When a woman moves into the sleepy town, it rouses everyone's tongues to start wagging. She is strange and distant in her manner. Tia Frost is blissfully unaware of the townsfolk's discomfort with her. With Burt at her side, she wonders about the wo...
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The cup in my hands was warm in contrast to the coolness of the day. I took a sip looking over the driveway from my porch. Leaves drifted in the late autumn wind. Suddenly Burt stood growling looking off into the woods. I tried to see what he could but couldn't.
"What is it?" I asked him softly.
He looked up at me ears back. I knew that look in his eyes. I put my cup aside and opened the door grabbing my boots.
He whimpered as I closed the door. "Show me." He ran off and I jogged after him.
I could hear the policeman who had been watching us running after us. He wasn't as good at hiding as Maverick was and he was even worse at being stealthy while running to keep up with us. The man didn't even bother to wear long sleeves.
Burt stopped barking at a boy lying unconscious half under a bush. "Burt, is there anyone else around?" I knelt at the boy's side and took my mini first-aid kit from my pocket.
Burt turned to behind me and growled. "Any more?" He put his nose in the air and whimpered. "Right well let's sort this young man out and then we will work out the rest." Burt barked.
It looked like the boy had been running and had tripped hitting his head. His head was bleeding and his shoes were undone. So I patched up his head as best I could. I checked him some more and then picked him up on finding he was otherwise uninjured.
I carried the boy back to the house. "Burt get the door."
Burt ran up opening the door ahead of me and I laid the boy on the chair as soon as I ran in the house. I knew the policeman hadn't followed me back, but I also knew this boy needed more than what that officer was going to get him. I grabbed the phone and called the number Maverick gave me.
I tapped my foot impatiently as I waited for the phone to be answered. "Hello?" The voice at the other end asked.
"Maverick.. it's Tia Frost."
There was a pause on his end. "Tia, how can I help you?"
"I need you to come to my house with a doctor." There was the telltale echo to my voice that told of me being on speakerphone.
I guessed that was what the pause was for. "What's happened?" I sighed knowing he already knew what was going on.
Do they think I'm simple? I suppose they don't know, I know they are watching me.
"Burt found a boy. He hit his head and needs more than I can do for him."
"I will be there as soon as I can. Does he need an ambulance?"
I shook my head looking up at the ceiling. Can he really think I'm that dense? "If he did I would have called one."
He went quiet for a moment and I just waited. "Right the doctor is on his way to you, I will drive up there soon."
