He reached down the steps to take the heavy pot from her hands. This smells great. Come on in.
She shook her head swiftly. I cant stay
You have to work tonight?
No. I only work four nights a week. Its just that I only meant to bring you dinner. To thank you. Not to take up any of your time
Youre going to make me eat alone? When youre already here? And I havent had anyone to talk to all day but wild animals?
His mournful tone made her roll her eyeshe couldnt pass that off as blarney in Irelandbut damn. He made her feel awkward about taking off without at least sharing some conversation. Gingerly she stepped inside. Ill just stay a couple of minutes, she insisted.
He didnt seem to hear her, and he hadnt let go of the pot yet. He sniffed. I havent had a homemade ragout in a hundred years. Is it okay if I admit my undying love for you?
Its just stew, she said dryly, but drat the man, he was downright forcing her to chuckle.
Just stew is real food. You dont understand. Ive either been opening cans or eating Samsons cooking for weeks now. Once he set the pot down, he hustled her out of her red jacket and made it disappear, then gave her white tunic sweater and jeans a once-over. Shed been careful about her choice of clothes. The jeans were old, not tight, not fancy, and the bulky sweater concealed her figure more effectively than a nuns habit. There was nothing in his view, absolutely nothing, to cause the sudden lazy, masculine gleam in his eyes. Good thing youre a shrimp. Theres not a lot of space around here for two of us to move around.
She chuckled again, and this time felt the tension in her shoulders easing. Would a man call a woman a shrimp if he had seduction on his mind? He was being funny, natural, just plain nice. It was past time she kiboshed the electric nerves she felt around him. She never used to be so paranoid, not until Johnny burned her, and it was ridiculously egotistical to imagine that Steve represented any danger to her. He was positively nothing like Johnny.
Your place isnt so small. In fact, its a lot bigger than it looks on the outside, she commented as she looked around.
So sit and make yourself comfortable. You can have the seat of honor. You want wine, beer, soda?
Nothing, really, but thanks. His seat of honor was the only chair, a tweedy recliner in gray hues. A long couch matched it. Both were his sizeheck, she could have curled up and slept in the chairand the small living area overlooked the kitchen ell. The bar-style table was ivory colored, the charcoal-shaded carpeting cushion-thick. A short hallway of closets led to a shadowed bedroomwhere hed tossed her jacketand she saw the tucked end of a Hudson Bay blanket in the wedge of light.
The trailer wasnt big enough for a party, but there was ample room for him to move around. It was hard for two to maneuver, though. She slipped off her boots and dropped in the chair when she saw she was going to be in his way. He opened and closed cupboards, taking out plates, silverware, napkins. His TV was on, tuned to the news, but without sound. He kept up an easy conversation.
I have a place in Wyoming. A little house, on a spread of land by a creek. Thats where I grew up, out West, but Ive had the trailer for years. Sometimes Im gone months at a time with my work, and Id go nuts trying to live in motels and finding rental places. This way I can have my own stuff with me.
So...you go wherever the wolves are?
Not always wolves. But theyre my love, and I seemed to have ended up specializing in them whether I planned it or not. I worked for the EPA for a while, then hooked up with the National Park Service. For this project Ive been loaned out to the state of Michigantheir DNR, Department of Natural Resources. Never seems to matter whos signing my paychecks, I end up doing the same thing. There just arent a lot of people who get real excited about tackling a wounded wolf, or moving a pack of em. Maybe its like a doc who overspecialized. Theres nobody else who does the jobor really wants the jobso Im the stuckee.
Youve traveled all over?
From Mexico to Alaska, he confirmed. The red wolf, gray wolf, Mexican wolftheyre all threatened. Only three places on the planet where theyre not, though lots of people are sympathetic to the cause. The UP here has really worked at itset up a Michigan Wolf Recovery Team, and backed that up with good laws and stiff penalties for killing wolves. But the bottom line is that when a wolfs causing trouble, the easiest solution is to shoot himor trap and put him in captivity, out of harms way. Nobodys to blame for that. A problem wolf, wild, part of his pack, in his own environment...he doesnt make it real easy to help him. Its just a lot easier for someone who knows the species to take the ball.