Firefly Hollow Read Online Free PDF Page B

his pocket and mopped her face. “How about some ice water?” he asked her mother, who got up and went toward the house. “Just breathe slowly, honey. You’ll make yourself sick if you don’t calm down.”
    Sarah struggled to bring her emotions under control. By the time her mother came back out with the water, Ira had managed to get Sarah up and onto the porch. The three of them sat on the concrete steps, Sarah supported between her parents, and Eliza put the cold, damp cloth she’d brought back outside on the back of Sarah’s neck. Even though her breath was hitching, Sarah’s fear started to ease.
    “Now, you think you can tell us what happened?” Ira asked.
    “I was coming home and th-there was a rattlesn-snake across the path. Right there after the b-big rock, you know?” Thankfully, she’d been on Browning land when she encountered the snake. She didn’t want to have to confess that she’d been trespassing, in addition to everything else. “And I tried to go around it, but it heard me. B-before I could run, it coiled up.” She laid her head against her mother’s shoulder. “I didn’t have anything to fight it off with, and I knew I was a goner. But then, this w-wolf showed up. And it killed the snake.”
    Her mother’s arm tightened around her. To Sarah’s surprise, her father cursed under his breath. He stood and took a few steps away, then turned to stare at Sarah. “A wolf ? You’re sure it wasn’t a big dog?”
    “Pretty sure, yes. It was black and grey, and it was huge. It tore the snake into bits,” she said with a shudder, remembering the violence of the wolf’s attack.
    “And it didn’t try to come after you?” he pressed.
    “No. It growled at me and howled some, but it left me alone. It was almost like it stepped in to save me, and that was all.” When her father sent her mother a look and cursed again, Sarah frowned. She pulled back to look at her mother, then at Ira. “What?”
    “Nothing, sweetheart. We’re just glad you’re okay. Are you going to go look at the snake?” Eliza asked him.
    Ira gave a short nod. “Yes. The two of you stay here. At least Jack isn’t here to want to go with me.” He came back to the porch and bent to place a soft kiss on the crown of Sarah’s head. “I’m glad you’re okay, young lady. We’re going to have to reconsider your walks, though. I’ll be back soon.”
    Sarah started to protest, but remembering the terror and utter helplessness she’d felt at being trapped by the snake, she held her tongue. Ira went to the garden and picked up the hoe he’d dropped, then stomped off into the woods.
    “Mama, why’s he so upset? And please don’t tell me it’s because I almost got bit,” Sarah added.
    Eliza sighed. “I imagine he’s upset because he’s got to go see a man about a wolf, sweetheart. I don’t think the wolf you saw was wild. I think it was tame, if you can ever tame such a creature.”
    There was an undercurrent to the conversation Sarah didn’t understand, but exhausted from the trauma of the evening, she didn’t question it. “I think I’ll go in, if you don’t mind. I’ve had enough of being outside today.”
    “Of course. Maybe we can set up a game of rummy in a little while, if you feel like it.”
    “Sounds good.” Sarah’s smile disappeared when she went inside the house. The whole afternoon had been strange, and it was going to take a while to process it all.
    Owen was coming out of the barn, back in human form and clothed, when Ira Browning hailed him from the edge of the woods.
    “That didn’t take long,” he muttered as he raised a hand in greeting, and walked across the yard to meet his neighbor. “Ira. What brings you up this way? Everything okay?”
    The older man raised an eyebrow. “Depends on how you look at it, I reckon. How’s your mother?”
    Owen swallowed and looked away. “Not well. Thanks for asking.”
    Ira clapped him on the shoulder. “Eliza and I think a lot of Lucy. I