Page 23 of Keeping Amanda
But it was when he said, “Holy shit,” that Amanda woke completely. One second she was floating in that in-between statebefore you had to get out of bed, and the next, her adrenaline was flowing and she was sitting up ready to do…something. Run, fight…she wasn’t sure what.
Looking around frantically to see what had Nash sounding so surprised, she blinked when she saw the same dog they’d shared their food with the day before, sitting not too far away. Staring at them with the same beseeching look he’d had yesterday.
His hair was still matted, he still looked pretty pathetic, but Amanda could’ve sworn she saw recognition in the dog’s expression.
“What is he doing here?”
“I guess he followed us?” Nash said with a shrug.
“In the dark? Through the jungle?” she said skeptically.
“There’ve been many instances of stray dogs latching onto groups of people in the wilderness. I remember reading a book about a dog here in South America—Ithinkit was South America—who followed a group of men and women doing some sort of extreme foot race. And then there’sThe Call of the Wild,Old Yeller,White Fang…and tons of other fiction books I can’t remember right now, that’re about loyal dogs.”
“Wait, I’ve read that book. The first one you were talking about. Arthur was the dog, right?”
“No clue, but if you say it is, then it is.”
“This dog kind of looks like the one in that true story. You think it’s a terrier of some sort?”
Nash tilted his head as he studied the stray just as intently as it was watching them. “Maybe. But it’s bigger than a terrier. I’d guess at proper weight, he should be around forty or forty-five pounds. Right now, he looks more like twenty-five. Long legs, scruffy hair, short ears…there’s no telling what his pedigree is. He could be part wolf or lynx, for all we know.”
“Just like there’s no telling what color he really is under all that dirt,” Amanda said with a snort. “He’s as dirty as me. He needs a name…” she mused.
“Not sure that’s a good idea,” Nash warned. “To name him. It’s likely we won’t see him again after this morning. When we get too far away from wherever it is he came from.”
“You said yourself that you thought the rebels brought him with them. And they were mean to him. Why would he want to go back there? And he’s probably just as lost as us. Not that we’re lost, but you know what I mean. I think we should call him Rain. Because we found him, or he found us, in the rainforest.”
“Seems appropriate.”
Amanda was relieved Nash didn’t say anything else about the dog disappearing or about not giving him a name. She was already enamored with the pathetic-looking creature. She was well aware that no good could come from her getting emotionally attached to the dog, but everything right now was out of the norm for her. Might as well go with it.
“Hey, Rain. How’d you find us? You aren’t leading anyone else to our location, are you?” Amanda crooned.
Of course, the dog didn’t respond, simply tilted his head as he listened to Amanda speak.
“I’m going to see if the trap I set last night caught anything,” Nash told her. “Will you be all right here by yourself while I’m gone?”
“I won’t be by myself,” Amanda told him. “I have Rain.”
“Right. Well, if something happens, just scream. I’ll be back in a heartbeat. Okay?”
“Thanks. I will.”
After Nash left, Amanda didn’t feel as stressed as she might’ve otherwise because she truly didn’t feel as if she was alone. It was silly, it wasn’t as if the dog could actually do anything if a rebel leaped out of the trees and ambushed her. But simply having someone to talk to, to interact with, to concentrate on instead of thinking about her itchy skin, her empty belly, and the confusing thoughts running around her head aboutthe man who’d risked his own life to stay behind with her, kept her calm.
The entire time Nash was gone, Amanda kept up a running commentary with Rain. Not about anything in particular, but the way the dog kept his gaze locked on her, his head tilting now and then as if he were truly listening, made it feel as if he could honestly understand.
When Nash returned, Rain let her know someone was near right before he reappeared. The dog turned his head and looked in the direction he was coming from, before Amanda even heard his footsteps.
Rain didn’t seem alarmed or concerned with his reappearance, and Amanda hoped that was a good omen. That the dog was getting used to Nash. She hadn’t missed how wary he was around Nash the previous day. She hated to think about why that was. Because he’d likely been abused by men in the not-so-distant past.
“Success!” Nash said with a smile as he held up a porcupine.
Amanda was torn. She hated to see any animal killed, but just thinking about the meat they’d soon be eating was enough to make her stomach growl. Loudly.
So loudly, Rain’s ears perked forward.
Nash chuckled. “It won’t take me too long to get it ready to cook. You want to see if you can find any sticks that aren’t soaking wet?”
