Broken Heart Mended by Jenna Hendricks
Chapter 6
Sam had seen a lot in his time. He’d gone hunting before, but not for bear. And he’d seen plenty of death in the Middle East during his two tours. But this was different. While he’d heard plenty of stories about mutilations, he’d never actually seen it up close before. “I think the bullet holes throughout the house were from local kids goofing off. They must have killed the bear and then shot it up with everything they had left to make sure it stayed down.”
Nelly’s face turned white as a sheet, and Sam worried she’d pass out. This wasn’t a place to fall down; he knew from his own trip.
“Nelly, let’s get downstairs. You don’t need to see this and neither does your dog.” Sam nodded to the dog and slowly walked toward Nelly. If she was about to pass out he wanted to be close enough to catch her, but he didn’t want the dog to bite him for helping her.
“Right, I think I’ve seen enough.” Nelly turned, and without a word Spike followed her out and down the stairs. They didn’t stop until they were outside on the dirt.
Nelly put a hand on the dog’s head and scratched. “Braver Hund. Good dog.”
Sam watched in amazement as Nelly and her dog communicated. He knew from his time in Afghanistan what she was saying to Spike, and that he was trained well. Something about her connection to Spike warmed his heart just enough to keep his mind off what he’d seen in the house.
When Nelly was composed, she stood up straight and looked at the house without any emotion showing on her face. “So, do you think I can hire a company to come in and clean the place up? Or at least get all of that junk out of there? And what about the bear?” When she finished rattling off her questions, she turned her head to look at Sam.
The sun was behind Nelly, and it glinted off the red highlights in her hair in such a way as to create a halo over her head. She was beautiful. He had to stop this train of thought. Instead, he thought about the room upstairs and his mind went back to Nelly’s reaction.
He’d never seen such a strong woman before. When he saw the bear carcass, he almost peed himself. And if she hadn’t been there, just down the hall, he might have puked as well. Something inside him knew he couldn’t do that with her in earshot and maintain what little manhood he had left. So, he felt the churning in his stomach and willed it to stop.
“Sam? Hello, Earth to Sam.” Nelly waved a hand in front of his face.
“Oh, sorry.” He shook his head. “What?”
Nelly chuckled. “I get it. The place is pretty gross. I almost got lost in my thoughts too.” She sobered up when she noticed the grim expression on his face. “Are you alright?”
Sam cleared his throat. “I’m fine. What were you asking?” He didn’t want to go into why he’d zoned out. It had started when he saw how beautiful she was with the sun shining behind her. Then when he thought about upstairs, well, he didn’t want to go into it. Sam had thought he’d gotten past his PTSD, but something about the sight brought back a flash of memory. One he’d rather not remember.
Megan had told him there would be times when the strangest things would bring back a bad memory, but until today he could easily justify anything that had brought back the nightmare that was war. When he was in Afghanistan, he’d never seen anything like this. No one had enough junk to toss out, or hoard, like the person had done here. So it made no sense why a dead animal brought him back to the carnage he’d tried so hard to forget.
“Do you want to have a cup of tea? Or coffee? I can make either back in the barn. Plus it smells so much better in the barn than it does out here.” She chuckled. “Imagine that, a barn smelling better than a house.” Nelly waved him toward the vehicles so they could drive to where the barn was located.
While the walk was close, Sam agreed that parking the trucks by the barn would be better. He didn’t want to walk back to the house and smell the stench again. Shoot, he didn’t even want to clean that place up. If it were up to him, he’d bulldoze the place and start from scratch. Maybe even start on a whole new foundation and bury this one.
Once they were inside the barn, Sam began to relax and feel better. The flashing images of war had fled and he could take in the barn. “Whoa, you must have spent all day and night getting this place in shape.”
Nelly sat next to him and took a sip of her coffee before speaking. “No, it was locked up tight and super clean. It seemed like someone had come through and tidied it all up just for me.”
After Sam took a sip of his coffee, he furrowed his brows. “Was it the Realtor?”
“I doubt it. When I spoke to him about the house, he never once mentioned the state of the barn. And he told me he’d not been out here. It must have been where the owner was living.” She looked around and smiled when she spotted her dogs in their kennels. “Do you mind if I let the dogs out?”
Sam snorted and thought of that song. In his head he sang the line to himself and woofed. Then he turned to look at her and nodded. “Sure, as long as you can promise they won’t bite me.”
A sly grin spread across her face. “Oh, I don’t know about that. But I can say that as long as you’re on your best behavior, the dogs will be, too.”
Sam liked her. She had a great sense of humor. It was a bit dark, like his. “Well, just so you know, if they bite me, I bite back.”
Nelly laughed and shook her head as she headed toward the horse stalls she had set up as the kennel area. “Something tells me you bite first.”
When Sam got the double meaning, his cheeks warmed. If only he could be so lucky.
Once the dogs had come out of the kennels and looked Sam up and down, they left and went to the fenced-in area Nelly had set up for them to stretch their legs in.
“I’m impressed by how much you’ve done since arriving.” Sam took another sip of his cooling coffee. “How much have you done here in the barn?”
“Actually, I’ve only fenced in the paddock area so the dogs can go out there without me tagging along. Well, I’ve also set up personal stuff, but like I said, the barn was all ready for us when I arrived. It was almost as though someone was living here. Which is why I think it was the owner. He probably moved out here when the house…” Nelly pointed in the direction of the house. “Well, whatever happened there.”
“I don’t think that was a quick situation. And I don’t think it was the owner living out here. He died a couple years back and the place sat empty for a while. Which was why the neighbors were able to buy off portions of the land.” Sam stood up to top off his coffee. “Would you like a warm-up?”
Nelly’s face heated and she looked away.
Sam felt his neck blazing with fire and he mumbled. “Not what I meant.” He cleared his throat. “I mean, would you like a top off for your coffee?”
Sam watched as Nelly lowered her head and bit her lower lip. She nodded.
He couldn’t have been happier to leave a room. The tension was building between them, something he’d not felt since…well, a long time. And it wasn’t something he wanted happening. Shoot, she probably hadn’t noticed his missing arm yet. Once she did, she’d give him that look of pity, say it didn’t bother her, and then a few weeks down the road she’d leave him because she didn’t want someone who wasn’t a whole man.
When he topped off his coffee, he stood there trying to calm his nerves. He was a soldier and he knew how to be professional. This little lady wasn’t about to break through the cinderblock walls, chain-link fence, and several rows of claymore mines he’d erected around his heart. No siree, he wasn’t going to let another woman tell him he wasn’t man enough for her.
With his new resolve in place, he picked up the coffee pot and walked out to top off her mug.
“Thank you, Sam. I appreciate you coming all this way and…well…surviving that monstrosity of a house.” She screwed up her lips. “No, that’s not a house. It’s a horror house.”
Sam chuckled. “Too bad Halloween is so far off. You could open it up and charge admission. Just attempting to walk through that place would be enough to make a fortune. Then you could afford to tear it down and start over.”
“That would be a great idea! But do you think we’d lose very many kids? I can’t imagine too many would find their way out.” Nelly grinned.
“You mean like one of those escape rooms?” Sam had heard of locking people into a room with lots of clutter and the guests had to find a way out, but it never sounded like fun to him.
Her face lit up with excitement, and she pointed to him and then her nose. “Exactly! We could make money year-round with an escape room that taunted thrill-seekers with a bear carcass and real bullet holes all over the house. We could even give prizes to anyone who removed a live rat.”
“I see. You want people to pay good money to be scared senseless in your…house. And then also reward them for doing your pest control for you?” He could see where she was going with this, and while the idea was hilarious, the house looked as though it really would swallow up anyone who entered.
Nelly waved a hand in front of her. “I know, I know. But it was a nice thought.” She put her coffee mug down on the table in front of her. “How much do you think it’ll cost to clear the house of all the junk, and the dead bodies?”
“Well, animal control will come out and take the bear free of charge. That’s a health hazard and since it’s a protected species, they’ll want to check it all out.” Sam knew there wouldn’t be any trouble for Nelly, but animal control could be particular when it came to bears. It was best not to try and hide it.
“Okay, so number one on the list, get animal control out here. Then contact a pest control company?” Her furtive glance at Sam let him know she was in way over her head.
Sam rubbed his chin. It was gonna take some time getting used to a clean-shaven face, but that was what he got for making a bet and losing it. Shoot, how was he to know that Mike Blankenship’s date was real, and not a lady who just felt sorry for him? How in the world Mike, the man who barely said two words a day, found the time and the words to get a woman go actually go out on a date with him, Sam would never know. Sadly, his face was paying the price for his stubbornness.
“Actually, I think the first thing to do is have everyone who wants to help get a tetanus shot, and that includes you, dog whisperer.” If anyone heard the way Sam was talking to Nelly, he’d be labeled a flirt. Maybe not on the same level as Skeeter, but sakes alive, he was on a roll today.
“Better than a bear whisperer,” Nelly shot back.
Was she flirting with him? No, Sam needed to get a hold of himself and tell his heart to shove off a cliff. He wasn’t about to do anything with that woman.
Or was he?
“Well, I think I’ll head back to the ranch and see who’s up for a deadly assignment.” Sam winked and stood up. “Once I know who all can help, I’ll call you and give you a price.”
Nelly interrupted. “But I don’t have any money at the moment. Well, not enough to pay for labor, at any rate.” She looked down at her hands.
“Like I said, payment can wait until you get one of those grants.” He turned and looked toward the house. “Besides, I think we really need to clean that place out. It’s a real health hazard, and I know Jerod well enough to know that if he knew what it was like, he’d have had it cleaned out before you arrived.”
With a grimace, Nelly stood and put out her hand, palm up.
Sam furrowed his brow. “What? You want to slap hands?” He didn’t understand what she was putting her hand out for. It wasn’t like he was going to pay her money.
A light giggle escaped Nelly’s lips. “No, silly. Give me your phone and I’ll input my contact details.”
A light went off in his head. It had been so long since a pretty woman wanted to give him her number, he wasn’t expecting it. “Sure, of course.” He handed her his phone and once she input her info, she sent herself a text message.
“There, now we have each other’s contact info. Let me know when you have some numbers together and when you can wrangle some men to come help. Then I’ll arrange for the dumpster to come.” Nelly pulled on her ear. “Do you think anything in that death trap is worth saving?”
“Nah, I’d bet animals have left their mark on everything. You don’t want the hassle of any of it. Besides, I didn’t see anything that was in good enough condition to salvage and repair.” He had looked. One item looked like it might have been alright, until he opened the door to the wardrobe and noticed the stain inside. He guessed several animals had used it as their toilet.
“Thanks, I really appreciate it.” Nelly walked him to his truck and waved as he drove away.
Sam looked in the rearview mirror and felt a sense of danger fill his entire being. “That woman’s gonna be the death of me.” He grinned. “But what an adventure it could be.”