Summer of the Wolves

by Lisa Williams Kline

  I smiled. “I’m goin’ to. I want to.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Only if you promise not to act like a total geek, Dad.”

  “Oh, you mean act like I’m Clint Eastwood or something?” Daddy acted like he was drawing pistols from a holster. “‘Tell me, do you feel lucky?’”

  “That’s what I mean,” I said.

  “Exactly,” Diana said about one second later, rolling her eyes at me.

  “What was that line? ‘C’mon, make my day!’”

  “That was from Dirty Harry, Norm,” said Lynn. “That wasn’t a Western.”

  “Oh, right. My bad.” Daddy grinned. “Just call me the Norminator.”

  “Stop it, Daddy!”

  Maggie came out of the barn leading Copper. Diana jumped from the fence and ran over to him. He lowered his head and poked her gently, right in the chest.

  “Don’t let him get out of line,” Maggie said. “I know you’re capable of keeping him in his place, and I expect you to do it.” She gave Diana a pointed look.

  “I will,” Diana said. She started adjusting her own stirrups, and Maggie went back in the barn. A minute later she came back leading Sam. “Here’s your buddy, Stephanie.”

  I looked at Sam’s gigantic head, and my heart gave a little flutter despite the time we’d been spending together in the barn. His brown eyes looked nearly as big as softballs. And those long, square teeth. And omigosh, his hooves were the size of buckets. But then he swung his head around and nuzzled Maggie like a great big dog, and Maggie bumped heads with him, stroking his muzzle. “He is a very sweet fella.”

  I turned the sugar cube over in my hand and slid down from the fence. When I put weight on my foot my leg hurt pretty bad, but I ignored it and crossed the ring to Sam’s side. I didn’t like all that dust I was scuffing up, but I just took deep breaths and got to Sam and ran my hand slowly down the smooth bony surface of his big, trusting face, the way Maggie showed me yesterday.

  “Thanks,” I said to Maggie. Mama would poke fun at her long braid and her ancient jeans made soft with horse dirt. But not me.

  Sam blinked and nudged me, which knocked me off-kilter, but I caught myself. I held out the sugar cube with my palm flat the way I’d seen Diana do it. The skin of Sam’s muzzle, soft as fuzz on a baby’s head, tickled me. I glanced at Diana. Hot liquid sugar dripped onto my palm.

  “Oooh.” I quickly wiped my hand off on the back of my jeans.

  “I knew the slobber would get you,” Diana said, laughing.

  “Can you reach the stirrups?” Maggie asked. “Do you want help getting on?”

  Daddy started across the ring, but I shook my head.

  “I’ll try by myself.” I reached up and grasped the saddle horn, the way I’d seen Diana and Maggie do it, and raised my right foot way up to put it into the stirrup.

  “Up and over!” Maggie said.

  I pulled myself up, up, up Sam’s huge round side until I was hanging there, one foot dangling.

  “Throw your other leg over!” Diana said.

  I did, even though it hurt like crazy. And in a minute I was sitting on top of Sam, my legs around his enormous sides.

  Sam shifted his weight under me. I tightened my grip on the reins. Then Sam gave one ear a twitch, and it dawned on me that he might be saying “Hello.” I patted his smooth, muscular neck, grinning at Diana, who was giving me a thumbs-up sign. Daddy and Lynn were smiling at me and so was Nick. A little knot inside me relaxed.

  In the last two days, I had been brave. Time and again I had found courage that I didn’t usually have. Aunt Lana, my youth group teacher, might tell me that courage came from God. If that was the case, I was grateful for it.

  23

  DIANA

  As our car headed down the mountainside, I faced the window so no one would see my tears. Saying goodbye to Copper had been awful. I’d wanted to stand there and rub his sweet little dished-in head forever. “You’ll move up in the pecking order,” I’d whispered to him. Copper had butted my shoulder and dripped sugar slobber on my neck, which combined with the wet mess of my tears.

  Moronic Mood-o-Meter in negative territory.

  Just before we left, I sat on the fence and watched Maggie release the horses to the mountain pasture. All fifty of them thundered from the enclosure, no saddles or bridles, tails flying, their bare-muscled bodies shining in the sun. They pounded by like a freight train, quarter horse and Appaloosa, Palomino and Arabian. Shoulder to shoulder, all wanting to be first. They streaked across the pasture, cavorting like little kids during recess.

  Copper was so happy he bucked a few times just for the fun of it. I laughed out loud. I’d stayed there long after they lowered their heads and fell into the quiet tail-swishing rhythm of grazing.

  As our car rounded a corner, I got a final glimpse of High Mist Ranch. Now I swallowed nervously as Norm pulled up in front of the Mountain Mist Companion Hospital and cut the engine.

  Mom patted Norm’s arm. “We made it.” She looked back and smiled at me. I crossed my fingers and then hid them by sliding them underneath my thighs. My stomach hurt a little, mostly because I’d started taking my pills again, but being nervous didn’t help. I looked over at Stephanie, who raised her eyebrows and tightened her lips.

  Please be alive.

  We trooped inside the waiting room. It was a crowded Saturday morning. A blond woman sat waiting with a golden retriever. A girl and her grandfather sat with a high-strung black-and-white terrier that kept barking and twirling in circles. A guy in his twenties had a small cage on the seat next to him with a terrified tabby cat crouched inside.

  A tall, dark-haired woman wearing a surgical shirt came out. She had on a pin that said “Will Bite,” and I thought it was funny. I wanted to ask her for one. She saw us standing there and said, “Hi, can I help you?”

  “We came to see how the wolf is doing,” Mom said. “This is Diana and Stephanie. They helped Doc do the surgery.”

  “Oh, yeah! They were a couple of troopers. I’m Kristi. Come on back and see for yourselves.”

  We followed Kristi down the narrow hall to the kennel area.

  “Doc’s on an office call. He’ll come back and say hi later if he can.” Kristi pointed us into a large room with a series of narrow runs. “Down near the end on the left,” she said. “And don’t be letting anybody out again, okay?” She smiled at Stephanie and me, but her eyes were dead serious. She left.

  The dogs in the kennel knew someone was there. The noise was incredible. There was a bellow from one run, a whine from another, followed by a bunch of yelps. Jumping bodies slammed against metal cage doors. Toenails pummeled the cement floor. From the cat ward across the hall came a series of pitiful meows.

  “How could a person stand to work here?” asked Norm.

  “It’s awful.” Stephanie put her hands over her ears.

  “I wish I could take every one of them home,” said Mom.

  “Me, too,” I said.

  I headed with Mom into the kennel. Norm and Stephanie followed. I walked the length of the room, passing a sad-eyed basset hound and a yipping, fluffy red Pomeranian that curled its lip and showed its sharp teeth.

  “Amazing to think that all these incredibly different-looking dogs are related to wolves,” said Mom.

  “Yeah,” I said. I let Mom put her arm over my shoulders, and when she intertwined her fingers with mine, I didn’t pull away. I’d always remember what Mom had said to Norm. No one could ever take my place.

  We found Waya’s cage with Waya bandaged but alert, her head on Russell’s knee. Russell was lying curled on the floor of the run, asleep. “He probably slept here last night,” I whispered.

  “Yeah, he did.” Doc’s voice came from behind us. Doc removed his cream-colored rubber exam gloves and pushed his wire rims up his nose.

  Russell stirred in his sleep, his dark hair flopping over his eyes. His hand rested on Waya’s neck.

  “Has anyone seen Oginali?” I a
sked.

  “No,” Doc said. “I’ve been hoping we would. I read about these two wolves once, a brother and a sister, who were inseparable. The brother died, and the sister wouldn’t leave his body. Everybody thought Oginali would follow Waya. But so far nothing. So, the pundits were officially wrong.”

  We watched Waya in silence. I thought about how Stephanie had gone with me that night and did a lot of things she was really scared to do. She hadn’t ditched me, even though I’d tried to ditch her.

  “Anyway,” Doc continued, “Waya’s doing well. I’m going to take the bandage off in three more days. She’s a lucky girl.”

  “We came to pay for Waya’s surgery,” I said.

  Doc nodded. “About that. I have a proposal for you. Because of the circumstances, I’m not going to charge Joe for that surgery. I told him I want to buy her instead. I made him a good offer, and I guess I caught him at a good time because he took it. As soon as Waya is able to travel, I plan to take her to a wolf rescue operation. And who knows, maybe we’ll find Oginali by then. I’d like you to send your money to them to help care for her. Kristi can give you their address. Will you promise to do that?”

  “Yessir! That’s fantastic!” I said.

  “That’s great!” Stephanie said.

  “Then it’s settled. Our code in medicine is ‘Do no harm.’ While you did quite a bit of harm by releasing the wolves, I believe you at least partially rectified it with your excellent assistance in surgery. How’s that?”

  “That’s more than fair,” said Mom. “Thanks, Doc.”

  Doc tightened his ponytail. “We aim to please.” Doc shook Stephanie’s hand. “How’s your leg?” he asked. “Mr. Morgan tells me you put a hurting on that trap of his.” Doc grinned.

  Stephanie blushed. “Uh, yeah. My leg’s going to be okay. But could I ask … what do you think will happen to Oginali?”

  Doc shrugged. “No telling. If she kills chickens, she could get herself shot. Or poisoned. Maybe I’ll get a chance to put a saving on her. If she wanders off deeper into the mountains, she’ll have to learn to hunt on her own. Maybe she will. Maybe she’ll try to find Waya. Most likely, though, we’ll never see Oginali again.” Doc glanced at his watch. Held out his hand to shake mine. “Diana, maybe there’s a future for you in veterinary medicine. The animals of the world need all the friends they can get. Take care.”

  I could feel myself blush. Doc shook Mom and Norm’s hands and then hurried out.

  “We better hit the road,” said Norm. “It’s a long trip.”

  “Can I just have one minute to say goodbye?” I asked.

  “Sure, sweetie. We’ll be out in the car,” Mom said. “Be careful.”

  Mom, Norm, and Stephanie left, and I unlocked the door of the cage. Russell’s eyelids trembled but his eyes were still closed. His breathing was slow and even. A pair of topaz eyes followed me as I opened the cage door and stepped inside. I examined the tight, broad bandage wrapped around Waya’s chest. Slowly, I knelt.

  I looked into those golden eyes. I saw wariness and fear, but also curiosity and hope. I reached out to stroke Waya’s head and remembered Maggie’s story about the wolves inside.

  Waya’s eyes narrowed and her lip curled back, showing curved yellow teeth. My heart skipped, but I offered my hand to the wolf. Long hushed seconds swept by. Waya’s black nostrils quivered. Then she stretched out her neck and licked my palm.

  “Goodbye,” I whispered. “Bye, Russell,” I added, with a squeezing of my heart.

  Russell opened his eyes. I noticed, for the first time, that they were deep amber, like Waya’s. He didn’t say anything.

  I let the words tumble out. “I wanted to tell you something. I dreamed about Oginali last night. I had a dream with this amazing blue background, where I was running beside Oginali through the woods, high in the mountains, and Oginali was hunting, and her eyes were like gold and her tail was like this flag, waving really high. I dreamed she wasn’t scared anymore.”

  Russell’s eyes flared. He looked like he might say something, but then turned his face away.

  “Thanks for trying to be my friend.” I waited a minute and then stepped outside the cage and shut the gate. I felt in my pocket for the bullet Doc had given me. Maybe if I gave Russell some time and wrote him a letter, he’d answer. I’d try.

  I went outside and climbed into the car. Mom smiled, reached over to the backseat, and squeezed my hand very tight.

  As the car went down the mountain, our whole family stared out the window and scanned the shifting forest shadows for signs of Oginali. Finally, my pills got to me, and I slept in the car, dreaming again of Oginali running over mountains, through valleys, growing stronger and fiercer. In my dream Oginali’s salt and pepper coat thickened as summer turned to fall. When she reached the ridge where the water turned west—the Continental Divide—she bounded on without fear. In my dream, when Waya, all healed up, arrived at the wolf rescue, Oginali was already there. Waiting.

  About the Author

  LISA WILLIAMS KLINE is the author of Floods, The Princesses of Atlantis, Write Before Your Eyes, and Eleanor Hill, winner of the North Carolina Juvenile Literature Award. Her stories for children have appeared in Cricket, Cicada, Spider, and Odyssey. She earned her MFA from Queens University. Lisa lives in Mooresville, North Carolina, with her veterinarian husband, where their grown daughters visit frequently.

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

  ZONDERKIDZ

  Summer of the Wolves

  Copyright © 2012 by Lisa Williams Kline

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

  EPub Edition © MARCH 2012 ISBN: 978-0-310-72614-2

  Requests for information should be addressed to:

  Zonderkidz, 5300 Patterson Ave., SE Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

  Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

  Zonderkidz is a trademark of Zondervan.

  Cover design: Kris Nelson

  About the Publisher

  Founded in 1931, Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Zondervan, a division of HarperCollinsPublishers, is the leading international Christian communications company, producing best-selling Bibles, books, new media products, a growing line of gift products and award-winning children’s products. The world’s largest Bible publisher, Zondervan (www.zondervan.com) holds exclusive publishing rights to the New International Version of the Bible and has distributed more than 150 million copies worldwide. It is also one of the top Christian publishers in the world, selling its award-winning books through Christian retailers, general market bookstores, mass merchandisers, specialty retailers, and the Internet. Zondervan has received a total of 68 Gold Medallion awards for its books, more than any other publisher.

  Share Your Thoughts
/>
  With the Author: Your comments will be forwarded to the author when you send them to zauthor@zondervan.com.

  With Zondervan: Submit your review of this book by writing to zreview@zondervan.com.

  Free Online Resources at

  www.zondervan.com/hello

  Zondervan AuthorTracker: Be notified whenever your favorite authors publish new books, go on tour, or post an update about what’s happening in their lives.

  Daily Bible Verses and Devotions: Enrich your life with daily Bible verses or devotions that help you start every morning focused on God.

  Free Email Publications: Sign up for newsletters on fiction, Christian living, church ministry, parenting, and more.

  Zondervan Bible Search: Find and compare Bible passages in a variety of translations at www.zondervanbiblesearch.com.

  Other Benefits: Register yourself to receive online benefits like coupons and special offers, or to participate in research.