Page 50 of The Cowboy's Magic Touch

And this time it was louder and sounded more threatening.

Slowly pivoting on his feet, he looked up and spied a huge, snarling, drooling canine sitting on a narrow ledge above the cave. Before he had a chance to shoot the animal leapt on top of him sending him crashing to the ground, and as the dog sank his teeth into Geoff’s arm the gun fell from his hand. Charging forward Brody picked it up and shot at the ground to scare the animal away.

* * *

Though she’d watched the mayhem in shock, Annie quickly recovered and ran to Brody’s side.

“Are you okay, darlin’?” he asked urgently, hugging her tightly but keeping his eyes on Geoff who was groaning in abject pain

“Merlin saved me…he saved us,” she exclaimed. “He’s a hero.”

“That was Merlin?”

“Yes, and look, it seems he and Bella already know each other,” she added, pointing across at Bella and Merlin sitting next to each other.

“But…he’s a wolf.”

“Brody, he can’t be, he just looks like one.”

“We’ll talk about this later,” he said as the sound of sirens filled the air. “I called the sheriff when I found the car empty. That will be him and his deputies. But are you sure you’re okay? That creep didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“No, it was just scary. I knew he had a dark side, but—”

“Brody? Annie?” a deep voice called, interrupting her. “It’s the sheriff. Where are you?”

“Over here, sheriff,” Brody called back. “We need an ambulance, not for us, for Geoffrey Palmer.”

“It sure is good to see you both,” the sheriff declared, striding towards them with two of his men following. “How are you Annie?”

“Just a bit shaky,” she replied, but as the deputies hurried across to Geoff, the sheriff stared down at Merlin.

“What are you doin’ here, fella?”

“You know him?” Annie asked, wondering if the big dog had a home.

“I sure do, but I’ll tell you the story after I’ve finished dealin’ with the situation in here. You need to wait out by the cars. I called an ambulance just in case and it looks like its needed. If it arrives before we come out can you please tell them where we are?”

“Of course, sheriff,” Brody replied, and as he guided Annie away, Merlin and Bella walked quietly along beside them.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

The ambulance was already coming up the drive when Brody and Annie stepped out of the forest. While Brody explained the situation to the paramedics, Annie sat on the ground and hugged Merlin. But Bella wanted attention too. By the time Brody had finished both dogs were clambering all over her and licking her face.

“Hey, take it easy, Bella. You too, Merlin, or whatever your name is.”

“I don’t want them to stop. I love this,” she exclaimed, laughing out loud.

“His name is Rocky,” the sheriff announced, striding up to join them, “and let me tell you, he’s one helluva dog.”

“Who does he belong to?” Brody asked. “I don’t remember seein’ him around.”

“No reason you should. He was old Jack Thompson’s dog, and Jack didn’t get out much. When some wild boys from across the river started giving poor old Jack a hard time, he adopted him, and Rocky put them in their place real quick. He was a great watchdog and never left Jack’s side. But Jack passed away a few months back, and when the animal control folks arrived to take Rocky, he ran off and hasn’t been seen since.”

“See! I told you he wasn’t a wolf,” Annie exclaimed, punching Brody’s arm.

“Brody isn’t far off, Annie,” the sheriff continued. “He’s a Saarloos Wolfdog. At least that’s what Jack claimed. I looked it up. They have more wolf in them than any other breed.”

“Well he saved us sheriff,” Annie declared, “and if it’s okay with you I’d like to adopt him.”

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