What Happens On the Mountain by J.J. Probasco

Author:J.J. Probasco
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: veteran, military working dog, wounded warrior, strong female characters, family
Publisher: J.J. Probasco
Published: 2018-06-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

I think Penny and I had both begun to imagine the unimaginable. Sorta sidling up to the possibility, way back in the crevices of our minds, but never quite letting it bubble all the way up to consciousness. That didn’t ease the shock and surprise much, but it made them go away a little sooner, maybe. Donnie’s appearance raised a dozen questions, and was pretty stingy on answers.

Wayne and Scotty saw me and raced to my side, and nothing could occur to them to say but, “Dad! Dad!”

Jace likewise saw Penny lying there in her loose pile of unconsciousness and hurried to her side, calling, “Mom! Mom!” It was a relief for the boys, seeing we were alive and reasonably well, and being able to be with us, whether they thought they were giving comfort to us or drawing comfort from us. Both, I guess. The little ones latched onto me and Jace cradled Penny’s face in his hands, trying to get her to wake up and hear him asking if she was okay. He had seen her tumble to the ground and was reasonably assured it was just a faint, but double checked her pulse and breathing just to make sure. Then he just held her until her eyelids fluttered, and helped her sit up.

While Penny was regaining her bearings, I was hugging and reassuring the boys. Well, since I was tied up, I was letting them hug me. I was also examining Donnie. As he was examining me. The smirk on his face let me know that he was pretty proud of putting one over on me. A big one, too. And not just on me, but on the whole world.

The boys were trying to tell me everything that had happened to them, and I got a vague sense of the events but I’m afraid I really wasn’t paying very good attention to them. Jace was going through the same thing with Penny. I gathered that they never even made it to the house, and my heart sank with the knowledge that no cavalry was on the way. But I was mostly watching Donnie and trying to gain some kind of comprehension of what was going on.

Duke came out from behind his tree during the reunion commotion and went over to Donnie. It seemed to be what he’d been waiting for; there was no doubt the two of them were together in whatever was going on. They conferred in low tones, and neither took their eyes off their five confused hostages for long.

I was struck by their similarities. Mostly their heights. I didn't think much about it when I saw that Duke was only a few inches taller than Penny, except that maybe I could have an advantage over him if I got a chance to do a little whupping on him.

Now I realized that Donnie was just a couple of inches taller than Duke. I had always been cognizant of Donnie being shorter than me, but it was more significant that he towered over Penny.

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