The door was unlocked and Cait opened it. “Grady, you shouldn’t leave the door unlocked.”
Instead of Grady, Sierra and Melia ran out of the cabin. Their ears were down and they whined anxiously.
“Sierra, Melia, what’s wrong?” Cait stared at the dogs. “Did you run out of food? Sorry, I left you so long.”
The two blue chows milled around the porch, not even sniffing the two grocery bags she had. If Grady kicked them out, she was going to have a strong word with him.
“Come on in.” She patted her thigh before picking up the bags. “Grady, did you scare the puppies?”
There was no answer from inside. Sierra slunk into the cabin, but Melia ran to the opposite end of the porch.
“It’s going to be cold out there,” Cait called for her. “Come on in. I have chicken.”
The dog refused, so Cait had no choice but to shut the door. She’d check on her after she heated up the fried chicken. Maybe the smell of hot food would do the trick.
A low growl rumbled from Sierra as she stuck to Cait’s side all the way to the kitchen.
“I don’t get why you two are so upset. Grady used to have a dog. He’s not as mean as he looks.” Cait checked the food bowls and added dried dog food. “I know you probably want goodies, so I’ll heat up some of that leftover steak.”
She pulled the refrigerator door open and dropped the grocery bags along with her purse. Wheeling around, she noticed the dirty dishes in the sink and the general disorder of the kitchen.
“Darn it,” she screamed. “Grady, you bum. At least clean up after yourself.”
She marched to the bedroom where her brother was most likely taking a nap. He was the only loner of the family, having left civilization behind to live in the woods and smoke jump forest fires. But when he visited her, he needed to at least clean up after himself.
The bedroom was empty, and all her clothes were rumpled on the bed, as if someone had thrown them around. The closet door was wide open, and her luggage had spilled out.
Cold chills gripped Cait and she slumped to the ground, huddling with Sierra. Someone had been here, and it wasn’t Grady. He would never go through her things. No matter how much of a grouch he was, he was still a gentleman.
“It’s probably okay. It’s just someone caught in the snowstorm. Someone who was hungry. It’s how country folks are. They’re hospitable, right?”
Sierra barked in a not-so-friendly way.
“I better let Melia back in before she freezes.” Having two dogs around was better than none, although they were therapy dogs meant for comfort, not guard dogs.
Cait stumbled to the front door and found Melia cowering on the porch. The strange car was still there, and no one seemed to be around. Maybe the stranded motorist went off for help after filling his belly.
She grabbed Melia by the collar and dragged her, brushing snow into the cabin. “I checked the entire house. No one’s inside but us. Sorry you got spooked by the intruder.”
The puppy squealed and implored her with her big black eyes, but she was forced into the cabin and Cait shut the door tightly, bolting it.
“There, now I just have to get a warm fire going.” Cait picked up a log from the woodpile in front of the fireplace.
“Woo, woo, woo.” Sierra let out a loud roaring bark and charged at a masked man. He swung a bat and knocked her down, sending her squeaking with pain into the corner.
Whoever it was, it wasn’t Grady.
Cait screamed and threw the log at the intruder. He ducked and ran back into the kitchen, while Cait went to check on Sierra.
She tried to rouse the dog, but Sierra only wagged the tip of her tail and laid her head down. Cait had to get herself and the dog out of here before the man came back to finish them off.
Shuffling noises came from inside the kitchen, and there was nothing Cait could do but grab her coat, pull on her gloves, and open the front door. She and Melia would have to get help.
Melia took off like a black streak across the snow, and Cait chased her before going back to the driveway. There was no way she could keep up with the dog. Her ribs and chest still ached from the accident, and she wasn’t in the best physical shape.
Maybe the burglar left his keys in the car. She went around the car, brushing off snow.
The doors were locked.
