Chapter 12

I lead everybody up the front porch. And got them dismounted. “Ok, we’re here, guys. But we aren’t done yet. First off, you ladies, go ahead indoors. Suzy is waiting for you. She’ll get you cleaned up, warmed up and fed.”

Nigel started to follow the girls. I stopped him. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I need to make a phone call. I need to let the university know what’s going on.”

“Wrong answer your highness. Right now, you need to help me and the rest of us, taking care of the gear and animals.”

Without waiting for an answer, I called the rest group. “Let’s get your gear off Jughead and stacked on the porch.” I pointed to one of the group, he had been limping, and I was concerned about possible frostbite. “You, what’s your name, partner.”

“I’m Kyle, sir. Kyle Edwards.”

“Kyle, I need you to get the tarps out of that box over there on the end of the porch. When we get your gear off, Jughead, we’ll cover it with those tarps.”

The kid was grinning, “Yessir,” and started hobbling off to the gearbox.

While they were busy, I lead Guunar and Margarite over to the corral, as soon as they were past the gate, they beelined towards the barn. As I was walking back to the porch, there was a commotion from inside. I could hear Shadow barking and muffled voices yelling. Just as I arrived, the door flew open, and Nigel came flying out across the porch and headfirst into the snowbank next to the water trough. Before I could turn to look at the door, it slammed shut.

Walking down to where Nigel was spluttering and coughing, I grabbed him by his coat lapels. I lifted him off the ground, to his feet. I got my face real close to his “Got your ass whipped by a woman, didn’t ya? Pull that shit again, and I’ll be next.”

I looked over my shoulder at the rest of them. I grinned and said, “Let’s get these critters taken care of guys.” I turned back to Nigel and gave him a hard shake. “You stay with me.”

Keeping a firm grip on Nigel’s coat collar, I called out, “Kyle, you got that gear covered?”

“Yessir.” Was that humor I heard on his voice?

“Alright, Kyle, you lead the parade. You see that rope tied to the porch post?”, “Yessir,”

“Alright, Kyle, you just follow that rope till you come to the gate.”

It was definite. Kyle was having fun. Everybody followed him, and the rope, to the corral gate. Without telling him to, he opened the gate and then waited on the other side. Once I led Jughead through the gate, I dropped his lead, and he headed to the barn. Closing the gate behind us, we continued to the barn.

Margarite, Guunar, and Jughead were impatiently waiting at the door. I pulled it open, and like the good little children that they were, they filed into the barn and their stalls.

As I was stripping off my coat, I looked around to see what needed to be done. I wasn’t really surprised, but it did give me a good feeling. Suzy had been at work out here. The stalls had been mucked out, and fresh straw laid out. Hay had been pitched down to the feeding bins and a measure of oats and cracked corn put in each of the feeding buckets. The barn heater had also been stoked, and the temp was a comfortable 65.

It was when I turned from the barn heater, that Nigel finally got a good look at me. “You!” He was pointing his finger at me, “You were the one who saved me?”

“Well now, Nigel, I wouldn’t say that I saved you. It would be more accurate saying that you just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Kind of a fluke, don’t ya know?”

A look of fear crossed Nigel’s face. As he held his hands out, as if to ward me off, he retreated to the corner by the door and squatted down. “Nigel, I know that you’re not happy. You are probably a little scared. I can assure you, though, I’m not going to harm you. I’m not going to force you out into the cold either. But I will be honest with you. I don’t like you. I never will. You hurt me worse than an ex-wife, and the entire Iraqi Republican Guard could. And for that, you deserve worse than I can provide. So, from now until you’re off this mountain, do what you’re told and keep your opinions to yourself. But I’ll tell you right now, you are trespassing, and I will be pressing charges as soon as I get to civilization.”