Coyote True by Stephen Bly

Author:Stephen Bly
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: hunting, mystery, nevada, camp stories, christian action adventure, pets dogs, faith and character driven, galena, friendship adventure, pets horses
Publisher: Bly Books

Chapter 7

“Where’s my father?” Nathan blurted out.

“What are you doing here?” Colin chimed in.

“What about Pepper? Is he out in the wagon?”

“Did you make it to town?”

“Where’s your horse?”

Leah just stood there, with water pouring off her clothes and puddling on the cabin floor. The tears streaming down her eyes were hardly noticeable.

“Have you two been dr-drinkin’? I ain’t co-comin’ in here if you two are dr-drunk,” she insisted.

“No,” Nathan shouted. “Of course not. We just broke a jug, and it smelled the place up.”

Without speaking another word, she plodded over to the fire, wiped her face off on one of Colin’s blankets, and huddled down to the flames.

“Hey, that’s my—” Colin began. Nathan raised a hand to his mouth and silenced him. He nodded at Leah with his head. In the flickering light of the fire he could see her blue lips and hear her chattering teeth as she struggled to find some warmth.

Nathan dug through the grub sack, filled a strainer with tea, and plopped it into a tin cup of hot water. Leah didn’t try drinking any, but clutched the warmth of the cup in her hands and allowed the steam to surround her face.

“Th-th-thanks . . . thanks,” Leah mumbled.

“What about Pepper?” Colin probed.

“I’ll...” she stammered, “later. I’ve got to get some wa- warm clothes.”

“Yeah.” Nathan nodded. “Sure. Where’s your gear? On your horse?”

After a slight pause and a gulp of tea, Leah looked up. “I lost it.”

“You lost your gear?” Colin cried.

“I, I lost the horse,” she sniffed.

“What?”

“I got so we-wet that the saddle slipped. Then the horse bucked, and I fell in the mud. I—I don’t know where the horse is.”

“You lost the horse,” Colin shouted.

Leah began to cry.

Nathan tried to think what to do next.

“Do you want some beans?” he blurted out.

She shook her head.

“What did you want? Eh, oh yeah, clothes. Do you want to wear my extra shirt and britches?”

Leah nodded her head.

“Yeah, okay, eh ... ” Nathan dug through his bedroll and yanked out his spare shirt and britches. “Look, these aren’t very fancy. I mean, I had these back in Indiana, but it’s all I brought.”

“Thanks.” Leah nodded, taking the clothes. “You b-boys will have to leave.”

“Leave?” Colin exclaimed.

“I need to change clothes,” she insisted.

“But there’s no other room,” Nathan explained. “It’s pouring down rain out there; we can’t go outside.”

She motioned. “I’ll ch-change under the blanket. Go down there and cl-close your eyes,” she commanded.

After hiding their eyes while Colin slowly counted to one hundred, the boys were allowed to come back towards the fireplace.

Leah sat cross-legged next to the fire, wearing Nathan’s shirt and britches, a blanket pulled around her shoulders. Her wet clothing hung, dripping, from a rafter.

“Doin’ better?” Nathan asked.

“Yes, thank you. I ain’t never worn britches before.”

Nathan and Colin sat next to her.

“Could you tell us what happened now?” Nathan asked.

“Sure.” Leah mumbled.

The boys waited for a moment, but she didn’t speak.

“Maybe she’s embarrassed,” Colin whispered to Nathan.

“Maybe she’s asleep.” Nathan nudged Leah, and her eyes flung open in wild confusion.

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