Hunger of the Wolf (4 page)

“S
o
who are you staying with out at the lake?”

“Nobody
. I’m by myself. I’ll
get more work done that way. Am I too early for lunch?” she asked
in an attempt
to change the subject.

“You’re by yourself?” She saw a shadow pass across
Sharon’s
face. “Is that w
ise do you think?"

“I’m fine.
And I’m not completely alone out
there. I met my neighbour
Jesse
yesterday. H
is cabin is not too fa
r away
if I need anything.”
Sharon
did not say anything for a moment but handed Amber a menu and guided her towards a table overlooking the main street. Amber got the distinct impression she had a lot more to say but she was holding her tongue.

Finally she spoke.
“Yes,
Jesse
Davidson
, he’s an interesting character alright.”

“He seems a little unusual
,
but
he’s friendly enough.” This time
Sharon
changed the subject as she began telling Amber a little about the town’s history.
She and her husband, Bob, had lived in Fernvale fo
r over thirty years and whatever
they did not know about the town was not worth knowing.
They chatted amicably for a while
before
Sharon
went into the kitchen to prepare her lunch. The pie was delicious
,
and Amber couldn’t resist staying on for dessert and coffee. A few people came into the store while she was there
,
and after they’d left
Sharon
filled her in on thei
r life stories
. The gossip was surprisingly juicy for such a small town
,
and
Amber
found
she was th
oroughly enjoying herself. After she’d
paid for her lunch and was about to leave
,
Sharon
put a hand on her arm.

“It must be awfully lonely out at that cabin on your own. Why don’t you come into town and have dinner with us later in the week? It w
ill give you a chance to meet
Bob
,
and we can get to know each other a bit more.”

“I’d
really like that,” said Amber truthfully, relishing the thought of some more of
Sharon’s
cooking and great
stories. For one split second she imagined what Dominic would have to say about a
simple,
homely woman like
Sharon
who had spent her whole adult life in this
small
town, but she quickly pushed the thought from her mind.
Sharon
was so warm and welcoming, she was exactly the kind of person Amber needed to be around right now.

“
Okay
then
,
it’s settled.” Sharon looked
pleased. “Thursday night
,
around six. I’ll send Bob over to pick you up because we don’t want you dri
vin
g through the woods in the dark
.” Even though she thought this was overly cautious
,
Am
ber
already knew enough
about
Sharon
to realize i
t would be pointless to disagree
with her
,
and s
he was touched by her concern.

“I’m looking forward to it.”
They
exchanged phone numbers before
Amber remembered her lack of cell phone reception. “You might not be able to get hold of me because the phone reception is a bit unreliable
,
but I will definitely be waiting
.”

“People have been complaining
about that
fo
r years. They built
a higher towe
r
,
but it hasn’t made much difference.
Let’s make it definite then. I’ll see you on Thursday.” W
hen she stepped back out
onto the street
,
Amber felt
light
-hearted
for the first time in ages.
She had just made a new friend
,
and now she had a dinner date to look forward to
in a few days. Spending that time with
Sharon
over lunch had made her realize that maybe
total
solitude wasn’
t what she needed after
all
.
Being around new people might be even better for her
than being alone
.

Chapter 3

After her enjoyable chat with
Sharon
,
Amber didn’t feel like going back to the cabin and
she
spent the next hour
wandering up and down the main stree
t. In one store she picked up a
beautiful handmade quilt
,
and
just as she was about to head back to the car
,
she noticed a shop rig
ht at the end of the street
she’d almost missed.  As
she drew closer she saw it sold Nati
ve American jewellery and knick-
knacks.
On
e piece
in par
ticular
caught
her eye as soon as she stepped into the store.
It wa
s a silver pendant in the shape of
a
sun.
When she took it to the counter to pay
,
t
he
attractive
woman behind the counter
told her
that in Native American mythology the sun represents healing and peace
.

“
That’s good because
I
could use a bit of help in those
area
s
.”

“Well
,
I hope this brings you some of what you need.
Have a safe journey.”

“
Actually
,
I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying at a cabin
on
the lake for a few weeks.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth she mentally kicked herself for
yet again
display
ing the openness
with strangers
her mother had scolded her for repeatedly
when she was growing up
.

“In that case
I hope you and your husband enjoy your time here
,
and maybe we’ll see you again.” What was it with the pe
ople in this town
?
Amber thought with irritation.
Every person she had met so far had reminded her painfully of
the fact that she was n
o longer part of a couple
. She was going to leave
the store without saying another word
,
but she
suddenly felt an overwhelming need to make a stand against this discrimination.

“I’m divorced,” she said
a little defiantly.
“Well
,
almost. It will be final
ized in the next couple of months
. And I’m staying at the cabin by myself. And no
,
I’m not frightened to be on my own
,
in case you’re wondering. I’m perfectly fine.
I really thought we’d moved past the days when women were expected to have a man around
at all times
to protect them.
” The w
oman looked
startled
by her outburst
,
and s
he smoothed h
er long dark hair down as she spoke.

“I’m
sorry;
I didn’t mean anything by it. I noticed your wedding band when you were trying
on rings
, that’s
all. Most of our visitors
arou
nd here are couples who come
to the mountains
for a romantic getaway.”

“No, I’m sorry.” Amber instantly regretted
taking out her frustration on this well-meaning shopkeeper. “I’m still a bit raw, as yo
u can tell, but I’m hoping a little
time in the mountains will help me to get over it.”

“
I hear you.
I’ve just been through a bad break-up
myself.
The mou
ntains are very good for mending broken hearts.” Despite her words
,
Amber noticed
that she
wore a look of concern on her face
that reminded her of Sharon
’s
expression when she found out she was alone
.
“
I’m sure you’ll be fine, but please be careful. We’ve had some problems lately with wolves in the area killing pets and livestock. They even broke in
to a house on the other side of the lake one night by throwing themselves against
a window
and smashing it
. The o
wner scared them off with a gun. I
t’s a worry, though.
I’ve never known them to be so brazen before.”

“Than
ks for the warning” replied Amber
,
thinking about the howling she had heard in the early hours
of the morning. She
had found the cries
soothing
then
, but now
,
to her regret
,
she would never be abl
e to gain comfort from them
again.
She was about to step out
the door
when
the
woman called out to her.

“Please
,
wait a minute.”
She rummaged around behind the counter for a moment and then joined Amber in the doorway, pressing something into her hand.

“I noticed your love
ly c
harm bracelet. Please take this
to add to it
.” Amber
pulled apart
the tissue paper
to find a charm with an arrow painted on it.

“Thank y
ou, it’s very nice, b
ut I’d like to pay for it.”

“No.” She shook her
head as she backed towards the counter. “It’s my gift to you. The arrow symbolizes protection.
My name is Bonita
,
by the way
. Please call in again before you leave for a chat. It’s very quiet around here
,
and I could use the company.
”

“I’m Amber.
Thanks
,
I’ll do that.
I might even buy
those matching earrings.
”
As she carried her purchases to the car
,
she looked at the charm
,
and
felt a bit alarmed by Bonita’s warning about the wolves in the area. If they really were as bad
as she said they were
then Amber had no busin
ess being
at the cabin
alone. She could
suddenly
understand why people seemed concerned for her, but
she just couldn’t believe
that wolves
had broken through a glass window. Who had ever heard of such a thing!
She
probably just
exa
ggerated so I would be care
ful, Amber reassured herself,
and if I
hadn’t shared so much personal information
with her
I could have remained blissfully ignorant
.
It seemed
she was never going to learn to keep her mouth shut.

Dominic had told her not long
after they got married that it
was her
trust and
naïveté
that had
first piqued his interest
.
She could still
remember so clearly the day he
made his first move
on her
. She had been sitting
in a café fol
lowing one of his lectures on eighteenth
century literature
when he
spotted her alone and invited himself to join her
. S
he felt
extremely
flattered by the attention. T
o be s
ingled out
by a lecturer was a great honour
, and she
prattled on so nervously that within twenty minutes he knew that she still lived with her mother and had never ha
d a serious relationship.
He also knew she
was and only child,
that
her father ha
d di
ed when she was very young
,
and
she’d
led a
very s
heltered life.