He rounded the corner just as a woman screamed.
Priscilla!
Not knowi
ng what to expect, he drew his gun and released the safety. The scant moonlight showed Priscilla backed up against the shed door. Standing between her and the back door of her house, a large mountain lion, blood dripping from his mouth, stood stock still and stared at her. A freshly killed animal lay at its feet. It appeared to be a possum. Mitch could hear the mountain lion’s panting in the night air.
Priscilla’s whimpers and the scene before him scared the hell out of him. “Priscilla, don’t move,” he whispered. She nodded and remained where she was, her eyes never leaving the animal. Mitch raised his gun and taking aim, shot the mountain lion in the back of its head. It immediately dropped to the ground.
Mitch lowered the gun, and Priscilla raced toward him, throwing herself into his arms. He wrapped one arm around her body, her head tucked into his shoulder. Keeping his gun ready and his eye on the animal, he said, “Let’s go inside.” Backing away from the scene, he led her up the stairs to the rear door. “Go on inside. I just want to check to make sure it’s dead. I’ll be right there.”
After determining the mountain lion was dead, Mitch replaced the safety on his gun and dropped it into his pocket. Priscilla was pacing in the kitchen, rubbing her arms.
He closed the door and removed his coat. “Honey, come here.” He reached his hand out.
She turned to him, her face pale. “That was close.”
He tugged her to him and held her close. She was shivering so badly, he could barely hold her. “My brave girl.”
“Not so brave. I just stood there, like a statute.”
“Sweetheart, there wasn’t much you could do. Most women would be wailing and carrying on by now.”
And packing their clothes to head back to civilization. Not my Priscilla.
“I just thank God I was here.”
She leaned back. “Yes. What are you doing here?”
“Let me get the wood you were going after so I can warm the place up a bit. Go grab a blanket to cover yourself with until I get a fire going. Then we’ll talk.”
With ice-cold hands, Priscilla took the heavy quilt from her bed and wrapped it around herself. Who would have thought she needed to bring a gun with her to gather wood from the shed? She could still see the animal staring at her, his mouth covered in the blood from the animal he’d just slain. She shivered and sat in the rocking chair in the parlor.
Mitch returned and shoved a log into the potbelly stove in the parlor. After tossing in a handful of kindling and dried pine needles, he lit the twigs and shut the stove door. “It will be warm in here soon.” He rubbed his hands together, then shrugged out of his coat and removed his hat, gloves, and scarf. With one quick movement, he scooped Priscilla up from the rocking chair, settled himself in her place, and seated her on his lap.
Suddenly exhausted, Priscilla rested her head on his shoulder. They rocked for a while in silence, the room growing warmer, as promised. Priscilla felt herself drifting off into sleep when Mitch spoke.
“I’m here for a reason.”
She shifted around, the blanket falling to her lap since she was no longer shivering. “You mean you didn’t stop by just to kill the mountain lion?” She smirked at him.
Mitch tucked a curl behind her ear. “No. Although I thank God I was here.”
She sobered. “Me, too. Thank you for saving my life.” She paused. “So what brings you here late at night when you’re supposed to pick me up for church in the morning?”
“I want to discuss marriage.”
She stiffened in his lap. “No.”
“Hold on. Let me finish.” He wrapped his arms around her waist, effectively keeping her captive. Not that she minded. His dark good looks and strong body offered an easy backdrop for whatever he’d planned to say. “I’m not going to order you to marry me.”
“Good.”
“I realize that was the wrong way to go about it. But you have to admit marriage is not such a bad idea.”
“Hmm. This is supposed to be a better way of discussing wedded bliss?”
“You must know I care about you. I know the type of woman you are. Women from your background don’t allow men to make love to them without the benefit of marriage. So there have to be some feelings on your part as well.”