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Harper stood off to one side, a puppy in her arms and her face red and tearstained as she screamed. Her eyes were huge and round, and trained on the fight going on just feet away from her. Matilda’s jaws were fastened to the side of the huge mountain lion’s neck, and her body swayed and clung at one side of the cat. She must’ve found a way to jump on its back, and now she was holding on for dear life as the cat swatted and yowled, shaking and trying to fling her off.
I picked up a stick and scrabbled around for a rock, hurling it as hard as I could at the mountain lion. “Go!” I yelled. “Go on, get out of here!” I turned to the terrified Harper. “You have to help,” I told her. “Throw things, scream at it.” I worked to keep the panic from my voice.
Despite her fear, Harper did exactly as I said. She held the dog in one arm, but picked up whatever she could find with the other, and together we shouted and barraged the lion—and poor Matilda—with a steady stream of rocks and sticks and pine cones.
The lion continued to growl and hiss and shake, and eventually, Matilda went flying off to one side, snarling and barking. She landed in a heap, but was back on her feet seconds later, forepaws spread and head down as she snarled at the mountain lion.
We continued yelling and screaming, throwing whatever we could find, and the lion turned with lowered head, considering us for a moment before it bounded off up the hillside, clearly deciding we were more trouble than we were worth. As soon as it was gone, Harper threw herself into my arms, still holding the puppy.
“Cam,” she cried. “I didn’t know what to do.” I wrapped my arms around her shaking body, gratitude and love flooding through me. What if I’d stayed at the reception? What if I’d gotten here ten minutes later?
“Are you all right?” I asked, keeping my voice calm and steady. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head against my shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Cam. I didn’t mean to let the dogs out.”
I hugged her tighter to my chest and turned to look at Matilda, who’d dropped to the ground, panting. “You okay, girl?” I asked her.
“Oh no,” Harper breathed, pulling away. “Matilda.”
I squeezed Harper’s shoulder once more and went to my dog, kneeling at her side. She whined and got to her feet, nuzzling my face as I lowered it to her. “Are you hurt, girl?” I turned back to Harper. “Did the lion get her? Did you see?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Matilda dodged around her until she could get on her back. It was pretty impressive, actually.”
I stared at my dog, running my hands down her sides, feeling for blood. “Did you really do that, girl?” I asked her, pride filling me. “Did you defend Harper and your puppy like that?”
Matilda nosed at my cheek again.
“What a brave girl you are,” I told her. “Good girl.”
Harper came and knelt next to Matilda, who nosed at the puppy in Harper’s arms. “Thank you, Matilda,” she said. “What a good girl.”
“Let’s get back,” I said, glancing around us. I didn’t think the lion would return, but I didn’t want to stay here as the forest grew dark around us. “Are you okay to walk?”
Harper took a shuddering breath and nodded. “I’m okay.”
“I’ll carry this girl,” I said, taking the puppy from her arms. “Come on, Matilda.”
We made our way down the slope carefully, crossed the ravine and went back up to my cabin, where Harper sat heavily in one of the chairs next to the fire pit. I put the puppy into the pen, and Matilda and I took the other chair. Now that everyone was safe, my heart went into overdrive and my hands shook.
I looked over to see Harper shaking, too.
I rose, planning to get us each a stiff drink, but her eyes found mine. “Please don’t leave me,” she whispered, and a tear found its way down her cheek again.
I shook my head, moving to where she sat and kneeling next to the chair. I pulled her hand between mine and held it there, looking up into the dark eyes that filled my dreams and my every waking thought. “I wasn’t the one who was leaving.” She didn’t say anything, and I considered the appropriateness of what I wanted to say in light of what we’d just been through, but time wasn’t going to still for me. I needed to move forward. I’d been standing in one place long enough. “I came back to stop you,” I said.
Harper’s eyes grew rounder and she just stared at me. “You did?” she finally said.
“I did,” I confirmed. I held her hand for a long moment, letting my warmth flow into her, and I watched her cheeks go back to pink as her breathing normalized. “There are a lot of things I need to say to you,” I told her. “Things I should have said a while ago.”
Her eyes didn’t leave mine, and I wanted to tell her everything right then, wanted to take the chance and throw caution to the wind and find out what would happen. But as I leaned down to kiss her palm, I glanced at my watch and realized I’d already been away from the reception for an hour.
“But right now,” I said, pulling her to her feet and into my chest so those big dark eyes were staring up at me, “I have to get back to my sister’s wedding so I can make my best man speech.”
I saw the disappointment cross her face, her realization that I was putting her off again, and I struggled with what to do. I couldn’t let my sister down. But I didn’t want to let Harper down again either. I’d done enough of that.
I stepped back and took her hands again, holding them between us. “Look at your hands, they’re shaking. You can’t drive right now anyway. Come back with me, let me make my speech and then we’ll come back here and talk. I have some things I need to say.”
One side of her mouth quirked up just the tiniest bit, but she still didn’t speak.
