7 Wild East by Melanie Jackson Read Free Book Online Page A

equipment last night,” he
said abruptly. “Actually, let me amend that statement. I saw someone take two
large backpacks from the inn. I am assuming it was the survey equipment.”
    “How careless of someone,” I said drily. “But I am sure they
will bring everything back again shortly.”
    “There are two surveyors?”
    “Yes. One is a boy—only eighteen and on his first job. And
he’s hurt. It’s only a sprain but Pete has kept him walking on the sprain for
days instead of turning back and it has made it worse. Doc says he has to stay
in bed with the leg up or risk permanent damage. Anyway, you can’t take an
injured person into bear country when they can’t even run.” The Mountie didn’t
say anything. “Officer, I wouldn’t want you to get the wrong idea about what
you think you saw last night.”
    “I wouldn’t want that either.”
    Thomas stopped suddenly, staring at my cottage.
    “It’s okay,” I assured him. “It’s just our dog, Max.”
    “Dog?”
    “A wolf hybrid,” I answered. Like I said before, I am a good
liar for the right cause. “A lot of us have them because a wolf pack is one of
the few things the bears fear. I wouldn’t step foot into the forest without
Max.”
    “About those bears.…”
    “Thomas,” I said. “Listen carefully—because your life may
depend on it. Whatever you think you saw, or know about last night, there are
bears out there. And they kill people. I’ve watched it happen—I saw a man
ripped to shreds right in front of me. Last year, we had a funeral for a hand—that
was all that was left of the woman after a day of the animals feasting. Don’t
go into the woods without a guide and a rifle—if you didn’t pack one for this
trip, then take one of mine. Anyone who goes out into the woods unarmed or with
just a pistol is asking to get dead. And the bad part is other people might get
hurt trying to rescue you. Dealing with bears will be your first lesson in the
wild. Our best guide, Wendell Thunder, will teach you how to track them.
Though, seriously, not tracking them is the better choice. Chuck will tell you
this too.”
    Thomas nodded and we began walking again. Again, he did not
seem properly dismayed. Perhaps he had never seen a bear and did not know how
terrifying they could be.
    “Let me introduce you to Max. Are you a dog person?” I
asked.
    “I like most animals,” Thomas said, kneeling down and
offering a hand. Max came dancing over making soft ululations. Obviously he
liked the new recruit just fine and was trying to lure him into play.
    Watching Thomas pet my wolf, I saw the man that he might be,
under the right circumstances, and decided that I liked him. In potential, at
least. Stationed at least a hundred kilometers away, I might really grow fond
of him.
    “Do you like buttermilk pancakes and bacon?” I asked after a
moment. “Though I should warn you that bacon around here tends to smell a
little like dog breath since Max pants every time I cook it.”
    “I like whatever you serve me,” he said, standing back up.
He looked a shade less dignified with Max’s hair on his knees and cuffs.
    “Your mama raised you right,” I said, but knew instantly
that this was the wrong thing to say because he pokered up again.
    “Actually, it was my grandmother.”
    “We have that in common then,” I said and started for the
house. Chuck came out to greet us. If he was surprised to see Thomas he didn’t
let on.
    “Come in and have some coffee,” Chuck said. “Let us prove
that we aren’t completely uncivilized.”
    “Has Wendell been by yet?” I asked.
    “Not yet.”
    “I’m thinking that maybe the first forest lesson had better
be about bears. We have tracks in town and that means they are close. Far
better to be safe than dead.”
     
    *  * 
*
     
    Between the Gaelic and the elliptical verbal shorthand of
the people they encountered, Thomas had trouble understanding anything that was
said as he and Detective Chuck Goodhead