Chapter 18
NASH
An hour later, the rain slowed. A ray of sun splintered through the clouds, and a band of light streamed across the floor. I stretched my back after working hunched over to remove the baseboard from the walls.
Raven peeked her head into the room. “I’m going to take Munch out now, while the rain has lightened.”
“Good idea. I was thinking of taking a break myself and getting some fresh air. It’ll feel good to stretch my legs a bit.”
“Yeah. I’m not used to being cooped up inside for so long. This cabin seems to be getting smaller by the minute.”
“I hear ya.”
We followed as Munch ran out the door.
“Hey, Munch. No running off this time,” Raven called after him. He excitedly sniffed around the cabin and grounds like it was a new adventure.
I tipped my head toward the driveway and started walking in that direction. “I’m going to walk down the road to see what the creek looks like after all this rain.”
“Good idea. If old Clive cooperates, I’m hoping to get out of here once I get a little farther on the painting.”
Her proclamation stopped me cold. “You’re leaving? I thought you agreed to stay until you had it completed.”
“Yeah. But that was before all of this happened. You certainly don’t want me and Munch in your way while you work.”
A realization hit me square in the chest—I didn’t want her to go.
Yeah, it was probably for the best that she leave. I could get more work done, and we could both go back to the way it was.
But, I’d really enjoyed our time together. I’d gotten to know her better during this confinement than I had in all the years I’d known her. And it had only deepened my feelings for her.
A little more time together might help us both to see whether we could be more. Or not.
“You’ve actually been helpful. I was hoping I could put you to work again later.”
She bumped her shoulder against mine. “Don’t push your luck. I think you used up all my good deeds for the month already.”
As the driveway crested the top of a hill, I stopped and gazed out over the landscape. Raven gasped beside me. The stream had turned into a river and flooded well beyond its banks, covering the bridge with water as well. There were several trees that had fallen and uprooted after the ground softened beneath them. Two of them were blocking the road.
“What are we going to do?” Raven asked, her voice tentative.
“This stream flows into the lake. It shouldn’t take long for it to go down. We’ll have to wait to see what condition the bridge is in once it does. And there might be a chainsaw in the shed to cut up these trees.” I patted her on the shoulder. “It’ll be okay. Don’t worry.”
“I guess there’s nothing we can do about it but make the best of it.”
“I’d been planning to stay here until I got the job done anyway, so I don’t have anywhere to be. Do you?” A hopeful thrill moved through me at the thought of spending more time alone with her, even as I tried to act like it was no big deal.
“Nah. I was planning the same thing. So I guess there’s that.” She kicked a rock and watched it splash into the water. “We can still get done what we came here to do. Hopefully, we find a way out of here before we run out of food.”
“When I was here with Laney, she said there were some raspberry bushes in the woods on the north side. I’d like to take a little walk to see if I can find them. It’s the right time of year. They should be ripening.”
Raven’s face lit up. “Oh. I love raspberries. I’ll walk with you. I certainly wouldn’t complain about finding some fresh berries to snack on. That’ll help my food supply.” She whistled for Munch and he came running back to her side.
The three of us walked back up the muddy drive toward the cabin. Munch navigated through the center of every puddle along the way.
“I’m happy to share my food with you.” I offered, liking how we’d been sharing all of our meals, so far. “But what I brought won’t come close to the standard you set. I’m definitely not a gourmet cook.”
She shrugged it off. “I don’t always eat fancy like this. But I wanted to treat myself on this getaway.”
I wanted to ask what the special occasion was. She did bring herself flowers that first day, too. But since we were getting along for the moment, I decided to let it slide.
“Hopefully, we can find enough berries for both of us.” I said, hoping we at least found some. I couldn’t handle seeing her disappointed twice in one day.
We trekked back up the driveway and into the woods on the back side of the lot. It looked completely different from when we had tromped through here looking for Munch last night. I took a deep breath and inhaled the fresh scent of pine and rain.
Water dripped from the trees as the leaves rustled in the breeze. Thank goodness I’d put on my raincoat, or I would have been soaked by the branches that brushed me as we walked along the narrow path.
The dense pine forest opened to an area of overgrown brush. “I think this is it. Do you see any berries?”
Raven stepped closer to the bushes. “Over here. These bushes are loaded with berries. I wish I had a basket or bowl to put them in.” She popped one into her mouth. “Guess I’ll have to eat them.” She giggled and plucked a few more off the branch.
“Save some for me.”
We ate our way around the bushes. Raven began holding her shirt out as a sling to hold more berries.
“Your shirt is gonna get stained pink,” I warned.
“Ach. I can just use it as a paint shirt. No big deal. I buy most of my everyday clothes from thrift stores anyway, for that very reason. It’s impossible for me to keep clothes from getting ruined.” She plucked off more fruit and carefully placed them into her shirt. “If I don’t pay much for them, then I don’t feel bad about it.”
“Good strategy.” I was just wearing an old concert t-shirt—nothing I was very attached to—so I did the same. If it got stained, it wouldn’t matter.
Raven moved to the other side of the bushes.
A low growl sounded from near her.
My heart jumped into my throat as I hurried to her side. The blood in my veins turned to ice. A big black bear rose on its haunches and stood in front of Raven. Munch barked and growled at her side with his hackles raised. I took a step forward, placing myself between them and the bear. Munch continued to bark, which did not intimidate the bear in the least. It was not backing down.
I tossed the berries I’d collected toward the bear and held my arms out to the side, trying to protect Raven and Munch and ease us all backwards, away from the angry beast. There wasn’t much I could do against such a huge animal if it decided to attack. My only hope was that it would realize we weren’t worth it and run off.
With Raven behind me, my attention was focused on the bear and getting us all away from it safely. At least the bear would have to get through me first. I couldn’t let it get to Raven and would do anything to protect her. It didn’t matter what happened to me, as long as she was safe.
Leaves rustled behind me. I quickly glimpsed back to see what was going on, but I saw nothing. Everything went black.