Close To Danger (Westen #4)(35)

“A deer blind?”

“A place to hide and wait for deer to come foraging for food in the late fall, during deer hunting season.” Wes leaned back on the couch, crossing one leg up to his rest ankle to the opposite knee. “I have to confess it wasn’t deer season and I wasn’t exactly planning to hunt any deer. When I came back from my last mission, I was in a bad place.” He stared at her, his blue eyes wanting her to understand. “A very, very dark place.”

It took her a moment, then realization hit her. “Oh. Ohhh,” she said, voicing her understanding.

He’d planned to kill himself out in the woods. Whatever happened on that mission must’ve been horrific. She couldn’t imagine a man as stoic and intense as Wes Strong even contemplating taking his own life, much less actually carrying out on such a plan.

Instead of pressing for more information, she waited, the crackling of the wood on the fire the only sound in the cabin for a few moments.

“I hiked deep into the woods, almost stumbling into the deer blind. In the corner was this half-starved, half-grown pup. Someone had shot him in the leg and it was infected, as well as infested with maggots.”

Chloe scrunched her face at the image his words manifested. “The poor thing.”

“Yes, but despite his injuries and the malnourishment, he was still a feisty little fellow. Nearly bit my hand off several times when I first tried to help him.”

“How did you get him to let you?”

The corners of Wes’s lips twitched. “The age-old parental trick.”

“Bribery.” She smiled at him. “I seem to recall Bobby doing that when she first took over parenting Dylan and me. Worked. Also got us to trust her to make the decisions that needed making.”

Wes nodded. “I had some venison jerky in my coat pocket I’d bought from Joe over at the Knobs & Knockers hardware store the day before.”

“Knobs and Knockers?” she asked, shaking her head at the oddly suggestive name for the hardware store. “Where do the people in this town come up with these kitschy names?”

He shrugged. “Not sure, but you have to admit, they’re more memorable than Joe’s Hardware or Twylla’s Salon.”

“True.” They exchanged a grin and she was glad to lighten the conversation a little. “Sorry I interrupted. Go on with your story.”

“Thank you. So, I broke off a little piece and laid it about a foot away from W?den. He sniffed at it, but his stomach overrode his sense of self-preservation and he inched out to take it. But as soon as he had it, he’d scoot back into his corner.”

“How long did it take for you to get him to come out and stay?”

“Until the pouch of jerky was half empty and I’d poured him some water from my thermos into a small cup I found abandoned in the stand.” He got a faraway gaze in his eye, as if her were back in that deer blind with that small injured pup. “I spent the night there, blocking the door from any predators making their way inside, but to keep him from going anywhere. I needed to clean his wounds if he was ever going to heal.”

Again, he paused. This time his eyes were a little red.

She waited.

“In the morning, I woke to find him lying at my feet.”

“Really? He must’ve figured you’d protect him.”

“That, or he really was hoping for more food,” Wes said with a chuckle. “Either way, I used the jerky to coax him not only out of the deer blind, but through the woods to the cabin. I wasn’t sure about letting him into the cabin at first, but Mother Nature took that out of my hands.”

“How?”

“Sort of like today. We had a snowstorm and the temps plummeted to under zero. I found that old rug in the closet, put in front of the hearth and the little fellow just made himself at home.”

Once again Chloe got the feeling that not only did the half-wolf dog knew he could trust Wes, but he probably knew the deputy needed as much saving as he did that winter.

“Did he finally let you see to his wounds?”

“Yeah. Doc Haverman, the town vet, made a house call and checked him out. He helped me debride the wound, taught me how to put the antibiotic stuff on it and wrap it up. We also talked about feeding W?den wild game, since that was what he was used to. I wanted to get him back out in the wild as soon as he was healthy enough and the weather broke.”

“And you’ve been friends ever since,” she said, with a smile.

“More like I’m the gate keeper to the dry, warm indoor space he enjoys and whose presence he tolerates.” Wes rose, went to the kitchen and rummaged through the freezer, finally setting some plastic bags on the counter. Then he searched a cabinet before returning with his laptop and a bag of chocolate chip cookies. He tossed the cookies at her and settled back onto the leather sofa.

Chloe tore open the bag of cookies and took out a handful. “How did you know I love these?”

He shrugged. “Wasn’t sure of the brand or kind, but I’ve been around you enough to know you have tons of nervous energy. I suspect you think better when you’re munching.”

She grinned. “I do. You are very observant.”

“Details are very important. It’s what keeps you alive in dangerous situations.”

“You’ve been in a lot of those type of situations, haven’t you?”