Page 10 of Lock and Key

Terrified, but without any other options, I decided to do as he urged me to do. While I was grateful for the fact that I was no longer standing out here alone with this bison, with each step I took backward, I didn’t feel any less anxious. I didn’t feel any more reassured.

That bison was still entirely focused on me, and I wasn’t confident he wasn’t going to come after me.

“That’s it. Nice and steady. Just keep walking back toward the sound of my voice.”

I continued walking, keeping a slow pace, until I finally ran into something hard. Hands came down on my shoulders.

“Good. You’re good,” he said.

Still unable to look away from the bison, I asked, “Now what?”

“Just stand here with me,” he answered.

Stand here with him. He made it sound so simple, so easy. I was still feeling horrified and panicked, and he seemed to be the picture-perfect image of calm and collected.

“Breathe,” he ordered gently.

It wasn’t until I heard his quiet command that I noticed I’d been holding my breath. Slowly, I started using my lungs again, but it wasn’t more than a minute later when the bison had moved. He’d turned his body in a way that put him head on with me and this man standing behind me.

“Oh, God,” I whispered.

“You’re fine,” he insisted, his voice hushed. “Just breathe and relax. You’re not a threat to him now.”

The bison took two more steps in my direction, and I leaned back. My neighbor took my weight and held me steady.

My whole body was wrought with tension. “He’s going to come this way. I know it. He’s going to come this way and kill me.”

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Just stay still, and don’t panic.”

I didn’t know how he expected me not to panic. This was life or death. I could feel my insides trembling uncontrollably, and I wondered if my neighbor knew, because his hands attempted to comfort me with a firm squeeze on my shoulders.

I appreciated the effort, but it was useless.

The bison took two more steps toward us, and then in a move I wasn’t expecting or prepared for, it turned and ran off.

My eyes blinked rapidly, because I didn’t even know that bison were capable of moving that fast.

“See? You’re okay.”

“I have to go,” I blurted.

Before I gave him a chance to respond, I took off toward my cabin, moving as fast as I could to get there. I didn’t say thank you, and I never looked back.

I slammed the door behind me, quickly locking it and pressing my back against the frame.

My chest rose and fell with my rapid breaths, and in an instant, I burst into tears. God, what had my life become.

I was living in the middle of nowhere, forcing myself to get outside, and coming into contact with wildlife that could kill me.

How was this healing?

I was so distraught, caught up in my emotions, that when my phone rang and a number I didn’t recognize flashed on the screen, I wasted no time making another mistake and answering the call.

“Hello?” I murmured.

“Dakota?”

At the sound of my ex-husband’s voice, I tensed. “What do you want?”

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