“What are you doing here?” Ripley carried his rifle over his shoulder.

“Isn’t hunting season over?” I asked.

As Ripley came closer, the puppy stopped wagging his tail. I didn’t know where Tyrus was, but I was glad for once he wasn’t here. I sure didn’t want to see a dogfight. Knowing Tyrus, he probably had the wanderlust again. Maybe, as we spoke, he was running the life out of some deer.

“I was just on my way to the far pasture,” I said.

“Well, keep going and don’t stop till you get there.”

I didn’t need telling twice. I moved the dogs quickly through the woods and off Ripley’s property.

Feeding the sheep and refilling their salt lick, I was surprised to see my hands shaking. The sheep butted around me as I distributed hay. I checked for limping and inspected their droppings. Everything looked fine. Ice and snow glistened on the backs of the ewes as they grazed contentedly, steamily chomping away.

Suddenly Ezra’s puppy bounded toward the fence closest to Ripley’s woods. His bark had a warning sound to it I hadn’t heard from him before. The sheep stopped eating, scuffed together over the snow to the opposite corner of the pasture.

Ripley stood at the edge of the woods, Tyrus panting beside him.

I tried ignoring him as Muncie, bundled like a nylon ball, came rocking up the path toward us from the other direction.

“I heard barking,” Muncie said.

Caleb went straight to her, his tail wagging.

If only Ezra could be here—three to one. We could take Ripley on easy with those odds.

But Ezra hid inside the house, afraid to come out.

“Hey, mutant,” Ripley yelled.

“Cut it out, Ripley,” I said.

“What?”

“Her name is Muncie.”

“Munchie, Munchie,” Ripley yelled. “She eats her own snot.”

His rifle tucked under one arm, Ripley packed an ice ball and let it fly. I don’t know if he was aiming for me or not, but the ice caught me on the cheek as I bent over to move the salt bucket. I went down to my knees, seeing stars.

Muncie came over and stood beside me. “Are you all right, Nyle?”

My head still swam and my cheek stung.

“Damn it, Ripley,” I said.

“He’s not there anymore. He ran off as soon as you went down.”

Muncie examined my face. “He got you good.”

“It’ll be okay,” I said, shrugging her off.

“Look, Nyle,” Muncie said, her hand resting on Caleb’s head, “thanks for sticking up for me. But you don’t need to fight my battles. Ripley doesn’t bother me. Only people who mean something to me can hurt me.”

Muncie bent down on one knee and roughed up the puppy. Already he stood taller than her on his hind legs.

“It’s about time I got to meet you,” she said, nuzzling the puppy with her gloved hands. “I’ve seen you all over, but we haven’t been properly introduced, have we, boy?” Muncie’s hands were everywhere at once on Ezra’s puppy. The puppy’s whole body wagged with pleasure.