Page 49 of The Search

The howl was eerily exquisite floating on the still night air.

Monty lifted his head. Beautiful.

“It looks like our wolf is still around.” Sarah knelt to pour vitamins into Monty’s food. “I hoped it would be gone by the time we got back.”

Hungry?

“Maybe. Those Mexican gray wolves have had a pretty rough time since they were released. Eat your dinner.”

Monty nosed the bowl away from him. Hungry.

“You need to eat. You’re not going to heal without food, and you can’t save that wolf by starving yourself.”

Monty stretched out beside the untouched food bowl. Hungry.

The wolf howled again.

“Shut up,” Sarah muttered. “Do you want those ranchers to come looking for you? Your best bet is to keep a low profile and—”

Hungry.

“That wolf is a hundred times better equipped than you to find food in the wild.”

Sad. Alone.

The wolf shouldn’t be this far east. He might well be alone, separated from his pack. “We can’t help. They were released to make their way in the world.” She sat down at the table and started to eat the stew she’d just heated. “See, I’m not worried. Now eat your dinner.” She glanced over her shoulder and saw him staring at the door. “No, we are not going out to try to find—”

A knock.

She stiffened as the door swung open.

“Sorry.” Logan was leaning against the jamb, his face pale, a small suitcase at his feet. “Do you mind if I come in? I think I need to sit down.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Sarah jumped to her feet and ran over to the door. She slung his arm around her shoulders and helped him to the easy chair in front of the fire. “Idiot. They just operated on you this afternoon. Are you trying to break open those stitches?”

“You promised me you’d stay. I woke up and you were gone.” He settled back in the chair and closed his eyes. “So I came here.”

She got a hassock from across the room and lifted his leg to rest on it. “Who brought you?”

“Margaret. I told her to drop me off and leave.”

“I bet she loved that.”

He smiled faintly. “Oh, you’ve gotten to know Margaret. She wasn’t pleased.”

“Neither am I. What are you doing here?”

“I decided I needed a little rest and seclusion. You have lots of that here.”

She blinked. “What?”

“You have a couch.” His voice was slurred. “I can sleep there.”

“You’re not making sense.”

“I’m not? I’m a little fuzzy right now. Must be the medication the doctor gave me. I’m trying to ask you to either come back to the house or let me stay here.”

“I’m not coming back and you cannot stay here. You can get all the seclusion you want in your house in Phoenix.”