Red and the Wolf by Cindy C Bennett Read Free Book Online

released her and swung away, pushing his hands through his hair again. “I can’t tell you. I wish I could, Red.” He turned toward her. “I would tell you if I could. I can’t.”
     
    Hurt wound around her heart, constricting. She nodded. “Fine. Okay. No worries.” She turned and walked away.
     
    “Red!” he called. She ignored him.
     
    She stopped at the drug store, made a purchase, and went straight home. Once arriving, she retrieved her purchase from the bag. She set the box on the counter, staring at herself in the mirror over the bathroom sink.
     
    She wasn’t going to be his Red anymore.
     
* * * * *
     
    “Rubes?”
     
    “Yeah, dad?” she asked, moving to pick up a plate on the floor next to his chair. He reached out shakily and touched her hair. She looked up at him.
     
    “What happened to your hair?”
     
    “I dyed it.”
     
    “It’s black,” he slurred.
     
    “Yes,” she said, standing and walking into the kitchen. She’d decided to skip church today, something she rarely did. Marina had called and told her there were several more animals killed last night, all of them from where they’d been locked into their barns. The residents were in a panic. Ruby didn’t want to face Rafe’s knowing looks, so she was hiding at home.
     
    She cleaned the house from top to bottom, organized drawers and cabinets, paid whatever bills she could with the meager amount of money they had, rehung her shelf in her room, and it was still early in the afternoon.
     
    She sat with her father while he watched TV, reading a book. She read three chapters before realizing she had no idea what she’d read.
     
    “Dad, did you hear about the wolf?” she finally asked. He was half drunk, but still somewhat coherent.
     
    “What wolf?” he asked, his curiosity peaked.
     
    “There’s a wolf that been killing some animals.”
     
    “That’s nothing new,” he said, reaching for his bottle of vodka. “Wolves have been killing dogs and cats in Piera since the first farmer moved in.”
     
    “Not dogs and cats,” she said. “Livestock. Yesterday, it killed Johansen’s bull.”
     
    Her father pulled his hand back from the bottle and sat upright. “A wolf killed Bradford?”
     
    “Yes.” Her father looked stunned, as well he should. “That’s not all.” He looked at her, and she could swear there was a bit of clarity in his eyes. “Bradford was locked up in the barn. The wolf got in, killed the bull, but left the other animals alone.”
     
    He ran a hand agitatedly across his face. “How long has this been going on?”
     
    “Not long. But it’s getting worse. This morning there were several more.”
     
    “All locked in their barns?”
     
    “Yes.”
     
    “Ruby, we need to leave Piera until this problem is taken care of.”
     
    Ruby rolled her eyes. He sounded like Rafe. “I’m not going anywhere, Dad. I have a life here. I can’t just walk away. Who knows how long it’ll take for them to find the wolf?”
     
    “We should go anyway. You don’t understand.”
     
    “Argh!” Ruby grumbled. “That seems to be the favorite phrase of all men these days.”
     
    Her father’s gaze cut to her. “Ruby, is Rafe back? I thought I saw him, but . . .”
     
    “Yes, Dad, he’s back. He was here a few nights ago.”
     
    Her father’s head dropped in shame. Ruby could guess he knew exactly when it had been.
     
    “Did he tell you to go?” he asked quietly, lifting his head.
     
    “Yes.”
     
    “You should listen, Rubes. We should go.”
     
    “Where, Dad? Where would we go? Grandma’s?”
     
    He was shaking his head before she finished. “No, not Grandma’s. You know I can’t go there.”
     
    “Then where?” When he didn’t answer, Ruby said, “There’s only one place for you to go, Dad. Until you go there, we can’t go anywhere.”
     
    He dropped his head into his hands. “I can’t, Rubes. I can’t do it.”
     
    Ruby left her chair and crouched on the floor in