Work in Progress Wednesday: Teddy Bear

I heard the spring peepers peeping in the pond the other night, so that means it's finally spring! Other than the random snowstorm we had the other day. But hey- who doesn't like an unexpected snow day, right? The remnants of the snow should be gone in the next day or two, since the days are forecast to be sunny & warm...and whatever the sunshine doesn't take care of, the April showers coming Friday should. I'm really looking forward to being able to start planting things in our garden. Last year I was able to start peas & potatoes mid-April, but it's been pretty wet and cold so far this spring, so I'll have to wait a little longer. I guess that's not such a bad thing, since it means I won't be losing writing time lol. I also need to get my butt in gear to get this first draft of Rescue finished before garden season.

Also, while I was writing this post, I noticed the chestnut horse in the photo looks a little like my sweet Topper, my first horse who I lost several years ago. She loved this time of year, getting herself caked in mud so I had to spend hours brushing her, eating the new grass, and stretching her legs for a good gallop out in the fields (once the ground dried up enough so she didn't out holes in the squishy ground). She was such a funny horse, and an absolute stickler for rules. Forgot to shut her stall door? She did NOT move past the threshold. Same with a gate- if you forgot to shut it (that's a story for another day), she would not go through it unless someone was leading her. When we only had one vehicle, my husband would hop on her to ride down to his friend's house and tie her to the old Christmas tree in the yard- because she wouldn't move. Pretty soon, the Facebook memory of her grazing in our yard the first spring she was on our property, enclosed by an "electric" fence made of rebar and baler twine will pop up in my feed. She may not have been the wild black stallion I'd always dreamed of, but a horse as sensible and sassy as she was made her an absolute dream come true.

All right, now that I have that out of my system, here's what you're really here for- and excerpt from Rescue! (Also, please note: these Work in Progress Wednesday excerpts are coming from my extremely rough draft of this story. Basically, it's me rambling out this stuff before my brain can tell me not to, and I just go along with it. So I'm not sure if the Yellowstone references, along with plenty of other things, will make the final cut). Thank you for reading!

---

Paige pulled into the park instead of going back to the ranch. The sun was just about down, and she scanned the parking lot carefully for geese. And other park-users. The lot was empty, and seemingly goose free. She parked at the opposite end of the lot from the entrance, close to the washrooms. She pulled the bag of clothes she’d brought from the floor in the back.

“I can’t believe I’m going to do this,” she mumbled to herself, looking at the all-black clothes in the bag.

She jumped and accidentally hit the horn as her phone went off.

“Oh, shit,” she said, putting a hand on her chest and taking a deep breath. “Jeez, if I’m this jumpy now, how am I actually going to break into a barn?”

She pulled out her phone, and saw she had a message from Nick.

Hey! What’s up? I stopped in to see you, and you aren’t home.

Paige’s heart flip-flopped from happiness that he’d stopped to see her, but it was mixed with the tiniest bit of annoyance that he was already wanting to know where she was all the time.

Just visiting my sister, she answered.

She wondered what he’d think if he knew she was planning on breaking into his brother’s barn to look for a kidnapped child. A kidnapped child who might be the daughter of her murdered neighbors. Paige sucked in a breath and shivered. If Jake had kidnapped the little girl, did that mean he murdered her parents? And why? She could hardly believe he’d be capable of anything like that…of course, she also hadn’t gotten around to looking into why he’d been in jail before. She made a mental note to look it up before she headed for his place.

She shuddered again, and not because the temperature had dropped drastically with the sunset. If he’d killed Paige’s neighbors and kidnapped their daughter- and some time before the couple had been killed- what would he do to her if he caught her snooping in his barn?

I just can’t get caught.

Her phone dinged again, and she didn’t jump as high this time. Nick again.

Aw, I miss you. I was hoping to see you tonight. When will you be home?

Paige thought for a minute. She might not get home until it was time for her to start work.

Hard to say, she typed back. Jess got the tequila out and we’re binge watching Yellowstone. I’ll probably stay here tonight, especially if I’m channeling my inner Beth.

There was an immediate ding.

I’d be happy to come get you. I can be your Rip.

Paige snorted. She liked Nick- but was definitely annoyed he wouldn’t let this go- but Rip was the last Yellowstone character she could imagine him as.

Thanks, but I need some big sister time. I’ll see you tomorrow.

She hoped he’d let it go. Thankfully, his last message was, All right. See you tomorrow.

With a sad-face and kissy-face emojis.

Paige sighed and turned the volume all the way down on her phone. She would have shut it off, but she’d forgotten to get a flashlight and was going to need the one on her phone. While she was thinking of it, she reached up to shut the interior light off so it wouldn’t come on when she opened her door. She gathered up her clothes and headed for the bathroom to change. When she shut her door, she heard something rustling in the trees behind.

“That better not be the goddam geese again,” she growled.

Then something growled back, and Paige remembered there had been warnings about bear sightings on the park trails.

Shit.

She dashed to the bathroom, and quickly changed. While she was in the washroom, she concentrated hard, trying to pick up on who her ‘friend’ might be outside. She felt a pang of hunger, and saw the park dumpster in her mind. The dumpster directly across from the bathrooms. Shit.

Paige cautiously opened the door and peeked out. It was pretty dark now, and she really couldn’t see much. There were no lights in the parking lot; just the lights in the bathroom. But she could hear something moving in the darkness, and the hair on the back of her neck raised. Her car was only a few feet away, but she didn’t want to run into a hungry bear on the way.

She had left her phone in her car, so she didn’t even have that light. Shit.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves- it didn’t work- and made herself walk slowly to her car. Growing up in rural Alberta, she knew she should be a little better educated on bear safety, but all she could remember was not to run.

Paige got to her car and was about to pull the handle to open the door when she realized it was already open.

“What the fuck- oh, no,” she said.

A bear’s butt was right in front of her. The was a snarly sound, and the bear backed out of the car- hopefully before it had a chance to eat the entire interior of her car. Although maybe that should be the least of her worries right at the moment.