Big Man’s Claim Read online

  Big Man’s Claim

  Penny Wylder

  Contents

  More Must Reads by Penny Wylder

  1. Melody

  2. Branson

  3. Melody

  4. Branson

  5. Melody

  6. Melody

  7. Branson

  8. Melody

  9. Branson

  10. Branson

  11. Melody

  12. Melody

  13. Branson

  14. Melody

  Epilogue

  More Must Reads by Penny Wylder

  Copyright © 2021 Penny Wylder

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or businesses, organizations, or locales, is completely coincidental.

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  1

  Melody

  “You'll call me if you need anything, right?” Ryder asks as he leans against the tailgate of my truck.

  “Yes, I'll have my phone, it's fully charged—”

  “And you have the cordless charger too?” he asks, cutting me off abruptly. Which he's been doing since I started packing up for my trip.

  Don't forget water, Mel.

  Did you remember your first aid kit?

  Bug and bear spray, you need those, too.

  It's like he's sending off his kid to college. Only I'm not his kid, and I'm only heading to the mountain for the weekend. I'm annoyed as hell right now.

  “Yeeees,” I say, half whining. “I have everything. You're acting like I've never done this before.” Stabbing the tip of my walking stick into the ground, I twist it so it makes a small hole. “I'll be fine.”

  I can't even look at him. I'm afraid I'm going to go ape shit and start a fight. I don't want to do that. This weekend is for rest and relaxation. It would be awful to start it angry.

  “I'm sorry, Mel. I can't help it that I worry about you.”

  “Well, you have your own family to worry about now. The baby is coming soon, Jenna is huge and probably needs your help just to stand up from the couch! Relax and get off my back a little. I am eighteen now, it's not like I'm a kid.”

  “I'm sorry, Mel, you'll always be the little sister in my eyes. So, you're just going to have to deal with it.” He ruffles my hair and I swat his hand away.

  “Stop it.”

  Buttercup pokes his head out the driver's side window. His tongue is hanging out of his mouth, causing drool to trickle down the door.

  “Plus I have him,” I say, pointing my thumb at my slobbery friend waiting in the car. “Buttercup will make sure I'm safe.” His ears perk up as I say his name.

  Ryder grabs his face and scratches him roughly. “Don't let her do anything stupid. Understood?” Buttercup licks Ryder's face, causing him to turn his head and cringe. “All right, all right, I get it. You got her covered. I still don't understand why you're so set on doing this alone. I could come with you. Jenna isn't due for another month.”

  “Because I need some time to myself, Ryder. Besides, it's only a few days. Now, if you'd kindly move, I'd like to get there before it's dark.”

  “Fine, but don't think I won't come looking for you if you're not back by Sunday night.”

  Rolling my eyes, my arms hang by my sides. “Could ya just move, please?”

  Ryder takes a long step to the side, grabbing the handle and opening the door for me. “Just be safe, Melody, that's all I ask.”

  “And all I ask is that you let me do me. One day soon you'll have to let me go, might as well prepare for it now.”

  “I didn't make a fuss when you started looking for your own place to live. What more do you need?”

  “Yeah, right. All you've done is complain about it and sulk like a baby. You’ve found every excuse for why this apartment wouldn’t work or that apartment is in an unsafe neighborhood. Get real!”

  Chuckling, Ryder rubs the back of his neck. “Okay, I get your point. Go have a good time.”

  Giving him a smile, I start the truck and pull out of the driveway. Buttercup moves to the passenger window and sticks his face out. His ears blow back in the wind and it makes me smile. Finally, we’re on the road.

  Three whole days to myself. No motel. No brother doing constant wellness checks. No one but me and my dog.

  The sun is starting to rise high in the sky, and I have plenty of time to get there. It's a bit of a hike to get the valley where I want to camp. As long as I'm on the trail by eleven, I'll make it before night falls.

  Camping is one of the few things I still have that makes me happy. I lost my parents. My brother, my only family, is married with a kid on the way. It seems like all my friends from school are heading off to college or starting on some grand adventure, like traveling the country or backpacking across Europe.

  Meanwhile, here I am, completely lost, directionless, and unsure what to do with my life. Ryder thinks I should go to college, maybe get a degree in business management since I've been working at the motel for a couple years now.

  But I'm not sure that's what I want.

  Honestly, I don't know what the hell I want anymore.

  The mountain comes into view, making me smile instantly. I love being outdoors. Hiking, camping, swimming, fishing, I love it all. Being outside with nature is the only time I feel really at peace, as if I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.

  Parking the truck, I grab my pack and hang it over my shoulder. It's heavy to hike with, but at least I’ll have everything I need. A tent, food for me and Buttercup, drinking water, my fishing pole and bait. There's nothing else I need.

  My boots crunch against the fallen leaves and sticks as I start walking. I can hear the birds chirping in the trees and squirrels as they leap from branch to branch. Buttercup bolts by me, darting up the trail with a big doggie smile on his face.

  “Slow down, Boy!” I call out after him. He stops, wagging his tail and waiting for me to catch up.

  Just as I get about twenty yards up the trail, I start to hear the light patter of rain drops hitting the treetops and feel them splash against my arm. Stopping short, I hold out my arms, watching the rain splatter off my palms.

  “Great,” I say out loud, looking down at my dog. “The weatherman lied.”

  The weatherman claimed this weekend was going to be perfect. The giant gray cloud passing overhead as I look up says he obviously didn't know what the hell he was talking about. All summer it's been muggier and hotter than usual, and the rain has been coming down in sheets nonstop.

  Pressing on, I'm determined not to let the rain get to me. There's a beautiful meadow right next to a crystal clear river that I'm going to get to. It's my favorite spot. I found it about a year ago, not long after my father passed away. And it's perfect. I’ve been dreaming all summer of getting away to this exact spot. A little rain won’t stop me.

  The hike there is long. About eight or nine hours depending how quick I go. But this rain won't slow me down at all, in fact, it cools me off a bit and I find I have a fresh burst of energy. Clicking my tongue for Buttercup to follow, we head up the trail together.

  He's at my side, sniffing the ground, but keeping up with me. We walk in the serene silence of the forest. It's soothing, blanketing me in a calm I can only find here. The rain constantly falls, mostly lightly, but at times in drenching sheets.

&
nbsp; A light sweat begins to trickle down the back of my neck, and my shirt starts to stick to my skin. Stopping for a break, I sit on a fallen log and pull a bottle of water out of my pack. Checking my phone, I see we’ve hiked for over two hours already.

  And I have two messages from Ryder already. Shaking my head to myself, I tuck my phone away. I promised him I'll be safe, but I promised myself that this trip was for me. I'm not texting or calling anyone. It defeats the purpose of all of this. To spend time with just me. Well, and Buttercup, but he doesn’t talk too much.

  Looking up at the sky, I can see the blue glow through the thick treetops. The rain is still coming down, but the air is a little thinner now that the humidity is almost gone. But it doesn't save me from the heat. It's still hot as hell.

  Wiping the back of my hand across my forehead, I press on, determined to get to the valley before dark. Digging my heels into the soft ground, I hike up the side of the mountain, following the trail back down and around the corner.

  The sound of rushing water quickly fills the air. Turning the bend, the normally calm river is a rush of rapids from the recent rain. White caps topple over dark waves, crashing against the rocks and fallen trees.

  Stopping, I watch it for a moment. For all its violent surges, the sound is soothing. My mind begins to wander with thoughts about my life. There's so much I want, but I constantly feel trapped.

  I might be young, but I've always known that one day I would want a family of my own. I want to fall in love, get swept off my feet, become a mother. Watching Ryder and Jenna only fuels that desire more.

  Maybe I'm naive. I have my whole life ahead of me, but it feels like I’ve already hit a wall. Ryder wants me to go to college, to make something of myself, and follow my dreams.

  My dreams. . . What good is dreaming if the world is against you?

  Both my parents are gone, my brother is moving on with his life, and here I am not knowing where I belong in the mix.

  Buttercup nudges me with his nose, knocking me out of the trance I'm in. “All right, come on, let's keep moving.”

  The ground turns from soft to squishy. My feet slip over the slick mud as I try to balance on the narrow strip of land between the mountain and the water. Pressing my back against the rock wall, I take small steps.

  Water is splashing against my ankles and boots as the waves angrily crash in front of me. Stopping for a second, I squint as I try to focus on the trail. It widens up ahead, which is a relief.

  Taking another step forward, my heel slides as the ground crumbles beneath my feet. Throwing out my hand, I try to grab on to something, but it's useless. All the rain has weakened and saturated the earth, leaving it like quicksand under my feet.

  Hitting the icy cold water, I inhale a sharp, shallow breath. I'm taken under in an instant as my pack soaks up the rushing water like a sponge. Kicking my legs, I frantically move my arms, trying to reach for something. A rock. A root. Anything to grab hold to and stop myself from being sucked down the river. Something to push against so I can get to the surface.

  The water is too strong, and it’s tossing me around like a rag doll. But I don't give up. I kick and I swim, trying to hold my breath and not inhale big gulps of water. My face breaks the surface for the briefest moment.

  Buttercup is barking, chasing me down the river. Gasping for air, I'm instantly dragged back under as a rolling rapid steals me away again. My hands are clawing for something, anything at all to latch onto.

  With one jerk, I'm not moving. Looking around under water, my pack is caught on a fallen tree. The surface seems so far away. My eyes are open, but no matter how much I stretch my arms, I can't reach the top.

  Fuck! Come on!

  My heart is racing and my lungs burn for oxygen. Frantically, I pull and yank on my backpack, trying desperately to free myself. It's useless. Everything in my body aches, my chest screaming for a breath.

  Leave it, Melody!

  Wriggling my arms free, I abandon my bag and kick as hard as I can to the surface. Inhaling air and water, I'm taken back under again. This isn't how I pictured this trip. I imagined serenity, quiet, peace, time to myself. Not this. Not death.

  Is this how I die? Is this it for me?

  The thought causes adrenaline to surge through my veins, giving me the strength to swim harder. I can see the sun sparkling in the sky as I'm thrown back and forth by the angry currents. Kicking my legs, my foot gets caught between a rock and a tree.

  I'm losing the strength to fight. I'm tired and aching, rapidly becoming disoriented, and not sure I have much more left to give in this struggle. Yanking my foot free, the water shoves me forward, causing my head to smack on another rock.

  No! I'm not dying today! Not like this.

  Using every last bit of strength I have, I swim as hard as I can to the surface. My face pops free, and I inhale the biggest breath I can. And as if someone is looking out for me from above, a thick branch suddenly appears out of nowhere.

  Grabbing on tight, I'm dazed and woozy as I pull myself back to the shore. Giving myself one last push, I throw my body onto the bank. My fingers dig into the dirt as I cough hard, trying to catch my breath. In between breaths I cough up river water, burning my throat as

  Buttercup's right there, licking me and barking at the same time. He's pushing his nose against mine, and running circles around my body, splayed out in exhaustion. With my face in the mud, I muster enough energy to give him a light pat on the side.

  “All right, boy, I'm okay.”

  It hurts to breathe. My chest is on fire with every breath, and every muscle in my body aches. Lifting my face, the world starts to spin, so I drop my cheek back into the mud.

  “Ugh,” I groan, rolling onto my back. Pushing myself up, I rub my head where it hit the rock. “That sucked,” I say to my dog. “But I'm alive. Thank God I'm alive.”

  I've never had my life flash before my eyes. But it did today, and I'm so thankful to be sitting in the mud, breathing the fresh air, and feeling the sun on my face.

  Hanging my head, my breathing is getting more normal. And that's when it hits me; I'm hours from my car, with no food, no water, none of the provisions I brought. They're all on the bottom of the river.

  “Fuck,” I say out loud to myself.

  It'll be dark soon, and there's no way I'll ever make it back to my car before the sun goes down. Grabbing a handful of dirt, I chuck it into the water and scream.

  “Ah!” I'm fucking angry. Pissed at myself for being so careless and stupid.

  I shouldn't have gone this way. The second I saw the trail was narrow and slick, I should have gone a different way. But I was too stubborn and overconfident. I thought I had it, that it would be fine.

  Well, it's not fine, and now I'm screwed.

  Buttercup is still barking. He's manic, wildly barking over and over again as he runs around me.

  “Calm down, Buttercup, it's fine. We'll figure it out.” My ankle starts to throb, so I reach down and rub it gently.

  This makes things even worse. Not only do I have a knot on my skull, but I can already tell by the tightness of my boot that my ankle is starting to swell. A swollen ankle is only going to make getting out of here harder.

  Buttercup barks louder as the hair on the back of his neck stands up. “What is it?” I ask, looking around. “There's nothing here.”

  A sliver of fear scales my spine. We are in the deep woods where the wild animals aren't a few furry critters. There are deer, moose, wolves, mountain lions, and even bears.

  I've never seen Buttercup like this. He's always barked, just like any other dog might bark. A cat, a squirrel, another dog, all of them can get him going, but not like this. This is different.

  Shit, my bear spray was in my bag.

  A branch breaks in the woods behind me. It's faint, but I hear it loud and clear. My heart starts racing, and the hair on my arms bristle. I'm easy prey for any predator. I can hardly move, there's no way I can get up and run.

&nb
sp; Slowly, I reach out and grab the closest stick I can find. It's not very big, but it's enough to jab at an animal and hopefully scare them off.

  Unless they're starving. A starving animal will fight for food.

  And right now, I'm a sitting duck.

  Taking in a deep breath, I let it out slowly, trying to calm my nerves. Listening carefully, I don't hear anything moving at all. The forest is unusually quiet. That's not a good sign. If the birds aren't singing and the small animals aren't rustling about, that means there's something out there lurking.

  And as I try to be still, pulling Buttercup in under my arm to try and stop him from barking, another branch breaks.

  I'm not alone.

  2

  Branson

  What the hell is that?

  Tilting my head, I listen. There's barking in the distance somewhere, and not just any barking, it's frantic barking. It's hard to tell where it's coming from at first. The bark echoes around me, coming in from all directions.

  Tilting my head harder, I try to follow it. It's not usual to see anyone around here, not this far up the mountain. The only people I ever see are the occasional lost hunter, and even that's few and far between.

  The barking gets louder, so I know I'm going the right way. It's possible a dog got loose and lost its way, and now it's being stalked by something. These woods are dangerous. With my gun ready to go, I keep moving.

  Watching where I step, I try to stay down wind, so nothing can sense I'm coming. Pushing through the thick brush, I can hear the rushing water and see the trees thinning. There's a dog jumping around wildly, spinning and leaping in the air.