Breaking Free: A Colorado High Country Crossover Novel, Pamela Clare [i can read book club .TXT] 📗

sat across from her. “Hey, don’t apologize. It was a scary situation. I think most people would be a little freaked out to discover that a criminal with a wolf had crept up on them, and most people don’t have your history.”

She didn’t look convinced.

Jason tried to shift the conversation. “What was it like raising a wolf pup?”

“I had to be available around the clock. I lost a lot of sleep, but he was so adorable that I didn’t mind.” She pulled out her phone. “I have photos and video.”

“Show me.”

She handed the phone to him. “Just scroll.”

Winona feeding a tiny gray fluffball from a small bottle. A short video of the tiny gray fluffball, eyes now open, doing its best to howl like one of the big boys. The pup now several months old and asleep on Winona’s lap. Winona outdoors with her arm around an enormous, fully grown wolf’s neck, its yellow eyes looking into the camera.

“Whoa. He grew up to be huge.” Jason could see how much she loved the animal in every image. “You had shorter hair then.”

She ran her fingers through her long, damp strands. “I cut it after my grandmother made the journey. It’s one of the ways we mourn.”

“Right.” He handed the phone back, heard the sound of approaching truck engines. “I think they’re here.”

They grabbed their bags and were at the door when Jack and Nate knocked.

Jack wasn’t happy. “I’m awfully sorry about this. We’ll get you back to the house so you can enjoy the rest of the evening. I’ve asked my men to stay close to the truck, so they don’t step on sign.”

Jason was glad to hear it. “Thanks. Got a flashlight?”

“In the glove box of my truck.”

Jason got Winona safely into the cab of Jack’s truck, but he didn’t climb in after her. He grabbed the flashlight. “I’m going to have a quick look around.”

Nate climbed out of his truck, rifle in hand. “I’m coming with you. Someone has to watch your six.”

Shining the flashlight onto the snow, Jason walked to the rear of the cabin and then toward the line of the forest in the direction of the wolf’s howls. He hadn’t taken more than a few steps into the trees when he found the tracks—those of a wolf and a man’s boots, size ten or eleven, with deep tread that had a circle in the heel.

Jason swore under his breath. “The bastard was here—tonight. It scared the hell out of Winona.”

“I bet it did.”

Jason turned, looked back toward the deck. Whoever this asshole was, he’d had a clear view of the hot tub and anyone in it. He’d probably watched them kissing. Worse, he’d also had a clear shot. “We need to get up to the old road tomorrow while the snow is fresh. I want to see what we find if we follow that creek.”

Chapter 12

Fighting a sense of dread, Winona sat in front of the fire with Megan, the two of them sipping hot chocolate and talking about what had happened. Winona left out the intimate parts, of course. The house was quiet, the children asleep, the men and Janet talking in Jack’s office. “Then came this howl. The wolf couldn’t have been more than twenty or thirty feet away from us.”

Megan shivered. “That sends chills down my spine. I would have jumped out of my skin.”

“It’s not the wolf that scares me.”

Megan laughed at that. “You’re braver than I am.”

Winona wanted to cry. “I’m not brave at all. I’m overreacting.”

She was safe now. What was wrong with her that she still felt afraid?

“No, you’re not overreacting at all. That guy doesn’t care that he’s breaking the law. He’s a poacher, an armed trespasser, and he’s got a big wolf with him. That’s pretty disturbing.”

Winona had to smile. “When you put it that way…”

Megan’s eyes were warm with understanding. “This isn’t the first time you’ve felt threatened. Experiences like that—they’re cumulative.”

“You’re right. Thanks.” Winona felt the truth of Megan’s words down to her DNA, as images from today dredged up memories of what that bastard John Charles Ready had done to her.

Megan gave her a rueful smile. “I’ve got experience, unfortunately.”

Winona didn’t know Megan well, but she’d heard that Megan had suffered from heroin addiction and had served time in prison. There were even rumors that she’d killed a man. Whatever her past, she had overcome it and made a good life for herself. She was a mother, a wife, and an attorney.

“How do you get past it?”

“I suppose it’s different for everyone. I had to get help. It took lots of counseling and medication. Nate’s love made the biggest difference. He accepted me as I was, and that gave me room to heal.”

Is that what Winona needed to do—ask for help?

Megan changed the subject. “Nate tells me that you’re a climber and part of the Rocky Mountain Search and Rescue Team.”

“My brother, Chaska, is the climber. I’m not nearly as good as he and the others are. Mostly, I help with rescues that involve animals.”

“You rescue animals?”

She shared rescue stories with Megan until her hot chocolate was gone and Janet and the men reappeared. She could tell from the resolve on Jason’s face that they’d decided on a course of action.

“Morning comes early,” Jack said. “Time to put these old bones to bed. Have the two of you been shown your rooms?”

Winona got to her feet, empty mug in hand. “Yes. They’re beautiful. Thank you.”

“I’m awful sorry about what happened tonight, Winona, but you’re safe under our roof.” Jack’s eyes held no reproach, only concern. “I hope you rest easy tonight.”

“Thank you, Jack.”

Nate helped Megan to her feet. “We’ve got a state-of-the-art security system, not to mention two ex-military men and a federal agent here. And that bunkhouse we passed? It’s full of men, a few of them ex-military, who know how to deal with trouble.”

Winona willed herself to smile. “I’ll remember not to cause any trouble then.”

“I hope you’ll sleep well.”