I'm Not Afraid of Wolves (The Cotton Candy Quintet Book 4) (3 page)

I raised an eyebrow. The big guy just winked at me. The audacity.

“That’ll be $4.79, Officer Donnelly,” the attendant said, her smile spreading across her face. The ranger must come through here a lot. The register binged as she took out the change and deposited it in his hands. As their fingertips touched, I could see the blush on her cheek deepen.

Apparently, Smokey Bear has this effect on a lot of women.

I picked up the Gatorade and bottled coffee. “Thank you,” I said, confused.

He shrugged as we turned away. “Least I could do.”

“For what?”

“A pretty lady.”

“Is this your way of flirting?”

A lopsided smile spread across his face. “Something like that.”

He opened the door and gestured for me to go ahead.

“It may be wasted,” I told him as I stepped outside. “I’m only here for a few days.”

“Being nice to a pretty lady is never wasted,” he said. Southern hospitality at its finest. “So you’re here for camping?”

“Yeah. Up off the Chattooga River. We’re staying at my friend’s cabin.” She wasn’t technically
my
friend, but you don’t go into that kind of detail when you’re chit-chatting with a hot park ranger.

“The McMillan Cabin?”

“I have no idea,” I said truthfully. “Do cabins have names out here?” Like they did in movies?

“Some do,” he said good-naturedly. “The nice ones do. Any special reason?”

Sara’s words and worry flitted through my mind, but I managed to keep my expression the same. “We just wanted a nice, relaxing vacation.”

“Oh, you’ll get relaxing out there,” he said. He pulled out his wallet and handed me a business card.
Colton Donnelly, Park Ranger.
And there was phone number underneath it.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Just call me if there’s anything you need.”

“I don’t get cellphone reception up here.”

He pressed his lips into a fine line, and I marveled at how it accentuated his jawline. “That’s a problem out here. Lack of reception for some carriers. Just keep an eye out. There lots of things to watch out for.”

“Lots of mountain lions?” I joked.

“And wolves,” he added. “But if you ever find yourself with cell phone coverage and want to talk or have a drink…” His voice trailed off and he grinned.

“Like a date?” I asked. I was born and raised in the city. I had no idea how you would even date out here.

“Yes, Miss…?” He paused and frowned. “Please tell me it’s just ‘Miss’.”

I laughed. “
Miss
Christine Driver,” I said, using my maiden name, even though I hadn’t legally changed it yet. Yeah, yeah, I know. I just didn’t do it for the longest time, and now it feels pointless.

“Colton Donnelly,” he said, holding out his hand for me to shake. I took it.

“Nice to meet you. Well,” I said, “I should get going. We have another forty-five minutes or so.” According to GPS, most of that wasn’t on a paved road, so it was going to be interesting to see how my car sickness handled it.

“Likewise,” he said. “Just be careful out there, all right?” He tipped his hat to me again.

“Will do.”

I took that opportunity to jog back to the Jeep where Andrea let out a low whistle.

“Look at Christine, flirting with the locals,” she jokingly catcalled.

I couldn’t help the grin that was spreading across my face as I settled into the passenger’s seat. “He was nice. Do you know him?”

Andrea frowned. “You don’t forget a face like that.”

Sara watched me with an amused expression as she put the Jeep into gear. “Christine always goes native wherever she is. Whether it’s mermaids or in Vegas.”

I looked out the window to see Officer Donnelly get into a huge F-350 with “Georgia State Park Ranger” on the side. The big truck fit him like a glove.

Well, that was an unexpected turn of events on this vacation. And for the first time, I’d forgotten all about my worries for the mermaids.

“Oh, how pretty!” Sara exclaimed as she slammed the door behind her. “Andrea, I was expecting something rustic, but this is…”

“Awe-inspiring?” I finished for her, getting out of the Jeep myself.

“Yeah, that,” Sara agreed.

“It’s been in my family for a long time,” Andrea said, crossing her arms. “I try to come out here at least once a year.”

The cabin was nowhere near as rough as I’d imagined it to be. It was made out of wood, sure, but this was a two-story structure complete with a stonework chimney and green metal roof. There was even a deck that overlooked the river with a grill on it.

I’d been expecting something more in the vein of
Evil Dead
. But this was…
amazing.

Emily was frowning behind her sunglasses. I almost thought she didn’t like what she saw, but then the corner of her mouth turned up. “This is pretty awesome.”

“It really is, isn’t it?” Andrea said, almost proudly. “It used to be a lot worse when I was younger, but my brother renovated it about five summers ago. We even have running water now.”

It certainly reinforced the phrase “glamping” in my head. Even with Sara’s troubles, I was glad that I decided to come out here.

Despite everything, this was going to be a good vacation. I was sure of it.

***

Andrea flicked the lights on, illuminating the great room. Two large couches faced an entire wall of glass that looked out over the ridge and the river. A grand fireplace dominated one wall while the open concept kitchen was on the opposite end.

Fridge, stove, deck, cloudlike couches—this place was paradise.

“Why would you ever go back to Atlanta?” Sara asked Andrea, echoing my sentiments.

“I wonder that myself,” Andrea said with a shrug. “Every time. But we rent it out and it helps pay for those renovations. Not a bad gig at all. Besides, my life is back in Atlanta.”

I didn’t know why her life wasn’t here. I felt like I could truly relax here. Well, except for Sara’s situation.

“There are five bedrooms,” Andrea said. “And a basement. And…well, you just hang out here. We don’t get internet or TV or good cell reception. So you just unplug from society for a while.”

“I love it,” Emily sighed. She got a mischievous grin. “Should we crack open the first bottle of wine?”

“Wine opener’s in that drawer,” Andrea said, pointing to the drawer on the far left. “Glasses are in the cabinet.”

I helped Sara put the food away in the fridge as Emily uncorked the bottle of merlot.

“Looks like we’ll get plenty of time to talk about what’s going on with you while we’re out here,” I said to her under my breath.

Sara got a panicked look as she glanced back at Emily and Andrea, who were chatting away to themselves. “Can’t we just have fun?”

“You said you’d tell me.”

“But you won’t believe me,” she said.

I frowned. “Try me. And I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s happening.”

Our eyes met, and I held her gaze, willing her to speak. Finally, she nodded.

“Okay.”

“I think the wine is going to go quickly, ladies,” Emily called. She waved the empty bottle and I saw that there were four full glasses of wine. “We’re already down one.”

“I brought a whole case,” Sara said, settling back into her carefree smile like liquid. I was actually amazed at how easily she did that. “We should be fine for four days.”

She got up from her crouch in front of the fridge and walked over to the counter and picked up one of the glasses. I did the same.

“To some much-needed R-and-R,” Andrea announced.

We clinked our glasses together.

***

I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I sat down and read for longer than fifteen minutes. When I was in my teens, I used to sit down and read a book a day, but when I got older, I stopped reading and got caught up with life.

I found that here, life caught up with you.

I sat on the deck in an Adirondack chair, a glass of wine to my left with my paperback copy of
First Comes Love
in my hands. I was almost done with it, and I only had one more paperback to read before I was out of reading material.

Too bad I couldn’t charge up my phone and download more books to read. I guess I’d have to pace myself.

The full moon hung lazily over the mountaintops. The bluish white of it reflected off the ripples on the Chattooga River. Somewhere off the distance an owl hooted, but other than that, it was a quiet, still night.

Dinner had been grilled chicken wings and vegetables, which was delicious. To my utter delight, Emily and Andrea and I were hitting it off very well, so the four of us made quite the group. I’d been worried about not fitting in with Sara’s friends, but it seemed like we’d been doing great.

I checked the time on my otherwise worthless phone. 10:05pm. I wondered if everyone was in bed. Or if I could find Sara and ask her what’s up.

“It’s pretty, isn’t it?”

I looked up to see Andrea standing in the doorway. This was the first time she and I were able to talk alone,
mano a mano
.

I grinned at her. “I agree with Sara—why would you ever go back to Atlanta? When you have all this?”

She chuckled and took another chair next to mine. “I suppose I could get satellite internet and work freelance for a few clients to make a living. But…” She sighed. “I think I would die without a Thai restaurant nearby. Or a mall.”

I laughed. “Yeah, that is one of the drawbacks.”

“Plus, my boyfriend works in Atlanta, so that would put a damper on things.”

“That it would. Long distance is hard.” Not that I’d ever had the chance to really experience it myself. Shane had been overbearing, making me feel claustrophobic. Long distance never figured into our relationship.

“Is there anyone special for you?” Andrea asked. “Back in…?”

“Jacksonville?” I finished for her. “Nah. I used to be married, but that ended.”

“Oh,” she said with a frown.

“It was a good thing,” I corrected her. “I got out of a bad situation.”

“Makes me appreciate Reggie all the more,” Andrea said after a time. “You have to hold onto the good ones.”

“Yeah, you do.”

“Officer Donnelly sure took an interest in you,” she said playfully.

“So you know him?” I asked with a grin.

“Oh yeah,” she said, stretching in her chair. “Big guy. Doesn’t talk too much.”

“He seemed nice.”

“And hot,” Sara added, diverting both of our attention to her as she came out on the deck. “Mind if I join you?”

“Not at all,” I said, taking another sip of wine.

She shut the sliding door behind her and looked out over the railing. “Emily already conked out. I think she had too much.”

Andrea chuckled. “She can NOT pace herself.”

“My case won’t last at this rate,” Sara said in a mock-mournful tone.

“Neither will my books,” I said, holding the paperback up.

“Hey,” Andrea said, “we’re here to relax. No worrying about running out of stuff. We really
are
only about forty minutes from civilization. We’ll be fine.”

“Yeah,” Sara said distractedly. “Yeah, we will be fine.”

Her words hung in the air, and I wondered if Andrea picked up the melancholy in them. I watched my sister, and now that I was paying attention, I could see the lines of worry in her face, how she masked everything with her boisterous personality.

I realized then how much I had missed her over the years. I missed how a lot of things were in the past.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Andrea stretched and yawned. “Well,” she said. “At the risk of sounding like an old grandma, I think I’m going to go to bed. After all, I’m supposed to relax, right?”

I nodded, glad that this could be my moment alone with Sara. “Yep.”

Andrea got up from her chair while stifling another yawn. “I’ll see you guys in the morning,” she said.

“Night!” I called after her.

“Good night,” Sara said softly.

When the sliding door locked, I turned my gaze onto Sara and watched her, waiting for her to bring up her story. I wanted her to be the one who talked first, if only because I didn’t want to prod her too much if she was traumatized by whatever this was.

But if she was going to try to weasel her way out of talking to me, she had another thing coming.

“Wow,” she murmured softly. “Look at that full moon.”

I picked up a note of fear in her voice. “Yeah,” I said cautiously. “It’s beautiful.”

“I used to think so.” Sara turned around and looked back at me. Her eyes were wide with fright and the rigidity told me something else was going on with her.

Finally, my patience snapped.

“Sara, what’s wrong?”

“You won’t believe me,” she repeated, using the same phrase she used when we were putting food away.

I crossed my arms. “I think you’ll be surprised.”

Sara’s jaw worked. “I think I’m going to need more wine for this.”

I held up my glass. “Just drink mine.”
Don’t think I’m letting you back in the kitchen that easily.
She’d run away and hide and hoped I’d forget about it. She wanted to talk about it, but she was too afraid to.

She took my glass and downed the rest of it in one chug. I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

“Okay,” she said, as if warming herself up for our talk. “Okay.”

“It will be all right,” I told her.

“No, it won’t.” Tears started filling her eyes. “Christine, do you believe in werewolves?”