Hunger of the Wolf (9 page)

It was the kind of commitment she thought she
’d
had with Dominic, but they had never fitted together as comfortably as
Sharon
and Bob.
Even after five
years of marriage she had always felt like she was on her best behaviour around him
,
and she could never relax and just be herself. She was constantly worried she would do or say the wrong thing and see the disapproving look on his face that she had grown to dread. She had changed herself to fit with him, adopting his taste in music, films, clothes and even friends.

Most of the
friends she had when they met
had drifted away because she’d made no effort to
keep in touch. S
he’d tried to cultivate sophisticated, worldly people like
Tiffany
who
she knew he would approve of
. Amber
had been so young when
they got married
that she had never had a ch
ance to find out who she really
was without his influence. N
ow it was time for her to stand on her own two feet and discover what she wanted to do with her life.

It
was not an easy tas
k when she had defined herself
by Dominic’s standards for so long, but
it was also a very exc
iting time
for her
. Kat
tol
d her when they first broke
up that one day Amber would
look back and realize how glad
she was t
o be rid of him. A
t the time she had been unable to
imagine a day when she would ever feel this way, but
now she was starting to see a
glimmer of sunshine through the clouds.

She was reminded again of how lucky she was to have a friend like Kat
,
and she was very glad she’d never let Dominic push her best friend out of her life. He’d always been jealous of their bond
,
but Kat was the one person Amber had refused to let go of to make him happy.
When Kat had met
Chris
he’d sto
pped pressuring her so much over their friendship
because
Chris
came from a
very
well-known family. Although most of the fortune his family had amassed was now gone they were still respected
,
and this allowed Dominic to
overlook the fact that
Chris
worked as a sales rep
for a pharmaceutical company
.

Kat had seen how much she’d change
d for Dominic
,
and Amber was so grateful
she’d stuck around despite the fact that Amber had behave
d like a doormat
for so long
. She suddenly had a strong desire to hear he
r
friend
’
s voice
,
and she p
icked up her cell phone and was very pleased to see she
had
reception
for a change
.

“How did you ever put up with me?” she asked as soon as Kat answered. Her friend immediately knew what she was talking about without further explanation. Over their years of friendship they had acquired the knack of being able to tune into each other’s thoughts
in an instant
.

“You weren’t so bad. You were in love with Dominic
,
and everything you did was to make him happy.”

“Are you kidding me? I became an unbearable snob. When I look back now on some of the things I said about people and the way I treated my old friends
,
I feel just awful. I can’t believ
e you put up with me
.”

“Honey
,
I always knew it was your lack of self-esteem that made you hang of Dominic’s every word. It was Dominic
,
not you
,
who said terrible things about people and you always tried to stop him, so don’t be so tough on yourself.”

“I did find the way he treated waiters and peop
le in shops horrible
, but I tried to tell myself it was not his fault because he was raised to look down on them. I really hated going anywhere with him where we would have to be served by someone because I knew he would be a condescending jerk.”

“Tell me about it. It was only for your sake that
Chris
and I kept going out to dinner with you. There were so many times I almost got up and walked out because of his rudeness.”

“What about the way he used to
act when he gave a tip? He thought he w
as being so generous when he
gave a couple of dollars
. Sometimes he’d actually wink and throw them an extra quarter or two as we were leaving as if they were beggars on the street.”

Kat giggled. “I know. But they got their revenge. I saw the waiters laughing a few times at his favourite rest
aurant when they served him.
G
od only knows what they did to his food.”

Amber laughed too
,
and it felt so good to see Dominic for the arrogant buffoon he really was. “Come to think of it
,
he did complain about feeling sick a few times after we’d been out to dinner there. You must have wondered what I could
possib
ly
see in a man like that.
”

“I just learned to keep my mouth closed when it came to Dominic
,
and
I
lived in hope that one day you would come to your senses. I’m sorry your marriage didn’t work out
,
but that man was never any good for you
,
Amber.”

It was true
Kat had
tried to warn her about
Dominic when she first b
egan dating him, but she was
already
too far under his spell
and she had refused to listen to a word against him. It was the one sore point in their friendship
,
and after a few blazing rows they had agreed to disagree and leave it at that. Kat was by her side when she married Dominic
,
and
now she was
here to pick up the pieces when it all fell apart.

“I really don’t deserve a friend like you.”

“Of course you do. How many times have you been there for me when I
was heartbroken over some guy
?
I’m so glad I met
Chris
and those days are over. I don’t thi
nk I could stand the singles scene
again.
” She gave a sharp intake of breath when she realized what she’d said.
“
I’
m sorry
,
Amber. T
hat was really insensitive of me.”

“Don’t be silly
.” Amber was g
lad that Kat had changed the subject
so she did not have to agree with her about how wonderful
Chris
was. A
year ago she would have been the first to agree
that he was the best thing that had ever happened to Kat. He was good looking, charming
,
and
most importantly
,
he
seemed to really love her friend.

Her opinion of him
had changed one night just under
a year earlier when they had all gone on holidays together.
Everyone had imbibed a little too much wine with dinner
, especially
Chris
who was visibly swaying on his feet and slurring his words.  Dominic and Kat had
both gone to bed while
Amber
stayed up talking with
Chris
on the balcony of their hotel suite
while she finished her drink
. She was
just about to say goodnight
when out of the blue he
leaned over and tried to kiss her.

“You know I’ve always had a thing for you
,
Amber. It was actually you I saw first on the night I met Kat, but you were already taken.”

Amber had push
ed him away in shock. “What in G
od’s name are you doing? Have you lost your mind? Kat i
s my best friend and your wife
.” She had not even
waited for him to reply but
stormed into her bedroom and closed the door.

The next morning he
acted perfectly norma
l
l
y
, as if nothing had happened. He did not seem to remember
anything from the previous night
,
and Amber convinced herself it was just the alcohol talking
,
and he had
not meant a single word he
’
d said. The last thing she wanted to do was cause trouble between him and Kat so she had kept her mouth closed
, not even telling Dominic what
had
happened
. From that night onwards
,
though
,
sh
e had been
wary and made s
ure she was never alone with
Chris
.

“I’m just so glad to hear from you,” said Kat, drawing her back to the present.
“I’ve been wanting to call you since you left, but you said
you wanted some time
to sort yourself out
,
so I managed to restrain myself.
”

“
You probably wouldn’t have gotten through to me if you’d tried. The cell phone reception is really bad here. I’m lucky I could make this call. I’ve
missed you too
,
but coming out here has been good for me in many ways.”

“
I did warn you
about the phone
.
I thought you’d
be bored out of your mind by now.
”

“No! I’ve
actually got
a lot of work done
,
and I met some really nice locals
. A
n older couple who
run the bakery in town
invited me to their place for dinner last night. That reminds me
,
have you ever heard anything disturbing about your
neighbour here?”

“
You mean
Jesse
? I’ve
never heard anything bad about him
at al
l
. He always seemed like a nice guy to me.
We
’ve
had him over for dinner once or twice
,
and
Chris
goes fishing with him
sometimes
.
” Amber f
illed her in on what the
Crow
s had told her
. “Wow, that’s really awful. I hope the missing girl turns up. She’s probably just run off with her boyfriend or something. You
know what teenagers are like.
I seriously doubt
Jesse
is involved in any way.”

“You’re probably right
,
but it still gives me the creeps.
I thought he was shy
but the other day when I accidentally ended up at his cabin he seemed really sleazy, almost like a different person.”

“What do you mean you accidentally ended up at his cabin? The guy probably thinks you want his body. But seriously
,
that doesn’t sound like
the
Jesse
I know
.”

“It was
really
weird.
Even though
I’ve
been getting a
lot of work done on my book
,
I’ll probably head home tomorrow
.
I’m a bit spooked being here on my own
.
On top of the news about
Jesse
,
the wolves around here have
apparently become quite brazen
and one broke through a window into a house on the lake just a little while ago.
”

To her surprise Kat laughed. “Seriously
,
Amber
,
you should know by now not to believe everything you’re told. The locals up there love nothing more than to get the city folk going. It’s like a hobby to them.
Don’t let silly gossip drive you away. You seem so much happier than you did last time we spoke. I think the mountains are working their magic on you
,
and it would be a shame
not to make the most
o
f your time there.”