Witness In The Woods. Michele Hauf

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      Now Stella licked his face. So he sat on the ground and she stepped forward onto his legs. The wolf was big, perhaps eighty pounds, but not as big as some could get in the wild. Standing on their back legs, a wolf could rise well over a tall man’s head. Their weight could range from seventy to one hundred fifty pounds, and they were strong and powerful. Stella seemed amiable, willing to accept him.

      “This is the first time she’s ever welcomed a stranger so freely,” Skylar said. “There’s always been something special about you, Joe. I think you’re a wolf whisperer.”

      Joe shook his head. She’d never teasingly called him Nature Boy, as his older brothers were apt to, which he appreciated. It was a nickname that had stuck since that fateful weekend he’d gotten lost in the Boundary Waters. Just thinking about it brought up memories of Max Owen, and that forced Joe back to the present. Because he would not let Max’s bizarre death be ignored without discovering the reason behind it.

      “I just like animals,” he offered. “All animals. And I respect them. They have souls and are more a part of this land than we will ever be. But enough of the greeting—we have to get your person inside,” he said to Stella. “She’s been through a lot. And I want to head across the lake to look around.”

      As Joe stood, the wolf followed, watching him guide Skylar up the stairs by her arm. She was reluctant to accept the assistance—he could sense her tug in resistance—but finally she relented and her body hugged his as he walked her across the deck toward the patio doors.

      Skylar Davis possessed an independent streak deeper than his ability to express his true feelings toward her. They’d known one another since high school, and he’d pined over her from afar since then. They’d become friends as sophomores—biology class had paired them over a frog dissection—and following high school, college had separated them for years. But they’d both found their way back to Checker Hill, and one another. A few years ago, they had decided to take a chance at dating. Thing was, their schedules had never meshed, and each time Joe had asked Skylar if she was free, she had been seeing someone else. Vice versa, for one time she’d asked him out when he’d been dating a girl from Duluth.

      There had been that time at a wedding reception for a mutual friend. They’d both been drunk. And, well, what had ensued that night—or rather, hadn’t—had changed things between them.

      And then Joe’s best friend had stepped into the picture and had turned Skylar’s head completely away from Joe. And that was the reason he hadn’t spoken to her in a year.

      Joe cast a glance down toward the extinguished fire pit. A wedding dress lay smoldering in bits and pieces. He’d like to ask about that, but he’d wait for a better time.