by Vella Munn
Again her head bobbed up and down. She wrapped her arms around her waist as if trying to comfort herself. “Why?”
“I just explained.”
“I hate them.”
He’d already come to that conclusion, but she wasn’t just against private ownership of weapons. Her fear came from a place far deeper than ideology. Maybe personal experience?
“I respect your opinion,” he said, “but even you’ll have to admit a weapon could spell the difference between danger and safety right now.”
Eyes narrow and mouth in a firm line, she angled herself so she was no longer looking at him. He gripped the familiar weight in both hands and turned in a slow circle. The unrelenting white that had seduced him earlier had changed into something he couldn’t articulate. It was like looking at ocean waves and trying to distinguish one from all the others. Everything was the same. Nothing stood out. He wasn’t sure what he’d already studied and what he still needed to examine. Unfortunately, he couldn’t count on her to do her part because she was still trying to deal with the reality of a gun in the middle of the wilderness.
A weapon in his hands.
An enemy was out there, a threat the likes of which he’d never experienced, instinct instead of complex human emotion, instinct and fangs instead of hatred of law enforcement. He wasn’t sure which presented the greatest threat, not that it mattered because today might be about one of nature’s most perfect killers.
Wolves don’t see humans as prey or threat, he remembered Echo saying. Leave them alone and they’ll do the same.
“I don’t see him,” she said.
“Him?”
“The wolf.”
She’d made her point, not that he needed her to. He had no doubt that they were looking at the tracks of a predator that had claimed the Lake Serene area as his territory. Shaw tried to tell himself that she—all right, both of them—were being influenced by sightings and rumors of sightings along with a lot of misconception about the species but at the moment it didn’t matter because civilization was far away and his imagination was in overdrive.
At least Haley was getting some of her color back. Talking to him.
“Get my camera,” he said. “Take pictures of the prints while I—you know. We don’t want snow covering up the tracks before we have proof that the wolf was here.”
He hoped she comprehended that he was talking about the wolf in the past tense. The animal was gone.
However, it had been here not long ago.
She jerked her head at his Glock. “That thing won’t accidentally go off.”
“No.”
Looking as if she wasn’t sure she could believe him, she pulled off her right glove and slipped her small hand into his snowsuit’s chest pocket. He didn’t need to be distracted now, but it was happening. She gave him a sideways glance he wasn’t in a mood to try to deal with, then pointed the camera at the ground and took a picture. She followed that up by crouching down so the lens was inches from the print.
“It’s almost as if I’m touching him,” she whispered.
“You sound as if that’s something you want to do.”
“Maybe.”
Trees were everywhere. Shadows were stacked on top of each other and looking as if they had substance. He wished he had a machete so he could cut them away. Back when he was a cop, he’d taken pride in his marksmanship. He even had a couple of awards, not they meant anything because he knew all too well how different real life was from practice. He would fire if a wolf challenged them, which he doubted. That didn’t mean he’d hit what he was aiming at.
But he might. He once had.
The Glock felt both familiar and foreign, protection and an opening to something in his past he wanted nothing to do with. His arms were growing tired. The harder he strained to see what might be in the forest, the more it all blended together. Only one thing stood out, Haley.
“Stay close.” He warned when she started moving away while still taking pictures.
“I just want—yes, there’s another one.”
“Another?”
“Paw print. It’s so big, so impressive. There.”
He didn’t bother pressing for an explanation. She was recording all the proof she could of the animal’s existence, capturing its reality. From what he could tell, she was no longer afraid, if she’d been. At one point, she crouched and placed her hand no more than an inch above something.
She’d put more distance between them than he was comfortable with when, just as he was getting ready to tell her to return, she started back toward him. Her lips were parted, her eyes wide. Looking alive. Twice she glanced at his gun.
“I found some still-warm scat,” she said when she was within reach. “Shaw, I’m positive the wolf was here after we were.”
“I know.”
“The scat wasn’t steaming but—for all we know he’s still around.”
His heart started racing again. “Staying hidden.”
“Yes.”
Until now he hadn’t allowed himself to fully process the message behind the tracks. His sense of time might be off, but he figured they’d passed by this spot less than two hours ago. What did that mean? That the wolf had been watching them while they headed toward Grizzly Peak? Maybe the predator had waited until they were out of sight. Then he or she had stepped onto the trail so the creature could examine the tracks the snowmobile had made and investigate the human scents. Leave behind proof of his presence.
“I feel exposed,” she said. “But not scared.”
Her calm in the face of the situation had him admiring her in ways he hadn’t known were possible. He might have hired her to handle the snowmobiles, but her courage was undeniable. “Maybe we should be scared.”
“I don’t think so. Was he simply curious? Or—this is going to sound crazy but I’ll say it anyway. Maybe he was trying to decide whether to connect with us in some way.”
Despite what she’d said, he didn’t feel like laughing. “You make him sound human.”
“They’re intelligent creatures. Their survival depends on their comprehension and command of their world. Maybe this one’s DNA or something is telling him his ancestors had reason to fear humans. He needs to determine whether that’s still true or if…”
“If he can trust us.” Even as he finished for her, he wasn’t sure he believed what he’d said.
One thing he was certain of, this woman wasn’t going to laugh at him any more than he’d make fun of anything she said. He again studied his surroundings. After rising onto her toes, she did the same.
She watched as he replaced the Glock. Then, instead of straddling the snowmobile, she twisted to her left and froze.
“What?” he asked.
When she didn’t answer, cop instinct kicked in. He had no way of proving it, nothing to point at or take a picture of, but he had no doubt they were being watched.
His heart thudded, the hairs at the back of his neck lifted, and he had to work at breathing. If he’d been by himself he would be retrieving his Glock, but he had to take her fear of it into consideration. Still, his fingers settled around the weapon.
“Let’s go,” he said.
“I want to try to see—”
“No. Haley, I’ll put your life first. Please don’t force me to prove it.”
*
It had been dark for nearly an hour when Haley spotted the light from the snowmobile building. Shaw and she hadn’t seen a single vehicle while they were on the county road but just knowing there was pavement under the snow allowed her to relax for the first time since she’d spotted the wolf tracks. The prints were real all right, but that didn’t mean their lives had been in danger. As Echo had explained, wolves were curious creatures. Haley just hadn’t expected to see and sense what she had, and to share the moments with Shaw. That had been the best part of her time in the wilderness, not experiencing it alone. For the rest of their lives, they’d remember what they’d gone through together.
&n
bsp; Unfortunately, even with the distraction of civilization, she couldn’t stop replaying how she’d acted when she’d seen his weapon. Darn him! He should have warned her before pulling it out. Fighting tension, she chastised herself for having lost her composure. Shaw’s explanation of why he carried one made sense. He hadn’t pointed the lethal thing at her. Quite the opposite, his intention had been to protect her if need be. A part of her longed to tell him why she’d acted like she had, but the truth was deeply personal and painful. She didn’t know him well enough to feel safe laying her past out to him. Maybe they’d never get to that point.
Nevertheless, he might press for an explanation for her behavior. She wouldn’t be surprised if he did and, as her boss, did he have the right? If he pulled rank, how would she respond?
As they neared the building, Daron emerged from it and hurried toward them. Shaw leaned into her and placed his mouth near her ear. “Don’t say anything. We don’t need what we experienced to take on a life of its own once people start talking about it.”
“I agree.” She’d removed her helmet when she’d spotted the outside lighting. As a result, Shaw’s moist, warm breath caressed her ear and sent goose bumps running down the side of her neck.
“I want to show the pictures to Echo,” he said. “She’ll know how to handle this.”
“I was getting worried,” Daron said before she could respond. “I tried calling but it went right to voice mail.”
“We were out of range.” She was tempted to hug the young man. “You can leave now. I’ll finish—”
“There’s nothing for you do. Except for this one—” He indicated their snowmobile. “They’re all tucked in for the night.”
Shaw fist-bumped with Daron. “Do I know how to pick an assistant or what? It sounds as if there’s no reason for any of us to stick around.”
Keeping her decision to check Daron’s work before he showed up tomorrow morning to herself, she thanked the boy. After Daron brushed off most of the snow from it, the two men pushed the snowmobile under cover. Seeing it tucked in for the night as Daron called it helped her close one chapter on the day’s adventure.
“I’m out of here,” Daron said. “Mom’s working late and she doesn’t want the boys left alone any longer than necessary. They might kill each other.”
“What are you going to do?” she asked. “Babysit?”
Daron rolled his eyes. “Don’t ever use that word around them. Mom and I have them convinced I’m there only to fix dinner.”
“My brother and I gave our folks the same argument about not needing looking after,” Shaw said. “Problem was, too often attempts at cooperation led to a wrestling match and resulted in something getting broken.”
“Mick’s ten years older than me so we were in pretty much different worlds growing up,” she said.
She longed to tell Shaw how grateful she was to her older brother for pulling her back from the edge but that, like explaining the reason for her aversion to weapons, was a door she knew not to open, especially around this man who kept her emotionally off balance.
“Sibling relationships can be complicated,” Shaw said. “Except for what we have with our parents, they last the longest.”
Not long ago Shaw and she had been united in their determination to control the public’s reaction to the wolf’s presence. She wasn’t sure how they’d moved onto family matters, but it felt right. Everything about being close to him felt that way, which was also dangerous.
“Shaw makes a good point,” she told Daron. “I’m all for you getting home before your brothers tear the place apart. See you tomorrow.”
“You bet.” Daron jabbed a finger at his mother’s car. “The only thing that’d mess things up is if I can’t get that hunk of metal started. I need you to know that’ll always be a possibility.”
“It’s hard,” Shaw said after Daron had left and it was just the two of them standing in the dimly lit storage area. “I’d like to see his mom in something she can depend on, but I don’t dare get involved.”
“No one expects you to provide employees with transportation.”
“I know. Besides, my personal pockets aren’t that deep. That said, dinner’s on me tonight. I won’t take no for a response.”
The snowmobile rental business was her domain, her reason for being here, her anchor even. If she gave the machines the once-over now she wouldn’t have to in the morning. Also if she didn’t spend the evening with Shaw, he wouldn’t be able to ask the questions she was certain he wanted to.
But if they went their separate ways, she’d spend the evening wondering what he was doing, whether he was thinking about her, replaying the intimacy of their snowsuit-clad bodies touching for hours.
“I accept.”
He rested his hand on her shoulder. “Good.”
Chapter Ten
“I’m glad they came through,” Shaw said into his smartphone. “The images won’t give you a complete picture of what your racers will encounter but hopefully you can see how flat most of the land there is. Yes. Of course. Call me tomorrow.”
He punched a button on his phone and placed it face down on the restaurant table. “That’s that,” he said to Haley. “I’ll be shocked if the organization doesn’t send a contract my way as soon as tomorrow. They’re really up against it.”
They’d already placed their orders. He wanted roast beef and potatoes while she’d selected chili. She stabbed her fork into her salad but didn’t place the bite in her mouth. Most of the diners were resort guests but a few were employees. It was easy to distinguish guests from residents. Those who lived at Lake Serene had studied her and Shaw as they walked in. Because they’d kept a respectable distance from each other, hopefully the staff would decide the head honcho and snowmobile manager were combining dinner with business matters. However some might have noticed that Shaw had pulled out her chair and his hand had briefly rested on her shoulder.
Someone might have noted how much her chest had risen and fallen as they’d come in contact, how her mouth had sagged a little.
“What about the wolf?” she asked. “Are you going to tell the sled dog people?”
They were sitting at the same table they’d used before. She hadn’t picked up on his behavior before but noted that he seldom took his attention off the other diners. She couldn’t quite convince herself that he was simply in resort manager mode but didn’t believe she had a right to ask why he was acting like he was. One thing she was certain of, there was a great deal she didn’t know about him.
“I haven’t decided. First things first, Echo needs to know, which is why I left a message for her.”
“So does Kolina.” She wasn’t sure Shaw knew that his former waitress would be in charge of the educational center that was due to open in the spring so she filled him in. “She’d love copies of the pictures.” She studied the wall of inky night beyond the large window. Even after what they’d experienced, the darkness called to her.
“Prints and scat won’t tell the whole story,” he said. “I’m sure the center will include information about wolf behavior including why we have at least one here.”
She put down her fork. “Why do we?”
His expression sobered. “I don’t know.”
They stared at each other. Most likely he was trying to come up with an explanation that would satisfy both of them. She should be doing the same except he was too distracting. He’d been behind her for hours and thus keeping her constantly aware of his presence. Making her want to spend the night with him.
Now they were waiting for the rest of their meal to be delivered. Still together. Heavy outer garments removed. Throats and forearms exposed. Something unspoken humming between them.
Yes. Sexual awareness shared the table with them. Judging by how he was now looking at her with his lashes half shielding his eyes, she was fairly certain he too felt what she couldn’t deny.
“They’re here,” he said.
“Who is?”
“Echo and Rey.”
His announcement distracted her from her fascination with Shaw’s eyes and any and all messages in them. Echo and Rey were heading their way. How he’d known that while looking at her confused her. Shaw rose and extended a hand to Rey then did the same with Echo. Haley hugged Echo.
“Don’t let us interrupt your dinner,” Echo said. “Rey and I were heading home when I got your message. I thought you might still be in your office.” She placed a hand over her stomach. “I was heading toward it when the smells from the restaurant spoke to me. That’s when I spotted the two of you.”
“Please sit down,” Shaw said. “Did you see the pictures I sent?”
“What pictures?”
“I sent them separately from the text.”
“Oh.” Echo pulled her phone out of the coat pocket she’d hung over the back of her chair. “Oh, boy,” she muttered and handed her phone to Rey. “You took these today? The scat looks fresh.”
“It was still warm,” Haley explained.
Echo whistled. “Maybe he was stalking you.”
“Are you serious?” Haley asked.
“We decided the smartest thing to do was leave,” Shaw said.
Echo ran a hand through her hair. “I don’t mean to alarm you. I got a little excited. I’m at least ninety-nine percent sure you were safe. Let’s chalk his behavior up to curiosity.”
While Rey studied the pictures, Haley detailed where they’d been when they saw evidence of the wolf’s presence.
“I want to try to find the spot.” Echo gave Rey a mischievous smile. “And no, sir, I won’t go alone.”
“That’s my girl.” Rey patted her arm. “How about we do it together? No way am I going to miss an opportunity like that. Shaw, Haley, I imagine seeing what you did was a jolt.”
“I’ve never had an experience like that,” Shaw said. “Much different from…”
Echo planted her elbows on the table and leaned forward. “Here’s a question for you. Do you think he might have still been around?”
