Storm's Refuge Read online

  Storm’s Refuge

  A Longview Romance

  By Nancy M Bell

  ISBN: 978-1-77145-319-6

  Copyright 2014 by Nancy M Bell

  Cover art Michelle Lee Copyright 2014

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book

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  Dedication:

  To all the animals who need rescuing and to all those who rescue them. May they all find forever homes. Especially to Lily, Gibbie, Merrily, Miley, Alex, No Name, Hector, Spook, Big Bird, Chance, Two Socks, Rhaedar, and finally, the black momma dog with no name who wasn’t as lucky as Storm.

  Chapter One

  Silent night, Holy night. The familiar strains issued from the barn radio and hung in the frosty air. Michelle Wilson cut the strings of the hay bale which parted with a satisfying pop. The sweet scent of summer rose from the released flakes of grass and legumes.

  She spared a glance out of the barn window where the storm demons hurled fistfuls of snow out of the north. Well, it’s a holy mess out there that’s for sure. The irreverent thought brought a tiny smile to her lips as she stooped to scoop up the loose flakes.

  Quickly, Michelle tossed hay into the horses’ stalls and checked their water. Her two barrel racers and her brother’s rope horse munched contentedly on the feed. George’s mare was due to foal, but appeared comfortable at the moment. Satisfied everything was in order she flicked off the light and stepped out into the blizzard that had descended on southern Alberta. She double checked the latch on the door and then bent her head into the storm, turning toward the porch lights shining dimly through the driving snow.

  Michelle stomped the snow off her boots as she crossed the wide porch at the back of the house and stepped into the warmth of the mud room. She hung her coat to dry after shaking the snow from it and placed her boots near the heat vent. There was nothing worse than ice cold boots to stick your feet into before venturing out in the bitter cold. With a sense of relief, Michelle pulled the mud room door closed behind her, filled the kettle, and set it to boil.

  The warm light spilled from the kitchen window onto the drifts already accumulating on the veranda. Now, if that mare will hold off until the storm is over, I’ll be happy. Michelle poured water into the teapot and sank down into the chair behind her. The fire crackled in the cook stove which had stood in the kitchen longer than Michelle could remember. The surface of the cast iron and enamel behemoth shone with the patina of age. The memory of her grandmother baking cookies in the cavernous oven brought a smile to her face.

  She rose, poured her tea, and returned to sit at the kitchen table. Unconsciously, she smoothed the embroidered cloth covering the surface. Purple prairie crocus and the red and grey of the prairie smoke flower twined around the edges mixed with green foliage. The ranch brand adorned each corner of the cloth. Gramma made it to celebrate the day the mortgage on the ranch was paid off.

  “Now they’re all gone, except me and George.” Michelle whispered. She missed him, even though he was a typical bossy big brother. The man always had to have things his way. Came from running a drilling crew she guessed.

  She shook her head and pushed back from the table. It was no night to be wallowing in memories. The power was sure to go out with this storm, so she brought the oil lamps down from the top of the buffet in the dining room and set two on the sideboard in the kitchen. She placed another by the foot of the stair and then ventured out into the chilly wood shed attached to the front hall. No need to freeze to death fetching wood, Grandpa always said. Michelle knew he built it especially so her grandma wouldn’t have to go outside in the cold to haul wood through the snow drifts when she was pregnant. Gramma always maintained ranching was man’s work. The house including wood and water was her domain.

  Michelle stopped for a moment and sighed. Why couldn’t she find a man who would be a partner and a friend? She wanted what her grandparents had—a real team that worked together like a well-oiled machine. Grandpa always said those words with the special smile reserved for Gramma alone.

  Michelle gathered the wood and paused, her foot raised to kick the door closed. She cocked her head and listened. An insistent sharp cry overrode the whine of the wind in the cracks and the hydro wires. She kicked the door shut and latched it before she entered the front hall and made her way to the living room where she dumped the armful into the wood box by the fireplace. She needed another load for the kitchen stove, but first, Michelle went to investigate the source of the cry.

  Bundled against the storm once more, she waded through the drifts on the wide porch, straining to hear over the wail of the wind. Snow flung itself in her face, and Michelle blinked rapidly to clear her eyes. The snow was drifted over the edge of the porch, and she missed the top step all together, landing face first in a hard packed bank at the bottom of the stairs. Muttering words her grandma would not have been proud of, Michelle dug her way out of the hole she was mired in. She wallowed over to the edge of the porch and grabbed the bottom of the rail to pull herself onto her feet. Michelle hesitated, half in and half out of the snow bank. Yes, there it was again, the sharp insistent cry coming from under the porch. Michelle let go of the railing and dug in the snow piled up against the edge of the porch. She managed to create a tunnel large enough to wriggle through and wished she had been bright enough to bring a flashlight. It was dark as the bottom of a well under the boards of the porch floor. Michelle wriggled out again and retrieved a flashlight from inside the front door and crawled back into the hole. The beam cut a small path through the darkness and finally, at the very back, up against the side of the house, the flash of an animal’s eyes reflected the light back at her.

  “Hey, missy,” Michelle crooned in a soft voice, the same tone she learned from her grandfather when training young horses. “What have you gone and done to yourself?”

  Michelle kept up a steady conversation with the animal cowered against the side of the house. Within a few feet, Michelle could make out the shivering body of a black dog…at least she hoped it was dog and not some coyote. It was hard to be sure of the colour and shape of the thing in the faint illumination provided by the flashlight.

  Cautiously, Michelle inched a bit closer. The dog lowered its head and half closed its eyes as if expecting a blow. Michelle reached out a hand. The dog curled its lips back from its teeth and a low growl rumbled in its throat.

  “Now, now, missy, none of that,” Michelle spoke softly and reached out confidently to touch the dog’s foot nearest her.

  The dog rumbled again but made no move to strike, so Michelle scrunched closer to the animal. She dug in her pocket and finally managed to extricate one of Rex’s left over dog treats. She held it out to the dog. The animal hesitated, looking from the treat to Michelle and back again, clearly not trusting the offering. Michelle laid the cookie on the ground by the dog’s foot and sat back. The animal snatched the biscuit without taking its eyes off Michelle.

  “Are you starving then, little dog?” Michelle spoke conversationally.

  As she continued to speak nonsense to the dog, she took stock of what was wrong with the creature. It was obviously pregnant. The distended belly was visible even in the dim light. A front leg was damaged from the way the dog was holding it, and she was criminally thin. Her hipbones and the bones of her shoulders poked up sharply through the ratty, matted coat. Michelle hunched her shoulders in her jacket. It was freezing, and her knees were cold and sore from the hard ground.
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  How am I supposed to get you out of here? I’m not sitting out here all night freezing my butt off, that’s for sure.

  Michelle fed the dog another cookie, backed away a few feet and set another cookie on the ground. The dog eyed her suspiciously, but apparently decided hunger was greater than her fear and dragged herself across the frozen ground toward the cookie. Michelle’s breath caught in her throat. The dog was covered in matted blood, and there was a huge lump on the top of her head. The front leg was either broken or dislocated. Michelle backed up another couple of feet, and the dog followed. Slowly, they made their way to the snow tunnel. Michelle crawled out butt first into the storm. The dog stopped at the entrance and refused to come any further. Michelle laid a trail of cookies across the snow and up onto the porch to the front door. Once inside, she opened a can of beef stew and dumped it into a bowl which she set just outside the opening. She hung her snowy coat on the newel post and set her boots by the door. The wind through the open door snaked across the mat and up the legs of her wet jeans. Abandoning her post for a moment, she scurried into the kitchen to retrieve a hot drink. With her hands around a cup of hot chocolate, she settled inside on the second step near the front door and waited for the dog to make up its mind.

  “It’s up to you now, little dog, trust me or not,” Michelle whispered to the animal still cowering under the porch.

  Michelle had almost given up hope after an hour passed. The house was freezing, she’d have to shut the door soon. Rising to take her cup back to the kitchen, she paused when something brushing against the door. Carefully, she padded across the floor and inched it open further. The black dog was collapsed against the frame, a trail of blood from its frost bitten paws showed where she crawled up the stairs and over the porch.

  The exhausted dog didn’t possess the strength to do more than growl faintly at her. Michelle eased the door open further, and the mongrel slid down the door unto the floor of the front hall.

  She grasped the hall rug and slid the shivering dog into the entryway far enough to allow her to close the door on the howling wind. The dog raised her head and tried to growl fiercely, but all that came out was a guttural whimper. Michelle dropped to her knees and scooted closer. She moved her hand and cupped the dog’s lower jaw in her palm. The black dog was too cold and weak to do more than narrow her eyes and curl her upper lip. Michelle sat quietly and massaged the dog’s lower jaw with her fingers while she assessed what she could of the injuries with her eyes. Lulled by the warmth of the house and the gentle touch on her head, the dog let her head drop down onto the mat. Michelle grabbed an afghan hanging on the stair rail waiting to be taken upstairs, and covered the emaciated creature with it. Making as little noise as possible, she slipped down the hall into the kitchen and put the kettle back on to boil.

  Deftly, Michelle began to prepare a warm gruel, canned dog food mixed with some condensed milk, a bit of kibble left over from Rex and hot water from the kettle. Michelle’s eyes misted a bit as she mixed the concoction. It was four weeks ago today Rex left her. She missed his happy bark when he got to ride in the truck with her and his constant presence as she went about her chores. She just hadn’t got around to replacing the old guy yet, the dirt over his grave was still fresh. Well, not now, she guessed, it was covered with snow.

  Michelle shook her head, left the kitchen, and headed down the wide hall to the front entry way. She paused briefly as she passed the large living room. Earlier in the week, she cleared a space for the Christmas tree, but just hadn’t found the time to drag the thing in from the woodshed. Christmas was only a week away. Michelle frowned. Oh, well maybe tomorrow. She pushed the problem of the nonexistent Christmas tree to the back of her mind and knelt down by the shivering dog.

  The black dog’s nose twitched at the scent of food, and her head came up quickly when Michelle set the bowl of mush by her. With an effort, the dog buried her muzzle in the warm food. Michelle stroked her while the dog was occupied with her food and gently tested the area over the huge lump at the back of the head. Her hand came away sticky with blood and bits of matted fur. Michelle reached up and turned on the overhead light. The dog’s front leg was twisted at such an unnatural angle, she was sure it was dislocated at best and probably broken. The rest of the skinny dog was a welter of cuts and missing fur. At least she didn’t look like she had the mange, a fact for which Michelle was very grateful. She left the dog on the rug eating and stepped into her office to the right of the front door past the wide staircase.

  Michelle picked up the receiver and was relieved to hear the dial tone. She pressed the speed dial for Doc and dropped down into her chair. Wearily, she tilted her head back and leaned it against the headrest as she listened to the phone ring. God, I hope you’re home. Michelle just wanted to hear Doc’s rusty old voice confirm what she already expected. On the tenth ring, Mary, Doc’s wife, picked up the line.

  “Michelle, it’s so nice to hear from you. No trouble at your place I hope,” Mary said brightly.

  “Hey, Mary, a stray dog just wandered onto the place, looks like someone’s beaten the tar out of it. I need to ask Doc for some advice. Is he around?” Michelle sat up in her chair and scrounged for some paper and a pen under the papers on her desk.

  “No, dear, Doc’s out at Murray’s place. That fancy cutting horse of his has colic, and he’s fit to be tied. Just got back from the NFR with all his winnings and now this.”

  “I guess it could wait ‘til morning. I just wanted to know how much pain killer I should give…she’s so skinny.” Michelle chewed on her bottom lip.

  “Well, dear, you know I could refer you to the new vet in town. Nice boy, Doc and he are talking about throwing in together anyway. Cold nights and crazy cows are getting to be too much for Luke these days,” Mary offered.

  Michelle smiled in spite of herself. Nobody called Doc, Luke, except his wife of forty some odd years. Just as quickly a frown clouded her features. She plain didn’t like the new “boy” as Mary called him. He wasn’t a rancher. He was a fancy horse guy from what she heard about him. Used to dealing with all those expensive show jumpers and people with more money that brains.

  “It can wait ‘til Doc gets home,” she assured Mary.

  “Happens that Cale is here right now and says he can stop by on his way home,” Mary said in that voice of hers she used when some plan she concocted was starting to work out.

  “I can’t think that I’m on anybody’s way home.” Michelle laughed.

  The ranch was ten miles out of Longview, so Michelle was confident she wasn’t on the new vet’s way home. Nobody other than her neighbours was likely to venture past her lane on a night like this.

  Mary chuckled, and Michelle’s stomach did a flip. “Silly girl, Cale bought the old Chetwynd place across the coulee from you. He’s your closest neighbour now.”

  “Oh.” Michelle’s voice was small. “I haven’t got around to meeting the new people yet.”

  “Obviously, darlin’.” Mary snorted. “You can meet young Cale tonight on his way home.”

  “But, I…” Michelle trailed off when she realized she was talking to a dial tone. “Damn and double damn.”

  Michelle ran her hand over her unruly hair and sighed. Mary, bless her soul, was her mom’s oldest friend. Mom was gone over five years now. With her brother, George, being away more than he was home working on the rigs, Mary had appointed herself Michelle’s guardian. Michelle pushed herself out of the comfortable chair with an exasperated sigh. She knew Mary was matchmaking again. Every eligible bachelor who came into town for any length of time somehow managed to find their way to her door on some made up errand for Mary.

  “Well, dog, we’ll let him look you over and give us his exalted opinion, and then tomorrow I’ll call Doc.” Michelle spoke as she stepped out into the hall to check on the mutt.

  The black dog was awake, and her mouth was open as she panted. Her body language was wary, her narrowed eyes and lowered ears indicated she didn’t
expect anything good to happen. At least she wasn’t in any shape to charge. Michelle knelt beside the dog and offered her hand. The dog ignored the outstretched hand and continued to watch Michelle. Finally, deciding there was no threat, the dog laid its head wearily back on the rug. Michelle got to her feet and left the animal to rest. She entered the kitchen and grabbed a cloth to wipe the table with and then briskly swept the bits of hay and shavings off the floor which had fallen from her clothes. She stored the broom back its place and went to stand by the wide kitchen window, where she observed the storm was blowing as bad as ever. If that vet doesn’t have a four by, he’s never getting down my lane, let alone home. Michelle thought with some satisfaction. Fancy city boy.

  Michelle got the bottle of aspirin out of the medicine cabinet and set it on the table. She would give the new vet until eight-thirty to put in an appearance, after that she’d give the dog one tablet. The cuts and the front leg would have to wait until she could get to Doc in the morning. She checked the clock over the sink and realized it was three hours since she checked on Liza, the buckskin mare, who was due to foal any day now. Michelle stepped quietly into the hall where the black dog was asleep with her nose resting on the lip of the bowl of food. Most of the food had vanished, and Michelle hoped it wouldn’t reappear on her rug as vomit or poop. Sometimes starving animals didn’t tolerate the sudden reappearance of food well.

  Chapter Two

  Michelle returned to the kitchen and glanced out the window at the thick snow that was still falling. She picked up the monitor and turned the little video screen on. The mare in the barn was restless, and Michelle could see where she had kicked up straw against the walls of the stall when she laid down and got back up again. As she watched, the mare kicked at her belly and swung her head around to look at her swollen sides. The horse was young, and this was her first foal, so Michelle had no idea how she would react to another life suddenly appearing in the straw at her side.