remained, and it was hard to see anything.

In the distance, he heard the brush being trashed as somebody raced through the trees. It didn’t take much longer to realize the sounds were coming toward him. He put a hand on the dog’s neck and, using her for support, pulled himself up to a sitting position. He didn’t know if it was a friend or foe racing toward him, but he needed to be prepared if it were the latter. He heard somebody call out, and then the dog barked again. He calmed her down and whispered, “Stay quiet, stay quiet.” Then he heard a female calling out, “Tucker!”

With his croaking voice, he answered, “I’m here.”

Seconds later two people broke into the clearing where he sat and came to a dead stop. Shock, relief, and dismay were on their faces. Addie raced over and dropped to her knees beside him. “Oh, my God,” she said. “Are you okay?”

“I’m not sure yet,” he said. “I just woke up a few moments ago.”

“You’ve been missing for hours,” she whispered, her hand going to his head. He winced as she touched the wound, but, remembering she was a nurse, he let her take a look at it. She had a phone in her hand, turned on the flashlight, and took a good look. “You’ll need stitches,” she announced. “Let me see if there’s any other damage.”

He lay back down again, as she did a quick check of his body. Everything felt okay, but he couldn’t be sure because he hadn’t stood yet. She checked his eyes, noted that his pupils were at least moving properly. “Somebody attacked you from behind, I presume, given the site of the injury,” she said quietly, as she sat back on her knees.

He looked at her, frowned, and said, “The last thing I remember was going to the truck to let Bernie here out.”

“You said you would check on her, and you left me inside the restaurant.

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