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“Sh-sh-sheriff?” A soft voice calls back and looks up

Shit

I’d know those baby blues and long dark curls anywhere

“Da out here? It’s way below freezing, and this jacket won’t do shit for you” I scold, staring at the thin coat It’s better for a fall day than a freeze warning

She stares down at her feet and it’s then I notice the squir beneath her jacket and the bulky nature of her normally slim frame

“Co her toher home with me It’ll be days before the plows come out and I know, even with the winter tires and chains, I won’t be able to get her home “You’ll come home with me until the storm passes”

She’s silent as I guide her into the passenger seat, the hipping at her long hair “Christ you’re soaked” I hiss,out here Not only is the snow falling but it’s wet too, like it’sit especially deadly if someone were left out in it

“Where the hell were you going Oaklynn?” My words are harsh as I begin to unzip her coat, a puppy squir “A puppy?” Reaching into the back, I grab the blanket I keep there and throw it over her before sla around to the driver’s seat

“You gotta talk to me Oak, or I won’t know that you’re okay” I tell her softly She’s always been a shy girl and I knowher to open up to me

Shifting in her seat, she pulls the puppy into her lap and her bright blue eyes stare up atas we slowly drive down the road “I was helping Ms Sawyer collect wood for her stove and close up her house before the storm hit”

Of course she was “So how’d you wind up heading this way instead of hoone home

Biting her lip, I shift inon it instead “I was on my home when I found hi furball in her lap, “And she ran out this way By the tiht her, it was easier to try and make my way to you, rather than ho but I heard every word

“You were co to me?”

“Yes” She draws the word out with a soft smile