Red and the Wolf (5 page)

“Ruby.”

She almost stopped when he called her by her real name, but only missed a half step before continuing on. He fell in step easily beside her.

“Are you avoiding me?”

“Is it obvious?” she shot back.

“Yes,” he conceded. “What I don’t understand is
why
.” She didn’t say anything, so he continued. “Is it because of Rafe?”

Ruby skidded to a stop and swung around on him. “It’s because of both of you! Since he’s returned you have pitted me in some strange tug of war between you, and I don’t like it. You’ve never paid so much attention to me before. Why now? I don’t need you to use me for whatever this game is that you’re playing. I want you both to leave me alone!”

She stomped off. To her amazement, he continued to walk with her. What was
with
these Wolfe boys?

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” he said. “But, Red, how can you not know that for three years I’ve been trying to get you to notice me?”

Ruby stopped again, looking up at him in disbelief. “What are you talking about, Lowell?”

He shuffled nervously, hands in his pockets, watching his feet. “I know that before Rafe left you had . . . feelings for him. I’d watched you guys together over the years. I was always jealous.” He glanced up at her to see her reaction and she snapped her mouth closed. His dark eyes, so like Rafe’s, glinted as he smiled. “I thought you knew that.” She shook her head. “I was jealous not only because you held my brother’s complete attention and were the friend to him I wanted to be, but also because he held your admiration. I wanted you to look at me the way you looked at him.”

Ruby shook her head. “I had no idea.”

Lowell shrugged. “I know. When Rafe left, I thought maybe that was my chance to show you that I could be as worthy of you as he was. More so. I wouldn’t leave the way he did.” Ruby dropped her eyes, not wanting him to see the pain his words recalled. “I didn’t want to push too hard, Red, because I knew you were hurting. I thought I had more time. I didn’t think Rafe would ever come home.”

Ruby folded her arms tightly, looking off into the distance. She had prayed, daily, for Rafe to come home. She’d prayed that he would come back and would want her, that he would sweep her off her feet and make the ache left by his leaving go away. Instead, he came home without any explanation for his silence, and without any promises that he’d stay. He kissed her, opening her heart to him once again, which meant that when he did go, she’d be left with a hole even wider than the one he’d created last time.

Now, here was Lowell, who’d always been a nemesis of sorts, telling her he wanted her for himself. But why? They had nothing in common. Was it just because of Rafe, so he could prove to Rafe that he could have the one thing Rafe couldn’t?

Though who was she fooling? She knew that if Rafe said the word, she’d be just foolish enough to give him the chance to hurt her again. Hadn’t she responded to his kiss as if three years hadn’t passed? He’d asked the other night for her to give him a chance, though he never said what for. A chance to break her heart again?

“I’d just like a chance to show you that you’d be better off with me,” Lowell said. She twitched at his choice of words.

Ruby decided she should be honest with Lowell, at least about a few things. “Lowell, I’ve never thought of you, you know,
that
way.”

She saw the tightening in his expression.

“It has nothing to do with Rafe. Whether he’d come back or not, I wouldn’t . . .”

Lowell closed his eyes as if in pain, opened them, and took a step toward her, arms outstretched. “Red—”

She stepped back as if stung, hands up to ward off his advance. “Don’t!” she commanded, more harshly than she’d intended. “And don’t . . . don’t call me Red anymore.”

She turned and strode away, jogging back to her house. She went in the front door and saw her father splayed in his recliner watching an infomercial, a bottle of vodka hanging from one hand. She ignored him and went up to her room. She threw her purse across the room with impressive force, knocking a shelf from the wall. With a cry, she ran across the room, stooping to pick up the oak leaf.

The bottle she kept it in was broken, but the leaf was still intact. She breathed a sigh of relief. The pressed leaf, striated with yellow, orange, and red, was one of her most prized possessions. The day Rafe had given it to her was the first time she thought of him as something more than just a friend.

They’d been in the woods where they played frequently growing up, as did all of the kids of Piera. It was Ruby’s fifteenth birthday, which thrilled her because now Rafe couldn’t claim to be older than her, as he’d been for the past six months. They’d climbed an oak tree, one of the few that grew and thrived in the forest among the evergreens and quaking aspens that abounded. Straddling a branch high above the ground, they watched as Lowell searched for them. He finally gave up, going home.

Ruby looked up at Rafe, grinning, and saw him watching her with an odd expression on his face.

“What?” she asked defensively.

“Nothing,” he said. He scooted a little closer to her and reached behind her. As his arm bushed her shoulder, and his shoulder neared her face, Ruby felt something unusual crawl up her belly. It was a feeling of thrill, a sort of tightness that came when something exciting was about to happen. She breathed in Rafe’s familiar scent, and her heart skipped a beat. Heat flushed her cheeks as she realized she was thinking of Rafe in a way she definitely shouldn’t be.

He pulled back, the leaf held in his hand. “Look at this,” he breathed.

Ruby pulled her eyes from his face and looked at the leaf. It was amazing, the colors not easily found all together in a single leaf this early in the season. “Wow,” she agreed. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, it is.” Something in his voice caught her attention and she looked at him to see him watching her. His words seemed to have a different meaning behind them, though she couldn’t fathom what.

“You should give it to your mom,” she said, trying to sound normal while wondering how Rafe would react if she threw herself at him and planted a kiss on him.

Rafe’s eyes dropped to the leaf. He caressed it with his thumb. Ruby’s gaze was drawn to the motion and she imagined him doing the same thing to her cheek.

“You know the legend of oak trees, right?” he said, shaking her from her musings.

“Oak trees have a legend?” she asked.

“Several actually. In many cultures the oak tree was seen as god-like, so it was considered a sin or bad luck to cut one down.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. And see that?” He pointed to a large round object about ten feet above their heads attached to a branch. “That’s called an oak apple.”

“Oaks don’t have apples.”

“It’s not an apple you can eat. They’re created by worms. Legend says if you find the worm, you’ll have prosperity and success your whole life.”

Ruby lifted a brow. “You’re making this up.”

“I’m not. If you catch a falling leaf before it hits the ground, you won’t get sick all winter.”

“Did you catch that one?” She pointed to the leaf he held.

“Nope. I plucked it.”

“Bad luck,” she teased.

“Maybe. The Druids practically worshipped oak trees. They used them in rituals, for protection, and they always carried an acorn to prevent old age.”

“Uh-huh,” she said disbelievingly. “And you know all this because . . .?”

“I read about it.” He shrugged and smiled at her, and her heart flip-flopped. “They’re strong and mighty, the mightiest of all the trees. Oaks symbolize strength and courage.” Ruby thought Rafe was like an oak in that way, strong and mighty. He was built for the hard farm work he did every day. His thick arms, broad shoulders, and hard muscled chest attested to that. He continued, unaware of her perusal. “Romans thought oak trees attracted lightening on purpose, which connected the oak to the sky god Jupiter and his wife Juno, the goddess of marriage. So the oak also symbolizes fidelity.”

Rafe held the leaf out to her. “Here. I want you to have it. That way, you won’t ever forget me.”

Ruby took the leaf, and not wanting him to know what it meant that he’d given it to her, said, “As if I could ever forget you, you big jerk. Who else would feed me full of a bunch of made up stories about a tree?”

Rafe laughed and swung down from the tree. Ruby tucked the leaf carefully inside her vest and then followed him. He picked up an acorn and handed it to her.

“Supposedly, the acorn keeps you young and increases fertility and sexual potency. You might need that later on.”

Ruby’s mouth dropped open in shock as Rafe laughed. Wisely, he began running. She threw the acorn at him. It glanced off the side of his head. She took chase, slowing enough to stop and scoop up the acorn, putting it in her pocket.

Remembering the acorn, Ruby dropped to her knees and scoured her bedroom floor to find it. It had been in the bottle with the leaf. She put her hand down—right on top of a piece of the broken glass. Cursing, she pulled her bleeding hand back just as she spotted the acorn. She grabbed it, putting it in her pocket as she stood.

She went into the bathroom and ran her hand beneath the water. Her skin was split wide enough she’d have to wrap it, but not deep enough for stitches. Once she had it clean, she tightly bound it with gauze wrap. She went downstairs and made her dad dinner, which she had to force him to eat. Then she got him up to his room, where he collapsed on the bed, fully dressed.

Ruby sighed, looking down at him. “Great life you have, Ruby Hood,” she muttered to herself. “Friday night, twenty years old, sitting at home, and going to bed at,” she glanced at her watch, “ten o’clock. Could life get any better?”

The next morning, life for all of Piera changed.

Part II: The Wolf

Ruby stepped out of the house at nine a.m. She figured Marina wouldn’t say too much about her showing up an hour early. Piera’s lone police car raced past, startling her. It never raced anywhere. People ran on foot in the same direction.

“What’s going on?” Ruby yelled to one of her neighbors as he hurried by.

“The wolf,” was all he said before breaking into a run.

Curious, Ruby followed the crowd, running along with them until they reached the Johansen farm where a crowd gathered around the large barn. Ruby pushed around the outside of the crowd. When she got to where she could see the door, she stopped, shock quivering through her. The outside of the big red door had thick, deep, violent scratches down the length of it. The heavy metal padlock that had secured the door was now a twisted chunk of broken steel.

“The wolf did that?” she asked incredulously.

“Yeah.” Ruby didn’t look to see who spoke. She couldn’t tear her eyes from the immense amount of damage, particularly the lock.

The Sherriff and his Deputy came out of the barn, along with several of the local farmers. They were dragging Bradford, the Johansen’s prized—and very valuable—bull. The bulk of its body had been shredded. Ruby gasped, along with many others in the crowd. Bradford was big, almost two tons, and mean. What kind of beast could damage such a large creature?

Two of those who helped pull the bovine from the barn were Rafe and Lowell. Lowell looked grim, but Rafe . . . Rafe looked furious. And, oddly enough, he also looked like he felt guilty about something. As if sensing her, Rafe glanced up, his gaze locking with hers. Without so much as a nod of acknowledgement, he turned back to the task at hand.

Bradford was the only loss to the Johansen’s livestock though other horses and cows filled the barn. There was much speculation as to why the wolf chose to attack the large bull instead of any of the smaller—and less valuable—animals. Once he was moved far enough from the barn, Bradford was doused with gasoline and set ablaze. The heat pushed the crowd back, the stinging fumes and fear causing tears among the spectators.

Sickened, Ruby turned away and walked to the shop, heart heavy for the loss. She was glad Marina kept to her word and only sent her on local deliveries and in helping prepare and pack the deliveries to be picked up this afternoon that went out into the world. Her mind was so distracted, she wouldn’t have been much help with anything else. Even Marina was quiet for most of the day.

At three o’clock, Ruby finished. She left the shop, through the front door, and saw Rafe leaning against a telephone pole across the street, staring distractedly in the distance, one arm crossed, the other hand rubbing his chin. She considered ignoring him, but then remembered his face as he helped with the grim task this morning and crossed the street to him.