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“Charlie.”
“Ah.” She gave him a measuring look. “And where did you come from, Charlie? You’re almost three miles from town.”
He scrubbed awkwardly at the drying tears on his face, then scrambled to his feet. “We just bought the log cabin down the road. We’re from Chicago.”
“I didn’t know that place was for sale.” The rambling old lodge stood a mile downhill from her cabin and had caught her eye the first time she passed. It had to have a spectacular view of the mountains from its west windows.
Charlie took a wary step forward to touch Dolly’s nose, but the llama shied away, lifting her head above his reach.
“Does she bite?”
Jolie laughed. “She doesn’t like her face touched, but she’s never tried to bite me. She’s very curious and likes to investigate anything new. That’s probably why she followed you.”
Despite the chilly day, the boy wasn’t wearing a jacket, and he’d shoved the sleeves of his sweatshirt up to his elbows.
Looking down at a number of scratches on his arms, she frowned. “What happened there, buddy?”
“I sorta fell.”
“On the rocks?”
He flushed, dropped his gaze. “When I climbed over the fence to get back here.”
“You must have come up through the woods. There’s a cattle guard in the lane leading to my place, but there’s a walk gate beside it. That’s a little easier.”
“I...I was exploring.”
“Can I take a look at your scrapes?”
She gently took his hands and turned his dirt-smudged arms over. The scratches were long, and several were still lightly bleeding, but there were no deep lacerations that would require sutures.
“You need to get cleaned up. Are you up to date on your tetanus shots?”
He shrugged, then winced as she touched a bruise over his wrist. “Ouch!”
“Sorry.” She released him and rested her hands on her hips. “We should get you back to your mom so she can take care of this. Want a ride down the road?”
“I don’t have a mom anymore.”
Sympathy tugged at her heart. “Oh. Well then, your dad?”
Charlie scowled. “He isn’t home.”
Jolie stared down at the young child and felt anger rising in her chest. What kind of father let his child roam these rocky foothills alone?
She’d seen far too much abuse and neglect at her clinic in Los Angeles, and during alternate weekends she’d worked in a hospital emergency room. Kids who ran free late into the night were at great risk in a city.
Up here, there were other dangers—starting with bears and coyotes and mountain lions. And timber rattlers.
Suppressing a shudder, she beckoned to him. “Come with me, and I’ll take care of your battle wounds, okay?”
Dolly followed as they walked back to the cabin. The ewe fell into line as they passed her. Now and then Dolly gently bumped Charlie’s shoulder.
“She’s not as mean as I thought,” he marveled, stopping to give the llama’s neck a hug when they reached Jolie’s cabin. “How come you got her?”
“She came with the cabin. So did that sheep.” Jolie nodded toward Sadie, who was now grazing industriously on the winter-brown grass of the clearing.
“We didn’t get anything that cool with ours,” he retorted with a glum look, plopping down on the porch steps. “Just mice in the closets and an owl that likes to sit on the roof.”
