Page 30 of When You Saved Me

He had to.

The hawk took notice of Deacon slowly moving toward them and swooped toward the branch where Casper’s claws were grasped onto the trunk.

“No, no, no!” I cried. I closed my eyes for a moment, notable to bear witness to my little buddy getting hurt. Casper had been with me for so long and the thought of him suffering or worse yet…existing in this world without him had my stomach turning sour with such ferocity, I thought I was going to be sick.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw that Deacon was almost to the tree. His movements had become large and powerful as he swung his body against the thick snow with each step forward.

The hawk swooped down again, not caring that Deacon was so close. My heart lurched into my throat at the hawks near miss. Casper let out a strained cry that had my knees trembling.

“Please, Deacon,” I whispered into the winter wind. “Please.”

Every second that ticked by felt like a lifetime until I saw Deacon press his hands against the trunk of the tree.

He made it. Hope soared through my body, raising goosebumps along my skin that had nothing to do with the cold.

The coat he wore lifted up as his arms raised toward the branch. He was tall, but the branch Casper clung to sat a few feet above him.

“Jump, Casper! Come on, boy!” I moved toward the trail in the snow Deacon’s body had made and patted the top of my thighs. Casper’s attention shifted to me as he let out another strained meow.

He must have been terrified because I never heard him make that sound before.

I wiped the tears from my eyes and tried to smile, so he wouldn’t think I was stressed. He’d always been so in tune with me. Following me around, being my comfort on the hard days and my celebration buddy on the best ones.

“Come on, rascal,” I heard Deacon say as he wiggled his fingers to draw Casper’s attention to him.

A flash of brown and white darted through the air just above Deacon as the hawk tried another assault. I gasped as its claws jutted outward toward Casper at the same time Deacon yelled, “Jump!”

Casper’s shaking body flew through the air and just missed the hawk’s talons before he landed in Deacon’s sturdy arms.

“Got him!” Deacon called back to me.

“Yes!” I jumped up and down, no longer worried about the mess of waterworks on my face. My little guy was safe and that was all that mattered.

The hawk let out a long shriek before flying off to find some other prey no doubt.

Unable to wait for him to be in my arms, I sprang through the snow path.

“You’re going to catch a cold,” Deacon grumbled as he turned around and saw me bounding toward him and Casper. “Get back on the porch.”

“I’m not going anywhere until I know he’s okay.”

“He’s okay,” Deacon said, but I ignored him as I closed the distance between us.

Deacon’s forearms were wrapped tightly around Casper, little puffs of his white fur poked out in all directions, and hewas still shaking. Reaching out my arms, Deacon gave him to me and ushered us back toward the porch.

“You’re a stubborn woman, you know that?” His right brow arched upward as he looked down at me with what seemed like amusement, but I couldn’t be sure. He was still so hot and cold with me; I never knew when he was jesting and when he was being totally serious.

I snorted. “I’m only stubborn when it comes to the things I love.”

It was true. I’d always been a go with the flow kind of girl for most of my life with the exception of becoming an artist despite the odds stacked against me. And making the move to Pebble Brook Falls the moment I saw the listing of Deacon’s quaint little cabin.

My parents had been devastated when I first told them I was moving, but when I explained needing a change of pace, they understood.

While I’d recovered fairly well from the trauma of the fire, I hadn’t gotten away completely unscathed. The city life didn’t call to me anymore. There wasn’t anything wrong with it per say, I had just started to feel…overwhelmed.

After we’d gotten inside, I turned to Deacon and realized all his clothes were soaked from being in the snow for so many hours and then treading through it to save Casper. He’d jumped into action so quickly while I stood there frozen. I wondered if that had been due to his military training or was something innate that he’d been born with.

“Thank you for saving him.” I rocked Casper back and forth, holding him close to my chest. He’d stopped shivering,but I could tell he was still pretty shaken up. “I…I can’t believe I froze like that,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief of myself.

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