by Mac Flynn
Was my blossoming boyfriend some sort of wolf nut who didn't want anyone to know about a wild beast in the area? If so, he was doing a poor job of it. The cow on the side of the road told the farmers all they needed to know except where to find the wolf. Maybe Will knew that, too, but I was getting into pure speculation territory with that guess.
Crack.
I froze. That didn't sound like my friendly neighborhood squirrel coming to meet me. It sounded like my not-so-friendly neighborhood bear coming to maul me. I slowly turned toward the source of the noise, a few yards below me, and my eyes fell on nothing. Well, there was the brush and the trees, but other than that there was nothing to catch my suspicion. Seeing nothing didn't give me any comfort. On the contrary, it brought up all kinds of horrible images of cougars laying in wait and the smarter-than-your-average-bear hunkered down prepared to give me the hug of a lifetime.
My heart thumped so loudly in my chest I wondered if it rang across the lake. I took a cautious step forward. Nothing. Another step and a twig snapped beneath my foot. That was the sound of the gun for me and I raced down the hillside to the safety of civilization. I flew from the path and stumbled onto the road. It was midmorning by this time and the lake was alive with the families and friends enjoying themselves. Never had such friendly sounds been so welcome to my ears.
I caught my breath, or rather my breath caught up to me, and I glanced back up the trail. Nothing stirred, not even a mouse. Either I'd imagined the crack, or whatever it was hadn't cared to make my acquaintance. Either way the outcome was to my benefit, and I promised myself that come the Wolf Hunt I would be safe and sound on the road.
Speaking of wolf, I looked to the lake and Will's cabin. It was dark and silent. Maybe they hadn't noticed me barreling out of the brush. I hurried into my own with the promise of a hot shower waiting for me.
Chapter 7
The shower was gleefully taken, and I stepped out in a clean pair of clothes and the nightmare of the crack behind me. There was still the mystery surrounding my neighbor, but as I thought about it I had less to fear from him now than before. He hadn't murdered someone and dropped their body into the lake, he'd just been dumping the body of a mutilated animal into the lake. You know, nothing strange, unusual, or grotesquely, morbidly freaky about that.
Who was I kidding? Not myself. Will's actions screamed weirdo, and I was fast becoming his sole source of attention. It was times like these I wished Will was gay, but that was a reality in a different universe. Mine had the heterosexual version, and he was interested in me. A blind man could see it. I sighed and shook my head. All this thinking during my vacation hurt.
The air of my cabin and the solitude were oppressive, so I slipped onto the back porch and sat down in one of the wicker rockers. My mind buzzed with thoughts of my strange, handsome neighbor and his stranger manservant. I couldn't wrap my mind around why they'd go to all that trouble for a wolf. Cleaning up the woods without a vacuum cleaner and packing the evidence down the hill was bad enough, but they must have done it during the night, too. I couldn't figure out how they'd done such a thorough job with their only light being from a lantern or a flashlight.
"Thinking thoughts too great for Man?" a voice spoke up.
I jumped to my feet and swung around to find Will standing two feet away from me. Will was partially covered by the shadows of the porch roof and I swear his eyes glowed in the faint darkness. He took a step toward me and I stumbled back. My foot caught the leg of the chair and I fell onto my rear on the hard boards.
Will hurried over to me and offered me his hand. "Are you all right?" he asked me.
"I-I'm fine. You just startled me," I replied. I ignored his hand and climbed to my feet. "What brings you here to my humble abode?"
"I would be most pleased if you would accompany me to the picnic," he explained. "It's not a requirement to bring a date, but I would be glad to have the honor of being yours," he told me.
"I-I don't know. I hadn't really-" He stepped forward and grasped my hands. I blushed and raised my eyes to look into his. They were a beautiful dark color, and they looked at me with an intense, unwavering glance. All thoughts of terror, fear-hell, all thoughts were thrown out my ears by my screaming fan girl. "Y-you're not playing fair," I protested.
He furrowed his brow. "Playing fair?" he wondered.
"Yes, you're too handsome to say no to," I replied.
He smiled and raised one of my hands to plant a soft kiss on the back. At this rate there would be piles of his lip impressions on my hand. My fan girl screamed again. "Then I'll accept that as a yes and see you this afternoon. The picnic itself starts at five. How does four-thirty work?" At that point I would have said yes to a marriage proposal if he'd asked me.
"Um, sure." My mind was a fluffy mess of fuzzy thoughts. A life-sized stuffed tiger didn't have as much fluff as my brain did just then.
"Good. The occasion is informal so I won't expect a dress," he teased.
I slyly smiled. "So I won't get a chance to see you in a suit?" I returned.
"Not this time," he replied. He released my hands and stepped back to bow his head. "Until later." He walked off leaving me with the warm, fuzzy feeling inside me.
That is until I remembered that I really shouldn't be trusting those puppy-dog eyes and that delicious pair of lips. "Damn it!" I swore under my breath. Now I was not only stuck at a picnic full of strangers, but stuck with a man who was caught blood-red handed lying to me. This evening was going to stretch all day.
The time before that flew like a bird on steroids, or an unladen swallow. Lunch came and went and the clock hands ticked onward to four, and then half past. I sat nervously on the front of the porch with my thumbs not so much twiddling as having a war between themselves. My watch told me it was three-thirty, and on the dot I heard the door to Will's cabin open. I glanced over and saw Vuk emerge, and Will behind him. There was some whispering between each other, and Vuk pursed his lips and glanced up at the sky. Will smiled and patted him on the shoulder, then turned his attention to me.
Will strode over to my porch and stopped at the steps between the gap in the railing. "I thought we might walk around the lake to the park," he suggested.
I looked up at the sky. It wouldn't be dark for at least another four hours and I was sure Olivia meant for me to stay for the fireworks. She would chain me to one of the picnic tables if I had to. "Actually, I'd rather take my car," I countered.
"Oh? Why is that?" he asked me.
"Um, bugs," I replied. A slight breeze blew across my cheek and thwarted my lame excuse.
He chuckled. "I'm sure the wind will keep them far away, and the weather is so beautiful we shouldn't waste it inside." He offered me his arm, and I stood from the wicker chair and reluctantly took it.
Will guided me up and down the road to the park. The other cabins were emptied of all but the slowest residents, and Olivia had long ago driven over to the park with her trunk full of fireworks. The noise from the crowd at the opposite side of the lake echoed across the waters and pierced our ears. I only hoped my piercing scream would be heard over all that noise. That is, if I needed to use it.
I cast a side-glance at my handsome companion. He looked straight ahead as we walked with a few cursory glances at the cabins on our right. There was nothing that screamed, or made me scream, murderer, but you never could tell with serial killers. One moment you would be having breakfast with them, and the next moment they'd be having breakfast without you breathing.
"Is something wrong with my face?" Will wondered.
I eeped and whipped my head forward. "Um, nothing. Nothing at all," I replied.
"You're a terrible liar," he commented. My thumping heart and flushed face agreed. His smile faltered, as did his step. We slowed to a stop and he turned to face me. "Am I bothering you?" he asked me.
"Um, why would you say that?" I stuttered.
"Because your face is flushed and your hands are balled into tight fists at your sides,
" he pointed out. I hid the fists behind my back and whipped up a smile that would have scared small children and puppies.
"I guess I'm just nervous about this picnic." That wasn't a lie, it was just half the truth. "I'm not really good at interacting with strangers on non-business matters."
"Then I can do all the talking," he offered.
I raised an eyebrow. "So that means I'd have to stay by your side the entire time?" I pointed out.
Will grinned. There was something decidedly feral in his eyes that caught my attention, and my lust. I tampered down the lust, but kept the attention. It wouldn't do to get all hot and sweaty just as we were going into a crowd of dozens for a long evening of fraternizing.
"I will be glad to be your first line of defense against the inhabitants of the lake," he persisted.
I snorted. "If any of them are half as 'persuasive' as Olivia then you're walls are going to be battered to pieces," I commented.
He offered his arm to me again. "I will take that chance," he replied. I glanced wearily between his arm and his face. Both wanted me to trust him, this man who lied to me. But what was a little lie between lovers? Er, friends?
I snatched up his arm and sighed. "All right, my knight in shining arm, lead on," I instructed him.
"Gladly," he agreed.
We strode down the road and were passed by a few cars that held the last stragglers from the other cabins. The late-afternoon had a tinge of heat to it that was dampened by the cool breeze off the deep waters of the lake. The crowd at the park laughed and talked, but we walked without any hurry to get to our destination. The scent of pine trees wafted over us and reminded me of car fresheners. The good kind, not the cheap plastic ones that only lasted a few days.
I was startled when Will chuckled. "In all our conversations I don't believe I have asked how you like the lake," he mused.
I shrugged and bumped my arm against his. "It's okay. It's a little crowded, though," I replied.
"Many of these cabins are not yet ten years old," he commented. His eyes swept over the monstrosities that would have been considered mansions on less wet grounds. "When I was a boy there were only the older cabins, like yours, mine, and Olivia's. You wouldn't know it from hers, though, as she's updating it quite a bit. There were meadows where stands most of these cabins, and the trees stretched down to the lake. People would come in with their trailers for the Wolf Hunt and stay where the park now stands. We had our choice of locations for the hunt. Over the years the parcels were divided and sold to wealthy individuals. The Hunt was pushed aside, but my family offered our property above the road for the hunt. Mr. Trimble and Olivia were kind enough to donate their land for the fun."
I could hear a touch of sadness in his voice. "I wish I could have seen the lake as it was," I told him.
"I have pictures if you wish to see it," he offered. "My father was an avid photographer and we spent many summers here."
"So what made you stop coming here so often?" I wondered.
"My parents passed away and I was left with a company that didn't need my inexperienced hand to guide it, so I journeyed around the world. It was-it was a learning experience," he explained.
"And you picked up Vuk on the way?" I teased.
He smiled. "Yes. You wouldn't believe it now, but I met him in a small village in Hungary. It was right after-well, after a minor adventure in the mountains around the village, and he was the only one willing to tend to my wounds."
"Wounds? You were hurt?" I guessed.
He stared straight ahead and nodded. "Yes, gravely hurt. A wild beast attacked me and I managed to crawl back to the edge of the village before I lost consciousness. When I woke up I was in Vuk's home, a house smaller than your cabin and situated in the forest around the village. Apparently when the villagers found me they'd thrown me back out into the woods." He chuckled, but I shuddered at the sound. It was cold and full of sorrow.
"How could they do that?" I whispered.
"Superstition makes monsters of us all when we reject our humanity to save ourselves," he philosophized.
"So Vuk wasn't superstitious?" I guessed.
"On the contrary, Vuk was very superstitious, but I was fortunate in that he rejected the fear superstition induces and took me in," he told me.
"What kind of animal attacked you?" I wondered.
"A wolf." My eyes widened, and he turned to smile at me. "Yes, quite the irony, isn't it? I abandon Wolf Lake only to find myself in the jaws of a real wolf."
I couldn't laugh. It was like some cruel joke. "So Vuk cared for you and treated your wounds?" I asked him.
Will turned away from me and his voice was a ghost of a whisper. "Some wounds couldn't be healed," he murmured. There was a heavy weight in his words, like he carried a burden he could never shrug off.
I didn't like him this way. I wanted him to be the teasing and chuckling, and wooing me into a relationship I knew couldn't last longer than my vacation, but one I'd cherish for a long time. I skipped ahead of him, grasped his hands in mine, and smiled into his morose and surprised face.
"Some wounds might not be able to heal, but what about being forgotten for one night?" I suggested. Will looked doubtful, but I turned around, kept one of our hands locked, and pulled him forward toward the fun and excitement at the park. "Let's hurry before the little piranhas in tennis shoes eat all the hamburgers and hot dogs," I insisted.
Chapter 8
We reached the park in a few minutes, a record time thanks to my tugging on Will's arm, and Olivia jumped on us like a tiger on its first meal in days. "There you two are!" she scolded as she hurried up to us. There was a cigarette in one hand and a hot dog in the other. It was a surreal moment, but she did an admirable job of switching between the two. "I thought you had abandoned me to a life of solitary!" That wasn't possible. Even in a stone prison she would have made friends with the rocks in the walls. She might even had married one of them.
"It's entirely my fault, Olivia. I was reminiscing," Will replied.
She gently batted her cigarette holder against his shoulder. "Well, enough about the past, it's time for the present and a hot dog," she scolded.
"I have never heard you suggest a more brilliant suggestion, Olivia. If you will excuse us," Will agreed.
He led me over to a long line of tables filled to the breaking-point with food. We helped ourselves to the usual picnic fare and sat down on a patch of grass not occupied by running kids, picnic blankets, and the half-dozen barbecues hard at work cooking our meaty food. It was nearly six by the time we finished, and my calculations about the timing of the setting sun were a little off. The tall hills around the lake blocked the sun a good hour before a flat horizon would hide its light and the lake fell into the shadow of early twilight.
I set aside my empty paper plate and sighed. It had been a good meal with plenty of salads and meats. I glanced over at Will's plate and noticed there were only stains of meat juice on its white surface. "Didn't your mom ever tell you to eat your vegetables?" I teased him.
He placed his plate atop mine and smiled at me. "She did, but I was always too stubborn to listen," he replied.
"What about fruit? You have to like some sort of fruit," I persisted.
"I don't dislike fruits or vegetables, it's only that I prefer meat," he told me.
I clucked my tongue as all motherly women were apt to do when faced with a pure carnivore. "One day you'll wake up to find you've turned into a wolf," I warned him. The color drained from Will's face so quickly that I expected him to faint. He stiffened and I caught him in case he fell. I could feel his body tremble in my grasp. "Are you all right? Do you feel well?" I asked him.
He weakly smiled and shook his head. "Perhaps I ate too much meat," he joked.
"You look like you ate a whole lamb and it stuck in your throat," I countered.
"I'm fine, only I was taken by surprise with your comment. It brought back memories of Eastern Europe that I-well, that I would rather forget," he replied
.
There was the depression, the sadness in his eyes. I didn't want to see that, so I took my plate that was smothered in the remains of my ketchup-mustard-relish covered hot dog and playfully shoved it into his face. I let go of the plate and it stuck there in all its gooey glory. Will garbled out a few protestations before he pulled the plate off his face to reveal something like clown makeup if it had been applied by a five-year old.
He glared at me and gripped the plate in his hand, but a mischievous glint in his eyes warned me what he planned. "No! Nonononono!" I protested. I tried to stand and sprint away, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back down. The next second the plate was applied to my face and the remains smeared liberally across my nose and cheeks. He released the plate, I stiffened, and the paper dish slowly slid off my face to flutter to the ground in front of me.
I turned to him with a hot glare complete with ketchup-red cheeks, and he laughed. "All's fair in love and war," he teased.
"Then this means war," I returned. I grabbed the plate, but he grabbed my wrist and snatched the dish from my hand.
He held it out in opposite me. "I think we've each had enough of your hot dog," he countered.
"Not with you having the upper hand," I protested. I dove for the plate, but he deftly twisted me around and I landed in his lap. He dropped the plate and wrapped both arms around me as I struggled to free myself from his delicious grip. "Let go! I must avenge myself!" I insisted.
"You forget we're not alone," he reminded me.
I froze. The picnic. The people. They were still there, and as I looked around I realized we, in our garbled clown makeup, were the center of attention. I sheepishly smiled at them and sank down in Will's arms. "You couldn't have reminded me sooner?" I growled.
Will chuckled. "And miss all this fun?" he teased.
"Uh-huh, so now what do we do? Perform for the children?" I asked him.
"Actually, the water looks very inviting. We could wash ourselves there," he suggested.
"I guess." I hadn't done much more than test the water with my fingers. A little splash sounded tempting. I tried to stand, but his arms held me on his lap. I turned to him with a frown. "Do you mind letting me go?" I wondered.