Why a Wolf Cries by Julie Steimle (interesting books to read .TXT) 📕

All of them shot Silvia a dark look, including Randon who had rolled his eyes at his wife.

“Please, no.” Audry lifted up her hands. “I’d sooner believe that the wolf went with them on the trip. Just somebody admit to me that the Deacons keep that wolf as a pet.”

James shook his head. “He’s not a pet.”

Randon also shook his head. “I can’t say that, Audry.”

Silvia grinned at her, putting her arm around Audry’s shoulder. “That wolf just follows Rick everywhere. It’s quite fond of him—though Rick is really not that fond of the wolf.”

Audry looked to her. “Why?”

Shrugging, Silvia glanced to Randon. Randon shrugged.

But James said, “The wolf is why his parents divorced. And Rick has never gotten over that.”

Audry stared. She had heard about the divorce and it having something to do with a wolf attack, but she had met the woman and she did not look like any wolf had attacked her. All of it felt fishy. “So why does the wolf like him?”

James grinned. “The same reason the wolf likes you.”

And she blushed. None of it made sense.

There was little else to say after that. Audry was still angry with the Deacons over it all. She was furious on behalf of her wolf. She just wanted her wolf safe.

Randon and Silvia eventually persuaded Audry to go with them for lunch, then head back to Cody, Wyoming.

But as they went out into the parking lot, the camera crew cleaning up their equipment and the tow truck starting off with its cargo, Audry’s eye caught on the license plate of the wrecked car. Normally she did not memorize such things as numbers and letters, but she had memorized one license plate besides her own. It was because Rick was in a habit of giving his friends cars just like his, and it was a pain to tell them apart. She knew his plate number. She had driven his car before. And the plate before her eyes was his.

Audry drew in a sharp breath, leaning on Silvia, pointing. “That’s…”

Randon and Silvia exchanged looks.

“Yeah,” Randon said, reaching out to prop her up. “Ranger Douglass just told me about it. They took Rick to Cody yesterday. I think he’s even in even the same hospital.”

She felt faint.

“Whoa!” Silvia caught her. “Hey! Audry.”

“Maybe I should drive,” Randon said, reaching for her keys.

Silvia nodded.

“No!” Audry protested, and yet she could hardly walk two more steps, entirely stunned that Rick was the one who had been in the accident. Randon took her keys, while Silvia helped her into the back seat, her eyes worried.

“How is it possible?” Audry gasped, looking to Silvia whose sympathetic gaze seemed to be all she could focus on.

Silvia shrugged, adjusting her seatbelt.

“The story is,” Randon said from the front as he started the car, “that he had overheard from a ranger about the cougar attack, and he heard the name Bruchenhaus and he also picked up something about the wolf as well. He connected the dots and tried to get to the canyon village a little faster than he should have…and he skidded off the road, rolling his car.”

“He’s lucky to be alive,” Silvia murmured on that.

“Why would Rick be that stupid?” Audry asked, weakly.

Randon chuckled painfully. “Because he likes you… and doesn’t ever want to see you hurt.”

She shook her head. The guy was a fool.

“He’s damn impulsive is what he is,” Silvia said, but in a kind way, her eyes on Audry who was slowly getting over her shock.

“Will he be ok?” Audry whispered as they rolled into the road to go back to Cody.

Silvia brushed her hand over Audry’s forehead, pulling stray hairs out of her eyes. “Yeah. I’m sure he’s being well cared for. He got the best first aid one could possibly get.”

“No kidding,” Randon muttered, peeking at them from the rearview mirror.

That assured her. But once Rick was recovered, Audry wanted to slap him. The fool should have been more careful.

Chapter Ten

The media were swarming over the hospital when they arrived. News trucks were already there. Journalists were seeking interviews as well as views of both the accident victim and his father, but the nurses effectively kept them out. Once Audry squeezed through the noisy nosy media folk with Randon and Silvia, the nurses spotted her and quickly guided her away from it. They led her in to see Maris, allowing Randon and Silvia to tag along once Audry vouched for them. However, Randon whispered to Audry that he was going to look for Rick and he would come back to let her know how he was doing.

“I don’t think they will let you,” Audry said, still dizzy over the revelation that Rick Deacon got into a car accident because he was worried about her and the wolf.

Randon winked, looking almost Cheshire cattish. “I have my ways.”

“No worries,” Silvia said, grinning with the same intent to sneak into Rick’s hospital room. “He’s my shadow.”

Audry colored, whispering, “You have a shadow against nurses?”

Silvia giggled. Of course she didn’t. But Audry had a feeling she probably could get in any place she wanted anyway.

Shrugging, Audry went in to see her niece. She wasn’t so sure Rick would want her to know he was in the hospital. He was the kind of guy to keep everything secret.

Jean was in the room, finishing off a book she was reading to Maris from her iPad. Skyler was sitting in a corner, quietly playing video games. Doug was not there.

Audry went to the side of the bed where Maris was sighing, gazing toward her mother. Jean nodded as Audry glanced around the room for a spare stool or chair. There had been two the night before.

“…  if there ever was, or ever would be another chance for Stephanie to go back to Flinderlost, she would take it. She just would not follow another will-o’-the-wisp again.” Jean set down the iPad. “That’s the end of the book. Do you want me to find another story?”

Maris shook her head. Then saw Audry. She sat up straighter. “Hi. How’s the wolf?”

Audry shrugged, pulling the seat up. “Mr. Deacon—I met him here yesterday—sent someone to pick him up before we got there. They said he has been taken to a vet and will be ok. But I’m still worried.”

“Mr. Deacon?” Jean straightened up from her comfortable slouch. “What are you saying? Is that wolf really his?”

Shrugging, Audry felt tired. “It’s up for debate. But anyway, how are you?” She looked to Maris.

Maris returned the shrug. “It hurts, but not so much.”

“The doctor says he wants to do a few more tests before he releases her,” Jean said. “So we’ll be here one more day.”

Audry nodded, peeking to Skyler. “Do you want us around or do you want to get rid of us? I can take Skyler somewhere.”

“I don’t want you to have fun without me,” Maris muttered.

“I can’t blame you.” Audry smiled sadly at her. But her mind was on Rick who was somewhere in the hospital—and on how bored Skyler looked. So she said to him, “Are you sure you don’t want to go back to the hotel?”

Skyler shook his head. “No. I’d rather be here.”

“Do you want to go out with me to pick some stuff up at the store? I barely had lunch.”

His eyes lit up. “Yeah.”

“Maris, Jean, is there anything you want me to bring back from the store?” She gazed hopefully on them.

Both mother and daughter exchanged looks. Jean nodded. “Yes… would you take a list?”

Audry grinned. “It’d be my pleasure.”

Maris added to the list her mother scribbled together on a note pad. They gave them at least eight items to purchase then sneak into the hospital.

It was a struggle for Audry and Skyler to slip out through the media crowd to get to her car. One person even stopped her to ask, “Is it true that H. Richard Deacon the Third is in ICU for drunk driving?”

Audry lurched to a halt. “Excuse me? Is that the rumor that is spreading now?”

It was one thing to be stupid enough to drive recklessly on a mountain road, another to be accused of something he was not likely to do at all.

Skyler shook his head. “It was just a car accident.”

Audry looked to her nephew. “You knew about this?”

“Dad drew his blood,” Skyler hissed in her ear.

The news woman stuck her microphone near, eager for what they had to say.

Audry shoved it away. “Skyler, you and I have to talk.”

“But do you know the real cause of the crash?” the news woman asked.

Walking away, Audry shook her head. “Stop blocking the doorway. This is a hospital not the red carpet.”

When they got into the car, Audry forced Skyler to spill what he knew. By the time they arrived at Target, he had explained all about the strange men who arrived, and then about the blood transfusion. He did not get to the promise Mr. Deacon had asked of his father, a little too scared to divulge the detail that possibly there was more to the car accident than just an accident. He also did not mention their remarks about Rick’s toxic blood.

“So the two men already there were Andrew and Tom?” she asked for clarification.

Skyler nodded.

“So, his best friend and roommate came,” she murmured, thinking

Skyler shrugged. “That guy Tom was drawing on the sleeping man’s face when we walked into the room.”

Audry nodded, coughing on a snort. “That sounds like Tom Brown alright.”

Her nephew laughed, hearing that.

“And Doug performed the transfusion.” She frowned at that. She undid her seat belt and urged them to continue the conversation on their way into the store.

As they picked up various contraband items, such as donuts, hand pies, bananas, and gummy candy, Audry asked Skyler all sorts of questions. The main one was, why did his father do the transfusion and not the hospital nurses?

With a shrug, Skyler guessed mostly. “I think Dad did his blood last night before surgery. And I think Mr. Deacon wanted to talk to him in private about it because Dad said their blood was toxic.”

“Toxic?” Audry halted in her walk in the aisle with all the packaged cookies and healthy snacks. “I know he has allergies, but… toxic blood?”

Skyler nodded. “Yeah. The nurses did not want to get close to it. They wanted Dad to do it because he was an expert.”

That part made sense. Actually, it made a ton of sense. Rick was on a strict diet, and his allergies were so weird. She knew something was wrong with him, she just never knew what.

“They were talking about the disease they both carry,” Skyler muttered. “It’s transmissible, but only through blood.” Skyler snorted as he recalled it. “He said it wasn’t sexually transmissible, but it was inherited.”

She eyed him. “Ok… And, why were you there?”

Skyler shrugged, coloring. “I was bored.”

“And nobody sent you out?”

He shot her a dirty look. “No. In fact, I think Tom thought it was funny I got in.”

Audry rolled her eyes. That was Tom alright. He found everything that might cause trouble funny.

As soon as they picked up a few more things, including ice cream and several spoons to eat it with, Audry picked up a