I stood at the edge of the water, closed my eyes, and wrapped my arms around myself. The cool breeze of the lake brushed over me like a soft lover's kiss and the corner's of my mouth twitched up in a smile of contentment. Maybe I wouldn't be killing my boss after all. In fact, I wouldn't mind stay there all summer enjoying the view, the smells, and even the neighbors. Alas, my food stock wouldn't last that long and my vacation was only for two weeks.
"It's a magnificent view, isn't it?" My eyes shot open and I turned my head to find the dark-haired gentleman standing beside me. His gaze looked out on the lake, but he turned and smiled at me. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," he apologized.
"I-I wasn't startled," I stuttered. He raised an eyebrow, and I shrugged. "I guess I was a little startled," I admitted.
He held out his hand. "William Campbell. I've been told we're to be neighbors for two weeks." Thanks, Mrs. De Fray.
"Grace Stevens," I returned, and shook his head. He had a tough grip for a playboy. Must have worked out a lot. "So what brings you to the lake around this time?"
He chuckled. "I see Mrs. De Fray is as good at telling others about me as she is at telling me about others."
"She didn't give too many specifics. I don't know your weight and height," I teased.
"Five-eleven, and one-hundred and eighty," he told me.
I nodded approvingly. "Not bad, but you still haven't answered my question."
"I see you know how to focus," he commented.
"It's a useful skill when you're juggling eight different tasks at the same time for the president of a large company," I pointed out.
"If you must know, I thought I'd see the festivities. I haven't been to the annual celebration in quite a few years, and wondered if it had changed much," he revealed.
"Is it really that exciting?" I asked him.
"It can be with the fireworks, and of course the Wolf Hunt the day after," he replied.
I furrowed my brow. That was mentioned in the pamphlet. "Wolf hunt? Are there still wolves around here?" I wondered.
He chuckled and shook his head. "No, not anymore. I remember my father telling me about them, but the last time one was seen was forty years ago. The Wolf Hunt is a reminder of the days when the wolves were thick and people used to hunt them for their pelts. It's a sort of hide-and-seek game played at sunset. Anyone can join, and six people volunteer to be the Hunters. The others are the wolves, and they hide in the woods above the road close to our cabins. When everyone is ready the Hunters comb the woods looking for the wolves, and tag them. When a wolf is tagged they lose and join the spectators on the road. The last wolf to be tagged is the winner."
"And very lonely. What's a wolf to do without a mate?" I mused.
His eyes brushed over me and there was a strange glint in them. "What, indeed? To be the last wolf would be very lonely, but the game can be played several times, so long as it isn't too dark when the last game finishes," he replied.
"It sounds like fun. Maybe I'll join in," I commented.
"As a Hunter or a Wolf?" he wondered.
I shrugged. "Maybe I'll try both sides just to see what each one is thinking," I suggested.
He smiled. "A very philosophical answer."
"It's more fun if you try everything, anyway," I pointed out.
Campbell chuckled. "You have a very interesting view of the world. It's a pity more don't have it," he complimented me.
I glanced past him and grinned. "I think Mrs. De Fray would be willing to try being a Hunter. She's pretty good at tracking down everyone on the lake." Campbell followed my gaze and sighed. Mrs. De Fray was headed straight for us from her car parked in the parking lot near the fork. She wore a large sunbonnet and thick sunglasses, and had a long cigarette clenched between her fingers.
"How funny! I was just looking for both of you, and here you are!" she greeted us.
"Good morning, Mrs. De Fray," Campbell returned.
She wrinkled her nose and waved her hand. "None of that formality, Will. I've known you too long to have you call me Mrs. De Fray. It's Olivia to you, and to you, too, Miss Stevens," she added as she turned to me. "Besides, Mrs. De Fray makes me feel older, and I'm hardly past fifty." She looked well over sixty.
Will bowed his head to her. "Very well, Olivia."
"That's better." She paused and frowned. "Now why did I come here? Oh yes! With your two cabins being the closest to the Wolf Hunt area I was wondering if you two could help set up the perimeters." She leaned toward me and giggled. "Has this flirtatious rascal told you about the Wolf Hunt?"
"He has," I told her.
"Good, now I'm sure you'll accept my plea for help," she replied.
"I'd be delighted," Campbell accepted. They both turned to me.
"Sure, I can help," I agreed.
Olivia clapped her hands. "Wonderful!" She reached into her purse and pulled out a small bundle of colored flags on metal rods and a piece of paper. "These need to be placed along the border, and here's the map for where we want them put." I took the flags and Campbell took the map.
Campbell opened it and looked over the area. He raised an eyebrow and glanced over the map at Olivia. "This is quite large," he commented.
Olivia smiled and nodded. "Yes, we have quite a few families attending this year and we want to make sure everyone has a good hiding spot."
I leaned toward Campbell and inspected the map. The square area was about the size of four football fields. "I hope I won't get lost," I joked.
Olivia laughed. "Nonsense! Not with Will here. Why, when he was a young lad he used to go out for hours wandering the woods. Said he felt more at home in the trees than in the cabin."
"I just liked climbing," Campbell protested.
"Well, don't go putting any of the flags in the trees. We need them on the ground where everyone can see them," she scolded. She glanced at her watch and gasped. "Look at the time! I have to see how the ladies are doing on their dishes!"
"Dishes?" I asked her.
"For the picnic dinner. We have a few volunteers making the salads and such. Nothing big. The men have the big job of cooking the hamburgers and hot dogs," Olivia explained. "Now if you will excuse me I must see how they're all doing. Ta-ta!" She hurried off to oversee the operations.
I glanced down at the bundle of flags in my hand, and then up at the man by my side. "I hope you still know your way around the place," I commented.
He smiled and shrugged. "I guess we'll see," he returned.
I frowned. "That doesn't give me comfort."
"I'm afraid it doesn't make me feel very comfortable, either, but if we should get lost I offer myself as emergency rations," he told me.
I looked him up and down. He was well-built with a lot of muscle and not much fat. "I think you'd be a little chewy," I told him.
He chuckled. "I'll take that as a compliment, but shall we start placing the flags? If the brush is thick this might take a while."
We made our way back to our side of the lake. There was silence between us for a while, and I took the opportunity to cast glances at the handsome dark man. "You're not used to talking with men, are you?" he asked me.
I blushed and stared at the ground. "I don't really have too much experience in idle chat with them," I admitted.
"Then maybe I should start the conversation. Olivia told me you are the secretary for Alfred Trimble. How do you like working for him?" he asked me.
I shrugged. "It's a living."
"And not a bad one?" he guessed.
I smiled and glanced up at him. "Well, this is my vacation gift from him. Two weeks in the woods."
"No raise?" he wondered.
"No, but he pays me well already."
"And how long do you plan on being his secretary?" Campbell asked me.
"As long as he needs me. I don't really think I can find better," I replied. I slyly looked to him. "Unless you happen to know someone who needs a secretary."
His eyes twinkled. "That depends on the
secretary," he returned.
"I happen to have very good credentials, Mr. Campbell," I replied.
"Will, if you please, Miss Stevens. Like Olivia, the name Mr. Campbell makes me feel old," he told me.
"Then it's Grace for me. I don't answer to the name Miss Stevens unless I'm in my work clothes," I answered.
Will smiled. "Then I've learned a very valuable bit of information from you," he commented.
I raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"
"That there's no Mr. Stevens."
I snorted. "There's not even a Mr. Boyfriend," I told him.
"Really? No interest?" he wondered.
I shook my head. "No time. Mr. Trimble keeps me very busy."
"But you're not busy at this moment," he pointed out.
"Not yet, but I will be when we start planting these flags," I pointed out.
He chuckled. "So long as the trails are still there it shouldn't be such a chore."
Chapter 4
We arrived at the wilderness above the road and inspected our chore. The forest occupied a gentle incline that led to the peak of a tall mountain high above us. The brush and trees were thick, but as Will had said there were a half dozen trails leading through the trees. They zigged and zagged in and out of one another, and were wide enough for two people to walk abreast.
I glanced at the map in his hand. "So where do we start?" I asked him.
Will smiled and pointed at the farthest trail to our left. "The best place is at the beginning, and for us that would be the lower left corner of the area. Twenty yards from the farthest left trail will do for that. Place a flag on the corner where the wild touches the road and that will be our beginning."
I walked over to the point and planted a flag firmly in the ground. "How's that?" I asked him.
"Perfect," he complimented.
I glanced down at the large bundle in my hands and sighed. "One down, another one hundred to go."
"And a hill to climb," he added.
"We could trade places. I could be the map and you could be the planter," I suggested.
He laughed and shook his head. "No. I know what lies in the brush waiting for unsuspecting flag planters."
I frowned. Horrible images of being dragged beneath the broad green leaves of the undergrowth flashed through my mind. "What lies beneath the brush?" I asked him.
"Poison ivy, for instance," he told me.
I rolled my eyes. "I think I can handle some itching."
"And wild beasts," he added.
"You told me there weren't any wolves around here," I reminded him.
"There have always been more than wolves in the area," he countered.
"Like the trophies on my cabin walls?" I guessed.
"That depends on what Mr. Trimble has bagged," Will returned.
"A mountain lion here, a moose there," I told him.
"Those can be found around the lake, but I don't think you'll be much bothered by the moose unless you're holding chocolate and a fork," he teased.
I grinned. "I'll be careful not to put chocolate mousse on my dessert list while I'm here, but shouldn't we be planting flags instead of teasing me with delicious food?"
"My apologies. Let's ford the weeds and brush, and come back from the chore victorious," he agreed.
I laughed. "Lead onward, my white knight," I invited him.
Will bowed and led me straight up the slope from our initial flag point. I planted the red flags at fifteen yard intervals and took those breaks to catch my breath. The slope was kind, but not the altitude. I gasped for breath, and he was kind enough to wait for me.
"I could finish the chore if you're tired," he offered.
I was bent over at the time, and glared up at him. He hadn't broken a sweat and his breathing was calm. "I'm. . .I'm fine. Just give me a minute or ten to catch my breath," I wheezed.
Will turned his eyes up the slope and frowned. "Perhaps it would be best if you went down. The brush only gets thicker until we hit the old logging road."
"Old logging road?" I asked him.
"Yes. A century ago most of this area was logged. They left a few of the older trees to repopulate, and all that remains of the destruction are a few rotten stumps in the woods and the logging road near the top. The trees never grew there because the rocks are too thick and the soil too thin for even pine trees."
"I'd. . .I'd like to see the road," I proposed.
"For another time. The flags don't need to be placed that high," he told me.
Will led the way up the slope and we finally stopped a hundred and fifty yards from the road. The cabins were just flickers of color through the trees. We were surrounded by the eerie sounds of wilderness. Small, unseen birds flitting beneath the brush, twigs cracking beneath the feet of unknown hooves, and the groans of the trees as the wind blew through their canopies. I shuddered and wrapped my arms around myself. Suddenly it felt very cold.
"We'll turn here," Will suggested.
"But we're fifty yards short of the map," I pointed out.
"I'm sure Olivia won't mind," he countered.
I frowned and straightened myself. "But I do. She wanted us to follow the map, and we'll follow the map," I insisted.
Will sighed, but nodded. "Very well." He reluctantly guided me further up the hill and we struggled through the bushes.
My foot caught one of the treacherous roots and I yelped as I fell. Fortunately, I caught myself with my hands and they sank into the wet, rotten ground. The flags scattered on the ground and my pants were sullied by the mud. I lifted my head and could see beneath the bushes that hovered over me. My eyes widened when I beheld the face of a dead animal not more than a foot from me. Its body was ripped to shreds and there was blood all over the ground. My hands were covered in it. I gasped and scrambled backward.
Will helped me up and I clung to his shirt. "S-something's there!" I squeaked.
He frowned and looked past me. The color drained from his face and his lips pursed together. "It's a deer," he told me.
"Something decided to turn it into spaghetti," I commented.
Will took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to me. "Here, use this."
That's when I noticed my clinging, bloody hands had covered his nice shirt in blood. "I'm so sorry!" I yelped. I released him and gladly accepted his cloth offer. "I-I guess it just shocked me."
"It isn't a pleasant sight," he agreed.
I risked a glance at the animal and my face blanched when I saw the carnage covered a six-foot square area. "What could have done this?" I whispered.
"A mountain lion. There are a few of them up here," he suggested.
"And just left it like this?" I pointed out.
"It looks like a fresh kill, we should leave before it decides to come back," he suggested.
"Gladly," I replied.
Will snatched the flags from near the dead deer and we hurried down the hill twenty yards. He picked up all the flags along the way. "We don't want anyone going that high up and seeing that," he explained.
"Good idea," I readily agreed.
I was unusually quiet as we continued with our work and walked across the hill. Will managed all the chore and I trailed behind him with my thoughts on that poor creature. Those terrible empty eyes and all that blood. I shuddered and wrapped my arms around myself. Whatever killed it didn't have any mercy.
Will stopped and turned to look at me. "You should go back to the cabins," he suggested.
"I'll be fine. The farther away we get from that thing the better I feel," I insisted.
He smiled and his shining eyes told me he admired my pluck. "Very well."
I followed him to the corner, and we made our way down the slope. By the time we emerged onto the road I resembled a porcupine with bush thorns and pine needles. My blood-soaked pants acted like a tar pit for dead leaves and twigs. I brushed my pants and shuddered when my hands touched the sticky blood.
"I think I've had enough adventure for one day," I quipped
.
"Did you want any help back to your cabin?" Will asked me.
I glanced at my cabin twenty yards away, then back at him. "I think I can manage, but you might want to tell Olivia about that deer. She's appreciate that surprise as much as I did, and they might be able to move it or something before the Hunt," I suggested.
"I'm sure Mother Nature will handle the moving, but I will tell her about it," he agreed.
"All right. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go rub my skin off." I walked stiffly to my cabin and left my muddy boots on the porch. Once inside, and with the curtains in the living and dining rooms closed, I stripped and took a nice, hot shower. It washed away my worries and that blood, and when I emerged I was a different woman. Clean.
By that time it was lunch, so I snacked on some chips I brought and took a cool drink onto the back porch to admire the view. The porch had a railing with slats placed close together, and I walked over and leaned against the railing. The sun shone brightly on the lake and the banks of the lake were alive with families, lovers, and dogs. Lots of dogs. They splashed into the water and fetched sticks, chased ducks, and barked. It was noisy, but the soft noise of happiness. I sat down in an old wicker chair on the porch and sighed.
"I'm glad to hear you're feeling better," a voice commented. I whipped my head to the right to see Will walk toward me. His feet hardly made a sound on the wood planks that made up the porch.
"Are you sure you're not a ghost?" I asked him.
He took a seat in the wicker chair near me and smiled. "I have been told I'm very quiet."
"Like something supernatural," I returned.
The smile slipped from his lips and he glanced out on the water. "I informed Olivia about your find. She agreed that the animal should remain there for other predators to find it. It should be gone by the day after tomorrow when the Hunt happens."
I leaned back and furrowed my brow. "You know, it looked a lot like a cow I saw when I drove up here yesterday," I mused.
He turned to me and raised an eyebrow. "A cow?"
I nodded. "Yes. When I drove up yesterday I saw some men gathered around the tailgate a truck looking at a dead cow. It looked a lot like the deer, or what remained of it did."
Will furrowed his brow. "It could merely mean we have a pack of coyotes. Some years they are very thick," he commented.
"But if it was a pack wouldn't they be taking the food with them, or at least eating most of it?" I pointed out.
Will stiffly rose and glanced at his watch. "I'm at a loss to explain it, but if you'll excuse me I have a phone appointment to keep." He bowed his head and hurried off, leaving me with the feeling that I'd said something wrong.