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Chapter 13
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The Saga Series Chapter 14
I smiled appreciatively at Julie and her ability to manipulate even the most strong-willed of people. Jesse grunted as I helped him into bed and covered him with a blanket. Julie found some towels in the bathroom and used them to apply pressure to his wound. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be taking care of a gunshot victim.” His eyes fluttered shut, and I gasped. “He passed out! We can’t just sit here and do nothing, no matter what he said. He’s really sick and fading fast. If we’re going to save him, we’ve gotta take a chance. You stay here. I’m going to get us help.” “How are you going to get past the wolves?” Julie asked sounding scared. “I don’t know. But, I can’t just stand here and let him die.”She took a deep breath. “I know.” I felt his forehead, glad to find that his skin was cooler now and not as sweaty. The fever seemed to have subsided. “He feels better,” I said. Julie softly touched his arm as she studied him. “He
The Saga Series Chapter 15
“No time for mushy goodbyes,” Billy said. “I gotta get Jesse home.” Before I could say another word or even wave goodbye, the blue car had backed out of the driveway and sped down the street. As we walked into Julie’s house, I flung my shoes off. My hands were shaky from the ordeal, and I was suddenly overwhelmed with nausea. I sat down at the kitchen table, staring at the kitchen wall, trying to process everything that had happened last night. Julie handed me a glass of water. “Are you okay?” she asked. “Yeah. Just a little freaked.” “Better freaked, than dead. My head is pounding, but I think we learned a valuable lesson here.” “Oh? What’s that?” “No more parties with crazy, unstoppable party animals—or wild, furry animals either. I’m still trying to process what we went through.” “Yeah. Tell me about it. And we might want to avoid Barney-colored drinks and Long Island iced teas too.” “I’m sorry I took you to that party.” “You didn’t know.” “I ca
The Saga Series chapter 16
A few days passed without a word from or about Jesse. I was so worried about him that I couldn’t eat or sleep. Not knowing whether he was alive or dead, the anxiety was overwhelming me. I tried calling him a few times, only to get no answer.When my phone finally rang with a call from his number, I was ecstatic. “I’m recovering,” he assured me. “Don’t worry.”I thanked him countless times for fixing Julie’s truck, silently thanked God that he was okay, then hung up the phone.After that we talked sporadically, but texted each other every day. I thought it was best to let him recover at his own speed. I really wanted to see him and would have paid him a visit, but his mother didn’t want anyone stopping by until he was fully recuperated. “Doctor’s orders,” he joked, though it was technically true. * * * Before I knew it, a month had passed by. Jesse had a part-time job at the local zoo. When he told me that they were hiring, I filled out an application, interviewed well, an
The Saga Series chapter 17
He smiled. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. She’s a sweet bird.” “I’m gonna love working here.” “Yeah, I never get tired of it. I love my job. It sure beats flipping burgers.” “Yeah. I can tell you’re passionate about it.” He smiled sheepishly, obviously uncomfortable taking compliments, even though he deserved a million of them. I gazed up at his feathered friends. “These birds are really huge.” “Beauty Queen has a wingspan of about five feet—at least the wing that’s still good.” “She’s a vulture, right? I bet she’s got bad breath after eating all that dead meat.” “Maybe, but she can’t help what she was born to eat. It’s just the way nature works. No one can help the card we’re dealt. Just like us, these birds and all the animals in this zoo and in those woods out there have to live and make do with what their bodies want as a food source. Maybe she despises eating carcasses, but she’s stuck with it. It’s eat or die.” “Yeah, I guess I shouldn
The Saga Series chapter 18
When Jesse’s number showed up on my caller ID, I quickly answered. “Taylor?” he said.His voice sent shivers down my spine. Just hearing him say my name caused an adrenaline rush like none I’d ever felt before. “Yes, this is me,” I answered. “What are you doing on your day off tomorrow?” “I don’t have any big plans,” I answered. “Why?” “Do you like to roller-blade?” “Sure.” “Cool. I was wondering if you’d like to meet at the Alpine Pedal Path? It’s a paved path that runs along the north shore of Big Bear Lake.” “Sounds good. I’ll be there!” “Great!” “Do you mind if I bring Max?” I asked. “Sure, no problem. Is two p.m. all right?” “Perfect,” I answered. “Okay, see you then. Bye, Taylor.” “Goodbye,” I said as I hung up the phone. * * * I thought Friday would never come, but it finally did. I dug through my boxes but couldn’t find the outfit I wanted. When I finally found my spring pastels, I threw on a white tank-top with mint green trim and a b
The Saga Series Chapter 1
Big Bear Lake, California is located in a lush green valley, surrounded by mountains and the towering pines, sparkling streams, wildlife, and hidden lakes of the San Bernardino National Forest. We’d just moved into a cute, two-story brick house along the south shore of Big Bear Lake. The beautiful and quaint little home was left to us by my grandmother, when she passed away. She’d spent her whole life in the house and had loved it. So my parents thought it would be fantastic to dump our city life, to move out to the smog-free middle of nowhere, where we could get lost in the peace and quiet tranquility. My parents loved the solitude here, because they were both writers. My father wrote mystery thrillers, while Mom penned romance novels. They hated the hustle, bustle and noise of the city and were sure the peaceful wilderness would help them concentrate. “It’ll be a fresh start for all of us,” my mother assured me, following a bad breakup with my boyfriend, “a very healthy e
The Saga Series Chapter 2
Finally, Max burst through the thick plants, bounding toward me. I clutched my heart and let out a sigh of relief when I saw that he was unharmed. He immediately took a protective stance in front of me and started growling, snarling and barking at whatever was in those ferns. Given the fight-or-flight choice, I was sure the best course of action was to slowly sneak backward and get the heck outta there. The ferns parted and I gasped. I was suddenly face to face with a mountain lion. It raised its head, unleashing its bloodcurdling signature roar. My heart began to pound in my chest like a high school marching band. What I encountered next was nearly as shocking as the mountain lion. I turned around quickly, only to bump into a guy who looked to be about my age. He wasn’t just any guy though, he was so scorching hot that if I had wet my finger with my tongue and touched him, his chest would have steamed and sizzled. He instinctively pushed me behind him as
The Saga Series Chapter 3
I pointed in the direction of where I’d come from. “I saw a mountain lion!” My dad immediately pulled me into a tight hug, then stepped back and began inspecting me from head to toe. “Are you okay?” he asked, looking concerned. I sighed. “I’m fine, Dad. Max ran off, and I just—” “You weren’t supposed to go in the woods.” “What was I supposed to do? I had to find Max.” “You shouldn’t go out there alone. You could have hollered for me, and I would have gone with you.” “It would’ve only taken a minute to get me or Dad,” Mom added. “I didn’t know he was gonna go so deep into the woods, or I would have,” I explained. My dad’s brown gaze narrowed. “Are you sure it was a mountain lion you saw?” “Positive. I just took off running and—” “Taylor,” my father pushed, “if that was a bobcat or mountain lion, its natural instinct would be to chase you. Never run. Just yell, shout, and make yourself look bigger.” “Yeah, I know, but I panicked, I guess. Sti
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