He jumps when he hears the sound of her father calling her name, she looks away and then glances back and he is gone! “No, don’t go.” She follows his tracks into the woods, holding the last piece of her biscuit. She finds him growling at her, guarding something.
“Oh no!” she whispers. He is standing in front of a dead wolf, partially covered in snow. He is guarding his mother. “Poor boy, don’t worry. I will take care of you,” she promises him and tosses the last piece of biscuit to him. The sound of her father calling her has her turning. “I will be back soon.” She says and runs off.
“Makenna, you really should stay out of the woods this time of year.” Her grandfather tells her frowning.
“I was just beyond the trees, Gramps, I saw a…” she starts to speak, but her father interrupts her.
“Makenna we have to get going, I have some more tags to collect before we get home. Be sure to let us know when Caleb gets here. We will have to get the kids together.”
“Caleb’s coming?” Makenna asks excitedly. She hasn’t seen her cousin for three years.
“He will be here in two months, the last week of December for his Christmas break. Think you can stay out of trouble till then,” her grandfather asks hugging her close.
She smiles and one dimple flashes in her cheek, “Of course, Gramps.” She waves and climbs in the truck and a few minutes later she looks over at her father, “Dad, I saw a wolf pup in the woods and his mother was dead.”
Surprise flashes across his face, “That’s not surprising this time of year. Winter is hard on all the animals here. The pack will take care of him. He will be okay.” He doesn’t say what he thinks, that sometimes the motherless do not survive. Lucky for them humans are stronger than animals.
She is wondering how soon she will get back to him. He will not die if she can help it.
Chapter
4
For the next two months, Makenna found excuses to sneak away. On her second visit she named him Frisbee, because she would toss any scrap of food his way and he could catch it. She can’t believe how quickly the pup has grown. He is no longer a small pup but a young wolf. At seventy pounds she found she could not bring enough food to feed him, but to her surprise he was able to hunt on his own. He has grown to trust her and sits close to her letting her run her hands through his lush fur. The time away from him was spent researching wolves and as a talented artist, she was using her photographs of him to draw. Her sketchpad was almost full of images of him in different positions and different light. She did not try to bring him home, but he always managed to find her. It seemed as though the woods announced her arrival. At least that is how she imagined it.
“There he is,” her dad says and whips the explorer into the parking lot of the Tundra Café. It was a popular family restaurant especially this time of year. All the skiers flock here between December and April. “How about a working dinner tonight?” he asks looking at his daughter.
“I will get a table, do you want me to order for you?” she asks twisting her hair. For a moment his eyes stare at her and she knows he is seeing her Mother.
“No, this won’t take too long. Just order me a coffee.” They climb out of the truck and hurry inside. Makenna holds on tight to her sketch pad hoping to finish them during dinner. A sudden gust of wind pushes at the family entering the café and Makenna squeals when some of her sketches are blown to the floor.
Laughter floats across the café, and Sakari, the owner greets them. Her long black hair is pulled up and she is wearing a sky blue sweater dress that matches her blue eyes. “Let me help, Makenna.” She says and hurries to grab her sketches. Makenna picks up two and her father grabs one and they look at each other and smile.
“Beautiful,” he whispers staring at Sakari. She smiles big and Makenna rolls her eyes snatching the picture from his hands.
“Amazing,” a deep voice says from behind. Makenna turns around and see a stranger holding her sketch. He is tracing the image with one finger. “You drew this?” he asks and when he looks up Makenna steps back into her father. He smells of cigarettes and coffee and is staring at her with an intense look in his dark brown eyes. An uneasy feeling crawls up her back and her father puts an arm around her shoulder pulling her closer.
“Makenna is an artist and a photographer,” he answers holding his hand out for her picture. “What happened to your arm, Sam?” he asks noticing the thick bandage covering it.
“You have seen this wolf? Photographed it?” He asks stepping towards her and ignoring her father’s question.
Makenna shakes her head no. Everything in her soul screams of danger, “No, of course not. I just like to draw and play with colors and textures, May I have it back now?” she answers reaching for her picture. Sam pulls the picture closer and looks down at it, then back at her.
“Sam, I have been looking for you, can we talk outside?” Sam looks at her father and smiles slowly. He is missing a few teeth and those that remain are yellow from years of smoking.
“I guess so, Eric.” He hands Makenna the picture back and her father turns to go. When he passes by her he stops and says, “I will see you again soon.”
Makenna holds her sketch pad close and tucks the other pictures inside. Her hands
