Henry

Chapter 10

            The security man’s light grew stronger and stronger. Panicking, I got back up to my feet and started pushing Henry back toward the window I had crawled through. Dog barks continued to sound all through the shelter to the point where there was a strong ringing in my ear.

            Once at the window, I tried to jump high enough to carry myself up and through the hole, but I was too short. Being the smart creature that he was, Henry gripped the sides of my waist and lifted me from the ground and through the window. I zipped back around once I was outside and held my hand out for Henry. By that point, the security man had rounded the corner and spotted us.

            “Hey! You! Stop this instant!” he shouted, taking off at a run.

            “Henry, come on!” I yelled, tugging with all my might to help him up through the window. The security man was almost in reaching distance. “Faster, faster!”

            Finally, after one of the most intense moments I had been through passed, I lead Henry to the trunk of the pick-up. I made sure the door was closed securely before running to the car seat.

            I peered through the back window to talk to him. “Henry, hold on tight! I’m gonna get you out of here!” I turned the car on and didn’t waste any time after putting it in Drive to speed away. Through the rearview mirror I could see that Henry had his own personal expression of relief as he sat back and watched the trees zoom by the car.

            I drove for almost forty-five minutes before pulling the car over on the side of the road. I knew we had to shake the trail up a bit so it wouldn’t be as simple for us to be found. Henry and I were going back to the same cave we lived in before, but I didn’t want to do so without creating a false trail.

            Again, I held my hand up for Henry and allowed him to lead the way through the woods. I had a vague idea of where we were, but he would know better. I struggled to keep pulling my suitcase over the ragged terrain of the forest floor.

The weight of my luggage was unbearable. After an hour of walking, I began to fall behind. Henry noticed and came back for me, taking my suitcase on his shoulder and cradling me with his other arm. I was so exhausted by then that I had no trouble falling asleep in his large, hairy arm. I had complete trust in him and knew that I was safe where I was. Soon, we would be back to the way of living—the way I preferred it.

…In the mind of Blake…

My eyes opened and stared at the clock. It was almost eight. I rolled over groggily, expecting to see my sleeping wife-to-be, but she wasn’t there. In fact, her side of the bed was still made from when she cleaned the sheets yesterday.

I shot upright in my bed and stared around our bedroom. There was not one sign indicating that Aggie had even entered the room. I kicked the sheets from my legs and opened the door. I ran right into the kitchen, living room, family room, and finally the stable. Guilt and sadness soon began to overcome me. I gloomily walked back into the house and almost went back to sleep, unable to find motivation to stay awake, when I saw a notepad taped to the wall opposite the door.

Desperate, I ripped it down and read through it, my heart slowly plummeting with it. She was out risking her life once again for an animal. I was going to lose her; there was no doubt in my mind. Someone would mistake her for an animal while on a hunting trip, the beast would kill her… the possibilities were endless. And with our wedding in just a week, it only made the pain worse.

Just as Aggie had instructed, I listened to the voicemail and nearly passed out on the floor. $300,000 and she still wasn’t pleased? That could pay for twelve of our weddings! I suddenly had the gut-wrenching feeling that her running away was completely my fault. If I hadn’t yelled at her… if I hadn’t hit her…