Thinking about that, she realized it was past time to stop agreeing to every offer that came her way. She had enough money invested to make her financially comfortable even if she never carved another piece. She would always carve because that was her passion, but she could be more selective about it.
If she stayed home more, she might have a better chance of finding a soul mate. She could concentrate on it, instead of trying to grab moments to find a match online. She knew in her heart that finding the right man required as much dedication as she devoted to her art, but she hadn’t been willing to make that kind of commitment.
Perhaps the wolf had come partly to teach her that she needed to do so. If Jake was no longer willing to be the wolf’s guardian, then she would take over and allow that to be the beginning of a new life, a new attitude. The more she considered that, the better she liked the idea.
Shifting every so often to make sure her arm didn’t go numb, she continued to watch the tree line. The wolf might not want to come with her initially, but she’d win him over. Once he realized that Jake was finking out on him, he might be grateful for someone who would buy him round steak and give him a soft bed on cold nights.
Daydreaming about her new, more peaceful life with a lighter workload, a companion animal, and perhaps the love of her life made her lose track of time. With a start, she realized the shade had reached the edge of Jake’s deck. And the dark outline she’d identified as the wolf was moving.
Adrenaline made her shaky, but she forced herself to hold the binoculars steady as she followed the progress of that dark shape. It was her wolf, all right. Sometime in the past hour she’d started thinking of him as hers.
Sure enough, he moved cautiously in the direction of Jake’s cabin. He looked ready to bolt at the slightest threat. Jake should be there. Anger simmered at his laissez-faire attitude toward this creature.
Neither totally wild nor totally tame, the wolf was caught in between worlds and needed human protection. If Jake wouldn’t provide that, then she would. Filled with righteous indignation, she watched the wolf slink up the steps to Jake’s deck.
Still no Jake. Was he relaxing with a beer while an injured wolf, desperate for shelter and care, crept into his cabin? What an insensitive idiot! The creep didn’t deserve the wolf’s loyalty, but the animal probably gave it without question.
As she watched, the wolf reached the sliding door and nosed it open. Then he slipped quickly inside. Rachel lowered the binoculars and stood.
She probably shouldn’t storm over there right now when she was furious with the arrogant bastard. But she was going to, anyway. She couldn’t let that wolf spend another night under the roof of a man who cared so little.
She stopped in the kitchen for a couple of candy bars, which she began eating on the way out to her truck. So she’d confront him while she was angry and on a sugar high. So what? That might be the best way to deal with someone as obtuse as he appeared to be.
Sometime during the drive around the lake, as she finished off the second candy bar and tossed the wrapper onto the passenger seat, she remembered that Jake was the guy who had been her first customer. That sale had jump-started her career. She was grateful for that, but bastards could do good things without realizing they were doing them. She thought Jake fit in that category.
Jake wasn’t her concern, anyway. She was focused on the wolf and how she would get him away from Jake and into her truck. If Jake was tired of taking care of the wolf, then her job would be easy. Well, maybe not if she approached him in a belligerent way.
Any hope that he wouldn’t be there, which would excuse his lack of concern for the wolf, vanished as she pulled up beside his truck, which was parked beside his cabin. He was there, all right, and likely had been inside his comfy home during the whole sorry drama. Meanwhile his pet wolf had feared for his life. Apparently Jake didn’t give a damn.
By the time she tromped up his front steps, she was spitting nails. He had a noble animal under his care, and he wasn’t paying the least attention. She hoped he was prepared to turn the wolf over to someone else, because she was ready.
She knocked on the screen door and got no response. The interior door was closed, so she opened the screen and pounded on the wooden door. Still no answer. She wasn’t about to leave without having a conversation with Mr. Jake Hunter, so she banged louder.
“I know you’re in there, Jake!” she called. “And I’m not leaving until you open the door! I want to talk about your wolf!” She’d raised her fist to pound again when the door swung open.
Jake stood there in a pair of sweats and nothing else. As always, he looked amazing. If she hadn’t been so enraged about his behavior, she might have enjoyed the sight.
Apparently he’d had some accident recently, though, because a series of red welts marked his left side. And his nose was bruised. Maybe he’d been in a fight.
She looked into his green eyes, so like the eyes of the wolf. When she’d gazed into his eyes three years ago, they’d been warm and full of interest. Now they were like chips of green glass, cold and hard.
He said nothing. Not hello, or come in, or even what do you want? He just stared at her as if hoping she’d take the hint and leave.
Well, that wasn’t happening. Mr. I Have a Great Body and I Know It was going to answer her questions. “A wolf let himself into your house a little while ago. Where is he?”
Jake’s expression didn’t change. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, yes, you do! You’re keeping a wolf, either full-blooded or a hybrid, on your property.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Look, I’m not going to report you for it, so you don’t have to lie. Reporting you is the last thing I want to do. I’m not worried about what would happen to you, but I don’t want that wolf confiscated, or transported somewhere. Polecat Lake is his home, and he deserves to stay here.”
Jake met that speech with more stony silence.
“Just tell me this. Are you planning to turn him over to a zoo or a sanctuary? That’s the only thing I can figure out, since you were so hot to get rid of my carving. If you’re giving up custody of the wolf, then you probably didn’t want the carving that looks exactly like him, either.”
He studied her for a moment longer. Then he sighed. “Ted Haggerty always said you have an incredible imagination. He must be right if you imagined that you saw a wolf waltz into my house. There’s no wolf here. There never has been a wolf here. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some things to do.” He started to close the door.
“Don’t you dare dismiss me!” She stepped over the threshold. Let him throw her bodily out if he had the guts to do it. “The wolf is not a figment of my imagination, and you damned well know it. Where is he?”
With a shrug that made all those yummy muscles flex, Jake stepped back. “Go ahead. Look around. Maybe this wolf”—he used air quotes to emphasize his mocking tone—“crept into my house without my knowledge. Maybe he’s hiding under the bed. Search the place if that will make you happy.”
“See? You know he likes to hide under the bed!” She was determined not to be distracted by all that bare skin. And where had he picked up those welts, anyway?
“Any frightened creature dives under a bed.”
“If you think I won’t look there because I don’t want to seem crazy, forget it.” She stormed past him. God, but he smelled good.
One quick glance around his combination living and dining room, which looked similar to hers in both layout and furnishings, convinced her that a large black wolf wasn’t there. She noticed that the kitchen had a pocket door like hers, so she walked in there, thinking she might find a water dish and a food bowl on the floor. He wouldn’t have had time to hide every bit of evidence.