Chapter 7: Walk This Way

Toby scratching at the door was nothing out of the ordinary. It was how Everly had woken up for the last few years, since he’d first learned not to tinkle on the carpet when he was about three months old. She hadn’t slept well, so it wasn’t easy to drag herself up off of the floor, throw on some clothes, find her shoes, and put his leash on him to take him out. Back home in Denver, they had a fence around the back yard, so all she’d have to do was open the door. Her dad had said he’d put one in here, but she doubted he’d get to that anytime soon.

Jim was leaning against the counter in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee when she walked out into the living room area. She waved at him, leaning back so that he could see her through the doorway.

“Mornin’, honey,” he said. “Where are you going?”

“Toby has to pee,” she said, stifling a yawn.

“Be careful.”

“I’m just going out the front door.” She’d done that at least four times the day before. Toby had to pee a lot.

She had no idea why her dad was on edge about her walking outside, but she had no choice unless Jim wanted Toby to piss on the floor, and since she’d spent plenty of time cleaning it the day before, she wasn’t letting that happen.

Outside, the chilly mid-morning air made her wish she’d brought a jacket. She huddled her arms around herself and waited for Toby to pick his spot. Thankfully, it didn’t take him too long. Then, she went back inside.

Her dad had moved to the living room and had been watching her out the window. He was moving away from it now that she was coming back in. Confused, Everly took Toby’s leash off and asked, “Do you need some binoculars for Christmas, Dad?”

“Ha ha,” Jim said, making a face at her. “No. I just wanted to make sure you were safe. There are a lot of animals in the woods around here, you know.”

Setting the leash on the rickety table by the door, Everly thought back to what she’d heard as she was falling asleep the night before. “Are there a lot of wolves?”

Raising an eyebrow, Jim said, “I don’t know. Why do you ask?”

It seemed odd that he wouldn’t know. Not only had he worked as a ranger in these woods for several years before she was born and six afterward, but he also had to brush up on his facts before he applied for his present job. “I thought I heard one howling last night.”

Jim nearly choked on his coffee. He sputtered a few times, dripping the brown liquid down his front. “Do you need a towel?” Everly asked. They had one she hadn’t used the day before.

“No, I’m fine,” he said, brushing at his shirt. At least it was a dark color. “Just went down the wrong pipe. You thought you heard a wolf last night? Close to the house?”

“I have no idea how close it was,” Everly said. “I don’t know how to tell a wolf’s distance from its howl.”

“How loud was it?”

“What? Do you want me to demonstrate? Or maybe compare it to Toby’s barking levels? I don’t know. I was falling asleep when I heard it, Dad. Maybe it wasn’t a wolf.”

He made a face. “You stay out of the woods, all right?”

“I know.” She didn’t like to argue with her dad, but she also didn’t like to be treated like she was five.

Her dad went back into the kitchen to pour another cup of coffee. He had packed the coffeemaker in the car, such was his addiction. “Do you want a cup?”

“No, thanks.” Everly did like coffee—or rather, coffee-like drinks that were more creamer than coffee—but her dad’s was always too strong for her. “I’m going to take a shower.”

“All right.”

Everly went to the bathroom and got cleaned up, still thinking about how strange her dad was acting. It almost seemed like there was something he wasn’t telling her.

Something about wolves.

But that was stupid. What could he possibly know about wolves that he wouldn’t tell her?

She got out, dried off, and got dressed in some warm clothes that would be good for taking Toby for a walk.

When she walked out into the living area, her dad was on the phone. Having hope that that meant they had a signal, she ran to her room and snatched her phone off of the windowsill. Only two bars, but still….

Sure enough, she had several texts from her friends back home. Everly sank down on the floor and sent back as many responses as she could, telling all of them that she probably wouldn’t have a signal most of the time. She didn’t mention the guy she’d seen to anyone, not even her best friend, Kenna, despite the fact that she had asked if she’d seen any hotties. Everly just said she hadn’t been in town for more than a few minutes.

Her bars went away almost as quickly as they’d appeared, and then she started getting messages that her texts wouldn’t go through. Frustrated, she set her phone down and got up. Her dad was off of the phone now. He was just staring out the window, coffee cup in hand.

A snarky comment came to mind, but she didn’t let it slip out. There was no reason for her to remind him that she was in the house and not out there. He knew that. “Dad, who were you talking to?”

“Movers. The truck should be here tomorrow afternoon.”

“That’s good. Will you be home from work?”

“I hope so. I told them if I’m not to just start unloading it outside. You should be home from school by three-thirty, right?”

The idea of being at home by herself with the movers was not appealing. Why was he afraid of her getting eaten by wolves but not harassed by the movers? “I get out at three, but I have no idea how long it will take for the bus to get here.” She really wished she had a car. In Denver, the traffic was too scary for her to even think about driving herself to school, even though they lived in a suburb. But here… it would be great if she could drive herself to school.

Or hitch a ride on the back of a motorcycle….

“I told Ted I might not be able to work a full day tomorrow, and he said that was fine,” her dad said. “I just probably won’t know when the movers get here since my phone isn’t likely to get a signal in the forest.”

She nodded in understanding and walked over to the table to get the leash.

“What are you doing?” Jim asked, that worried look back on his face.

“Taking Toby for a walk,” Everly said.

“You can’t do that. It’s too dangerous.”

“Dad, I’m going to stay on the driveway and walk down the road. I won’t go into the woods.”

He stared at her for a long moment, his free hand on his hip.

“You think the road is dangerous, too?” She didn’t understand that. She was under the impression his main reason for being afraid of the forest was that she’d get lost and fall in a ravine or something, but now, she was beginning to wonder if maybe It was the wild animals he was afraid of.

“Fine,” he finally said. “Stay on the road. Okay?”

“Yes, Dad.” She looked away from him before she rolled her eyes. It was all a bit too much.

Calling for Toby, she bent down to hook his leash on him and then headed out the door.

It wasn’t quite as chilly now, but it was still a little cold. She pulled her hood on over her head. It would limit her peripheral vision, but then, she would hear any cars approaching, and the chances of a wild animal charging out of the woods and eating her were slim, no matter what her dad thought. Besides, seeing it coming would do her little good.

“You’d protect me, wouldn’t you, Tobe?” she said

Her dog did not respond, of course. He only continued on his way, looking chipper to be out in the fresh air.

As she walked along, Everly tried not to think about much of anything. She just wanted to enjoy the fresh air and the nature, two things she didn’t get enough of back home. Colorado was beautiful, but most of what she saw was urban sprawl and smog.

Once she reached the asphalt road, she turned around and headed back to the house, thinking she’d better not stay gone too long or else her dad would freak out.

In the distance, she heard a noise that made her stop in her tracks.

The roar of a motorcycle engine.