“I won’t, I promise,” Isabel said. Right now, she never wanted to see the forest again. “And I found out about the signal the hard way. I tried calling you at the station, and the signal lasted just long enough for me to hear that you weren’t around before it went dead.”
“You asked for me?” he said, sounding pleased.
“Well, I couldn’t think of anyone better to rescue me from the woods!” She was flirting. Her voice was practically dripping with it, but she didn’t care. Jed was cute, really cute, actually, and she was so full of gratitude towards him, it was all she could do to stop herself from jumping into his lap and planting kisses all over his face.
“Right around this corner, and we’ll be back onto the road,” he said. Isabel came to a halt as the track joined with the tarmac.
“Oh, hey, this isn’t Black Peak City!”
“And you only just noticed? My, you are a flake,” he chided. “I directed you to the other end, as I assumed you were headed back to Silver.”
“Oh, I was. I just hadn’t thought we’d gone that far. And I guess I was pretty disoriented.”
“That’s understandable,” he said, more softly. “You must’ve had quite a shock being lost out there.”
“It was really scary. And I saw a wolf,” she said. This was the first she’d thought about it since Jed had appeared.
“You did?” Jed said with a grin. “What did it look like?”
“It was big. Light brown, I think, and it had yellow eyes. I was scared it would attack me when I was outside the car.” She shuddered. There was a flicker of something in his eyes that she didn’t understand, but which seemed fleetingly familiar.
“It wouldn’t have hurt you, you know.”
“I do know that really. My thoughts were just running away with me at that point.”
“You poor thing,” he said, with feeling.
“It’s ok; I’m a big girl,” she said.
“I’m glad to hear it.” He turned to her with his easy grin. “And when you’ve recovered, how about we go for that drink?” The scent of his woodsmoky aftershave reached her nostrils, along with a hint of washing powder. Thoughts of Peter and Josie pinballed around her mind and she didn’t hesitate.
“Since you’ve rescued me twice now, I definitely owe you a few beers!” He pulled out his phone and they swapped numbers.
“This is really embarrassing, but you never told me your name?”
“Isabel, but my friends call me Bella,” she said.
“Ok, Bella, I’ll need to check my schedule at the station, but let’s meet next week? I’ll call you?”
“Great!” she replied. He opened the door and Isabel watched as he maneuvered himself out of the small car. His muscles were taut beneath his clothes, and he had a slim, athletic build. He leaned back in through the door, his dark-blond hair falling into his eyes.
“Thank you again!” Isabel said.
“My pleasure,” he replied. “See you soon.” He closed the door and waved her off. Isabel turned right onto the Black Peak road. When she glanced in her rearview mirror, he was already out of sight.
Chapter Two
24 hours later, Isabel was watching the arrivals board at Albuquerque airport. Kara’s flight was delayed by 15 frustrating minutes. She fidgeted, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, fizzing with excitement.
At last, Kara was there, striding ahead of the crowd shuffling through the exit, her face illuminated by a huge grin. She flung her arms open and enveloped Isabel in a hug.
“Hey, little one!” she yelled.
“Hey yourself!” Isabel said, smiling up into her best friend’s face. Kara squeezed her tight and the tension in Isabel’s body began to unwind itself. As Kara relinquished her hold, she clung on, suddenly feeling like she needed to be hugged for hours.
“Hey, what is it?” Kara’s tone softened. Isabel pressed her face into Kara’s shoulder to keep herself from bursting into tears. Kara pulled her away and stared into her face.
“You’ve been having a bad time, haven’t you?”
“Oh, it’s nothing – I’ll tell you on the journey,” she said, rubbing her forehead. “Are you moving in with me?” She indicated the giant suitcase that Kara was dragging along behind her.
“Ah, I just wanted to be prepared for anything while I’m down here,” she said, and flicked a strand of her long blond hair behind her shoulder.
“This isn’t another planet, you know? It’s just a couple of states away!”
“Ahh… I guess that’s why they looked at me funny when I asked if I could have a stamp in my passport!”
“You’re such a doofus. Come on!” Isabel led her over to her car.
*
“Let me get this right: you meet this Josie, and she acts all friendly with you. Then you go out for lunch and she suddenly turns weird, for no reason you can figure out. And then you see her sitting outside this guy’s place?”
“That’s about the size of it,” Isabel replied.
“Like – what the fuck? This is beyond weird!”
“Uh huh.” They were on Route 25, driving south through the small town of Belen.
“Wow. There’s not much out here, is there?” Kara said, staring out of the window at the stretches of scrub on either side of the highway, and the vast, cornflower-blue sky. Far in the distance was a low mountain range, the bare rocks brutally flat on top.
“And isn’t that great?” Isabel replied, grinning at her.
“Yeah, I guess so. So are these badlands, like you get in cowboy films?”
“Maybe. I’m not too sure. Those flat rocks are called mesas anyway. I only just found that out.”
“Nice.” A bird of prey swept across the highway, talons outstretched, aiming for a point at the edge of the road. “It’s got a stark kind of beauty, actually.” Kara slipped her feet out of her shoes and put them up on the dash. Isabel’s brow crinkled, but she didn’t say anything.
“What’s this Josie like?” Kara asked.
“She’s nice – she’s engaged in what you’re saying, curious. She’s also – I don’t know – kind of flirtatious? Like, it’s nothing personal; she’s just that way with everyone.”
“Yeah. It doesn’t have to be a sexual thing, does it?”
“True. But you can tell she’s at it pretty often!”
“Really?” Kara raised an eyebrow in her direction.
“Oh, it’s just a feeling I get. She’s one of those people who always seem to have got dressed in a rush, and their clothes are practically hanging off them. And she loves talking about sex.”
“Sounds like you might have a bit of a lady crush on her!”
“Noo!” Isabel swatted Kara’s shoulder. “I was all by myself, and she was someone I could talk to about dating Peter – or so I thought.”
“Well, let’s assume for now that her acting strange in the diner was nothing. Like maybe she realized she had her monthlies and she had to make a swift exit.”
“And Rob noticing that she seemed upset?” Kara shrugged.
“I dunno. Maybe it put her in a foul mood. Anyway – so she must know Peter pretty well to be in his garden.”
“Yeah.”
“They’re definitely not related?”
“No. She’s from Cleveland, and he’s from Romania.”
“Wow. You didn’t tell me that! He’s come from the land of Dracula to suck your blood!”
“Stop it!”
“You’d better watch he doesn’t go sinking his teeth into your neck!”
“Well.”
“Ha! He does?”
“Yeah, often actually. But always on the back of my neck.”
“Quirky. Do you like it?”
“Maybe,” Isabel replied, blushing.
“You don’t need to be embarrassed. I love a bit of the rough stuff myself. Ok, so back on topic. How could he and Josie know each other? Where’s the commonality?” Isabel smirked at Kara, loving it when she switched into analyt
ical mode.
“They could’ve got acquainted in Silver City, I guess.”
“Does Peter spend much time there?”
“I don’t know. I don’t really know anything about what he does when we’re not together.”
“So, they could be drinking buddies.” Isabel tried out the image in her head – Peter and Josie sitting on bar stools, each with a bourbon on the rocks; Josie draping an ankle over her other knee; Peter leaning towards her, laughing at her joke. It fits, she thought, and at the same time, a needle of jealousy stabbed her in the heart. “Perhaps.” Isabel shook her head, frowning.
“What?”
“No, nothing. I’m being silly.”
“Tell me?”
“I’m getting all jealous at the thought that something might be going on between them, but Josie’s with Rob, and they’re obviously in love. It’s ridiculous.”
“Exactly. So what else?”
“They could have a connection through the wilderness. Josie goes to visit Rob at the conservation center sometimes, and Peter spends plenty of his time in there.”
“Oh, yeah, I forgot; he’s some kind of wild man, with a whole campsite set up?”
“It’s kind of cool, actually.”
“And I never thought I’d hear you say that!” Kara exclaimed, her voice rising just below a shout. “All these years I’ve been trying to get you to come camping or hiking with me, and you’ve been like, I’m just not an outdoorsy person!” she slapped Isabel’s thigh, hard enough to make her jump.
“Hey! Let’s just say Peter offered a bigger incentive than you ever did!” Kara cackled.
“Fair enough. You’re also the last person I expected to be having sex outdoors. So, how is it?”
“It’s amazing,” Isabel replied. “I almost wish it wasn’t though, because then I wouldn’t have got myself involved in this weird situation.”
“It’s always the hottest ones that give you the most trouble. It’s probably because their general hotness means they don’t need to make an effort, and the sex is so great that you don’t notice that their personalities suck!”
“I don’t know. Peter’s not really like that. It’s not like he’s arrogant, or doesn’t care how he treats me or anything.” Isabel paused, thinking. “He’s just really unusual and communicates in different ways from the average person. He always takes care of me when we’re together. And I feel like that’s just the way he is. And we haven’t been in close contact, but I still feel that him disappearing like this is out of character.”
“Hmmm. So maybe he knows Josie through the forest, or maybe they’re drinking buddies. We’ve got no way of knowing right now. God only knows what she was doing at his place, but at least that’s assuaged your worries that he’s lying in a heap in his house, too sick to crawl to his phone.”
“True.”
“How about this: let’s forget about him tonight, and go out and have fun! This is the first time – maybe ever, actually – that my best friend and I have both been single at the same time!”
“Absolutely! And I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be a downer. I didn’t even mean to bring up Peter when you’d only just arrived.”
“You’re not being a downer, babe, not at all.” Isabel glanced at Kara with gratitude. “You’ve got to talk about stuff. I just want to make sure that the man of the woods doesn’t ruin our crazy weekend!”
“Cheers to that! God, I can’t wait for a beer!”
“That’s my girl!” Kara said and gave her shoulder a shake.
*
A retro-lounge pop singer’s dusky voice was playing loud from the speaker dock in Isabel’s bedroom, and the two friends had a closet mirror each.
“How the hell do you do that eyeliner thing?” Kara groaned, scrubbing at her eyelids with a cotton ball.
“Years of practice and infinite patience,” Isabel replied cheerfully. Her eyeliner flicks were done and she was applying a sparkly blue powder shadow underneath her lower lash line, which made her eyes look greener than ever. “If you hold on a second, I’ll do them for you.”
“Thanks, babe. So, beers in a dive bar first, and then?” Isabel laughed.
“Silver City doesn’t exactly have dive bars. There’s a shabby old bar with saloon doors though – I hope that’ll be a good enough substitute?” She paused and put a light dusting of blush on her cheeks. “And after that, I’ve got a surprise for you!”
“Great! Kara said, her expression impish, expecting it to be something silly. Isabel put on black skinny jeans and an olive green tank top, cut in a low V at the front, and teamed them with black, kitten-heeled pumps. Kara put on a Boho floral dress and battered cowboy boots.
“Looking good, girlfriend,” Isabel drawled, grinning at her.
“I brought the boots especially,” Kara replied, doing a high kick that almost smashed into the mirror. “Ready for a night of line dancing… yee ha!”
“You’re such a dork,” Isabel said, shaking her head.
It was twilight when they hit Silver City’s main street. White globe lanterns illuminated the sidewalk and the colorful shopfronts, and lights were beginning to twinkle from houses in the hills nearby.
“This is really charming,” Kara said, with none of her usual snarkiness. They had dinner at a delicious Tex-Mex place, lit by candles stuck in wine bottles, before moving on to the bar that Isabel had been drinking at days before.
“Hey, Bella!” the bartender called as soon as they walked in. Isabel walked over the bar.
“Wow, if you know my name, I must’ve been drunker than I’d thought!” she said.
“No, not so much.” He winked. “I just like to get to know my new customers. Anyway, pleased to meet you, I’m Dan.” He extended his hand for a jokey handshake.
“And this is Kara.” Kara shook his hand and said a flirty hi. Isabel smirked. It was fast work, even by her standards. They ordered beers, and three shots of Tuaca also appeared on the bar top, courtesy of Dan. They toasted to new friends, and knocked them back.
“Hey, the pool table’s free. Ready for me to whup your ass?” Kara called, already walking over to it.
As soon as they started to play, men wanted to join them, and, before long, they were playing doubles with Tyler and David, and then Jim and Andrew. Isabel was better than most people expected her to be from her size and femininity, while Kara was a real pool shark, and together they embarrassed a couple of the guys. Another round of shots arrived, and a couple of beer chasers, and then it was time to move on.
“Where we going?” Kara demanded, her eyes bright from winning the last game with Jim and Andrew, as well as the Tuaca shot she’d just drunk. Isabel grinned at her, pool cue still in hand.
“When you mentioned line dancing earlier, you weren’t so far off the mark!” she yelled, above the lite rock pounding from the speakers.
“Yeah? Awesome!” Kara yelled back. Isabel stared at her in confusion.
“That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting!”
“Hey, I’m ready for anything now, baby!” Kara’s happy grin was plastered across her face, where it was likely to stay for the rest of the night.
“Come on, let’s go then!” Isabel yelled, eager to pull Kara out of the bar before she thought about doing any more high kicks. They said their goodbyes to the disappointed-looking men and headed towards the exit. As they passed the bar, Kara broke free and hurtled over to Dan, pulling her phone out of her pocket at the same time. Isabel watched the exchange of numbers, impressed as always by her confidence.
“How are you even going to meet him?” she asked when Kara returned, hooking her arm around Isabel’s elbow.
“I dunno, babe,” she said. “But I couldn’t let a cute one like that get away without my number!”
“You’re amazing,” Isabel said with affection.
They walked to the end of the main street.
“The dance hall should be right about here,” Isabel said, casting her eyes around.
; “Here!” Kara said, too emphatically, pointing out a building on the opposite side of the street. It was an old brick structure, in the highly-decorative Victorian style that was popular in the town. A colorful banner advertised ‘Silver City Hoedown’. “Is this for real?”
“I’m hoping there’s at least a dash of irony in there!” Isabel replied. They paid five dollars each and went in. It was a barn-like space, with wooden rafters and off-white walls. There was a stage, hung with glitzy silver curtains, and the floor was covered in straw.
“Hey, this reminds me of school dances!” Kara said. “I hope they’re not just serving cola and kool aid though!”
“Nope. Over here!” Isabel said, spotting the drinks area. She took Kara’s hand and dragged her over to it. They ordered beers from a cheerful woman serving at a long, low table covered with a blue checkered cloth. In one corner of the room was a group of 40-somethings in full cowboy regalia, practicing a square dancing-routine. At the other side of the room was a mixed group of teenagers and twenty and thirty-somethings. Dolly Parton was on the sound system, lamenting office hours, and couples were spinning each other across the floor, in a semi-ironic way, but their faces were glowing with happiness.
They walked over to the stage and Kara pulled herself up onto it and crossed her bare legs.
“This is really neat,” she said. “I haven’t felt so wholesome since, like, I was at my junior prom!”
“Was that before or after you sneaked your dad’s hip flask in, tipped the entire thing into your cola and hurled all over the guy you had the hots for?” Isabel said, laughing.
“Uh, yeah, I think that was what you might call the turning point!” Isabel leaned back against the stage, her expression wistful.
“I’m kind of wishing we’d got into the spirit of things and brought cowboy hats,” she said.
“Doesn’t seem so silly now, does it?” Kara replied, kicking her leg out to display her cowboy boots.
“And I could’ve worn my cute red checkered shirt, tied up in the middle.”
“Ok. After these, we’re going to go over there and get our freak on, and we won’t give a crap what we’re wearing!” Kara clinked her beer bottle against Isabel’s.
Isabel and the Wolf: (Part 3) Page 2