Chapter 7
After spending most of the night at the hospital, Audrey was ready to collapse on her new couch. Rob had tried to talk her into going home with him, of course; however, she insisted on being taken back to her car so she could drive it home. It was only her left foot that was compromised with a bad sprain in her ankle. Thankfully, it wasn’t broken. She texted her secretary and asked her to check with her clients about doing sessions over the phone for the day.
She arrived at her dark house before the sun came up. The house felt even more empty than it already was with Toby gone, and she started to regret letting Josh take him. Although, it would give her more opportunities to rest if she didn’t need to get up to take him outside. With the light from her cell phone, she hobbled over to the light Josh had left for her to use and switched it on. It was so cold at night now she wished she could turn on the heat. Instead, she hobbled to the bedroom to grab an oversized hoodie for an extra layer of clothing, along with her pillow and the fluffy comforter from her bed. She carried them to the couch. After moving Josh’s light close enough to her makeshift bed to be able to turn it off from there, she settled down with her foot propped up on one of the sofa arms, cuddled with her blanket, and turned off the lamp. She really needed to get a gas heater.
Despite her fatigue, her mind wouldn’t slow down enough to let her sleep.
Josh came to mind and wouldn’t get out. Was it possible she was falling for him? Carly had mentioned he didn’t believe in marriage. Was that true? He certainly didn’t seem as awful as Carly had described him.
There she was making assumptions again. Perhaps there was a way she could delicately broach the subject of how he felt about relationships…maybe not. He’d think she was asking him for a relationship, or maybe even proposing to him. Men could most certainly misinterpret such things. Though normally men who didn’t believe in marriage had some underlying issue or something from their past experience that was the cause. If she asked questions about his childhood and his parents, he might catch on she was trying to psychoanalyze him.
More assumptions…
But he had admitted to believing in Sasquatch. At least, he virtually did.
She switched on her phone and searched for videos of Bigfoot hunters. There were a few reality shows about these folks and when she clicked on the website for one, she found several episodes available to watch. She wanted to try to understand Josh and she thought this might help, so she clicked on the most recent episode.
The Bigfoot hunting team discussed recent sightings in Oregon, possible locations, and likely food habits of the beast. They even had fur samples pulled from footprints. It was quite bizarre to her, but as the show progressed, and they gathered more of what they felt was evidence, it seemed clear there was something unexplained out there in the woods.
The pain medication she’d received at the hospital began to take its toll. Her eyelids grew heavy and it was hard to focus.
Images of the dark forest flashed on the screen as the host whispered something about Bigfoot. Wait, did he just say something about Oregon? Suddenly more alert, she had to back it up and listen closely. Sure enough, they had filmed it in the Willamette Valley, where Romance was located…of course.
Shadows flickered nearby in the room, and a chill slid up her spine. But there’s nothing to be afraid of, Sasquatch aren’t real. There were just TV shows, multitudes of sightings, and entire gift shops dedicated to the mythological creature. That didn’t make it a real creature.
What was that sound? It was a little windy out, that was all. But good grief, that creaking sound was becoming really annoying.
A thump hit the side of the house and she jumped. Audrey breathed in deeply and tried to slow her heart rate. Why did I let Josh take Toby and leave me here all alone?
She closed the video window on her phone and swallowed hard. The thumping seemed to get louder and something growled.
She pushed up on her good foot and grabbed her flashlight. As she began to hobble toward the large kitchen window, her nerve failed and she went back for her phone. She bent down to get her phone and stood again a little too quickly. The room started to spin and she sat down slowly and clicked on her phone contacts. A loud, deep scream outside made her jump and she tightened the grip on her phone. What on earth was that sound? She clung to her pillow and struggled to breathe. Was someone being murdered outside her house? Was an animal dying?
She punched through her contacts with trembling hands and clicked to call Rob.
She brought the phone to her ear as a groggy voice answered. “Hello?”
“Rob! Oh my gosh, someone or something is outside. There was this horrible scream and this growling…and Toby isn’t here. Not that he’d be able to rescue me from something like that, but it’d at least help if he was here…” Her voice turned into a high pitch and she squeezed her eyes shut. “What if it’s a Sasquatch?”
“I’ll be right there, okay?” The phone signal was breaking up. “And I’ll bring Toby.”
“Toby? Rob, is this you?” There was no answer and the call dropped. Then she looked at the screen and realized she’d called Josh. She really had thought she’d hit Rob’s number. “Well, this is the last time I let them give me a shot of painkiller then watch Bigfoot hunters in the dark.”
Okay, so Josh would come to her rescue. It may be embarrassing, but at least she’d get Toby back. It was probably nothing to worry about. Maybe kids were playing early Halloween pranks or something.
The growling noise sounded outside again, and she felt her heart pound nearly audibly. She pulled herself up and took a deep breath. She needed to figure this out. Limping once again toward the kitchen with her flashlight, she gulped and opened the wide blinds on the window.
There was nothing but grass, leaves, and that old white oak tree in the back yard. Behind her fence was a line of trees. Nothing was out there. She shined the flashlight back and forth and sighed. “Everything’s fine. So what was that horrific noise?”
Then the growling sound was back, sounding like it was right by the window. She thought she saw something moving, and she turned her flashlight off to see if she could see better without the glare from the window.
The growling became louder and something inside the oak tree rattled a branch, shaking more leaves out. Something was in the tree.
Then a pair of legs dropped down from the tree. Furry feet dangled in the air and the growling noise seemed louder every second. She squealed and covered her mouth with both hands, dropping back against the wall. Something was in her back yard. In her tree. Growling fiercely. Did Sasquatch growl? Did he climb trees? He certainly had two furry feet.
She dialed Josh again and he answered on the first ring. “I need my dog.”
“On the way right now, are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay. I need help,” she whispered sharply. “There’s something big and furry and growling in my tree.”
“Animal or human? I’m almost there.”
“If it’s human it’s incredibly hairy. But that growling sound isn’t human.” Audrey clenched the phone tighter and hugged herself with her free arm. “I can’t believe I’m saying this right now. The feet dropped down from the tree and looked furry. Aren’t you the expert on this subject?”
“What subject?”
“What kind of animal has two legs, climbs trees, and growls? Do Bigfoots climb trees?”
“Say what? Look, hang tight. I’m about to pull into your driveway.”
“Bring me my dog!”
“Don’t hang up, okay?”
“Okay.” It felt like an eternity as she sat against the wall in the dark, hearing her heart pound in her ears. In reality, only a few minutes passed before she heard Toby’s deep bark outside and she hung up the call. She looked outside again and spied one of the large branches rattling, and a furry-looking human figure leaped from the tree to the top of the side fence, then swung over it to the tree cover on the other side. She blinked, heart stopping.
Next she saw Toby running across the yard to the fence where the creature disappeared and Josh followed.
Then something small and furry jumped out of the tree and ran across the top of the wooden fence. It stopped and growled down at Toby.
Curiosity finally won over her fear, and she hurried as best she could with a sore foot to the back door and pulled it open.
“Toby, it’s okay,” Josh said and gave Toby a head rub, but he didn’t stop barking. The furry thing on the fence disappeared.
“I think I just saw a Sasquatch…” She stood frozen in place on the patio.
Josh walked toward her while Toby continued to bark. “Come on, Toby!” He stopped in front of her and studied her a moment. “Yeah…it was actually a ’possum. A rather angry one.””
“Are you serious? But what was that big animal that ran off?”
“What big animal? ’Possums make a variety of different sounds, it was probably in your tree.”
Her lip started to quiver. “Something on two legs, the size of a man. He was…furry…the feet were furry…”
“There was a man back here? We should call the police.”
“I told you, I think I saw Sasquatch!” Audrey covered her face with both hands, humiliation washing over her. Oh my gosh, I’ve lost my mind.
Josh paused for a moment and pulled her hands from her face. “Are you okay?”
“That scared me to death.” Audrey took in a shaky breath. “You didn’t see anything at all?”
“Just a ’possum.” He spoke slowly. “Do you really think it was a Sasquatch?”
She shook her head, now questioning everything. “To be honest, they gave me a shot at the ER for pain, and then I was watching videos in the dark…and it’s pretty late.”
“Were you watching ghost stories?”
She felt her face warming all over and knew she was turning red. “I may have caught a little of a Bigfoot reality show.” The last part was almost a whisper.
Josh pulled her into his arms and hugged her. She was a little surprised by the hug, but more surprised by how much she didn’t want him to let go of her. She held him and took in several deep breaths.
“It’s okay, whatever it was is gone.” Josh’s words were so tender, his lips were so nearby. She looked into his eyes and wanted to give in to his spell.
Then Toby wedged himself between their legs and they stepped apart. “Toby, you came to save me.” Audrey rubbed his ears and hugged her four-legged friend.
“But I do think we should call the police. There may be someone creeping around the neighborhood.”
She nodded. “Yes, you’re right. It could have been a prowler.”
Audrey continued to pet Toby. She desperately needed the distraction from the tingling sensations running through her body. The way she was feeling toward Josh was not at all appropriate for someone she depended on to restore her electricity, or for a new friend. And if he was Carly’s ex-boyfriend who believed in Bigfoot, she’d allowed herself to briefly buy into the myth and he would probably like that about her. But if it wasn’t, and if he didn’t really believe in the story, maybe he thought she was a therapist in need of serious therapy.