Jake sat with his elbows on his knees and rolled his head from side to side until his neck cracked. He looked at his watch. Almost five AM. It would be getting light soon. He wondered if there had been much sleet from the storm that seemed to have tapered off over the last hour. He wouldn’t know. He’d been sitting up with Aimee half the night.
He looked over at her. She lay resting comfortably on the old four-poster bed, the white eyelet bedspread folded down to her waist. He’d put the IV in after giving her a bath in tepid water. Jim had politely excused himself at that point, leaving Jake to undress her and lower her into the tub.
The doctor in him hadn’t wanted to notice her body—her full breasts and long, muscular legs. But the man in him had a hard time helping it. He’d tried to maintain as much of her modesty as he could, but without a nurse there to help, he’d had to make do. Which meant putting his hands where he normally wouldn’t. And letting his gaze fall where it normally wouldn’t.
Watching her now, he rubbed his neck. She reminded him of Daryl Hannah in The Clan of the Cave Bear. He could thank his mother for that one. It had been one of her favorite movies, so Jake had seen it more times than an adolescent boy would probably care to admit.
Aimee did look wild and raw though, like she’d been living on her own longer than Jim had let on. But there was also a vulnerability about her that wouldn’t allow him to leave. She was his patient, regardless of whatever her troubles were.
“Mmm.” She frowned in her sleep and turned toward him. Her eyes remained closed, her lashes dark smudges above her cheekbones.
She mumbled something else, and he scooted his chair closer.
“His paw.”
Her hair was still damp from the bath, and he brushed the long bangs away from her forehead. “Aimee?”
“His paw.” Her brows came together and she turned away. “See? There.”
Jake checked the IV drip and felt her forehead again. Her dreams would be strange because of the fever. But it was coming down. Hopefully, she’d be sleeping normally soon.
“He’s upright,” she said.
“Who’s upright?”
She turned toward him, her eyes still closed, her face crumpling as if she were crying in her dream. “The wolf.”
Jake watched her, feeling an inexplicable urge to shrink away. The room was chilly, silent except for the unconscious murmurings of the woman beside him. The light on the bedside table was dim, mingling with long, black shadows that stretched across the ornately carved, vaulted ceiling. From somewhere downstairs he heard footsteps and wondered if they knew that Aimee Styles was sleeping above them.
Jake hesitated a second, then reached for her hand. When his fingers met hers, she held on tight, as if he’d be able to pull her from whatever tormented her in the dream.
Gently, he brought her hand to his chest, something he’d never done with a patient before. Something he wouldn’t have done if she’d been awake. But instinctively, he felt like she needed to feel his warmth. His presence.
“Shhh,” he whispered. “You’re okay. Everything’s going to be fine.”
“The wolf,” she repeated, but softer this time.
He rubbed the backs of her knuckles and watched as her face relaxed. Then she grew still again.
Jake looked down at her hand. Her nails were ragged, but her fingers were long and graceful. Just like the rest of her.
The wolf.
Despite his jacket, the cold and damp of the surrounding woods seemed to seep into his bones. How many times had he himself dreamed of a wolf? Too many to count. A wolf so huge, so vicious, that it had ripped away one of the most important things in his life in nothing more than a heartbeat.
Studying Aimee’s face, he wondered what exactly she was running from.
And if it would eventually catch up to them both.
* * * *
Aimee wriggled up to a sitting position. For the first time in three days she felt like eating, and the scent of the warm blueberry muffin on the bedside table made her stomach rumble.
Jim plumped the pillow behind her head and smiled. “I think some color might be coming back. Your cheeks are pink this morning.”
She took a sip of orange juice and relished the coolness going down. “Well, I feel less like a vampire,” she said, licking her lips. “So I’m taking that as a good sign.”
Jim sat on the edge of the bed and patted her knee. “I brought you a newspaper. Thought you might be getting bored. Some books too. Whatever you feel like, just say the word.”
She reached down and held his hand for a minute. Aside from this flu, she was usually strong, vibrant. A by-product of what she’d become. But even she found herself dwarfed next to him. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“Oh. Well. The doc ran the show, not me.”
It was fuzzy, but she could remember bits and pieces. A tall man with kind eyes and a wide mouth. The way his fingers had felt against her skin. That part she remembered well. And she could remember the look on his face when he’d recognized her.
“I’m sorry I had to come here like this,” she said. “I know it jeopardizes a lot.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. We can trust him. And the inn will always be a safe place for you. Always.”
She knew Zane, Maggie’s brother-in-law, and his wife were planning on taking the place over this coming summer. Ara and Jim were going to travel. To get out of Wolfe Creek for a while and let the young blood take over. That made Aimee happy because they deserved it, but sad too, because everything was changing. Everything. Change was the only thing you could really count on in life.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Jim said quietly.
She looked up, putting a plump blueberry into her mouth. “What doesn’t have to be this way?”
“You know what. You could come back. You could have a normal life, Aimee. If you wanted it.”
“You sound like Maggie.” She smiled, but it felt forced. “I don’t know how to do that. Everyone thinks I’m dead. And I’m not the same, Jim. I’m different. Physically, it’s pretty obvious. I mean, I can’t just disappear and then reappear after growing three inches.”
Jim situated the newspaper beside her and moved the tray with the muffin and orange juice closer. He was such a father figure. So protective and loving. She could hardly imagine living in Wolfe Creek without him.
“You’d figure it out. It wouldn’t be the same, you’re right. But you’re a smart girl. You could make it work. No one would ever have to know.”
Aimee contemplated that for a minute. He was right. Despite the fact that there were only a handful of wolves there, they all lived in society. Relatively normal lives, most of them with human mates. So it could be done. Not without challenges, but still.
But truth be told, it scared her. Terrified her, really. What did that world hold for her anymore? Starting over now was too painful, too real. And what if she failed? It felt safer living in the woods. Where no one could hurt her. Where she couldn’t accidentally out herself as a monster and be shunned forever. At least living in the forest, she’d been accepted for what she was. The deer and rabbits didn’t give a shit. She never had to explain anything to anyone. Ever.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Jim said.
“Yeah?”
“That it’s easier this way.”
She raised her brows.
“And it is,” he continued. “But that doesn’t mean it’s the best way. And deep down, I think you already know that.”
Opening her mouth to argue, she paused, then shut it again. There was no point, because he was right. Again. Jim was always right.
“I think I’m going to go get some chores done,” he said. “You’ll be okay up here for a while?”
She nodded.
He rose, but before he could turn away, she reached for his arm.
“Jim?”
“Mmm?”
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
He stared down at her, his gray eyes intent.
“It might have just been my imagination, or the fever, or whatever. But the night I came here…”
“Yes?”
She licked her lips again. “I think something was following me.”
He took a minute to process that, then sat back down on the bed. “Something or someone?”
“I’m not sure. I couldn’t get a read on it. But that might have been due to the flu.”
“Okay. Well, it could have been a hunter. Someone who was curious.”
She frowned. “No. It wasn’t that.”
“Do you think it was dangerous?”
“I don’t know. I couldn’t get a read on that either. But I didn’t like it.”
He watched her for a long second.
“I’m sure it’s not anything to worry about,” she said. “I wasn’t in my right mind.”
Honestly, she’d felt like something was off around Wolfe Creek for the last few weeks, but she didn’t want to upset him. Or maybe she just didn’t want to upset herself. The room felt so warm, so cozy. She wanted to enjoy that a little longer.
“You think you were followed all the way here to the inn?”
Aimee thought about that. It was certainly possible. And if that was the case, they, or it, would have seen Doctor Blackstock come in shortly afterward. She could take care of herself, but she didn’t like the thought of anyone else being watched. Much less the doctor who had most likely saved her life.
“I don’t know,” she said, for the first time in a long while hating the human part of herself. The weak part. The part that got sick and confused.
“You just be careful from now on,” Jim said. “You hear me? Don’t take any chances up there on your own.”
She nodded. But she wasn’t thinking of herself. She was thinking about the handsome doctor, who she knew lived with his young son at the edge of town. Strong, vital, but human. And because of that, vulnerable to things he didn’t know existed.
She’d watch over him for a while. She’d watch over both of them.