Page 2 of Dragon Charmed

Ben was very aware of how lucky he was. “Walter—”

He held up his hand, interrupting Ben. “You don’t need to thank me again, son. You’ve done enough of that.” Walter chuckled. “Hell, the amount of wood you’re choppin’ will keep us warm through next winter. Seeing’s how we’re just heading into summer, I think you can slow down your efforts.”

Except Ben could never repay him for what he’d done for him. “I don’t remember much else from that night.” From his life, from anything…and Walter had let him stay here with him, no questions asked.

“You’d lost a lot of blood. Truth be told, I didn’t know if you’d last the night. But you did. And then while you recuperated, I realized you were too damn stubborn to die.”

He cleared his throat. “Sorry if I was a pain in the ass.”

Walter grinned. “Your brain wasn’t listening to what your body was tellin’ you is all. I knew it was goin’ to take a couple months of time before you would be able to do much of anything.”

Ben sat on the chopping block. “And I appreciate you not kicking me out. For letting me stay here even though I don’t know what happened or who I am.”

“Most of the people I’ve met in this world rely too much on their name and what they think it means. A person isn’t their name, but what they offer the world with their actions.”

Walter’s words reinforced what Ben was going to say next. “It’s time for me to figure out who I am and what happened to me.”

The old man looked at him for a moment before nodding. “I knew this day would come sooner or later.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t push me out months ago.”

Walter shook his head. “I know I can be a crotchety hermit, but I liked havin’ you around. I wasn’t goin’ to push you to do anything. You had to be ready to go look for yourself and be prepared for what you might find.”

Ben’s stomach fell at the words. “Someone could be wondering where I am.”

“Possibly. But I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing.”

“I know.” Ben brushed wood shavings from his leg. “Someone tried to kill me.”

Walter frowned. “Or something. I’ve never seen the types of wounds you had—more like claw marks, and then that burn mark on your chest, like you were struck with lightning or something.”

Unable to sit still any longer, Ben stood and started to pace. “And you said there aren’t any dangerous animals around here.”

“Yep. Any big cats are extinct in this area. We do have some black bears, but most are interested in food and not foolin’ with humans. And those marks didn’t look like a black bear attack to me.”

“I wish I had some sort of clue. Did you find anything in my clothes that night?”

Walter shook his head. “I checked for identification. You didn’t have any. But you did have somethin’ else with you.”

Ben tripped to a stop and turned. “I did?”

Walter stood and headed toward the small barn, and Ben followed him inside. Walter walked over to a stall and squatted down in the corner, moved a box, and pulled a duffel from a depression in the earth.

Ben barely stopped from grabbing it from him. “I was carrying that?”

“You had it strapped over your shoulder; otherwise you probably would have lost it in the forest.”

Ben’s nerves jangled. “Did you look in it?”

“Yep. You practically bled to death in my kitchen, and I needed to know what the hell I was dealin’ with.”

Walter handed the bag to Ben, who froze. “Why didn’t you show me this before now?”

“Because it doesn’t have anything in it that tells you who you are.”

Ben set the bag on a rough-hewn table along the wall. His hand shook as he unzipped and pulled it open. He jerked back like it held a venomous snake.

“Shit,” Ben growled at the stacks of money piled inside. “Why did you hide this?”