Bounty Hunter

Chapter 9

Joe returned to his cutter to find the dog chewing on the teddy bear again. He scowled, grabbed the bear, and tossed it onto the dash.

"I told you before, that's not yours."

She whined and then settled down on the seat.

As Joe drove through Cavil, he tossed a glance at the dog every few seconds, each time finding her watching him back, as if judging him.

"What do you want me to do?" Joe asked.

She cocked her head and decided not to answer.

Joe eyed a sign for a butcher shop, and he parked, returning a minute later with two packages wrapped in brown paper. The dog had the bear in her mouth again, and Joe took the toy away again. The dog licked her lips as she eyed the wrapped meat, so Joe decided to put the packages on the dashboard rather than on the seat between them. At least Joe didn't have to deal with the dog scrutinizing him anymore since she was now wholly focused on guarding the packages as if they were about to run off.

He drove to a modest area of the town where tiny domed stone homes were packed tightly together. After generations of living in tight quarters underground, it seemed that people couldn't handle the open space the surface provided—not that the surface was in any way hospitable yet. He turned down an alley that led behind a row of homes and drove until he came to a pale-stoned building that looked identical to every other building in the area. It had a covered lean-to behind it, where he parked Monster.

The man next door, the one Joe called Old Man Withers since he didn't know the man's real name, stood in his makeshift greenhouse watering his wilted plants. As usual, Withers paused long enough to give Joe his usual generous glare. Withers was a cantankerous sort that seemed to have long ago lost the ability to smile. As long as the neighbor kept to himself, Joe paid him no heed.

Little Nick Swinton burst from the house and was running toward him before Joe had the cutter powered down. Joe grabbed the packages, opened the door, and turned to the dog. "Okay. You stay here until—"

The dog jumped across Joe's lap, grabbed the bear, and leapt out of the vehicle. Nick's eyes went wide, then the biggest grin Joe had ever seen filled the boy's face as the mutt bounded toward him.

Joe hadn't intended on bringing a stray with him to the Swinton's home, but it seemed to have been the dog's intent all along. He wondered if he'd just been played by a canine. He stepped out of Monster to come face-to-face with the excited nine-year-old.

"Can I keep him, Joe?" Nick asked, his expression full of hope as he hugged the dog, which still held the teddy bear in her mouth.

"That's a question for your mother," he replied.

Nick looked worried for the briefest moment before his attention was drawn back to the dog. He took off running; the dog chased him, followed by Nick chasing her. Nick had inherited his mother's deep brown eyes and dark hair, but he'd inherited his sense of adventure and carefree attitude from his father. Joe wished the boy had inherited more than just his mother's features since it was exactly that kind of attitude that had gotten his father killed.

Nick was looking over his shoulder, laughing at the dog when his mother stepped outside. She held out her arms to keep him from plowing into her.

"Whoa! Be careful, Nicky," Sara Swinton called after her son.

"Sorry," he hollered without slowing.

Joe approached while she watched the pair play, her head cocked. She pointed. "What is that?"

"A dog that decided to go for a ride," Joe answered.

"So, he's not your dog?"

"Nope."