Project Hannibal by Kathryn Hoff (good english books to read TXT) 📗

caressing her head with his trunk. Then he quickly mounted her, his forelegs resting on her back.

Pearl backed up, making his entry easier. Within a minute, they were done, companionably munching greenery together.

Luis felt as proud as the father of the groom. Way to go, Diamond. They’d probably spend the next several days together, mating frequently. The first natural-bred mammoth could be forming now, deep within Pearl.

The sky had brightened, although light rain still pattered down. Weariness caught up to Luis, together with a disinclination to return to Jerry’s dreary little hut. Sheltering under some low spruce branches, he napped on the soft forest floor.

It was six a.m. by the time Luis worked his way back to the homestead, following the path of Pearl’s sprint. At least the rain had stopped. The sun was out and a stiff breeze began to dry the mud caked on Luis’s clothes.

Brandon looked up from where he was picking up squall wood. “About time you showed up.”

Up on the hut’s roof, Jerry scowled. “Did you catch him? Get a picture?”

Luis shook his head regretfully. “I saw it. Followed it for a long time, but I never got close enough to get a picture. Then I got lost on the way back.”

“Shit,” Jerry said. “We coulda made some real money if you’d got a Bigfoot picture.” He turned back to plastering something over the holes in the roof.

Minnie came out of the hut, holding her kid with one hand and lugging a duffel bag with the other.

“Minnie?” Jerry dropped his putty knife and clambered down.

“Lou, I’m glad you’re back,” Minnie said. “You’re a fool for going out in the storm, trying to chase that monster down. Bran here was worried sick, weren’t you?”

Jerry took her by the shoulders. “Minnie, please don’t go. Can’t we talk about it?”

“I told you, I’m going.”

While Jerry argued with his wife, Brandon drew Luis aside. “Damn it, you were gone half the night!”

“It wasn’t just Diamond,” Luis said, voice low. “Pearl was there, too. I had to get them away before they destroyed what little these people have left.”

“Too late for that,” Brandon hissed. “Minnie’s all spooked about Bigfoot and going home to mother. You gotta tell ’em. Tell them she’s not really in danger.”

With a sinking feeling, Luis cocked an eyebrow at him. “What did you tell them? You didn’t say anything about the mammoths, did you?”

Brandon snorted. “I would’ve, if I thought they’d believe me. But you can show them—call Ruby, she’ll come.”

“And have every hunter in the region swoop in, trying to bag a trophy?” Luis shook his head. “No, we have to keep the mammoths secret and get them out of here.”

Brandon’s jaw tightened. “Don’t you see what’s happening here? Jerry and Minnie have put their whole lives into this place, and now they’re gonna lose it all because you won’t tell them it’s not Bigfoot, it’s just a bunch of elephants that’ll be gone in another day.”

“They’re going to lose it all because Jerry’s an idiot.” Luis looked back at the hut. “That’s not a house, it’s a firetrap. If it hadn’t been Di wrecking their garden, it would have been a bear or a moose. And if they try to winter here, they’ll all freeze to death. Better for them to get out now.”

Brandon’s fists clenched. “Man, I don’t believe you. Do you really care more about a bunch of animals than about human beings? Don’t you feel for these people?”

“To hell with them. They’re not supposed to be here. The important thing is to get the mammoths away from settlements and to a safe place.” He gripped Brandon’s arm. “They bred! Di and Pearl, the first natural breeding.”

Brandon stared a moment. “I thought all those complaints about your mother were just you spouting off, but you really don’t get it, do you? Family doesn’t mean anything to you, does it?” He turned away.

On the other side of the yard, Minnie’s voice rose. “I don’t care! I’m not staying here another night.” She stalked over to Brandon. “Bran, Lou—you said you were done hiking. If you’re heading down to Cody, would you take me and little Mikey with you?”

“Sorry,” Luis said. “We’re going . . .”

Brandon’s fingers dug into his shoulder. Turning his back to Minnie, he hissed, “I am not leaving that poor woman to walk to town alone. Either you help out, or we call it quits right now.”

Without waiting for an answer, Brandon turned back to Minnie. “We were planning to go a different way, but I think we can spare the time. We’ll be happy to see you safely to town.”

Damn. Brandon was taking his little play for dominance too far. Still, Luis needed him.

Luis dredged up a tight smile. “Sure.” Brandon’s act of generosity meant a half-day walk downstream to Cody and a full day’s hike back upstream tomorrow to where they’d cached their supplies—and although the area was sparsely populated, every hour the mammoths hung around was another chance somebody might come across the herd.

“It’ll only be for a little while,” Jerry called, “until I can fix the house up a little more. You’ll see, honey.”

Minnie looked up at the ramshackle construction she’d showed off so proudly only the day before. “All I know is I can’t spend another day here, risking my baby’s life. Come on, Mikey.” She took the child’s hand and began walking down the path, dragging the duffel behind her.

Estelle sighed. I must be getting old. In the Chicago emergency room, she’d managed those long shifts of heart attacks, car accidents, and gunfights bolstered only by catnaps and coffee. And now, after a relatively easy night of one death, one birth, and treating a few bumps and bruises, at four a.m. she felt barely able to drag herself to Annie’s house.

The rain had