Why a Wolf Cries - Julie Steimle (read a book .TXT) 📗

room. She followed Doug’s instructions. Down the hall, to the end. Turned right. But Tom was not at the door as he was in the cafeteria.

Audry pushed the door open.

There was Rick, in the bed, his food on the tray at the side, but he was sleeping. His eyes were closed at least. He seemed pale. There was a small bandage on his forehead, though the rest of him lay peacefully in his bed. Next to the bandage on his forehead, she saw the three smudged, block print letters saying FOO. A pen was on the tray near his bed. It was too tempting, lying there.

She picked it up, took off the cap, and added an L to the end of the smudged letters.

Rick’s eyes fluttered awake, feeling the pressure of the pen on his skin. His eyes flickered to her as she guiltily dropped the pen. Yet he said, “Thanks. Tom wasn’t able to finish it. He’ll be happy you did.”

Bushing, she stumbled back, glancing to see where and how he could see the writing. Of course, on one side of his bed there as a dark glass screen which reflected his face. Not perfectly, but enough.

He angled his head, waiting for her to speak.

Blushing more, Audry declared in her defense, “What are you doing here? A car wreck? Really?”

He shrugged, but it hurt. For a moment, she thought she was staring at her wolf.

“Doug told me about your blood,” Audry said, still coloring and wishing she wouldn’t. Her face was getting hot.

Rick averted his gaze. She was glad. His soulful gray eyes always made her feel upset. Sad, mad, or… worried for him.  

“He says with blood like that, it’s amazing you’re alive,” she mumbled, picking at the edge of his hospital mattress.

He peeked to her, but did not answer.

She shook her head, sighing. Her shoulders hung. “Rick Deacon. What am I going to do with you?”

“Nothing,” Rick murmured averting his gaze again. “It was a crazy coincidence we were in the same park, believe me.”

She nodded, though her next question came out wryly. “So, you’re not stalking me?”

He laughed, shaking his head more. “No. It’s just… a monthly campout with Dad.”

“Monthly?” She raised her eyebrows, listening to the steady beeping of his heart. He sounded healthy. It was a good thing he wasn’t too badly injured.  

Rick chuckled, his voice uncommonly throaty in pleasant way. “It’s good way to touch base with my dad. I’ve told you about this before.”

She nodded then sat on a stool. “Yeah. You did once. You and your dad eat out.”

“What about you?” he asked, shifting in his bed, as she seemed inclined to stay a bit. “Why Yellowstone?”

Weakly shrugging, Audry replied with another sigh, “Oh, it’s a yearly campout with my family. We hadn’t done Yellowstone yet. We did Bryce Canyon last year.”

He nodded at that, thinking. “A good tradition.”

She sighed again. But sitting there, growing uncomfortable as she did not know how to cope with Rick Deacon and his intense wolfish stares, she rose from her seat. “I should go.”

As she opened the door to leave, he called after her, “Thanks… you know, for what you did for the wolf.”

That stopped her. She then turned, letting the door close again, and asked, “How did the wolf get to Germany?”

He stared, leaning back into his pillow. “What?”

She folded her arms, eyes narrowing in a glare. “I know the wolf was in Germany. Rhett told me he saw him there.”

Rick shook his head slowly. “Look. I didn’t see him there. There were a lot of different wolves, and Rhett lost half a leg.”

That was not good enough. Marching up to him, she snapped, “I saw the scars on the wolf. I saw the stitching. He was stitched up after a big attack.”

“He gets hurt a lot, Audry.” Rick leaned away. “Like me, he’s impulsive. But I can assure you, I don’t take wolves to foreign countries as pets.”

And she knew he was not lying.

“I don’t keep a pet wolf,” he insisted earnestly. His eyes welled with tears. “He’s not my pet.”

Also not a lie.

She took a step back, biting her lip. “Sorry.”

He sighed. “No… I… I’m really glad you care about the wolf. You’ve saved his life… more than I can repay.”

“Did he follow you here?” she asked, one eye on him, not quite ready to forgive him yet.

“Yes.” He lowered his eyes to his sheet-covered knees. “He’s my curse.”

Audry frowned. “You shouldn’t think about him like that.”

Rick shook his head, causing a twinge of pain. “Sorry. I kind of have a love-hate relationship with that wolf right now.”

The beeping of his heart monitor echoed in the room for a moment.

“Why?” She stared at him. “He is the most beautiful wolf I have ever seen. He’s got the most soulful eyes…”

He blushed, averting his own grays.

“I don’t understand you,” she murmured, looking him up and down. “You really do love and hate that wolf. Don’t you?”

Rick nodded. “There are days I wish the wolf the greatest happiness. I want him to be free. I want him to be happy. I want him to enjoy a full wolfish life. I want him to feel fulfilled. But at the same time… I wish he were gone.”

That brought a bad taste to her mouth. She didn’t like it.

“That’s rather hateful,” Audry muttered, glaring at him.

“It’s not.” He shook his head, avoiding her gaze. “It’s more like self-loathing.”

Utterly confused, she stared at him. She opened her mouth to protest.

“Hey, do you want some—” Tom stepped into the room, halting upon the scene before him. “Audry! I knew you’d eventually sneak in here!” He then looked to Rick with FOOL now complete on his forehead. Lifting his hands in a cheer, Tom called out, “And you finished my work! Brilliant!”

“I gotta go.” Audry rushed past him, going out the door, her face warming and red.

“Hey,” Tom followed her into the hallway, “Don’t be a stranger. The world may be tough, but you don’t have to be.”

She shot him a look before going further on.

When she reached the lobby, Audry announced she was ready to go back to the hotel.

Silvia was thrilled as she was tired. Skyler offered to fetch his father who was still in the cafeteria with Andrew and Randon. Once all four of them were gathered, Audry led the way through the gauntlet.

There were two less media companies there. And none of them looked to their group as a source of information as they had already been denied before. They piled into Audry’s car, Doug taking the front seat while the other three squeezed in the back (Skyler in the middle bump), leaving the other car for Joan in case she needed it. Joan had no intention of leaving Maris, and she was more than happy to banish her husband and son for some peace.

While as Audry pulled into the road, Doug said to her, “So… did you see him?”

Audry moaned. “Drop it.”

“That bad, huh?” he said.

She shook her head. “He was awake. He’s fine. And I am done with this conversation.”

“You know,” Randon called up. “He broke up with Daisy finally.”

Audry groaned. “I am not participating in this conversation.”

“Who is Daisy?” Doug asked, peeking to his sister.

“Rick’s ex,” Randon said, ignoring her. “Or rather, stalker ex.”

“Audry knows a thing or two about stalker exes,” Silvia supplied.

Clenching her teeth, Audry pulled to the side of the road, parked, and looked back at the duo. “Do you want a ride to the hotel or not?”

Randon and Silvia exchanged glances. They both shook their heads.

When they started into the road again, Randon whispered to Skyler, “Your aunt can be really scary.”

Skyler nodded, but beamed.

They did not say another word on the subject until after they reached the hotel and got out.

“You know,” Randon said, “I’ve known Rick since he was thirteen. And never have I ever seen him as hung up on a girl as he is you.”

Audry paled. Her mouth opened in protest. But he added before she could say anything. “Don’t worry, though. He’ll respect your space. He just wants you to be—”

“Safe,” Audry snapped, rolling her eyes. “I know. For pity’s sake, I know. He’s just exhausting.”

“He is, isn’t he?” Silvia chimed in, laughing.  

Randon nudged her, shaking his head, but Silvia would not stop. Silvia knew. She understood. Mostly, she understood what Audry meant.

They went into the hotel where Audry helped Randon and Silvia get a room. They went down the hall, wearily pulling out their key cards to finally get to bed.

“Audry,” Doug said as he and Skyler opened the door to their own room, which was next to hers, “Though I’ve never spoken to the guy himself, Rick Deacon sure has great friends. A guy like that has to be pretty decent.”

Blinking, taking in that notion with consideration, Audry nodded. “That’s true.”

“Andrew is amazing,” Doug murmured, not going in yet. Skyler lingered, listening in. “Did you know he was part of a medieval club while in high school, and he actually played on the same school soccer team as Peter McCabe, the Witchdoctor? He and Rick were on the same basketball team since they were kids.”

Audry nodded. She knew that. Rick was a basketball fanatic, and she had met Peter when Andrew’s daughter was born. However she interjected, “Did you also know that he was kidnapped by a cult when he was a sophomore in high school, and he has all sorts of scars from that?”

Doug paled. He shook his head.

She nodded again. “Yeah. He’s amazing. They all are. Including Rick. But the world they live in is dangerous. It is full of people on the border of dark and evil things—people who think they are witches.”

“Like Silvia, the hairdresser.” Doug raised his eyebrows, smirking.

Audry groaned. “You haven’t seen what I’ve seen. If you hang around them long enough, you start to believe in magic—and not the good kind.”

 He eyed her funny. “That’s why you left New York?”

She nodded. “Yes. I met practically all his friends. I met his mother years ago. I’ve met two of his exes. He even tried to buy me a car.”

Doug snorted, thinking about her last car, which she loved but desperately did need replacing.

“And yes, he was the one who finally made me see Harlin was a scumbag.” Audry shook her head. “And yeah, he did not trust Hogan either and tried to…” she shook her head more, closing her eyes. “I know he is trying to protect me. But he’s such a…”

“A what?” Doug angled his head.

“An unapologetic carnivore!” she snapped, hands balling into fists. “He told me flat out that he could never go vegan!”

Skyler smothered a laugh.

But Doug gazed dryly at her. “Is that all?”

Moaning, Audry stuck her key card into the door. “This matters to me! It’s a major deal breaker.”

“You really like him, don’t you?” The corner of Doug’s mouth crooked up.

Her face went hot.

He laughed. “You are looking for reasons to hate him.”

She could not respond, the heat going to her ears as she pushed the handle to open the door. She stepped in and moved to close it, but Doug stopped her.

“Audry, this might be the first guy whom you’ve met who is not some kind of predator.”

Turning, eyes wide, Audry shook her head. “Weren’t you listening? His entire world is dangerous. He’s the most dangerous man I have ever met.”

“His name starts with an H,” Skyler interjected, biting his lip unsuccessfully hiding his smile.

She shot her nephew a dirty look.

“What is it really that scares you about him?” Doug asked, not even close to letting this alone. “That he’s an unapologetic meat eater, or that he is one of rich crowd and might drag you back into the whole Bruchenhaus snob club?”

“Yes!” she snapped. “All of it! I mean, I can see his friends are sincere and not bought—but his life is laid out for him. He has to be CEO of Deacon Enterprises. He told me so himself. And I don’t want to be part of