The Darkness We Hide

“Well,” he said, sliding his hand up her thigh, “we’ve been a little busy with other things.”

“No,” she giggled, pushing his hand down, “you’re not getting out of this. These are things we should have discussed long before our relationship ever got to the point of where I venture off into the wilderness with you for three whole days.”

“You’re right,” he sighed, taking a seat in the chair next to her. “My parents own a rather large cattle ranch in Montana. When I told them I wanted to be a soldier instead a rancher they were a little upset. They begged me to consider the state patrol or even being a deputy instead, but I wanted to be a Marine, I wanted to help people not cows.

“I think that being the eldest, they’d planned on me taking over the ranch, and my decision to go into the military burned those blueprints to ashes, but they supported me. I went to the local recruiter and signed up when I turned eighteen. From there it was off to San Diego for basic training and from there to Afghanistan.”

“Where did you meet Caroline?” Michelle asked, surprised by her own question.

“We’d met when I was a junior in high school,” Gareth explained, knowing this too was something they should have talked about long ago. “She’d come up to Missoula to visit her cousin for the summer and we met one night at a bonfire.

“I’d dated said cousin the year before, and Caroline wanted nothing to do with me,” he continued with a sigh. “I couldn’t blame her, I’d been a rotten boyfriend to her cousin and the relationship had ended badly.

“But I kept pursuing her until she finally agreed to go to a movie with me,” he said, his eyes staring off into the distance. “After that night we were inseparable, even when she went back to California, we kept in touch. My parents were so pissed about my phone bill I took extra jobs to pay them back so they wouldn’t cut off my service.”

“You really loved her?” Michelle asked, her heart aching for the man she was growing to love.

“I did,” Gareth acknowledged, turning to see a tear roll down her face.

“But what I felt for her pales in comparison to what I feel for you,” he added, standing and pulling her into his arms.

Gently he kissed away every tear, ending at her lips, sharing the salty taste with her as his arms held her tightly to him.

Feeling her this close Gareth knew it was time to tell her about himself, about Richard, about everything.

“Michelle my darling,” Gareth said, putting a finger under her chin to lift her face. “I need to tell you something.”

“What’s that?” Michelle asked, her eyes shining with love.

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something,” he said, gently kissing her cheek.

“You can tell me anything,” Michelle cooed, snaking her arms around his waist.

“I…,” he faltered. “I’m… I love you,” he finished, pulling her into a deep kiss.

As they stood there, Michelle felt the back of her knee nudged by something large and fluffy. Looking down she saw the biggest dog she had ever seen, just sitting next to her, staring. As she began to move away, Gareth took his hands from her back and pushed her arm down.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said as he maneuvered their joined hands closer to the large canine. “This is Nan. I got her as a kid and thought it would be funny to name her after Nancy. I know she looks scary, but she is really as gentle as a lamb. She’s a wolf hybrid and very well trained.”

Still slightly shaken, Michelle slowly opened her palm flat to allow the dog to smell it.

“She’s beautiful,” Michelle said with a slight tremor in her voice, squatting down next to the animal. “Where did she come from?”

“Nancy brought her over for a visit,” Gareth explained, stroking the animals back with strong hands. “I can’t have her in the city with me, she needs to be where she can run so she stays with my folks in Montana.”

Looking into the animals large eyes Michelle felt a chill go through her body. The shape of Nan’s muzzle, and the large canines protruding from under her jowls were so much like the animal that had attacked her, but that dog had been jet black, and Nan’s coat was silver.

Standing shakely, Michelle leaned into Gareth’s arms for support.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned.

“The dog that attacked me,” she breathed, “it looked just like Nan, only it was bigger and its fur was all black.”

Seeming to sense her unease, Nan licked Michelle’s fingers gently with her raspy tongue and moved her head under Michelle’s hand in an unmistakable request to be patted. Her fur was silky smooth, despite its shaggy appearance. Michelle rubbed her under the dog’s chin and around her ears, and then began to scratch along her back. Gareth stood over them, smiling a radiant smile.

“I’d hoped you two would be friends. Nan tends to be very protective of me, just like her namesake,” he said behind her.

Gareth reached down and rubbed the dog on the head.

“Good girl,” he cooed to the animal, “now, go inside and lay down.”

With a final lick of Michelle’s fingers she was gone, trotting happily towards the patio door, her tongue flopping to one side as she moved away.

“You are just full of surprises,” Michelle said, watching the big animal go. “She really is beautiful.”

Lifting her chin with his finger, he kissed her softly, and whispered, “Not as beautiful as you.”