Lionel knew Rachel had a werewolf in her house, he’d go ballistic.
“I’ll watch out for ticks,” Rachel said. “But he saved my life. I owe him—”
“What? He chose to attack the bear, but it might not have had anything to do with you. They might hate each other for other reasons, and you happened to be around for the smack-down.”
“I suppose that’s always possible, but I don’t think so. I think he was saving me.”
“Miss M, don’t be a hero. Call Fish and Game.”
Jake tensed. That was all he needed.
“I’m not doing that, Lionel.”
“Seriously, let them come out. They can tranquilize the wolf, check him for ticks and other parasites, and figure out where he came from and where he belongs. Don’t you want to know that?”
“Not really. I want him to return to whatever routine he had before he rushed in to save me. I don’t need to know all the details about his life.”
Lionel blew out a breath. “I think you’re asking for trouble keeping him here, but it’s your decision.”
“It is, and I’ll deal with any consequences.”
“But you have to promise me, if this turns into a big problem, you’ll call me.”
“You’d still help? Even if I’m ignoring your advice about notifying the authorities?”
“You bet I would, Miss M. If you don’t want anybody to know about this wolf, then that’s the way it’ll be. If he turns rabid and you need me to come and shoot him for you, I’ll do that.”
Rachel gasped. “Nobody is shooting this wolf!”
“If he becomes a danger to you, or if he harms a single hair on your head, I’ll shoot him without a second thought.”
Jake didn’t relish being shot, but he was glad to hear that Lionel was so protective. That meant Jake could leave for San Francisco without worrying so much about Rachel’s safety. Before he could catch that plane, though, he had to get out of this cabin.
“The wolf’s no danger to me,” Rachel said. “But I appreciate your support.”
“Anytime.”
“I guess he’s not going to come out from under the bed, so we may as well leave. We both have work to do.”
“Yeah, how’s the triptych coming along?” Lionel moved toward the door.
“I’m making progress.” Rachel followed him. “I’d like your opinion. Oh, and I’ve created an unholy mess in the shop. Sawdust everywhere.”
“I’m sure.” Lionel chuckled. “Hey, that carving on your mantel wasn’t there last time I was in here. Where’d it come from?”
“I sold that to Jake Hunter three years ago. He didn’t want it anymore, so I have it back.”
“What is he, dumb or something?”
“Yes, I think he is.” She closed the bedroom door.
Jake felt about as dumb as Lionel thought he was. What a situation he’d created for himself. He waited several minutes before he crawled out from under the bed. If he could be sure they’d leave him alone for a while, he could shift to human form and back to wolf form to speed the healing. In fact, in human form he could crack the front door a couple of inches so that he could leave as a wolf.
He’d have to be very sure she wouldn’t come in, though, because if she found him naked in her cabin, that would be extremely difficult to explain. But if he could pull off the maneuver, he’d be able to leave today. Rachel might think she’d left the door open by mistake.
Just as his plan began to seem possible, the bedroom door creaked and Rachel walked in. “I knew you’d come out once Lionel was gone, wolf.”
He stood still and watched her.
“I still think you understand a lot of what we say, and that conversation I had with Lionel might have spooked you. But don’t worry. I’m not going to call in the troops. This is between you and me. And you can trust Lionel not to squeal on us.”
“You’re welcome.”
Wow, that was strange. She’d responded as if she’d picked up on his thoughts.
“I’m going out to the workshop now, but I’ll come back from time to time and check on you. I’m not leaving you alone for the day, so don’t worry about that, either.”
She smiled. “I swear it’s like I can see the wheels turning in there. You’re too clever. I’m not giving you hours of solitude so you can figure out some way to get out of here.”
“Boy, do you look disappointed! I swear you got the gist of what I just said. Well, just forget about escaping. You need more time to heal, and this is the best place to do that.”
“Don’t look at me like that, as if you don’t believe me. I’m a doctor, or I was
Her logic was impeccable. But she was working with the wrong information. If he were a true wolf, she’d be absolutely doing the right thing for him.
She couldn’t know that she was impeding the healing process. Because he’d been unable to shift fully soon after his injury, he would likely have scarring, something that didn’t happen when Weres took care of their wounds themselves.
He’d been hurt several times in his life, and he bore no marks as a result. But he felt certain he’d end up with red welts from the bear’s claws once he became human again. In time they’d fade, but his skin would never be perfect again.
In some ways that seemed fitting. It was as if Rachel herself had left her mark on him. He might as well accept the inevitability of that and realize that he would never completely erase her memory.
“See you soon, wolf.” She had the audacity to wink before she turned, walked out the door, and closed it firmly behind her.
Chapter 6
Rachel’s famous concentration took a beating the rest of the morning. Even Lionel remarked on it. She kept pausing in her work to check on the wolf, and when she returned, she spent long moments staring into space, her carving tools lying unused on her bench.
Finally she turned to Lionel. “How are you at tracking?”
“Okay, I guess.” He dumped a large dustpan full of shavings into a plastic garbage can. “I learned from my best friend Willie’s dad, on account of mine not being around to teach me.” He said it without a trace of resentment or self-pity. His dad had left when he was a baby, and he’d been raised by his mother and grandmother, but he’d never said a word against his absent father.
“If I let the wolf go tonight, do you think you could track where he goes?”
Lionel stopped sweeping to glance at her. “I thought you didn’t want to know his story.”
“I don’t, and if I could keep him a few more days, I wouldn’t be worried. But I can’t figure out how to do that. He’ll need to go outside again tonight, and I won’t be able to trick him again.”
“Again? You already tricked him once?”
“Yeah, and it cost me a very large steak.” She described her maneuver, which made Lionel chuckle. “Anyway, the fishing line won’t work twice, so when I let him out to do his business, he’ll be gone.”
“And you want me to follow him?”
“Not so he’d know. He’s very smart. That’s why I thought if you could track him from a distance, then you’d
