Free Their Forever Home by Marla Monroe Page A

men would show back up, Vella decided to wait and pray she didn’t leave a wet spot on the blankets. She couldn’t remember ever being this turned-on by just thinking about a man before. Maybe it was because she was imagining two men and not just one.
    It really didn’t matter. Vella was anxious for both of them to return. She had a funny feeling in her chest that worried her. Something was going to happen. The big dog, or wolf, or whatever it was, felt it, too. He whined as he sat up, staring out the front of the cave. His whine turned into a low growl, and a shadow fell over part of the opening, making her wish Lance had built the fire back up before he’d gone. The crunch of a stick just outside the entrance caused her to jerk, unsettling the big animal next to her. He put himself between her and the cave’s entrance, but not before she saw someone peek inside, leading with his gun.

Chapter Seven
     
    Carver was pretty pleased with himself. He’d managed to find everything on his mental list plus some at the first house he stopped. It was deep in the woods off of two secondary roads, so no one had found it to scavenge yet. The only unpleasant part had been burying the remains of the two people he had found in one of the beds. He figured them to be husband and wife, but since there was nothing left but bones and tattered material, he wasn’t positive.
    Digging the grave and settling them into it had taken time and soured his mood at first, but he couldn’t leave them there like that. He was taking their things, so the least he could do was give them a semi-proper burial.
    He’d located three backpacks in good shape and filled all of them with clothes that looked to have been made for Vella. To his surprise, there had been a stockpile of lotions, shampoo, and soaps that all smelled good but weren’t loud. He added those to his pile, along with a small nail kit and some hair things.
    By the time he’d stuffed all three of the packs, Carver was sure he’d gotten everything she would need for a while. He tied the shoestrings of the boots he found her and looped them around his neck. He hooked one backpack to another and struggled into it before pulling on the third one in front. He carried the rifle in his hand, and the pistol was between his abdomen and the pack just in case.
    It looked like if nothing came up, even with the extra weight on him, he’d be able to make it back around two or three. He’d gotten a good start that morning before the sun had even come up. When he’d gone out to relieve himself, the squirrel had been an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. After he’d skinned it and left it in a pot for Lance to cook, Carver had grabbed his weapons and started out at an easy jog.
    Now he was on the way back, and he felt good about what he’d accomplished. If he were lucky, there would be some squirrel stew left when he got back. He’d chewed on jerky off and on all day, but a hot bowl of the stew would go down really good. It wasn’t foot-stomping cold right now, but it was pretty nippy out.
    As he hiked down the first road, a noise to his left stopped him in his tracks as a huge buck slipped out of the woods to his left and slowly made its way across the road to the other side. Not long after it disappeared into the tree line on the opposite side of the road, two doe bounded out after him. If he’d been hunting, that would have made a major dent in their food needs for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately there was no way he could field dress and cart out even the smallest of the two does with what he already had to carry.
    There will be other deer. I can hunt while we’re on the move. I don’t need to take the time it would take to dress it out anyway.
    Suddenly he felt like he needed to be back already. Urgency rolled through him like a tidal wave. One thing Carver had learned through experience while with the MC back home—never discount an urge to do something or be somewhere. As sure as he