Page 65 of Chasing Creed

More thrashing, and Gunner’s owner barreled out from between the trees. The man’s chest heaved as he gasped for air. Seeing the dog was safe, he bent over, hands on his knees. He pulled off his hat. Wet gray hair that looked like feathers stuck to the sides of his head. He dragged a sleeve over his forehead.

“Mr. Sully, are you okay?”

He lifted a finger to give him a minute to catch his breath. Hank sat down and watched Gunner.

Ryder had hired the old Navy veteran before Christmas to help in the kennels. He’d been homeless and living in the woods with his dog when Ryder met him. There was a gentleness about him that had made Brodie feel comfort immediately. He was polite with kind eyes. The dogs all loved him, and that was a good enough reason for Brodie to trust him.

Also, she knew he loved the forest and the night sky as much as she did. He told her once that being on aircraft carriers in the middle of the ocean at night had given him a whole new respect for the stars.

Brodie pulled out the water and poured a bowl for Gunner, who lapped and lapped until the bowl was dry. Hank watched, drooling a bit. He looked up at Brodie. She poured more water and moved his bowl back to him. He took a couple of drinks then hovered over it, as if protecting it from Gunner.

She lifted the canteen, offering it to Sully.

“I’m good. Thanks,” he waved her off. “Sorry about Gunner surprising you like that. We were hiking on our break, and she insisted she heard somebody. Thought I better check and make sure it wasn’t a trespasser.”

He looked around as if he expected to see someone else on the other side of the woods.

Then he noticed the bandages scattered on her arms and legs. They were smaller now, but there were still too many of them. Hannah had insisted she cover them to keep her homemade salve from getting dirty and rubbing off.

“You okay?” He finally asked.

“I fell into a bush on our search up in Mississippi. It had an amazing number of sharp thorns.”

“Did it also have orange berries?”

“Yeah, it did.”

“Pyracantha. It’s called the firethorn. People plant them for cheap security barriers. They’re evergreens and grow without much care.”

“These were pretty much large and tangled and out of control.”

“Sorry about that. Those thorns hurt like hell, excuse my language. Their barbs are meant to dig in.”

“How do you know so much about them?”

“Living out in the woods, I’ve run into all kinds of things." His eyes darted around, including over his shoulder at the path. “You come out here a lot? All alone?”

“I’m not alone. I’ve got Hank.”

“Sure, sure.”

She looked back at Hank only to see he was still guarding his bowl from a dog three times smaller than him.

“I like it out here. It’s quiet.” Just as she said it, a red-cockaded woodpecker started to drill a tree close by. “Quiet from people,” she corrected herself. “Birds and animals, I don’t mind. Maybe not mosquitoes.”

Sully smiled at her. Brodie liked how his whole face seemed to join in from his squinting eyes to the upturned wrinkles at the corners of his mouth.

“I definitely agree with that.”

Brodie slid the bear spray canister back into its holster on her belt.

Sully nodded at it and said, “Looks like you have some extra protection.”

“Ryder insists.” She’d need to ask him how to keep Hank from getting hit with any back-spray. “He also nags me to have my phone with me at all times.” Her hand automatically checked her zippered back pocket to make sure it was still there. “Not like a phone call will save me.”

“True. Unless you get lost.” He dug a small one out of his breast pocket. “He makes me carry one, too. Told me he could at least locate my dead body.”

Brodie kept the alarm from reaching her face. She was good at controlling her emotions, but this struck a raw nerve.