Of Wolves and Men Read Online Free PDF Page B

thirds.”
    Taking the plate she handed him, Charlie smiled sweetly at her. Connie and Vernon were like his mom and dad. But he knew even their kindness would evaporate if he gave any indication he did not want to be with women.
    Charlie sat with his coworkers at a long wooden table with a dozen chairs surrounding it. Amid the laughter of what felt like old friends, the men finished their food and drank their coffee.
    Charlie didn’t know what he wanted anymore. But that bizarre dream last night made him even more confused.
    ~
    Riding Spirit, rounding up the horses that were grazing outside the paddock, Charlie galloped in the icy morning air as Butch corralled the horses from the opposite side while the hired day workers cleaned the barn. Goat and JP had spread out the hay after making sure the water wasn’t frozen solid from the cold overnight temperatures.
    Once the horses had been rounded up, Butch rode Scout right up to Charlie. “I’m going up the mountain.”
    “Want me with you?”
    “I don’t know. You gonna give me another punch in the jaw?”
    “Get movin’.” Charlie tilted his head towards the west. As he rode, he lost himself in the strange dream again. Sensual shivers covered his skin at the scent and taste of that man. The debate in Charlie’s mind over how a dream could be so real was becoming obsessive.
    A familiar barking noise came up behind them. Charlie laughed at Harley as he caught up to Scout to lead the way. “Go get ‘em, Harley.”
    Charlie expected the energetic dog to do what he usually did, run to the front and sniff his way up the trail. Instead, Harley didn’t pay them any attention, speeding in the direction of the damaged fence and the location of the dead doe from the day before.
    “You don’t think he’s tracking something, do you?” Butch turned back in the saddle to ask Charlie.
    “Sure looks that way. He may be a crazy dog, but he does know when somethin’s up.” Butch and Charlie urged their horses to keep up.
    Spirit seemed to be feeling as energetic as Harley because he galloped past Scout as if they were nearing the finish line at a track.
    Harley’s barking intensified until Charlie figured out the dog either had something cornered, or worse, was fighting.
    “If that’s another dead animal I’m going to scream!” Charlie removed his shotgun, letting Spirit do the work of getting him to the dog. He cocked the gun and held it by his side.
    An enormous black wolf appeared in a spine-tingling standoff with Harley. And fearless Harley thought he was as tough as the big lupine.
    “Son of a bitch!” Charlie took a flying leap off Spirit and aimed his gun. Harley was making a clear shot impossible as he zigzagged and hopped vertically in front of the enormous timber wolf. When the wolf noticed Charlie, the green gaze of the animal’s eyes made Charlie stop in his tracks. “What the hell?”
    A blast of a twelve gauge sounded beside him. Butch had let off a round. The wolf leapt into the air, so high that Charlie was awestruck. Then it raced off into the dense woods. Harley gave chase but soon came back, his tongue hanging out as he panted.
    Butch released the spent shell and adjusted his hat. “Well, now we know. We got ourselves a fucking wolf.”
    “Doc McMurray said that deer weren’t killed by an animal. So it ain’t no wolf. It’s some person with a knife. How do you figure a wolf cut out a heart of a doe with a knife, Butch? No.” He walked to where the wolf had been and knelt down to see if it left any tracks. The ground was frozen solid, so nothing was there to see.
    “Well, something opened up the fence again.”
    Charlie spun on his heels and shook his head. “This ain’t making no sense.” He walked towards Butch who was inspecting the wire. “It’s cut. You see? Clean cut.” Charlie tugged on a piece.
    “That wolf had nothin’ to do with this.”
    “Sure, Charlie. First time a wolf has been spotted ‘round here, and he’s got