strong arms around me and focused on getting out of the room. It was a painfully long process and it wasn’t pretty. My feet, knees, and hands bumped against countless items as I felt my way along the wall and through the door. I had no way of knowing which way to go when I left the room, so I spent several long minutes trying one direction, only to find that it was a dead end. I went the other way, taking my time to feel along the wall. Luckily, I didn't run into any more furniture. But then I reached another doorway and I was once again faced with not knowing which way to go. I reluctantly opened my mouth to call for Gideon when I heard Brewer whining and then his big body was pressing against my legs.
"Hey, buddy," I said as I carefully knelt down and greeted the dog. I wished I could see what color his coat was. From the feel of it, I guessed that he was a very beautiful animal. I righted myself and began feeling my way around again. Surprisingly, Brewer stayed pressed up against me and I found myself using the dog to stay grounded. When I took a step forward, Brewer was right there beside me. The same with the next step, and the next. I was completely disoriented because I was out in the open with nothing to hang on to, but Brewer's presence gave me confidence. I slowly put one foot in front of the other, letting out the breath I'd been holding. I found myself dropping my hand so I could keep it on Brewer's back.
It was slow going and I had no sense of what part of the room I was in, or even what kind of room it was, but when Brewer suddenly pulled away from me, I felt completely abandoned. But the dog hadn't gone far. In fact, he stopped right in front of me and sat down, preventing me from taking another step. I was so relieved that the animal hadn't left me that I dropped my hands and praised him. "Okay, buddy, let's keep moving," I murmured as I tried to take another step forward. The reality was that I needed to find one room in particular to answer the call of Mother Nature. It was most definitely something I didn't want to have to ask for Gideon's help with.
But Brewer refused to move and when I tried to walk around him, the dog blocked me again. All of a sudden, I felt sharp teeth close around my hand. I yelped and yanked my hand back. I expected Brewer to follow through on his attack, but there was nothing but the sound of his tail thumping on the floor. I held my hand protectively against my chest. Once the shock of Brewer's behavior wore off, I focused on my hand and realized that it didn't actually hurt. I felt along the skin but there were no marks of any kind, no blood either. Why in the world had the dog grabbed me? Had I done something to upset him? Was he not liking me wandering around his territory?
"I think he's trying to help you," I heard a voice say. Once I got past being startled by the voice, a wave of relief and pleasure went through me.
Gideon.
The knowledge that he was still here held way too much weight with me. I tried to remind myself that of course he'd be here, it was his house. But somehow knowing he hadn't left me eased something inside of me. It didn't even bother me that he'd somehow managed to sneak up on me without me knowing.
"Help me?" I asked.
I heard footsteps approaching. "There's a table directly in front of you. Brewer is between you and that table."
I thought about how the dog had moved from my side to in front of me to keep me from moving forward. I flexed my hand. Had he really grabbed it because he was trying to maneuver me around the table? It seemed far-fetched for a dog. Still, the dog hadn't hurt me. I found myself dropping my hand to where it had been when Brewer had grabbed it. I was greeted with a cold nose and a wet lick. I found myself chuckling and petting the big animal.
"Try taking a step forward," Gideon murmured. He was off to my side somewhere. Strangely enough, his presence helped dissolve the