Why a Wolf Cries, Julie Steimle [ebook reader macos TXT] 📗

drawing their attention. Both stared peevishly.

“Where is the wolf?” He insisted.

Shooting him a dirty look, Audry sighed. “I left him with a ranger back at the canyon village.”

“But they said they don’t take in—”

“I know,” she cut him off sharply. “I found one ranger who would. The wolf is in a cage in one of the back cabins. He’s got clean bandages and water—hopefully. I don’t think the ranger will mess with him. My problem is I can’t find a vet out here who will help me treat a wolf.”

“I know one,” Mr. Deacon said, thinking of what he had to do. It would take all day just to get back to the canyon village. It would be night by then.

But Audry’s expression cleared and she drew in a hopeful breath, gazing up to him with relief. “Great! Give me the number!”

“I’ll make the call,” he said.

But she shook her head, glaring at him. “And then what? What is the deal with you and that wolf? You know it is illegal to keep a pet wolf.”

He nodded, not in the slightest bit ruffled. He was breathing easier as he thought more over what he had to do. “I know better than you do. I’ve worked in wolf conservancy since I was young.”

She took a step back, intuitively moving like a person who realized she was standing up to a gray wolf—a large and world-weary one. And yet, he was not a threat to her—however dangerous. He could see her react, the gears working in her mind.

It was odd, Audry thought. Rick also gave off that sort of wolfish aura—though he seemed more wild. “Look, I already called a friend who is a veterinarian and left a voice mail. You might know him—rather, he’s a friend of your son’s.” Audry blushed, especially as Mr. Deacon’s peculiar amber eyes fixed on her with a wolfish angle to his head, inspecting her.

“Which friend? How do you know my son?”

Audry colored, blinking. “Uh, Randon Spade? And, uh, I’ve known your son since… oh, Paris, I guess.”

“Paris?” His eyes widened, genuinely shocked. “When did you meet my son in Paris?”

Skyler bit his lip, stepping back while blushing, watching them with a smirk-filled glee.

Her face felt hotter, but honestly there was no reason why she could not meet someone in Paris. And rather defensively, she replied, “I was on a French club trip. We bumped into him at the Eiffel Tower.”

“When was he at the Eiffel tower?” For some reason that shocked him even more.

“I don’t know.” Audry threw up her hands. “He was with a woman, and has running away from someone. He snuck into our class group to get away. The point is, I’ve been bumping into your son over the years since then. Twice at an eco-green conference. Once on your own land at a ski lodge—with his permission by the way—for my Master’s degree. And the last time I saw him was right after he returned from Germany when he was getting back with his ex-girlfriend Daisy.”

Mr. Deacon paled. “He got back with Daisy MacTire?”

Feeling the color drain from her, Audry put a hand over her mouth. “Oh. Uh… You didn’t know that?”

He shook his head slowly, his wolfish thoughts shifting. “He didn’t say a word about it.”

She sighed, leaning away. It really was none of her business.

“How did you know about Daisy MacTire?” he asked, wondering what else his son had not told him about.

Shrugging, Audry replied, “Oh… she stopped by my booth at my last eco-green conference, a couple years back. I was selling these shirts at the time.” Audry gestured to the one her nephew was wearing. “You know, fundraising for school, so I would graduate without an exorbitant debt.”

He nodded, murmuring, “Very wise.”

“His friends all bought one just to tease him,” Audry muttered, feeling awkward now, especially after that compliment She had met Rick’s mother. And now she was meeting his father.

Mr. Deacon looked to her again. “They what?”

“Uh…” Somehow she felt she had revealed too much.

“Never mind.” He shook his head. “So, is that how you know Randon?”

Audry shrugged, then shook her head. “I barely met him then. Actually, my old roommate, Silvia Lewis, married Randon Spade.”

“WHAT?” Mr. Deacon pulled back, completely shocked now. “Randon Spade married Silvia Lewis—the daughter of David Smith and Saundra Hawke?”

Staring, Audry blinked. Silvia did say her mother was named Saundra, but she had never mentioned her maiden name. “Uh… I met her half-brother Daniel—”

He went pale. “You met Daniel Smith?”

Audry nodded. “Well… sure. He came around a lot. He was trying to help his sister leave the coven.”

“Leave the coven?” Mr. Deacon jerked back as if Audry were holding up a silver cross to ward him off. “You know about the coven in Middleton Village?”

He watched her moan, walk across the hall to the wall where she wearily hit her head against it. He rushed up to prevent her. “I’m sorry. Uh. You surprised me with that.”

Meeting his gaze dryly, she asked, “You don’t talk much about the witches of your town, do you?”

Her nephew’s eyes widened and he inched near her to stare up at the older gentleman. Giving the young man a nod, Mr. Deacon said, “I have a strict policy not to talk about such things with the general public, no.” He paused. “Uh, how did you get involved with the likes of Silvia Lewis? And why didn’t his friends stop them from getting married? I’ve never heard of it, even from her father.”

Audry blinked up at him, confused.

“Her father works for me.”

“Oh.”

“They used to date the same guy,” Skyler volunteered, tucking away his video game. Apparently this was more interesting. “That’s how she knows the witch.”

Audry shot him a dirty look. “That is the last time I’m telling you stories that aren’t about animals.”

“The witch story wasn’t that scary anyway,” Skyler said with a face. “I mean the cops were there afterward, and you shot that freaky one with your gun anyway. And aren’t they in jail now?”

“Awaiting trial,” Audry muttered with an eye roll. “For all I know…”

She then looked back to Mr. Deacon who stood there as if he had been knocked by a right hook. She chuckled awkwardly then smiled. “Uh… anyway. Yeah, back at NYU, Silvia and I shared an ex-boyfriend… who stalked me. Long story. The point is, Rick and I, um, share friends and acquaintances in general, pretty much connected to that whole thing with my ex. Um… Is he up here hiking with you?”

“Yes,” Mr. Deacon said in an instant. And his eyes came into focus. “Now back to the wolf. You left him with a ranger who conspired to keep him in a cage for you back at the canyon village, you said. What was his name?”

Audry nodded, digging into her wallet for the note the ranger gave her. She read his name off of it. “Ranger Jason Douglass. If you can bring a vet to him that would be great. But I planned to go back and check in on him tomorrow if I can anyway. I was hoping to get Randon, but my only contact with him is Silvia, and I have a feeling she probably got a new phone number. You know, to avoid her coven.”

Deeply nodding, Mr. Deacon murmured, “If she is really trying to leave the coven, it would make sense. They would use it to hunt her down if they knew her number.”

Lifting her eyes to his, Audry stiffened. “So… she would do that?”

“I can get hold of Mr. Spade,” Mr. Deacon replied, nodding. “It’s actually a good choice. I have a vet here, but… I think notifying Randon would be good as well.” He then lifted his eyes more directly to her. “How is your niece?”

Audry colored, then glanced back to the room where Doug, Jean, and her parents were. “She’s ok. The cougar only got her arm. Nothing vital was cut. She’s been stitched up professionally, but we will be getting some plastic surgery for the major scars. The doctor suggests that we keep her here for the work. Transporting her back home would just be…” She shook her head, lifted her eyes to him realizing he wanted the absolute truth and not something pleasing to hear. So, speaking more honestly, she said, “A huge layer of skin had been torn off. But the wolf truly saved her life. No big arteries were severed. Maris is lucky to be alive.”

Mr. Deacon paled, peeking to the room again.

He lowered his eyes. He spoke in a low voice. “I will pay for her medical expenses—all of them.”

“Wha…?”

Skyler rushed up, wet eyes wide. “Really?”

“I’ll arrange it with the doctors,” he said, nodding to her and him.

“But—” Audry shook her head, confused. “Why?”

He could tell she bristled at the idea of owing him. Yet he said, “Because you rescued the wolf. I owe you.”

Blinking, he could see her work it out in her mind. Not just the math of the finances, but of the deal she was making. When she nodded, leaning in, she whispered, “Pay when my parents aren’t looking. Despite what they say, they are a little proud, and they don’t like taking handouts.”

“It’s not a handout,” Mr. Deacon replied without any smugness or self-righteousness. “It’s an expression of my gratitude. You have no idea what that wolf means to me.”

She peeked at him sideways, her nephew standing back, watching them. “He’s special, isn’t he? I’ve never seen a wolf like him before. Tom Brown once told me that the wolf follows Rick.”

“Oh my heavens…” Mr. Deacon put a hand to his forehead and shook it hard as if he’d just been slapped. “You know Tom Brown?”

Audry nodded, shrugging sheepishly. “He fixed my car once.”

He just stared. Then he shook his head again, turning to head back to the lobby, but not yet. “Am I going to regret asking which friends of my son you know?”

She colored, shrugging deeper. “Maybe? I was going to be a bridesmaid at his best friend’s wedding. I missed it because I was in Africa doing research. But I was there when Jessica had her daughter, Ivy.”

The man stared more, jaw hanging. “Holy… You really got in deep, didn’t you?”

Audry met his gaze, nodding with understanding. A mutual thought passed between them. Yes, Audry had seen a lot of weird things when among Rick’s friends. And she tagged on with a whisper, “It’s kind of why I left New York. I got weirded out.”

A painful smile rested on the man’s face. He nodded. He looked a lot like Rick then. In fact, Audry realized, Rick was almost a negative copy of his father—the size and shape the same, their coloring different. But then, Audry remembered that Rick took after his mother in hair color and eyes. Her other two children were the same as her also.

Waving to her, Mr. Deacon then checked his watch as he turned away to actually leave. He drew in a breath. “I have to go. It’s later than I thought.” He lifted his eyes to Audry. “I’ll call Randon for you and get that other vet as well. If you wish to go back and look after the wolf, please do. I don’t think those rangers were honest with me when I was there. I might have trouble when I go back. You might actually get more headway.” He checked his watch again. “I really have to go.”

She watched him rush off, looking almost like a hunted wolf—just like Rick always did.

Walking back into the room, Audry looked to Maris, who was sleeping with a sigh.

“Who was that you were talking to?” her mother asked.

It took only a moment to contemplate keep it a secret, but Audry decided to fess up. “That was Mr. Deacon, uh, Howard Richard Deacon the Second. He was looking for the wolf.”

“No way,” Doug said, eyes wide.

“I told you it was my wolf,” she said, and lifted her chin smugly. Then she sighed, adding, “He’s going back to