Read Forsaken - An American Sasquatch Tale for Free Online

creaked as she sat and Mitch opened his eyes.
    “Liberty? That you?”
    She slid her hand across the blanket and rested it on his leg. “Yeah, it’s me. How do you feel today?”
    He squeezed his eyes shut and scrunched up his face as though he experienced a sharp pain. Liberty made a face, too, felt her stomach twist to see him in obvious discomfort.
    He finally let out a ragged breath. “Fair enough.”
    She looked toward the door jamb where Becky was leaning. Liberty raised her eyebrows. This was a good day?
    Becky shrugged as if to say, He looked good a minute ago.
    Liberty leaned in closer so he wouldn’t have to strain to see her. “Becky said you haven’t slept well the last couple of nights.”
    “I get enough.”
    She reached for his hand, noticed the bracelet he never removed. One half of the match set he and his wife wore in place of wedding bands. Even though he appeared to have lost quite a bit of weight, the wavy silver band fit as snug as ever.
    “I’ve been thinking about your Ellie since I woke up. I wanted to tell you I’m really sorry she’s not here with you.”
    “Thank you.” His hand tightened around hers. “She loved you like a daughter, you know.”
    Liberty scolded herself as her eyes stung, fighting back the tears. “Well, that’s good,” she said with a warm smile, “because I came to think of her like a second mother.
    Is there anything I can get you? To help make you more comfortable?” He’d refused the narcotics the hospice nurse offered. Said it left him loopy. At most he’d have ibuprofen, though the nurse said it was like putting a Band-Aid on a severed leg at this point. Even in these late stages, he still worried he’d miss something.
    He shook his head, swallowed his pain. “My comp—” He started to cough and gestured toward the nightstand on the opposite side of the bed.
    Liberty stood to get his laptop, but Becky beat her to it.
    “Here you go, Mitch.” Becky set the computer on a pillow next to him.
    When the fit subsided, Mitch opened his eyes again, letting Becky prop another pillow behind him so he could work the laptop. He looked at Liberty, pressing a few buttons. “There’s something I wanted to show you and Nathaniel, but since he’s not here, I’ll show it to you.”
    Liberty watched him, lost. Nathaniel might have learned the basics with the computer, but she’d never had to.
    Becky excused herself, “I’ll be in the kennel if you need me.”
    Liberty gave her a quick wave as she left. She released a breath, leaning around to see what Mitch had on the screen. “Okay, what am I looking at?”
    “I’ve been working on a little slideshow. It’d have gotten done sooner, but I’ve not had a lot of good days as of late.” He shrugged. “Guess today’s as good as any.”
    She patted his leg. “Hey, no problem, seeing how I didn’t know you were doing it anyway. Actually, I don’t think I know what a slideshow even is.”
    “This.” He tapped a couple more buttons and a picture appeared of Ellie and Liberty in the canning cellar, a very young Sage playing on the floor at their feet. He turned the laptop a little so Liberty could see better.
    “Holy cow, Mitch. I’d forgotten these.” Liberty had some pictures of Sage, thanks to Ellie, but she’d never thought to ask Mitch to look through theirs. There were so many.
    How could she have forgotten? The tears flowed freely, her eyes glued to the screen, afraid to blink. She watched and pointed, laughed at a few. Before it was over, Mitch started to talk again.
    “Ellie and I, we owe you and Nathaniel so much.”
    Liberty looked up from the slideshow, so he pressed a button to pause it.
    “Us? We are the ones who are grateful to you for letting us stay here. And allowing us to be part of your lives.” She meant it.
    They’d kept to themselves for the most part. She and Nathaniel were self-sufficient in a lot of ways. But, other than Gabriel, Katie, Adrian, and Becky, for almost