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I was not interested in pursuing any sort of romantic relationship, but the guy was my neighbor. I should have been able to just suck it up and actually introduce myself to him.
It was the friendly, neighborly thing to do.
But ever since I’d arrived in Cottonwood, I hadn’t been feeling very friendly.
Hell, today was the best I’d felt in months.
Was it really worth risking my good mood just to do the right thing? Besides, he’d been here longer than I had. Wasn’t he the one that was supposed to welcome me to the neighborhood?
Granted, this wasn’t much of a neighborhood. Our cabins were the only two for quite a distance.
But still, I didn’t think I needed to be the one to make that move.
I was so caught up in my thoughts about what to do and if I should do anything at all when it came to the man that lived next door to me that I made an awful mistake.
I stopped paying attention.
In being lost in thought over all of the feelings of uncertainty, I became distracted and didn’t recognize what had happened until it was too late.
The next thing I knew, all I felt was fear moving through me. My insides were trembling and a cold, empty feeling had settled in the pit of my stomach.
I was standing face-to-face with a bison.
There was no question that they were large animals, but somehow, I hadn’t realized just how big they were.
The mammoth-sized animal wasn’t more than twenty or thirty feet away from me, and it seemed he’d noticed me.
He?
I didn’t know if this was a male or female. All I knew was that it was huge, scary, and focused on me.
Oh, God.
Was I going to be mauled or trampled to death? Would anyone even know what happened to me? With the exception of Waverly, I wasn’t sure anyone would even care.
Despite how cold it was outside, I’d never felt hotter.
“Oh, God,” I whispered. “Please don’t hurt me.”
What was I supposed to do? I was standing here, whispering to an animal, pleading with it to spare my life. I’d never felt more terrified in my entire life.
I wanted to yell, but I wasn’t convinced that was a wise idea. And anyway, I didn’t think I’d be able to find my voice. The pain in my throat was unbearable.
I knew I couldn’t stay here like this, but I didn’t want to do anything that was going to make this animal charge forward toward me.
My lungs had stopped functioning, my limbs were paralyzed, and my heart was beating so hard, it was a wonder it didn’t beat right out of my chest.
“Listen and do exactly what I say.”
At the sound of the unfamiliar masculine voice, I only tensed more than I already was. Without taking my eyes off the bison, I knew it was my neighbor speaking to me. That’s when I begged quietly, “Please help me.”
“Slowly back away,” he encouraged me gently.
God, I was certain that the sound of his voice in any other scenario could comfort me, but right now, I was just too afraid.
“Are you sure?” I asked, my voice trembling with fear. “I don’t want to die.”
There was a brief moment of hesitation before he replied, “Trust me.”
