Alone and Afraid (Rocky Mountain Home Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

jeans and a shirt, and took the shed key off the hanger by the back door, while smiling to herself.  This turned out to be a very pleasant day.  The paper in her car was forgotten.
    When she unlocked her shed, she took note that everything was exactly where she had put it after the sheriff found the broken lock.  She grabbed a hoe and shovel, and went to work.  She found that working in the garden was very therapeutic. Now she knew why her aunt loved it so much.
    When she finished in the garden, she stood back and thought to herself, again, how much she already loved it here.
    After she placed everything back in the shed and locked it, she was ready for a shower , an early dinner, and relaxing in front of the television.  And in that order, that was exactly what she did. 
    She rarely drank alcohol , but while in one of the shops she bought a bottle of wine at the merchant’s recommendation, and decided she’d have a glass while sitting in her pajamas on the sofa, and watching a classic movie.  It wasn’t long before she felt her eyelids closing.  Knowing it was time for bed, since she got little sleep the night before, she walked to her room and crawled in her bed, leaving her wine glass on the coffee table to be picked up in the morning.

Chapter 7
     
    Sounds of breaking glass woke Brooke up from a light sleep.  She reached out to turn on her lamp , but it didn’t work.  She then grabbed her key chain from the night table and hit the panic button, something she learned from watching television.  The loud piercing alarm went off in her car.  She knew bears came around in this area hunting for food and occasionally would break into homes.  She hoped that what she just heard breaking the glass, was running now. 
    She got up and as she walked towards the kitchen she turned light switches on, but nothing happened.
    “Ouch!” She realized too late that she was barefoot and she had put her foot down on something very sharp.  She stepped back and walked around the kitchen island to the sink, her arms stretched out the whole way as it was pitch black inside the cottage.  She found the sink and opened the bottom cabinet to get her flashlight.  By now, she heard Digger barking as he got closer to her cottage.  She also heard Chase’s voice as he knocked on the back door.
    Brooke aimed the flashlight towards the door , then turned it on, shining it directly into Chase’s eyes.
    “Sorry,” she said as she lowered the light a little, and walked back around the counter.  When she did, she saw glass covered the inside floor near the back door.  Apparently, something or someone broke the upper window of the back door, as it now hung open.
    “Brooke, are you alright?” Chase asked at the same time that he noticed the blood trail she left on the kitchen floor.  Digger barked from outside , and both Brooke and Chase heard a car engine start and gravel fly as the vehicle took off down the road.
    “I’ll call the sheriff while you sit down.  You are tracking blood everywhere you walk,” Chase told her before he took his phone out of his back pocket and dialed.
    Brooke looked down at the floor, pointing the light towards her feet, and knew Chase was right.  Her foot was really bleeding. She got up to get the first aid kit, but was stopped by Chase’s hand on her shoulder.  He hung up the phone and asked, “Where do you keep the first aid kit, or do you have one?”
    “That’s what I was getting up for, before you stopped me. It’s under the kitchen sink,” she told him.
    Chase retrieved the kit from under the sink and knelt in front of Brooke.  He raised her foot and knew at once he’d need more than just a Band-Aid.
    He grabbed the dishtowel from the counter and wrapped
Brooke’s foot temporarily. “This needs to be cleaned thoroughly and disinfected before it can get bandaged.”  He then told her to shine the flashlight down the hall so he could find the bathroom.  He put one arm under her