“How is she?” Mona asked, hovering over Althea, who was tending to Chloe.
“It was a good thing Bob found you when he did,” Althea said. “We knew something was up when Shaggy came back.”
“How’s Chloe? You didn’t answer my question.”
“She’ll recover.” Althea chuckled. “I think the panther’s claws got caught up in all that froufrou fur.”
“You think?”
“Chloe has just a few scratches, mostly around her face, and her paws are in bad shape—almost raw. They need to heal. It looks worse that it is, though. She’s mostly exhausted from tracking you down. Look, Mona, Chloe’s warm and sedated. I don’t want her to move about. When she wakes up, Chloe should have plenty of liquids and meat if she will take it. Give her one of these powders if she gets rambunctious. They are sleeping drafts. Just a fourth of the packet. Now, get out of those wet things before you catch pneumonia.”
“Mona, listen to Althea. You’re going to become ill if you don’t change. I’ve got a nice, hot bath waiting for you,” Farley said.
“A bath?”
“I found an old tub and heated plenty of water. Haven’t you noticed me carrying buckets of water into the bedroom?”
“I helped, too,” Chester said.
“It’s waiting for you,” Farley said, ignoring Chester. “It’s the quickest way to get your core temperature back up.” Seeing Mona was somewhat confused and still shaking from the frigid stream, Farley picked Mona up and carried her to the bedroom. “I’ll help you get these damp things off.”
“I’ll help, too,” Chester offered, grinning.
Farley shot Chester an evil look and slammed the bedroom door shut with his foot. Moments later, he threw out Chester’s and Rupert’s things and slammed the door again.
Chester turned to Althea and Rupert in dismay. “I guess I’ll be sleeping on the floor tonight.”
Althea made a disgusted cluck. She turned back to her task of skinning several rabbits she had hunted, saving the livers and the hearts for Chloe. The dog would need meat when she awoke. As she worked quietly, Althea was glad she was leaving the group. Mona and Farley were okay. She liked Mona, as she always warmed to women who had guts and determination, and even though Farley could be a bit of a prig, he was solid, but she had taken a strong dislike to Rupert and Chester. Something about them was off. Yes, Althea prayed for the sun’s rays to peek over the mountain top.
Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.