once a week, and this was the night. She modified the question she’d been about to ask because she didn’t want Ted to discuss potential wolf ownership with his cronies.
“Sorry to bother you on poker night,” she said, “but I have a quick question.”
“Sure. I had a lousy hand, anyway.”
“Do we have a leash law in Polecat?”
“We might. I don’t have a dog, so I never paid much attention. Why?”
“I saw a dog roaming around Jake’s place and I wondered if it was his.”
Amusement laced Ted’s reply. “So if Jake’s in violation of a leash law, you want to nail him for that?”
“Darn right. A dog could get hurt wandering around loose.” Or a semitame wolf could tangle with a bear and almost get himself killed.
“Sorry, Rachel, but Jake’s not your culprit. He doesn’t have a dog. He travels so much it wouldn’t work out.”
“Yeah, guess you’re right.”
“You should let him know about the dog, though. If it’s a stray, one of you should call the shelter and have it picked up.”
“Thanks. I’ll do that. Have fun with your buddies.”
“I will. Fortunately I’m not in it for profit.”
“That’s a good attitude, Ted. See you later.” She disconnected.
Good old Ted wasn’t motivated by profit in any sense. She suspected that with his overhead he barely broke even at the general store. But he made enough to live on and stay in the place he loved best on earth. That was nothing to sneeze at.
Meanwhile Jake Hunter apparently made a tidy profit with his wilderness guiding business. She had no quarrel with his success, but she wondered if his long absences meant he was shirking his responsibility to the wolf, the one that nobody seemed to know about.
That was assuming the wolf was his, or at least used his cabin as a home base. She still couldn’t prove that for sure, but she was determined to find out. Settling back in her chair, she adjusted the focus on the binoculars and prepared to wait for shade to find that open stretch between the tree line and Jake’s cabin.
She didn’t mind the waiting, but she was getting hungry. Candy bars waited in her kitchen, but she didn’t dare go get them and risk missing the wolf when he moved. She felt certain he wouldn’t stay where he was. Gut instinct told her Jake’s cabin was his final destination.
But she had to be sure before she went over there. Assuming she did that, she might want to decide what she planned to say. For starters, she’d ask if the wolf was his. Whether he admitted it or not, she’d know from his answer. She was good at reading people.
Then she’d tell him about the incident with the grizzly and how she’d tended the wolf’s injuries. Last of all, she’d ask if he intended to keep the wolf or turn him over to a zoo or wildlife sanctuary. If she could get him to admit that he was planning to do something like that, she would offer to take the animal herself.
How that would fit into her life was a big unanswered question. She’d already debated the issue and had decided she couldn’t commit to keeping any animal, let alone a wolf. But this was the creature that had saved her life, and she would do whatever was necessary to ensure his welfare.
Maybe she could ask Lionel to help out when she had to travel. She could cut down on the number of trips, too. Some commissions required her to be there during the installation and some didn’t. She could become pickier about which jobs she accepted.
Thinking about that, she realized it was past time to stop agreeing to every offer that came her way. She had enough money invested to make her financially comfortable even if she never carved another piece. She would always carve because that was her passion, but she could be more selective about it.
If she stayed home more, she might have a better chance of finding a soul mate. She could concentrate on it, instead of trying to grab moments to find a match online. She knew in her heart that finding the right man required as much dedication as she devoted to her art, but she hadn’t been willing to make that kind of commitment.
Perhaps the wolf had come partly to teach her that she needed to do so. If Jake was no longer willing to be the wolf’s guardian, then she would take over and allow that to be the beginning of a new life, a new attitude. The more she considered that, the better she liked the idea.
Shifting every so often to make sure her arm didn’t go numb, she continued to watch the tree line. The wolf might not want to come with her initially, but she’d win him over. Once he realized that Jake was finking out on him, he might be grateful for someone who would buy him round steak and give him a soft bed on cold nights.
Daydreaming about her new, more peaceful life with a lighter workload, a companion animal, and perhaps the love of her life made her lose track of time. With a start, she realized the shade had reached the edge of Jake’s deck. And the dark outline she’d identified as the wolf was moving.
Adrenaline made her shaky, but she forced herself to hold the binoculars steady as she followed the progress of that dark shape. It was her wolf, all right. Sometime in the past hour she’d started thinking of him as hers.
Sure enough, he moved cautiously in the direction of Jake’s cabin. He looked ready to bolt at the slightest threat. Jake should be there. Anger simmered at his laissez-faire attitude toward this creature.
Neither totally wild nor totally tame, the wolf was caught in between worlds and needed human protection. If Jake wouldn’t provide that, then she would. Filled with righteous indignation, she watched the wolf slink up the steps to Jake’s deck.
Still no Jake. Was he relaxing with a beer while an injured wolf, desperate for shelter and care, crept into his cabin? What an insensitive idiot! The creep didn’t deserve the wolf’s loyalty, but the animal probably gave it without question.
As she watched, the wolf reached the sliding door and nosed it open. Then he slipped quickly inside. Rachel lowered the binoculars and stood.
She probably shouldn’t storm over there right now when she was furious with the arrogant bastard. But she was going to, anyway. She couldn’t let that wolf spend another night under the roof of a man who cared so little.
She stopped in the kitchen for a couple of candy bars, which she began eating on the way out to her truck. So she’d confront him while she was angry and on a sugar high. So what? That might be the best way to deal with someone as obtuse as he appeared to be.
Sometime during the drive around the lake, as she finished off the second candy bar and tossed the wrapper onto the passenger seat, she remembered that Jake was the guy who had been her first customer. That sale had jump-started her career. She was grateful for that, but bastards could do good things without realizing they were doing them. She thought Jake fit in that category.
Jake wasn’t her concern, anyway. She was focused on the wolf and how she would get him away from Jake and into her truck. If Jake was tired of taking care of the wolf, then her job would be easy. Well, maybe not if she approached him in a belligerent way.
Any hope that he wouldn’t be there, which would excuse his lack of concern for the wolf, vanished as she pulled up beside his truck, which was parked beside his cabin. He was there, all right, and likely had been inside his comfy home during the whole sorry drama. Meanwhile his pet wolf had feared for his life. Apparently Jake didn’t give a damn.
By the time she tromped up his front steps, she was spitting nails. He had a noble animal under his care, and he wasn’t paying the least attention. She hoped he was prepared to turn the wolf over to someone else, because she was ready.
She knocked on the screen door and got no response. The interior door was closed, so she opened the screen and pounded on the wooden door. Still no answer. She wasn’t about to leave without having a conversation with Mr. Jake Hunter, so she banged louder.
“I know you’re in there, Jake!” she called. “And I’m not leaving until you open the door! I want to talk about your wolf!” She’d raised her fist to pound again when the door swung open.
Jake stood there in a pair of sweats and nothing else. As always, he looked amazing. If she hadn’t been so enraged about his behavior, she might have enjoyed the sight.
