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Gunner had never believed in luck or fate, but he liked the idea of an all-knowing, all-powerful Creator orchestrating things. It sure took some of the pressure off.
Chapter 16
Nova was not the least bit scared of Rocky. She was certain he wouldn’t try anything, and even if he did, she was pretty confident that she could take him. Still, she had told Gunner that she would lock the door and so she would.
But when she went to do that, to keep her promise, the lock was broken. She turned the small knob, but nothing clicked. She tested the doorknob with the lock in multiple positions, but it was never locked.
She looked around the room for something that she could push against the door, but of course there was nothing there but her pack and the air mattress. She pushed her pack up against the bottom of the door even though it couldn’t have weighed more than twenty-five pounds. She still wasn’t worried.
Her brain was too busy for her to feel tired, and she was sure that she wouldn’t fall asleep, but with nothing else to do, she got into her sleeping bag. She decided that she would stay awake for a while, just in case Rocky decided to harass her, so she opened an eBook on her phone. It was a good one, and she was nearing the climax of the story, so she thought it would keep her awake for quite a while.
Wrong. Her eyelids grew heavy. Knowing that she was going to lose the fight, she prayed, “Please protect me and everyone else in this house, and please let tomorrow’s firing go smoothly. Thank you for Gunner. I think I already know what you want me to do, so if I’m wrong, please make it really obvious. Like have him do something really awful tomorrow morning, please. But not too awful. Don’t make him kick a baby goat or anything ...”
Nova drifted off to sleep mid-prayer.
Soon it was a deep sleep, and she was standing in the middle of a wide-open prairie. No buildings or fences in sight. She was surrounded by goats, but for some reason, she knew that she needed to catch this one tall, brown one with floppy ears. She chased him around and around in circles. Other goats kept getting in the way. She would get close to the goat and then lunge for it and miss. One time she actually tripped and fell over her skirt and then laughed at herself. But she got up and started chasing the goat again.
And then, she heard breathing. Not goat breathing but heavy breathing, like someone was really tired. This sound was discordant with her situation. There was no one else there except her and the goats. She whirled around in the grass looking for the breather, but he wasn’t there. Then she felt someone touch her hair, and she instantly knew what was happening. She sat bolt upright and opened her mouth wide.
She did not hesitate. She did not take time to acclimate herself to the new information. She did not question anything.
Nova screamed.
She screamed like she would if she were being dragged into a dark alley.
Trying to shush her, the man in the dark, empty bedroom clumsily clamped a hand over her mouth, and she bit it as hard as she could. At the same time, she swung her fist wildly without aiming and felt it hit flesh. The man yelled out in pain and reared back, and then she screamed again. There was a loud commotion and fast-moving shadows and then the man was gone. It looked like he’d been sucked away from her by a giant vacuum, and then she heard him hit the wall on the opposite side of the room. Then she heard a very angry man holler, “Bull!”
Though she had never heard Gunner’s voice sound like that, she knew it was him, and a profound relief washed through her.Layered over this relief was a very real affection. This wasn’t just any hero. This was Gunner. She heard footfall in the hallway, and then a third shadow appeared, and she started to get up so she wouldn’t look quite so pathetic when the dust settled.
“What do you need, boss?” Then Bull groaned, and Nova intuited that he had figured out what had happened and was disgusted.
“Make sure he doesn’t move. I’m calling the sheriff.”
“You’ve got it, boss.” Bull said, but it sounded like he said it through a closed mouth.
A blinding light flicked on, and Nova squinted as Gunner approached her. He ran a hand over the side of her head before pulling her into his chest. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry.”
She mumbled into his chest, “I’m fine.” She wanted to say more, but he didn’t give her a chance.
“Did he hurt you?”
She giggled, and he gently pushed her off his chest to look at her face. He seemed stunned that she was laughing.
“Sorry, it’s not funny. But, no, he didn’t hurt me. You got here too fast for that. I think I might have hurt him, though.”
Gunner looked surprised, and then amused, and then proud. He turned and looked at the thug slouched on the floor.
Rocky held his hand as if it were broken. “She bit me!” he whined.
“You sound like a four-year-old,” Bull said.
Gunner looked at her teeth, and she wondered if he was checking for blood, but he didn’t say anything. He pulled out his phone and dialed. “Hey, Bill,” he said with a comfortable familiarity. “Sorry to call so late ...” He filled him in with an impressively succinct summary. Then he thanked him and dropped the phone to his side. “Fifteen minutes,” Gunner said to Bull.
“I’ve got him, boss.”
Gunner looked at her. “Would you like to go downstairs for a minute?”
Because she sensed that’s what he wanted her to do, she said sure. He led her down the stairs to the couch and then he helped her sit down, as if she were a feeble old lady. She would have laughed, but she didn’t want to offend him.
