by Vella Munn
“Yes,” Haley admitted. “I had the distinct feeling I was being watched.”
Shaw nodded. “I felt the same way.”
Rey whistled. “What if it had attacked?”
“Calm down,” Echo told her boyfriend. “You’re letting your imagination get away from you. I’d like to bring Kolina into the discussion.” Echo snagged a crouton from Haley’s salad. “She’s becoming even more of a wolf expert than I am. I’m pretty sure she’s around. She was going to run into the grocery store before heading home.”
Kolina’s home was another of the resort-supplied trailers. She shared the double-wide with her boyfriend Terron.
Echo called Kolina who said she’d be there in a few minutes. While they waited for the former waitress to join them, Shaw and Rey discussed how to handle a delay in getting some tile and carpet delivered. Shaw and Rey were finalizing a list of how many of the rental cabins’ chimneys needed to be repaired when Echo signaled the waitress.
“Guess that answers that,” Echo told Rey. “Neither of us is cooking tonight.”
Rey kissed her on the temple. “I never argue with a woman who feeds me.”
Haley loved seeing how the couple acted around each other. Not that she and Shaw were in love, nothing like that, but she wished their relationship was less complicated than it was. Right now she wanted to place her hand on his forearm, or something. Just touch him. Have him give her his full attention.
“Sorry,” Kolina said as she pulled up a chair. “I hope you haven’t been waiting for me.”
Echo explained that Rey and she were waiting for their dinners to be delivered. Laughing, Kolina said she’d told the waitress to put some chili in to-go containers for Terron and her.
“I called and asked if he wanted to join us but he’s staring at electrical diagrams,” Kolina said. “So what’s this about?”
By way of explanation, Shaw handed his camera to Kolina. “The poop’s fresh all right,” she said after studying the collection. “I take it you’re responsible for the manmade tracks.” She directed her question at Haley who then filled her in on what Shaw and she had done today.
“You had no idea the wolf was around before you found these?” Kolina asked.
Haley started to shake her head only to notice that Shaw was staring at her. “Not before but after. I had one of those chills down my back sensations. Okay, more than one.”
“So did I,” Shaw added. “I tried to discount it by reminding myself that I’d been thinking about how deep into the wilderness we were, but it didn’t work. We didn’t see any sign of a wolf.”
“Because he didn’t want you to,” Echo said. “After Kolina and Terron spotted that wolf pair when they were on Mount Lynx, I put out several game cameras there, but they didn’t pick up anything. I figured they’d taken off. Obviously I was wrong.”
Shaw paused as a trio of men still in snow garb walked past. He followed their movement until they sat down. “I have no doubt he was tracking us.”
“Neither do I,” Haley added, her attention on Shaw’s sober expression.
No one spoke for several seconds. “If he’s been around all this time,” Echo said, “he has become accustomed to seeing humans. I wonder where his mate, if he has one, is.”
“Two,” Shaw muttered. His hand came within inches of hers. “I didn’t think about that.”
“It’s something I need to consider,” Echo said. “A pair, especially if the female is pregnant, could be more likely to stay in one area. They certainly won’t be moving on when the pups are little.”
“Could adult wolves protecting their young make them dangerous?” Haley asked. “The pups won’t be born until spring, will they? Long after the sled dogs have come and gone.”
“What I think,” Kolina said, “is we’re more likely to see this one now that he’s gotten an up-close idea of what humans are about. Fortunately, wolves don’t see humans as game.”
Kolina waited until the others’ meals had been delivered before continuing. Her hunger forgotten, Haley concentrated as Kolina explained that researchers weren’t in agreement about why wolves didn’t see humans as prey.
“What is he, or they, doing here now?” Haley asked. “With so much snow, how are they finding enough to sustain them?”
“That’s a valid question,” Echo said. “Some deer are still around, and there are a number of snowshoe hares. Fishers and martens.”
“Don’t forget the elk,” Kolina added. “One of them will sustain a wolf for a long time.”
As Kolina continued her explanation of wolf behavior and lifestyle, Haley noticed that Shaw was listening intently. She couldn’t be happier that they’d had this shared experience. Even though she appreciated being warm and fed, in some respects she wished the two of them were still in the wilderness.
“I’d give anything to see one,” Echo said.
Shaw nodded. “So would I. And I’m sure Haley feels the same way.”
“I do.” She didn’t care whether the others heard since her admission was meant for him.
“I’m sorry my gun startled you,” he muttered. “I should have said something before I pulled it out.”
“You were armed?” Rey shook his head. “Dumb question on my part. Of course you were.”
Of course you were. In other words, maybe Shaw saw carrying a weapon as an everyday thing. She couldn’t wrap her mind around why he thought as he did or rather how he could be so comfortable with a pistol on him. It was the last thing she’d ever be able to do.
Chapter Eleven
“I like what Echo and Kolina said about how wolves view dogs,” Shaw said after the others had left, and they had the table to themselves. Everyone had been of the same mind. They’d hold off making a public statement about what he and Haley had experienced until forest officials had been informed. When the time was right, Echo would approach the media. She’d downplay the non-encounter and say nothing about his and Haley’s belief that a wolf had watched them.
Haley stirred the chili she’d barely made a dent in. “It was interesting,” she said. “Wolves view domestic dogs as juveniles of their species so there isn’t much chance one would threaten the sled dogs.”
“What if it’s a pair?”
“That’s possible. After all, Kolina and Terron saw two.” The time they’d spent with the others had been good, a group of strong personalities who were comfortable in each other’s presence. Except for his ingrained awareness of his environment, he had been relaxed. He wanted to hold onto the mood—or even better, let it deepen. Let it revolve around Haley and him.
She studied the hand he was using to hold his water glass.
“Wouldn’t it be something if cubs show up in the spring. We could charge to take people out to the den.”
“You wouldn’t really do that.”
“Of course not.”
“No, you wouldn’t. I should have known you were teasing.”
“I don’t do much of that, mostly when I’m with my niece. She brings out my juvenile side.”
“I noticed that.”
“And I’ll need to remember that you’re observant.”
“I guess I am. My brother says there isn’t much I miss when it comes to studying humans.”
“Why is that?”
“Who knows?”
You do. He put a piece of meat in his mouth only to discover it was cold. No wonder since it had been delivered the better part of an hour ago.
“Maybe that’s why you picked up on the wolf’s presence. A case of heightened awareness of your surroundings.”
She stared at him without blinking. “I could say the same about you.”
“Oh?”
“That’s all you’re going to say?” she asked. “You aren’t going to tell me why you’re like that?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Irritated with himself for having said that, he turned his attention to what he could see beyond the closest window.
He didn’t really expect the w
inter night to understand him but thinking about the snow-covered world out there relaxed him. As long as Haley was with him, he didn’t want to leave.
She got up, walked over to the window, and flattened her hands against the glass. “Think about it.” Her back was to him. “Nature is going about its business all through the forest. Being born. Living. Dying. It doesn’t give a darn about humans. That puts us in our place.”
He wasn’t sure where her comment had come. Right now he didn’t care about the life forms out there. Kolina would be home in a few minutes where Terron was waiting for her. They’d eat their chili, talk about their respective days, go to bed, maybe make love. Rey and Echo might do the same thing.
He was tired of being alone. Tonight, knowing it was better this way didn’t help. Haley Walters whose hair was still flat from her helmet was trying to reach the outdoors from inside. If she succeeded, maybe they’d experience the wilderness together. Smell, touch, and see it.
Understand what the other was thinking and feeling.
Know what the other person needed.
“We are pretty unimportant in the greater scheme of things,” he said. He didn’t care that others might be listening. “If you and I stayed outside all through the next snowstorm, by the time it ended no one would know we’d been there.”
“Nothing left of us except a couple of frozen snowmen.”
Her thoughts were paralleling his. Their musings might come even closer if he was standing next to her. He went so far as to place his hands on the table and gather his feet under him before he thought better of it. Just because tonight was like music to him didn’t mean she felt the same way.
“If I’m destined to be a snowman,” he said, “I want a hat, one of those tall stovepipe things.”
She faced him, smiling with her eyes and mouth, even her eyebrows and the tilt to her chin. “What about a carrot for a nose?”
“I guess that would be all right,” he answered around the humming that was growing inside him. “But not a long carrot because I don’t want people mistaking me for Pinocchio.”
She returned to the table, sat down, and poked her spoon in the chili. “Thank you.”
Her smile had quieted some but it still made an impact. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had smiled at him like that, probably not for several years because he didn’t give them a reason to. He needed that to change, needed to try to understand how he felt about Haley Walters.
“Thank me for what?” he asked.
“An incredible day. I loved seeing Grizzly Peak up close. The way the forest was decorated…”
“All in white,” he finished. Earlier, they’d slid their chairs close together to accommodate the others which made sandwiching her hand between his easy. He didn’t care who saw. “Snow muffles sound. The wind in the trees—”
“Is a melody all its own.” She stared at what he’d done, made no attempt to pull free. “Sometimes it howls.”
“I’m glad it wasn’t like that today.”
Her features settled, became pensive. “I’ve never been afraid of being in the wilderness.”
Perhaps he should tell her that he’d seen fear in her when she’d spotted his Glock, but it wasn’t a place either of them needed to go. As long as he didn’t question his motives too deeply, he could remain in the present. Just be.
With her.
Maybe ask if she wanted to go upstairs and climb naked into his bedroom.
“I think I’d feel the same way about the wilderness if I out was in it as much as you are,” he said.
Taking her hand had been one thing, not returning it to her was taking him into new territory. It was becoming a wonderful place to be.
“I wish you could escape more,” she whispered. “Your roast—”
“Is cold. What about your chili.”
“Same thing.”
“Do you want to leave?” His heart beat faster.
She again looked down at her hand or rather what his hadn’t enveloped. “Yes.”
*
He’d like to see what Haley might have done to give her trailer a personal touch, but that would have to wait until she invited him into it. So he suggested they walk down to where the docks had been before they’d been hauled out of the lake in October. So many people had traversed the path between there and the resort that the snow had packed down. In addition, the path was wide enough for them to walk side by side. Someone had strung red and green lights along the hand rail giving everything a Christmas glow. A multitude of tiny white lights were wrapped around the flagpole adding to the night’s mystique.
The lake was frozen and buried under snow, not that he had any intention of getting close to it. Sixty-nine year old Jim Harder had been managing the boat rentals for as long as anyone could remember. Jim had agreed to stay on long enough in the spring to train his replacement but then he was moving to Arizona so he could be closer to his grown children and their families. Jim had admitted he hadn’t done more than the minimum boat maintenance in recent years because the rental concession had been a losing operation under the previous resort ownership.
Thinking of having to deal with yet more of Uncle Robert’s reluctance to spend money made Shaw’s head hurt. At least he wouldn’t have to get his uncle’s permission before hiring Jim’s replacement.
Haley?
“The Christmas lights weren’t up the last time I was here,” she said.
Her hands were deep in her coat pockets and she’d pulled up hood up as defense against the frigid air. As a result, he could barely made out her features—her feminine features.
“It’s beautiful.”
He explained that when Rey’s crew had been adding insulation to the lodge’s attic, they’d come across a number of boxes. “Judging by the dates on the newspaper packing, the Christmas decorations had been up there for ten years. Fortunately most of the lights still work. When they heard about the find, the housekeepers informed me that they were in charge of putting up the decorations.”
“They’ve made it into a wonderland. Lake Serene is a perfect place for celebrating the holiday.”
Her eyes reflected the red and green hues. Her nose, cheeks, and chin carried out the same color theme. Instead of making her look as if she was from another world, she’d become part of the season’s appeal. Maybe part of his world.
Back when he’d been a cop, he’d joined the rest of the force in delivering toys and food to families in need. A single father with three young sons had admitted to him that he’d hidden the Christmas lights because he couldn’t afford a tree that year. Shaw had kidnapped the boys while their father was at work and had taken them to a Christmas tree lot. He’d thought the kids would want the biggest and best, but the oldest boy had directed his siblings to one of the least expensive. He’d been tempted to reward them with an upgrade but respecting their frugality had won out.
The next day the father had called and invited him over. The now-decorated tree had taken up nearly half of the small living room, the boys were delighted, and the father cried. Shaw hadn’t tried to hide his own tears as he took pictures of the family gathered around the tree.
Seeing the man and his sons had helped Shaw redefine what constituted family. Before, he’d only had his conventional upbringing plus what Boone celebrated with his wife and children for comparison. His world had opened up in that cramped rental and to some extent had kept him from losing faith in himself a few months later.
Much as he missed being with his family at the holiday, this was better. Safer. Also, as Haley had pointed out, Lake Serene had indeed become a wonderland.
“You’re right,” he said when he could trust himself to speak. “They’re doing an amazing job.”
“My family didn’t do much to celebrate Christmas. I told myself it didn’t matter but…”
“But what?” He longed to embrace her as he’d done with the father and his sons but he didn’t. Maybe it was knowing he didn’t trust himself to stop with a si
mple hug.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to say anything.”
“But you did.”
“Yes.” She kicked at the snow at the side of the path. “Christmas has become such a big deal. All the decorations, the food, gifts, retailers trying to get people to spend more and more money.”
“It can get to be too much.” Maybe her family hadn’t had much money and had dealt with it by downplaying the holiday. Sometimes all it took was a tree and a few decorations. Love filling a small space.
“My dad hated the whole thing,” she continued without looking at him. Her breath showed white.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.” She blew out a breath and watched it. “There’s so much I never knew about him. You can’t…”
“Yes, I can. Go on.”
She jammed her hands deeper into her pockets. Sighed. “Even when I was little I knew not to get excited. Mom bought a few clothes for my brother and me and wrapped them up. She made sugar cookies because Dad liked them but that was the extent of it.”
“I’m sorry.” So very sorry.
“Yeah, well, every family’s different. What about yours?”
She was trying to shift the conversation away from herself. He could encourage her to say more but to what end, satisfying his desire to learn more about her instead of helping her make her peace with the past which was something he didn’t know how to do? More to the point, she might emotionally and physically withdraw from him when that was the last thing he wanted.
He told her about going to church where his mother sang, the family caroling in the neighborhood, baking smells filling the house and taking some of the baked goods to a nearby nursing home, the year he’d insisted on riding his brand new bicycle on Christmas morning, falling off, and breaking his forearm. He only touched on the mountains of gifts, his parents kissing under mistletoe, and a house full of relatives.
By the time he was finished, they’d been outside long enough that cold was seeping through the soles of his boots, and she was shivering.
Fighting the impulse to wrap his coat around her, he pointed back at the lodge. “How about we go inside? We can stand near the fireplace and warm up.”
