Runaway Summer {Sam}

[Tiggs]

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“Saaaaam?” Molly crouched down and peered under the chairs. No puppies there. She went to the window again. “Saaaaam!” Where was that man? The yell was not urgent, but there was a hint of impatience fuelled by worry. Molly put both hands on her hips and scowled around the room. She could hear little yips and the skitter of paws, and she pounced as a roly-poly bundle of fur came loping across the room. “Ah-hah!” She said triumphantly, lifting the puppy up in the air. “There you are.” She said fondly to the amber pup. “Lets find the rest of you shall we?”

As she was passing the door, she heard Sam’s familiar heavy footsteps on the porch and she reached to open it. Sam had been about to do the same, and they all but collided. Molly gaped, but quickly recovered as the puppy wriggled. She backed up swiftly, putting much needed distance between her and Sam. “The puppies broke out of their pen. They’re all over the hut.” She explained, diligently avoiding eye-contact as she fussed with the pup’s ears.

“Can you help me find them?” She asked, glancing briefly at his chin – no higher – before she resumed peering under and behind furniture, the puppy tucked under one arm. One down, four more to go.

[tingara]

There had been and add in the paper bringing news to the local townships of puppies for sale. That had been two weeks ago and now they were ready to be looked at by potential new owners. When Molly called Sam had been chatting to a local woman who had brought her two small children to the hut to see the dogs. Both of them chattered excitedly about the horses in standing idliy in the stockyards, the Tamaskan dog lazing on the porch and what they would name their new pet as well as how they had promised to look after it, do everything for it like feed it and walk if every day. The woman rolled her eyes at them and the man knew the responsibilities would most likely fall to her eventually.

When he heard Molly call again, the wrangler excused himself and went to investigate. It seemed they had both reached the door at the same time as they all but collided with each other in the doorway. ”Sorry,” Sam muttered. There was an audible groan from him when he was told the puppies had escaped and indeed he could see and hear them scampering all over the hut. ”You take that one you’ve got out to the box I’ve got out there and I’ll try and catch the rest,” he sighed.

Getting down on hands and knees he whistled softly and called the names of the pups that had been lucky enough to receive them. At once the creamy female, Spud, came haring out from her hiding spot to place excited licks on the man’s face. ”I don’t want to sell you,” Sam sighed, bundling the white pup into his lap. ”And I know you don’t want to part with Butch all that much Molly,” the man said cheekily to the woman in the other room.

[Tiggs]

Molly nodded, straightened and passed Sam to leave the room. As she was placing the amber pup in the box, she heard Sam’s whistle and the frantic patter of puppy feet. There was the rumble of Sam’s voice as he was evidently talking to a pup, then he spoke louder to pass the distance between the rooms.

The stockwoman returned down the hall, and leaned on the doorway to watch Sam with the creamy female pup. She found herself watching ever more frequently. Sam just had a way with animals that was calming to observe. “No,” she replied from the doorway, and in dropping her gaze to avoid his eyes, she spotted the pup in question sat loyally at her feet. A rare grin flashed her teeth, and she knelt to pick up the sooty pup. “I don’t think he much wants to leave me either. I’ll miss him.”

She smiled down at the pup in her arms, tickling his ears to delighted squeaks and wiggles. The black pup was the largest of the bunch, and along with the female Spud, had the most distinctive personality. She was drawn from her thoughts by the excited yip of another puppy, and one rushed out of the hallway to tear across the room.

Molly chased after him, carefully dropped Butch into Sam’s lap on her way and stooped to grab for the escaping pup. She was too late, and the little creature managed to get under an old wooden piece of furniture with enough floor clearance for an excited puppy. Molly grumbled, and dropped to her knees. Without any thought to the rear view she was giving Sam, she lowered her torso so she could peer under the old chest of drawers.

The pup was playing with a piece of kindling, and Molly reached under the cabinet and dragged the puppy out. “Gotcha.” She dusted the pup off, retrieved the stick of wood from his mouth and sat back on the floor. Turning at the waist, she smiled back at Sam in her triumph. She even forgot not to meet his eyes.

[tingara]

”Then why don’t we keep them, with the money I’m making training horses down in town and up at the other hut we could easily accommodate them,” Sam suggested eagerly with a look that rivalled those of the children waiting outside. He loved both Spud and Butch, they were awesome to have around and of the five they were the smartest, or so the man insisted since he was just a tad biased towards them. ”You know you want to, deep down,” he teased gently, holding up Spud so both he and the dog could assault Molly with puppy dog faces.

As Molly dumped Butch in his lap and dashed after another puppy Sam pondered more on keeping the two puppies who were currently trying to lick his face. He had been pondering until Molly bent over and disrupted his thoughts by doing so. With one hand he covered Spud’s eyes as he and Butch shamelessly had a peek. The man was very appreciative of her jeans and gave a nod of approval to the black dingo-dog pup.

If that wasn’t bad enough Molly’s triumphant smile had Sam nearly dying. It made his heart swell and he couldn’t help but laugh at it. ”Well done, you’re an expert pup catcher,” the wrangler chuckled, positively beaming at her. He was actually feeling proud of her for something as simple as catching a wayward puppy, this woman was affecting him way too much, she was turning him into a big softy. Though he had been one of those before so Sam couldn’t blame that on Molly.

”Come on lets catch the last one and get them out there to show off. Got a family eager to take one home,” Sam said and thumbed in the direction of the women and, now, some men who had just turned up.

[Tiggs]

Molly kept smiling as she wiggled her fingers at the pup’s nose, and let him gnaw at them. She glanced back over at Sam and the two round puppies. Butch and Spud certainly were characters, and after the disappearance of Harvey, she pined for a permenant canine companion. She’d tried to avoid becoming attached, but she just couldn’t help herself. She gave an amused huff, and dropped her eyes to her lap.

Maybe Sam was right, maybe they should keep them. “Alright,” she said, a little shy, “We’ll keep them.” She got to her feet and passed Sam as she returned to the box she’d put the first puppy in. Adding the second golden pup, she hefted the box and returned to Sam. “Swap, you take these two, I’ll take those two and I’ll try and find the last little one.” She put the box at Sam’s feet, and held her hands out for Butch and Spud, the smile still lingering in her eyes.

[tingara]

Wow had she actually said yes? Sam’s grin broadened into a positively beaming smile. Hang on a minute; technically they were his pups so why had he checked whether it was okay with Molly in the first place? The woman was definitely getting to him; here he was thinking she was part of his life when she’d made it positively clear that she wanted nothing to do with him anywhere outside a professional sense. And yet the way she was smiling at him with the puppies couldn’t help but fan the flames of hope Sam kept burning inside him.

”Looks like you’re sticking with us you two,” the wrangler said happily to the black and the creamy pup. ”Deal,” the man said as he handed Butch and Spud to Molly in favour for taking the box filled with the others outside. ”The runt’s missing,” Sam informed over his shoulder as he walked outside to present the amber puppies to the waiting people. As he’d expected the woman and her children took his full attention as the cooed over and deliberated which puppy they’d take.

[Tiggs]

She smiled guiltlessly to herself while she hunted around the hut for the last pup after finding a second, sturdier box for Butch and Spud. It took her a while, but she finally found the last pup – the small tawny runt – curled up under her bed fast asleep. He woke with a yip when she picked him up, and she returned him to the box with Butch and Spud.

Molly watched the three puppies from a nearby chair, not wanting a repeat of the earlier incidence. Since Sam had taken two of the amber pups out to show the family, the remaining three pups tussled and tore up the paper in their box in their excitement. The door swung open with its usual squeak, and Molly looked up expecting to see Sam. Instead, there was another man, his hand on a rope that held a thick beaten-looking dog in check.

The man came in, tugged the rim of his hat. “G’day, Shiela.” He greeted Molly with a less than polite leer – Molly took little notice, she was used to similar behaviour – and stomped over to see the pups. He peered down at them, but the group were oblivious. His eyes settled on the darkest and largest pup, and Molly felt her heart sink.

“ ‘E’s got dingo in ‘im, right? That’s the sort of thing I need. I don’t care about the dog, it’s the bitch in ‘im that I want.” Said the man, his yellow-toothed smile ugly to the woman. She had to resist the urge to shudder. He was repulsive. Even the dog he had with him was grizzled, marked horribly with scars and looked about ready to bite. Molly stood from the chair took a nervous step back, having had recent experience with being bitten.

The man turned watery blue eyes on her and Molly quickly looked away, focussing her attention on the black pup. He clambered over his siblings to get to the edge of the box, and stared up at her with strangely intelligent yellow eyes. Molly shook her head. “The dam was a dingo, yea, but he’s not wild like that. He’d make a good working dog, he’s loyal, but he's not—” He man cut her off with an impatient wave of his hand.

“I don’t care, I don’t need loyal. Just sell me the pup, girl, and stop yapping. Don’t you have housework to be gittin’ on with?” He sneered, and glanced out the window to where Sam was negotiating a price for one of the amber pups, hands gesticulating animatedly and smile warm and pleasant. Molly’s lip twitched in a smile, but the feeling of warmth that Sam inspired was cut brutally short with a cold chill that came from the feel of the other man’s hand on her arm.

She instinctually jerked away, but the man held on tightly. “There ain’t no reason for a woman to be out here than to make a man happy.” He growled, and Molly stilled her struggling as her heart pounded in her throat. “Give me the pup, girl, and I’ll leave you and your boyfriend in peace.” He’d leaned in menacingly, and Molly could smell the stench of his breath, and the stale reek of his unwashed clothing. She suddenly yearned for Sam, his strong presence, his clean smell and warm hands. She was too frightened to call for him, trapped like a bird in the grass when the dog is sniffing around so close that taking off might be more dangerous than staying put.

[tingara]

The woman seemed a little wary about paying for something that could be potentially dangerous but Sam set about assuring her that there was none of their mother in them other than looks-wise. For a while they haggled until at last a pup and a price was agreed upon. Beaming again and thoroughly proud of himself, the wrangler instantly turned back to the hut to give Molly the good news. The scene that he walked in upon had his good mood forgotten.

”What the hell do you think you’re doing mate?” Sam growled, grabbing the other man by the shoulder and pulling him away from the girl. ”I want the black pup and ya sheila won’t see it to me,” the man retorted and slackened the grip on his dog’s lead. Sam saw this happen and stepped back as the feral looking dog began to growl. ”He’s not for sale and you need to leave right now.”

The stranger, not happy about being bossed about, threw a punch in Sam’s direction that glanced off his jaw. ”Right, that’s it,” the wrangler roared as he pulled one of the man’s arms painfully around to behind his back and practically frog marched him out of the hut. ”And don’t come back ya bastard,” Sam shouted at the retreating figure before turning back to Molly, his expression once again soft and kind.

”Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you did he?”

[Tiggs]

Molly shook her head, visibly shivering. No she was not okay, or no he hadn’t hurt her? Both, probably. She looked to Sam, eyes slightly wide with the shock that had overcome her. She crossed her arms over her chest, and replayed the scene in her mind. It had surprised her the first time, to see Sam come to her rescue. She rarely saw him angry, but she had been relieved rather than scared. The only downside was that he thought after the man threw a punch, Sam would return in kind. Instead Sam did not retaliate, and escorted the man out with a heavy hand.

Things could have been so much uglier, but Sam had intervened perfectly. Molly let out the breath she had been holding, and it was shaky. “I’m okay,” she surprised herself by going to him, feeling significantly safer near to him. “Are you?” She tilted her head, looking at his jaw. The blow had not looked hard, but she would feel better if Sam had not gotten hurt on her behalf.

“Thanks,” she whispered, hunching her shoulders against the chill feeling that lingered. This was exactly why she was wary of men in the first place. But Sam was different. She’d known for a while, but she couldn’t quite believe it until now. Her smile was weak, but it was a smile none-the-less. “Thank you, Sam.”

[tingara]

Things since the stranger hadn’t been the same between Molly and Sam but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It hadn’t been at all detrimental; in fact it had had the opposite effect on the relationship between them. The woman seemed to have more trust in the wrangler and hadn’t been as cold as she once was as of late. At their meeting there had been a faint spark of hope for something to happen between them but now it was a raging fire in Sam. His body burned with it and the urge to be there for the girl, to protect her from people like the creeper a few days ago. All the feelings Molly produced within him were confusing but he knew he liked her a lot.

Sam mused on everything as he sat up in front of the dying embers of the fire, unable to sleep. Ever since the run in with the strange stockman he had been edgy and full of an irrational fear that he would be back for Molly. It was ridiculous and was making him glare into the ashes of the dying flame but he couldn’t help it.

A sudden, dull scream made the man jump and his heart skip a beat. At once he was on his feet and dashing to Molly’s room where he found her tossing and turning in her bed. ”Molly, it’s Sam. Wake up Molly,” he said urgently, placing a hand on her shoulder and shaking her gently. Whatever she was dreaming about didn’t look good.