Her fingers tightened around her coffee mug. “Pretty much. But that said, I’m going to tone down my activism for the time being. Bryce might screw up and mate with a human, and if he does, I’ll be the family peacemaker. I always have been. So I need to leave myself some middle ground to stand on.”
Jake knew when he was fighting a losing battle. “I understand. But if you’d be willing to recommend someone else from this area, that would help me.”
“Be happy to. I know who would be perfect. I’ll introduce you to Evan when we take our run tomorrow night.”
“Do you have time for the run? Sounds to me as if you’re stretched thin.” Concern for her schedule wasn’t his main reason for asking. With the evening drawing to a close, he became aware of a growing urge to scrap the rest of his plans and hop on a plane bound for home.
When he’d left Polecat this morning, he’d been intent on putting distance between himself and Rachel. He’d accomplished that, but instead of relief, he was battling an uneasy feeling that he needed to be at home to keep an eye on things. He might have underestimated Rachel’s determination to find that big black wolf.
“It’s all planned, and I’d have some disappointed Weres if we didn’t do it . . . unless you have to get back sooner. In which case, we’ll run without you, I guess.”
“No, no, I don’t have to get back.” He just felt compelled to. Maybe he was spooked for no reason. “I’d love to take that run. It’ll give me a chance to talk with Evan.”
“Then the run’s a go. I didn’t ask you how long you were staying. I hope at least a few more days, so you can enjoy the city.”
“That would be nice, but my flight leaves the morning after our run.” That hadn’t been his original itinerary, but it was now. Maybe he was being ridiculous to think Rachel might snoop around his place while he was gone. But he also couldn’t remember locking his back slider.
Damn, he might not have, because he was so used to leaving it unlocked. Surely Rachel wouldn’t consider actually going into his place uninvited, though. Yet he remembered her fury when he’d denied having a wolf on the premises. He hadn’t lied. Strictly speaking, he wasn’t a wolf. He only looked like one sometimes.
But she’d acted as if she thought he was hiding something, which he was. She also believed her “wolf” was being neglected. By him. Her love of wolves might cause her to do something uncharacteristic, like trespassing on his property.
Well, so what if she did? She wouldn’t find a wolf or any conclusive evidence one had been there. But if she went so far as to dig through his stuff . . . that possibility made him as nervous as hell. Yeah, he needed to get back, the sooner the better.
“It’s a shame you can’t stay longer,” Giselle said. “But if anybody understands tight schedules, it’s me.”
“Yep.” Jake sipped his coffee. “I can’t let anything slip through the cracks.”
Chapter 9
Rachel had spent an inordinate amount of time driving around the lake, hoping to catch a glimpse of the wolf somewhere near Jake’s cabin. Even so, she didn’t immediately figure out that he’d left town. But when she phoned the general store at closing time to casually ask Ted about it, he confirmed that Jake was gone.
Ted had agreed to collect Jake’s mail from the rural box by the road, as usual. “He went to Frisco for some reason,” he informed Rachel. “Said he’d be home day after tomorrow. You need to see him?”
She was ready for the question. “I’m planning to take some day hikes for inspiration. I thought he could help me figure out the best options.”
“I thought you were mad at him.”
Trust good old Ted to come up with the significant point of the discussion. “I am, but he’s an expert in this field, so I can’t let my irritation keep me from getting good advice, right?”
“I suppose not. That’s a very mature attitude to take, Rachel.”
“Thank you. I thought so, too.” Good thing she was on the phone instead of looking straight at Ted. If he could have seen her face, he would have realized she was handing him a line of bull. Phones were an excellent invention. “Well, gotta go.”
“Right. See you later.”
She hung up quickly because she wanted to hotfoot it over to Jake’s now that she knew he was gone. Too bad she hadn’t tweaked to it sooner, but at least she had tonight and tomorrow to snoop. Somewhere on his property she would find evidence of a wolf. Then she would confront him with it.
Grabbing her backpack, she climbed into her truck and drove around the lake. But as she started to park in front of his cabin, she thought better of it. Several yards beyond his cabin, an old logging road wound back into the woods. That would work.
She passed his cabin, turned off there, and parked where her truck couldn’t be seen from the road. Might as well not advertise her presence. Polecat was a small community and she’d rather not have anyone ask why she’d been at Jake’s. Aside from not wanting to state her reason for being there, she wouldn’t want anyone to think she was a friend of his.
She definitely was not. Although he had the gall to deny it, he was harboring a wolf, and not very humanely at that. Initially she’d told him that she wouldn’t turn him in to the authorities, but he’d destroyed her goodwill with his arrogant attitude. The wolf was the only thing keeping her from calling the law down on Jake’s head. She didn’t want to cause that poor animal any more stress than it had already endured.
Maybe if she went over there, the wolf would come out of hiding. She wondered if Jake had made any provision for it before he jetted off to San Francisco. The more she thought about his cavalier behavior toward such a magnificent animal, the more she fumed.
With her truck tucked out of sight, she slipped on her pack and walked back to his cabin. She’d start in the back because she wouldn’t expect to find the wolf anywhere near the road. She had dog treats in the backpack, along with a collar and leash. She’d bought the supplies the day after her run-in with Jake and had taken the precaution of driving forty miles to another small town’s general store so she wouldn’t arouse Ted’s suspicions. She’d kept the dog treats and leash with her whenever she’d gone out searching for the wolf.
She hoped that the treats might convince the wolf to let her collar and leash him. Then she’d use more treats to coax him back to her truck. She had no compunction about stealing the wolf out from under the nose of an untrustworthy person like Jake, but the wolf might not cooperate. When she’d had him at her place, he had been hell-bent on getting back over here.
The wolf’s devotion to a man who had only a casual interest in his pet’s welfare stuck in her craw. Such unquestioning loyalty reflected well on the wolf, but he might pay dearly for it if Jake shipped him off to a zoo or a sanctuary in the near future. She couldn’t bear the thought.
If she couldn’t steal the wolf, she might have to negotiate with Jake to buy him. But first she had to get that infuriating man to admit he had such an animal. Every time she pictured him standing there stony-faced while he lied through his teeth, she felt like hitting something. Like him.
She was so wrapped up in her murderous thoughts that she almost stepped on an outstanding piece of evidence. With a soft cry, she leaped back before she crushed an imprint in the moist earth next to the lake. The paw print was large, and while it could have been made by a dog, she knew it hadn’t been.
Stepping carefully, she discovered several similar paw prints. Taking out her camera phone, she snapped pictures of them before following the trail that led directly to Jake’s deck. Let him deny
Once on the deck, she glanced around. When she’d used her binoculars to scan the area, she hadn’t paid much attention to Jake’s outdoor furniture. He had an expensive gas grill and an elevated patio table surrounded by four tall chairs. Probably suited a big guy like him.
Finally she walked over to the slider and peered in. No wolf stood on the other side. No doubt the slider was locked, but she tugged on it anyway, for good measure. It glided open smoothly, as if recently cleaned and oiled.
Heart pounding, she quickly closed it. She was willing to trespass on the outside of his property, but going into his house when he wasn’t home was a whole different level of invasion. On top of that, the wolf might be