Read Online Mail Order Annie - A Historical Mail Order Bride Romance Novel (Mail Order Romance - Book 1 - Benjamin and Annie) by Kate Whitsby - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kate Whitsby
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side to side, working its lumpy shape slowly and clumsily out of the lean-to. It looked so comic and ungainly that Anne simply stood still and waited until it extricated itself from the doorway.
Then and only then, after it completely emerged into the room, did Anne recognize the creature for what it was. The bear turned around and faced her, its muzzle greasy and flour-speckled from eating, and they regarded each other incredulously, as if neither could believe that the other really existed. The bear inspired no fear in Anne at all, appearing to her like an overgrown child’s toy. She almost giggled at it, had she not been so flabbergasted by its presence inside the house.
When the bear curled its lips back from its teeth and let out a tremendous roar of annoyance, Anne jumped out of her skin with shock and ran for her life. The bear lumbered after her, bellowing mightily. Anne dashed around the back of the house, but the bear easily followed and even gained on her with every stride. In her distraction, Anne understood that she could never outrun this animal, and she turned one way and then another, trying to decide which way to go and what to do. She could not run to the barn. The bear would be on top of her before she got the door open. Desperate and wild with anxiety, her last hope rested on Moran, and she darted down the creek toward the clearing where she knew he worked. She burst out of the trees into the sunlight of the clearing, her eyes searching for Moran, but she saw him nowhere.
She spotted the wagon situated in the middle of the clearing, its empty shafts resting on the grass. The horse blinked placidly at the edge of the creek, tethered to a picket. Moran’s ax and saw leaned unattended against another tree some distance away. Anne slowed her pace, but another deafening roar from the bear compelled her forward, and she sought refuge in the only place available. She scuttled underneath the wagon and cowered in the innermost location between its wheels.
Still bellowing, the bear circled the wagon like a shark, now peering under it, snapping its jaws at her, now sweeping its immense paw underneath it trying to grab her. Anne struggled in a frenzy to open her mouth and shout for help, but nothing came out but strangled pants for breath. All her attention focused on avoiding the raking of the bear’s claws, but once the creature succeeded in scraping its razor-sharp talons over the lower part of her leg, rending her stockings to shreds and slicing through the skin. Searing pain awoke in Anne the voice she could not rally before, and she screamed in anguish. Black blood immediately flowed from the lacerations, and the smell of it infuriated the bear even more.
Unable to reach her underneath the wagon, the bear now applied itself to the job of overturning the wagon. It propped its massive bulk against the side of the wooden wagon box, rocking the whole vehicle back and forth and raising it up onto two of its wheels. The wheels creaked and groaned with the strain, and the wagon lifted up, casting a ray of sunshine down on the prostrate figure of Anne underneath it. The bear stretched up on its hind feet, holding the wagon up above its head with its front paws, and glared down at his helpless victim. One little push would upset the wagon onto its side and render her completely defenseless. This is it, Anne thought. I’m going to die. This is how I will die. A surreal feeling of time standing still and of watching the whole episode from far away somehow suspended all her hopeless fear. A sensation of harmony and closeness to the peace of heaven pervaded the moment, and she experienced a stroke of divine reassurance, as though a door was opening between this world and the place where God welcomes the dead to His kingdom. She sighed inwardly at her own impression of readiness to
Then and only then, after it completely emerged into the room, did Anne recognize the creature for what it was. The bear turned around and faced her, its muzzle greasy and flour-speckled from eating, and they regarded each other incredulously, as if neither could believe that the other really existed. The bear inspired no fear in Anne at all, appearing to her like an overgrown child’s toy. She almost giggled at it, had she not been so flabbergasted by its presence inside the house.
When the bear curled its lips back from its teeth and let out a tremendous roar of annoyance, Anne jumped out of her skin with shock and ran for her life. The bear lumbered after her, bellowing mightily. Anne dashed around the back of the house, but the bear easily followed and even gained on her with every stride. In her distraction, Anne understood that she could never outrun this animal, and she turned one way and then another, trying to decide which way to go and what to do. She could not run to the barn. The bear would be on top of her before she got the door open. Desperate and wild with anxiety, her last hope rested on Moran, and she darted down the creek toward the clearing where she knew he worked. She burst out of the trees into the sunlight of the clearing, her eyes searching for Moran, but she saw him nowhere.
She spotted the wagon situated in the middle of the clearing, its empty shafts resting on the grass. The horse blinked placidly at the edge of the creek, tethered to a picket. Moran’s ax and saw leaned unattended against another tree some distance away. Anne slowed her pace, but another deafening roar from the bear compelled her forward, and she sought refuge in the only place available. She scuttled underneath the wagon and cowered in the innermost location between its wheels.
Still bellowing, the bear circled the wagon like a shark, now peering under it, snapping its jaws at her, now sweeping its immense paw underneath it trying to grab her. Anne struggled in a frenzy to open her mouth and shout for help, but nothing came out but strangled pants for breath. All her attention focused on avoiding the raking of the bear’s claws, but once the creature succeeded in scraping its razor-sharp talons over the lower part of her leg, rending her stockings to shreds and slicing through the skin. Searing pain awoke in Anne the voice she could not rally before, and she screamed in anguish. Black blood immediately flowed from the lacerations, and the smell of it infuriated the bear even more.
Unable to reach her underneath the wagon, the bear now applied itself to the job of overturning the wagon. It propped its massive bulk against the side of the wooden wagon box, rocking the whole vehicle back and forth and raising it up onto two of its wheels. The wheels creaked and groaned with the strain, and the wagon lifted up, casting a ray of sunshine down on the prostrate figure of Anne underneath it. The bear stretched up on its hind feet, holding the wagon up above its head with its front paws, and glared down at his helpless victim. One little push would upset the wagon onto its side and render her completely defenseless. This is it, Anne thought. I’m going to die. This is how I will die. A surreal feeling of time standing still and of watching the whole episode from far away somehow suspended all her hopeless fear. A sensation of harmony and closeness to the peace of heaven pervaded the moment, and she experienced a stroke of divine reassurance, as though a door was opening between this world and the place where God welcomes the dead to His kingdom. She sighed inwardly at her own impression of readiness to