Wilderness Challenge - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

         Candi woke to bright sunshine.  She felt refreshed as she pushed the covers back, and let Rascal out.  When she looked at her watch she was surprised to find she had slept all of twelve hours.  She needed to get the cow milked.  She hurried to the shed.  The cow looked at her with her calm brown eyes, and she felt strangely safe and secure.  With the milk stored she went back to the cabin and grabbed a towel, changed into her swimsuit, and was soon heading down to the river for her morning swim.

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         Logan was relieved when he saw Rascal let out.  He had watched for her for the past couple hours.  He saw her emerge from the cabin a short while later and head for the shed to milk the cow.  Relieved he once again resumed his scan of the countryside.

         He had picked up the sight of the hikers, when he saw the smoke from their campfire just after sunrise.  The smoke was gone, and he knew they were on the move again.

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         Candi washed up the previous night’s dishes after breakfast, before she went out to check on her garden.  She was interested in how it had fared during the storm, and found the vegetables as hearty as ever, and looked like they had grown several more inches with the storm.

         The firewood was next on her list of daily chores.  She would need a lot more before winter set in.

         She didn’t see Logan at all that day, and found she missed him.  Her mind kept going back to what he’d told her before the storm, and realized she had misjudged him.  If he hadn’t cared about her, he wouldn’t have come over during the storm.

         With chores done, she realized she hadn’t seen Rascal for quite some time.  She was about to saddle Lightning Storm, to look for him when he came in sight, limping and bloody.  She rushed to him and gathered him in her arms and carried him into the cabin.

         “Oh, what have you done?  Where were you?  How did this happen, huh, boy?”  She crooned to him as she began cleaning him up.  There were large gashes in his side and his snout had a couple deep gashes as well.  He looked like he had been through the war.

         Frantic with worry, she called the ranger station.  “CM Alpha One to RS Tango Five, Logan are you there?  Over.”

         Logan was in the tower when he heard her frantic call, and quickly grabbed the hand set.  “This is RS Tango Five, come in CM Alpha One.  Over.”

         “Logan?  It’s an emergency.  I need you right away!”

         “What’s the matter?”

         She was crying.  “It’s Rascal.  He’s badly hurt.  Large gashes in his sides and all over his face.”

         “I’ll be right there.  Keep him warm as best you can.  RS Tango Five signing off.”  Logan went for his medical kit.  He made sure he had enough bandages and medication for him.  It was good he had one year of veterinary training along with the other medical training for the ranger program.

         Andy entered the tower when he was ready to leave.  “I heard.”

         “Thanks.”  Logan headed down the tower steps to the helicopter and soon landed outside the cabin.  Candi was outside the door as soon as she heard its approach.  “He just lays there.  His eyes are glassy.”

         “I’ll need plenty of hot water, and blankets or towels.”  He followed her into the cabin.  Rascal lay on the bearskin rug in front of the fireplace.  His eyes followed his progress, but otherwise he remained unmoving.

         “I’ve cleaned the wounds with peroxide.”

         “You’ve done a good job.  Now I need you to remain calm, and bring the lamp over to the table.”  Logan picked Rascal up and carried him to the table, so he could work on him better.

         “He’ll be all right won’t he?  I’m not going to lose him, am I?”

         “I’m going to have to give you something to calm you down pretty soon, if you don’t relax.  Do you have the hot water?”

         “Yes, it’s on the stove.”

         He saw a clean basin on her sink.  “Pour it into that basin.”

         She followed his instructions, and he soon had Rascal wrapped in bandages, lying once again in front of the fireplace.

         “You look exhausted, why don’t you get some sleep.  Rascal will be fine.  In a couple days he’ll be ready to chase rabbits again.  You’ll see.”

         “I’ll be fine.  I just want to stay up with him, make sure he’ll be okay.”

         “You won’t do him any good if you’re not well.  Now go to bed.  I’ll be surprised if he’s up and around tomorrow.  I expect a few days and he’ll be good as new.”

         “What caused it?”

         “Looks like coyotes.  He must have run into a pack of them close by.”

         “Would you like some coffee?”

         He tipped her tear-streaked face up to his, and looked into eyes.  “He’ll be all right.  Honest.  I’ve seen much worse, and the animal has pulled through.  Rascal’s a tough dog.  He’ll be bouncing around here before you know it.  Now before you exhaust yourself.  Go to bed.  I’ll come over and check on him in the morning.  How’s that?”

         “I should have listened to you, and kept him closer to the cabin, but he loves his freedom so much, and so do I.”

         “I know.  I think he’ll stay closer from now on.”

         “You really think so?”

         “You’ll soon find out.  Now do what I suggest, or I’ll be taking care of you next.”

         “All right.”

         “Now I must get back to the station.  I’ll take a rain check on that coffee another day.”

         She followed him out to the porch and watched as he took off.  All kinds of mixed emotions ran through her.  When he had touched her, she had longed for him to kiss her again.  She had wanted to hold on to him, and feel his strong arms around her.  He had been harsh with her, about the cow, and he had been gentle.  What kind of man was Logan Carmichael?

         She wasn’t ready for those thoughts just yet.  She was still working through what had happened not too long ago.  Despite the fact that she wanted to hold him, she was still frightened of what that would do to her.  The memories were still too fresh.  She was just grateful he hadn’t told her parents what happened.  She was certain she would have been on that plane back to Minneapolis if he had.

         She went back into the cabin, poured herself a cup of coffee, and despite Logan’s admonishment against it, stayed up long into the night, and kept an eye on Rascal.  He lay unmoving.  He was so badly beat up.  What would she do without him?

         She didn’t realize she had fallen asleep when she heard a plaintive whine.  She looked up to see him looking at her.  His head was up.  He no longer lay completely on his side but was on his stomach.

         Tears of relief streamed down her face as she went over to him and knelt beside him, and hugged him.  “Praise God, you’re all right.  Would you like something to eat?  Are you hungry?”

         He gave her a small answering bark, and she brought his bowls over to him.  She watched as he drank thirstily, and ignored the food.

         She noticed it was just past daybreak.  She had better get the cow milked.  Then she would go for her morning swim.  A short while later, the cow taken care of and the milk stored, she headed for the water.  It felt invigorating after her long night.