Her Perilous Wolf by Julie Steimle (best e book reader TXT) 📕

Chapter One

“What are you looking at, Vincent?”

“Shh! Just stay down and look!”

Audry Bruchenhaus crouched down next to her favorite cousin, Vincent Williams, crawling up the sand on the beach behind the high sand dune which at this point she could not see over. Crouched down next to him was her niece Maris, her brother’s daughter who was eight, adventurous, and currently having fun spying on whatever Vincent was spying on. Thankfully there was a scraggly bush that caught much of the sand and gave them cover to hide behind. As it was summer, all of them were in their bathing suits, though Audry wore a buttery yellow sundress over hers.

Audry glanced to the left where the ocean waves were rolling in and out, almost rhythmically. She could hear the wind blowing over the grasses to her right and gulls above. She could also hear laughter on the beach below where they were spying. Ahead, several yards away, was another beach cabin, clearly occupied. And apparently the inhabitants were playing down below. Whatever they were doing, it was entertaining her cousin and niece to utter distraction.

Audry sighed and scooted in closer to see what they were seeing, pulling up the skirts to her sundress so she would not step on them.

Every year their two families (the Williamses and Bruchenhauses) got together for a week at the beach before the end of summer, usually renting the same beach house. Their parents got on so well (her father and his mother being brother and sister), despite how crazy and snobby their other Bruchenhaus relatives were, that they had made it a tradition. However, sometimes it got boring. Lately they sought all sorts of things to do, including make new friends on the beach, which was what Audry had initially thought they were doing.

“What the…” Audry drew in a breath. It took a moment to see what they were seeing. There were other sand dunes which obscured their view of the group down below, but they could see those people below were college-aged if not just barely graduated, late twenties, also at a beach party. It had all the features of a reunion party actually. Audry thought it was odd that her cousin and niece were so entertained by this group—that is, until she recognized a few of the people down there.

Matthew Calamori, a New York policeman whom she had interacted with (and was clearly off duty), was walking in swim trunks from the house to the beach, looking cheerful and all Italian with his creamy sun-kissed skin. Randon was also there but without his wife Silvia. He was also shirtless, paler, and talking with a guy on porch who looked like he could be Randon’s brother—except that the man was wearing a long sleeve shirt, sunglasses, and was well in the shade as if he were allergic to the sun like a vampire. And she also saw Tom Brown, Matthew’s best friend, who was wearing a sleeveless hoodie, and swim trunks, the most wet and laughing. He was also a CIA agent.

“We should go,” Audry said, her heart booming. She knew a few more things about Tom and Matthew which made her want to leave now. Both men were a little, yet inexplicably, psychic.

“Shh!” Vincent hissed, not budging.

And that was when she saw him. Howard Richard Deacon III.

‘Rick’ Deacon was on the beach throwing a frisbee between a Chinese guy, and possibly a dog. She could not see the entire game, as half of it was behind another sand dune which all three of them were running behind as if they were going in a circuit. That is, she thought there were three of them until she saw a different dog. The first one had been a poodle.

“That one is a collie,” Vincent said to Maris.

Maris nodded.

Audry shifted closer to him, watching.

Rick ran back into view, expertly catching the plastic disk, tumbling over the sand with the skill of a guy who had never quit sports even though he was going into business full time. His front and back were both heavily scarred, crisscrossed with damage, some wounds old, others new, like his skin had been a patchwork quilt. When he threw the frisbee, he quickly dashed ahead to the other side where they could unfortunately not see. But then out ran the Chinese guy. He was in blue boxers, which were rather loose on him. Audry was a little afraid they’d fall off. He was grabbing them, tugging at the drawstrings to fix them. He caught the frisbee then ran back to the other side.

This time a rust-haired wolf ran out.

Audry and Maris both drew in breaths. The wolf caught the frisbee in his teeth.

“Is that a wolf?” Vincent gasped.

“Yeah,” Audry said, recognizing that wolf too. His back was scarred, his rusty fur, erratic. It had been marred with stitching from a recent cougar attack which she, herself had rescued him from. The wolf looked otherwise healthy and happy—but what was a wild wolf doing on a public beach?

“Why is that wolf wearing boxer shorts?” Vincent asked.

Audry stared. Then she really stared, as they were the same green color shorts Rick was just wearing.

The wolf ran out of view with the frisbee in his mouth.

A Great Dane then ran into view, also wearing shorts. His were blue. The frisbee sailed toward him. They watched him catch it in is large maw, loping over the beach on his long legs.

“Big dog,” Maris said, breathless.

But Audry shook, her mind in overdrive. It went even more into panic mode when she saw Rick run again into view—wearing those green boxers, with that heavily scarred front and back. No way could that be a coincidence.

She immediately got up and ran from the sandy dune.

“Where’s she going?” Vincent looked back as she fled.

Maris shrugged.

They continued watching. They saw a doberman next. The wolf a second time and then a golden retriever.

“How many dogs are down there?” Vincent murmured, squinting to see better.

“Well… fancy that,” said a bright voice up to their right.

Vincent immediately grabbed Maris and pulled her close. He looked to run. But his eyes fixed upon the tall, pale man in the sleeveless hoodie, shorts, and sunglasses. He was grinning manically.

But then Randon walked up, whom Vincent recognized better once he was close. Randon grinned, “Hey, it’s Vincent, right?” His eyes then flickered to Maris. “And Maris Bruchenhaus. How’s your arm?”

Vincent looked down to Maris, whispering, “You know him?”

Maris nodded, rising to her feet and dusting the sand off. She propped her hands onto her hips and asked, “How many dogs do you have down there?”

Randon and Tom exchanged looks. Tom laughed. Randon shrugged and replied, “As many as we want?”

That made no sense to Vincent, who realized there was something really odd about these people. It gave him chills. He realized that perhaps Audry had a good reason to run.

“There were three people here just a second ago,” Tom said, strolling around the two then peeking to the side of the sand dune in case someone was hiding. “Where is the third member of your party?”

Vincent rose onto his two feet and squared his shoulders. “It’s just Maris and me.”

Tom’s grin crooked up the side of his mouth, his eyebrows raising.

Maris rolled her eyes though, and said, “Aunt Audry was here just a second ago. But she went back.”

“Audry?” Both men echoed, sounding shocked.

“Shh!” Vincent covered Maris’s mouth with his hands.

Tom and Randon exchanged looks. This time they appeared concerned.

“What did you see?” Tom asked, listening intently, though it did not seem to be to their words. It was like he was hearing the wind talk to him, or rather, shout out at him.

Vincent colored, speechless for a moment. “Uh… we didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just, we saw the dogs and…”

“You stayed for the frisbee show,” Randon concluded, chuckling.

Both Maris and Vincent nodded. Maris smiled freely, but Vincent could not help but glance back toward his family’s beach house, wishing to escape.

Tom slung a long arm around Vincent’s shoulder. It felt rather heavy and threatening, though Tom spoke with such a lighthearted laugh. “So… we’re going to have a party this evening. We’re inviting a ton of people. And, well, since you are here, we’d like to invite you too.”

Vincent chuckled nervously.

“Can I come?” Maris eagerly asked, hopping on her feet.

“Sorry, sweetie,” Randon said, bending down to her level. “This is a grown-up party—and probably past your bedtime.” But then he lifted his eyed to Vincent. “But we would like to invite Audry, if she would come.”

“Uh…” Vincent tried to slip out of Tom’s hold, pushing off the man’s weighty arm. “We’re probably busy. We’re all here with family and—”

“The campfire roast is tomorrow, Cousin Vincent,” Maris said. “Tonight, Mom, Gramma and Cousin Vivian want to talk about babies.” She rolled her eyes. “Skyler says it’s gonna be boring. He said Dad’s planning a man’s night with sports for you guys.” She rolled her eyes more.

“All that baby talk will be boring for Skyler, but not for you,” Vincent reassured her. “Trust me.”

“Well,” Tom said, letting Vincent go—a relief off his back and neck. “Pass on the invitation to Audry anyway—or for that matter, any adult who wants to come. We are inviting a ton of people.”

Vincent shot him a side look, and nodded.

Randon winked at him, but first time since he met the guy, it felt ominous. Vincent hardly knew him, to be honest. He had met him once when moving Audry out of her New York apartment. He was beginning to see why Audry wanted such a hasty move. After all, she had said her roommate was a witch—and she was not calling her names either

Vincent led Maris by the hand back to their family’s strip of beach, taking a slight roundabout route. No one followed them—that is if he did not count the black cat who showed up and began to rub up against his ankle for attention. It followed them back to the cabin, not human shy at all.

Their family cabin was just large enough for the two single gals (Vicky and Audry) to bunk together in the loft with Maris, and the five couples to each have their own room. That left Vincent and Skyler the living room couch and pull-out bed most evenings.

As Vincent let Maris loose, the cat following her, he searched around for Audry. His cousin (Audry’s brother) Doug, with Doug’s wife Jean, were there on the patio playing backgammon. On the beach, his oldest sister Vivian was with her husband James Timlinson, playing with Skyler and making a sand sculpture. Vivian was eight months pregnant and excited to be a mother—which was why they would be talking about babies that evening. Vanessa, his sister just a year older than him, was swimming in the ocean with her husband Owen Stephens. Vicky, the middle sister, was nowhere to be seen outside. And neither were either parents or Audry.

Opening the cabin door with a nod to Doug and Jean, Vincent paused and asked, “Have you seen Audry?”

Both of them shook their heads.

“I thought she was looking for you?” Doug said, rolling the dice on the board. He got a four and a five. He decided to move two pieces.

“She found us,” Vincent murmured, “but then she left again.”

“Oh.” Doug watched Jean pick up the dice, and drop it into the cup for her roll, not really that interested. 

Vincent opened the door the rest of the way and went inside.

Vicky was sitting in the living room, propping her toes the coffee table, painting her toenails. Both sets of their parents were in the kitchen, assembling something for lunch. Lifting his chin and peering over, Vincent detected marinated chicken and fruit kebabs. There were not enough vegetables to make Audry happy, as she