CHAPTERFIVE
Mark stopped in his tracks and stared. The animal staring back at him from within the bush was definitely a dog. Not a bear. No wonder it had followed him through the woods. But what the hell was a dog doing way out here?
He crouched and held out a hand. “Come here, boy.”
The dog’s ears pricked. Mark couldn’t tell what breed it was. Something brown and fuzzy. Maybe a mutt.
“Hungry?” He sat on a fallen log and unzipped his pack, pulling out a stick of beef jerky.
The dog sniffed at the air hungrily and came out of the bushes, walking toward him. It stopped every few feet, eyeing him warily. Mark broke off a big piece of the jerky and held it out.
Apparently deciding beef trumped caution, the dog trotted the rest of the way over and stood before him, brown eyes fixed on the jerky. He was about the size of a German shepherd, but his coloring was all wrong. This dog was a more uniform brown, maybe some kind of Lab mix, but his ears…he had the most ridiculous ears Mark had ever seen. They were big and floppy, and the hair there was significantly longer than the rest of his body, shaggy with some curl to it.
Mark kept holding out the jerky until finally the dog came forward and took it gingerly from his fingers, still watching him warily.
“You lost?” he asked, bending to check for a collar. None.
And “he” was actually a “she.” There were burs matted in her fur, and her ribs protruded slightly, but she didn’t look to be in terrible shape.
“Thought you were a bear,” Mark told the dog as she swallowed the jerky and gazed longingly at the rest of the stick in his hand. “Guessing you’re hungrier than I am.”
He handed it to her, and she swallowed it in a single gulp, licking her lips and staring at him expectantly. With a sigh, he reached into his pack and pulled out more jerky. “This is the last one I’ve got though.”
He broke it into pieces, and the dog gobbled them down as fast as he held them out to her. Mark considered himself well prepared for just about any situation he might encounter out here, but he wasn’t actually sure what to do with a lost dog. Take her to the shelter maybe. They could look for her owners there or find her a new home if she didn’t have one.
He didn’t have a leash so he’d just have to hope she stuck around. Given the way she’d followed him earlier, he figured there was a good chance she would. He pulled out his water bottle and took a long drink and then drizzled some water onto the ground while she lapped at it.
“Mind hanging out while I finish marking this trail?” He stood, and she darted back a few feet but stayed nearby. Testing his theory, he hiked back to the spot where he’d first heard her in the bushes, near the head of the trail.
The dog followed a few steps behind.
So he got back to work, scouting and marking the mountain bike trail to show Jess when she stopped by later. He had a lot of work to do before he saw her.
***
It was just past five when Jessica finally left the spa. She was so excited to explore her new land she could hardly wait. She had her phone ready to take pictures and a copy of the map she and Mark had looked at last week to start scouting cabin locations. She’d already gotten approved for a small business loan so, as soon as she’d gotten the lay of the land, it would be time to hire a contractor and start building.
The sun was starting to dip behind the treetops as she walked out the back of the spa, cutting directly onto her new land. Her land! She was grinning like an idiot. So what if she was going to be stretched as thin as cellophane for the next few years paying for it all? The reward at the other end was going to besoworth it.
Leaves crunched beneath her feet as she walked. Around her, the trees blazed with color. The distant babble of the stream filtered through them, steady and soothing. This place was absolute perfection for her spa cabins. She pulled out her phone and started taking pictures, marking dots on the map in her favorite spots.
Eventually, she wound up in the middle of the property, near the area the guys wanted to use for their mountain bike course. In fact, there was a series of orange flags leading over a nearby hill that she suspected Mark had left for just that purpose.
Curious, she walked to them, following the path he’d marked. It led over the next hill and down the other side, headed for a flat patch of land that bordered Off-the-Grid’s original property.
“You approve?”
Stifling a yelp, she whirled to find Mark behind her, a brown dog at his side. It really was unfair that he could move so quietly. “Yes, but…did you get a dog?”
He glanced down at the mutt standing at attention beside him. “Nah. Found her.”
“Really? Out here?” Jessica stepped closer, holding out a hand toward the dog, who eyed her warily, never budging from Mark’s side.
“Yeah. I’ll drop her by the shelter when I leave.”
“Hi, girl.” Jessica crouched down, talking to the dog. “How’d you wind up out here?”
The dog flicked her ears forward and took a step in Jessica’s direction. She was fairly large, with brown fur that was matted in places and adorable, fluffy ears. After a little coaxing, she walked over and licked Jessica’s hand.
