Another Chance (21 page)

“Well, when
this is over, I still have to make a living.”  She reminded him.  “I
can’t afford for my clients to think I’ve gone off the deep end.”

He looked down
at her.  “When this is over?  When Lambert is in prison again?”

She
nodded.  What else did he think she was talking about?  She smiled as
the waiter sat their supper in front of them.  Now they could eat and get
out of here.  She hoped they didn’t see anyone else she knew.

There was
little talking as they ate, and soon they were through.  The waiter picked
up their plates and poured them another glass of tea.  Wolf didn’t seem
eager to leave.  He was watching a baseball game on a television hanging
above the end of the row of booths they were sitting in.

After a minute
he looked at her.  “Do you like baseball?”

She glanced at
the set and shrugged her shoulders.  “I like football better,” she
admitted.

“I’ve always
been a Mariners fan, but since I’m in the south now, I probably won’t see much
of them.”  He said, his attention clearly on the game on the big screen
television.

“My father was
a Braves fan.  Once or twice a year he would take my mom to Atlanta to see
them at their home stadium.  I have occasionally watched a game with them,
but football has more action.”

She could feel
his arm against her shoulder and his leg against hers.  She was wondering
if he had any intention of leaving any time soon.

“That’s why
more people like watching rodeos or gymkhanas as compared to equitation
classes.  Most people don’t understand the fine points of pitchin’ or the
gamesmanship involved in baseball or horsemanship.”

Together they
watched the final two innings of the game.  Wolf pointed out some of what
he had mentioned and Jordan began to see why her father had enjoyed the
game.  When the game ended, she was happy to see that the Braves had won,
if only by one run.

Finally she
bumped his arm.  “Are you ready to go?”

He looked down
at her.  “I’m enjoying this.  How about you?”

“Frankly, I
would have enjoyed it more at home.  I should have worn jeans.  The
backs of my legs have grown to this seat.”  She replied firmly.

He sighed and
slipped out of the booth.  He stood politely, waiting as she worked her
way across the booth toward the edge and was able to stand up, unfortunately
facing him.  He smiled as she stood, her body almost brushing against
him.  He slid one hand around behind her to steady her and in doing so,
caused her to step closer so a couple of running children could dash past
behind her.  She was nearly leaning on him.

She put her
hands up and pressed against his chest, then stepping back, but feeling the
solid muscles burning against her hands before she removed them.  She
turned and they walked to the exit door, Wolf’s hand on her shoulders, his body
so close behind her she could feel him.

At the door,
he reached around her and pushed the door open, allowing her to exit ahead of
him.  She thanked him, softly and headed to the passenger door of her
truck.  As she reached it, Wolf reached around her and opened it, politely
standing while she slipped up, into the seat, before he pushed the door closed
and whistling a nonsense tune walked around to the driver’s side.

Returning to
the farm, there was little conversation except when Jordan called Feather on
her cell phone.  The two women talked for a few minutes, then Jordan
passed the phone to Wolf at his sister’s request.

As he talked,
Jordan could tell his conversation was guarded and felt sure it was due to her
presence in the cab of the truck.  He was always so relaxed with his
sister, she was sure it couldn’t be anything else.

In reality,
Bhrandii’s behavior and some innate feeling inside told him things were moving
toward a finish and he didn’t want Feather to worry about him or Jordan.

Dark was
falling as they turned off the highway into her driveway and before they passed
the barn she asked him to stop there, so she could make one last check on the
horses.

Mischief
glittered in his blue eyes as he stopped the truck.  “Don’t you trust your
watchdog?”

She
shrugged.  “Yes, it’s just that I’ll rest better if I look at them and
know they’re settled down for the night.”

He joined her
as she strolled through the barn without turning on the lights and disturbing
the animals.

Satisfied that
all was quiet, they returned to the truck and Wolf drove the short distance to
the yard gate.  Bhrandii met them there, his thin tail making circles of
greeting.  He was so glad to see them, he couldn’t restrain himself and
jumped in the air, making sure he didn’t hit them in his exuberance.

Jordan allowed
her dog to calm down, and then reassured him that she was glad to see him, too.

Wolf smiled as
he felt the joy in the dog’s heart while she showered him with her love and
attention.  He knew she was right about depending on the dog to protect
her.  There was no doubt that the animal would gladly sacrifice his life
to keep her safe.

The night was
uneventful.  Jordan found she didn’t feel even a little strange about Wolf
being in the house with her anymore and felt more comfortable knowing he was
nearby.  Together they watched a little television and were surprised to
find that they enjoyed the same kinds of programming.

Finally Jordan
stood.  Looking at Wolf on the couch, she smiled.  “I’m going to go
to bed.  Please make yourself at home and if there is something you need
that you don’t find, let me know.”

He
nodded.  “I appreciate your hospitality.  I’m sure I’ll be
fine.  When you start to get in bed, please remember to open the door
again.  I will hear any unusual sounds easier that way.”

She nodded,
understanding his request was due to a sincere desire to protect her.  She
felt his eyes follow her movement as she left the room.

A little
later, snuggled down in her bed, her mind drifting on the edges of sleep, she
smiled, feeling safer than she had since learning of Lambert’s escape. 
She never knew when he slipped out of the house and made a last, careful patrol
around the premises.

In the
darkness, Wolf blended into the night.  He knew from the way Bhrandii had
stuck so close to Jordan that the dog either sensed, or smelled something that
made him wary.  He had pulled on a dark shirt and had slipped out into the
night by way of the shaded back porch, opposite the house from the barn and the
security lights that illuminated that area around the front of the house. 
He also realized that anyone watching the house would be watching from the
woods closest to the back porch.  Having exited the house at a crawl, he
lowered his body until he was on his belly, his movements were slow as he
slipped along the floor of the porch and almost like water, allowed his body to
move with unnoticeable stealth from the porch onto the ground.  There, he
lay in the quiet shadows, listening and watching.  Only when he was
assured that everything was as it should be, did he dodge from shadow to shadow
at a hunkering run until he reached the edge of the woods.  He found a
comfortable place up in a tree and waited.  With his still quietness, the
insects and creatures that had been disturbed by his movements resumed their
normal activity.  He smiled, knowing he was now a part of their world.

It was almost
two hours before his brain registered the sudden silence of the insects in the
woods between him and the highway.  A feeling of unrest settled over
him.  An owl in a tree down near the highway was watching an
intruder.  He felt the bird’s curiosity at seeing a strange being in the
woods at this hour.  Curiosity, but not alarm.  The intruder had not
noticed the bird.  Whatever the intruder was, it wasn’t adept at moving
through the woods at night, or it would be more aware of its
surroundings.  Only his eyes shifted in that direction, watching for any
subtle movement.

Soon he saw
just the slightest shifting of a dark figure.  After a minute the outline
moved again.  Gradually, Wolf’s eyes made out the figure of a man. 
His senses alerted to the highest level.

Suddenly he
heard a noise that took him by surprise.  The soft feminine giggle
surprised him.  Then a male voice whispered in the darkness as she moved
out from behind him.

“Shhh,
Missy!  Ms. Lanier has a dog that’s really bad.  Don’t wake him up!” 
The masculine figure whispered coarsely.

“I just can’t
imagine us sneaking in here like this to spy on her.  My mama would have a
fit if she knew.”  The girl’s voice was bordering on giggling again.

The boy turned
and chuckled softly.  “My daddy said that man made it clear that Jordan
Lanier was private property.  I just want to see if he’s really staying in
that Indian tepee down near the barn, or if he’s living with her.”

Missy pulled
on the young man’s hand.  “So what if they are living together?  What
do we care what people that old are doing?”

The two youngsters
were almost beneath the tree that concealed Wolf.  He smiled.  They
were just a pair of young lovers, bordering on being in trouble.  He
decided to put an end to their adventure.  Turning his head away from them
in order to sound further away, he voiced a deep threatening growl.

The pair
froze.  “What was that?”  Missy’s voice was barely audible.

“Shhh,” the
boy shushed her quickly.

“What was
it?”  She insisted.

“How do I
know?”  He turned in the direction from which they’d come and tugged on
her hand.  “Come on.”

She followed
hurriedly.  “What was it, Tommy?”

“I don’t
know!  I already told you that.”  His voice was sharp with fear.

“I thought you
were a hunter!”  Missy sounded accusatory as her whisper faded with
distance.

In the tree,
Wolf almost chuckled, then released another growl, this one aimed in the
direction of the retreating youngsters.  He drew the growl out and
projected it as loudly as he could, allowing it to end as he stood and roughly
shook the branch he was standing on.  His efforts were rewarded with a
panicked squeal from Missy and then they were both crashing through the brush
that separated them from the car on the side of the road.

Wolf dropped
out of the tree and he walked back to the house.  No use watching from the
woods anymore tonight.  Everything out there had been disturbed enough for
now.

When he
entered the back door, Bhrandii was standing there waiting on him.  No
doubt the dog had heard the commotion from the woods, but Wolf’s lack of
concern had settled the dog and he hadn’t awakened Jordan.  Wolf was glad
of that.  He wasn’t sure she would have approved of his scaring the kids
like that, but he had just not been able to resist.

Silently, he
sent the dog back to bed and went into the spare room intending to get some
sleep himself.

But he
discovered he was restless and didn’t understand why.  Bhrandii  sat
silently beside Jordan’s bed.  He’d stay there, but he was still filled
with anxiety.  Wolf lay in the bed in the spare room, trying to figure out
why sleep refused him the rest he knew he needed.  He could hear
occasional barely audible whines from the dog in Jordan’s room.  Without
realizing it at first, he suddenly realized his restlessness was coming from Tempest,
down in the barn.  It was then he arose and in the darkened house, went to
stand away from, but in front of the large living room window that faced the
barn.  He stood still for some minutes before he saw a shadow in front of
the barn moving furtively back into the shadows.  The movement was slight,
but he was sure he saw it.

He retreated
into Jordan’s room and shook her shoulder gently.  “Jordan,” he whispered
her name.

Instantly she
was awake.  She sat up.  “What?”

“Take
Bhrandii, your pistol and the cell phone and lock yourself in the bathroom of
the spare bedroom.  Leave the light off.  There’s somethin’ movin’
around in the barn and I want to make sure you’re awake and safe while I go
check it out.  If you hear anything unusual, or if I’m not back in half an
hour, call the sheriff’s emergency number.”  He was giving instructions as
she rose from the bed and pulled open the night stand to get her pistol.

As she grabbed
the cell phone he backed away and started to leave the room.

She grabbed
his arm before she knew what she was doing.  He turned to face her and was
much closer than she had realized.  “I want to go with you.  Bhrandii
can help.”

He grasped
both her shoulders with his hands and held her firmly.  “No!  I want
you to do what I asked you to do!  I want you safe.”  He resisted the
urge to hug her against him.  She would never know what a temptation she
was, standing there in her boxers and oversized tee shirt in the semi dark
room.  He pushed her back gently.  “I need to be able to concentrate
on all my senses, and if you don’t know it, that’s really hard for me to do
with you around.”

Looking up at
him as close as he was, her breath caught in her throat at the desire she saw
reflected in his indigo eyes.

“I am
depending on you to do what I asked.”  His voice was a coarse whisper and
he snatched up her robe lying across the foot of the bed and pushed it at
her.  “Put this on.”

She
nodded.  “Be careful, Wolf.”

He smiled at
her.  “I am.”

She watched
him disappear down the hall and knew he was exiting the house from the back
door.  Then she called Bhrandii softly and followed the instructions she
had been given.  She locked the guest bathroom door and settled down to
wait, her pistol cradled in her grip.

Bhrandii paced
the small room restlessly.  He was getting feelings from Wolf and wanted
to be in two places at one time.  Jordan wanted him with her and that was
fine, but he sensed danger down in the barn and wanted to be there to help Wolf
at the same time.  He paused beside Jordan and looked at her, his tail
wagging.  He was where she wanted him.