Shadows at Sunset: Sunset Trilogy ~ Book 1 (16 page)

I turned back to Noah and grinned sheepishly. “Hi.”

The apprehension on Noah’s face faded although it didn’t completely disappear. He started walking toward me again. He glanced nervously at Dakota as he approached me, amazement and fear shining in his eyes. “Hi. He’s not going to attack me, is he?”

“No,” I said with a reassuring smile. “You’re safe, as long as you don’t hurt me.”

Noah stopped about three feet away from the patio. “I’ll still keep my distance, just in case.” His gaze darted from me to Dakota and back to me.

“I guess introductions are in order here. That’s Dakota, my stray dog.”

Noah raised his eyebrows. “Dog?”

“Okay, he’s not exactly a dog. You have incredible timing, you know. How is it you always show up when I’m out back?”

Had he come by when Dakota and I were inside, Dakota would have stayed upstairs, unnoticed.

“What can I say? You’re outside a lot.”

I couldn’t disagree with him on that. I was outside a lot.

“So you have a wolf?” Noah asked slowly, almost as if he didn’t believe it.

“Yes. And right now, he’s an injured wolf.”

“I see the bandage. What happened?”

“Animal attack. He was bitten on his neck, and I think he sprained his right front leg. He’s got a pretty bad limp.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I hope he’ll be okay.”

“I think he’ll be fine.” I watched Dakota hobble across the backyard and patio. He stopped at the door, waiting patiently for me to let him back inside. As he stood, he turned his head, studying Noah. “Come on,” I said, gesturing to Noah. “He’s ready to go in, and I don’t know about you, but I’m not in the mood to stay out in this dreary weather.”

Nodding, Noah jogged over to the steps and up to the patio where I stood. We had only taken a couple steps toward the door when Noah stopped and grabbed my arm.

“Why is he staring at me like that?”

“Don’t worry. He’s just getting to know you.”

“Who else has he gotten to know? Do your friends know him? What about the town?”

“Only Ethan, Brooke, and my parents know about him. It’s really important that we keep him a secret.” I paused, my eyes silently begging him to understand that no one else could find out about Dakota. “And it would probably be best if you didn’t let my dad know you know. He’s been really worried about anyone finding out we have a wolf after recent events.” We resumed walking across the patio.

Noah’s gentle brown eyes met mine. “Consider it done.”

“Thank you,” I replied quietly as we approached the door. I reached out for the handle and opened it to let Dakota limp back into the house. After Noah and I followed him inside, I shut the door and pulled my hood down to rest behind my neck. “Have a seat,” I offered, waving my hand at the kitchen table. “My parents went to a barbeque, but I’m not sure how much fun that’ll be in this weather. Do you want to stay for dinner? I was going to make a salad, but we have lunch meat and I can make you a sandwich.”

“That would be great.” Noah slipped into a chair at the table, his worried eyes still studying Dakota who stood in the middle of the kitchen. “What about him?”

Dakota stared expectantly at the package of raw chicken drumsticks on the counter, hunger in his eyes. Drool hung from the corners of his mouth. I crossed the kitchen and held up the package for Noah to see. “He’s ready for dinner, too.”

“Raw chicken? No dog food?” Noah asked as I pulled a plastic bowl out of the cabinet.

I grabbed a knife from the silverware drawer and poked a hole in the wrapper. “I think he’d rather starve than eat dog food,” I explained as I peeled off the plastic and dumped the drumsticks into the bowl. “I tried feeding him dog food when we first got him, but he refused it. The only thing he would eat was meat. But it has to be raw because cooked bones can splinter.” I handed one of the drumsticks to Dakota who snatched it from me quickly, but carefully, avoiding my fingers. Then he hobbled over to the stairs where he stopped and looked at me. “I’m just going to help him up to my room where his bed is. Then I can make our dinner,” I told Noah as I carried the bowl with the remaining drumsticks to where Dakota waited.

Holding the bowl under my left arm, I leaned down to help Dakota up the stairs. But I had barely been able to help him with two free arms when I didn’t have something to carry. As I tried to lift him onto the first step, I lost my balance and nearly spilled the chicken all over the floor. I stood up quickly, catching the bowl with two hands. Then I looked over at Noah. “I hate to ask you this, but would you mind helping? He’s really heavy.”

Noah jumped to his feet and walked around the table to us. “Sure. Is he going to be okay with this?” Worry lurked in his eyes as he studied Dakota.

Dakota watched him, his expression seeming to say, “I don’t like this any better than you.”

“Just reach under his chest right behind his front legs. Every time he steps down with his right paw, lift him up to help him take his weight off of it.”

“Got it,” Noah said, but his eyes didn’t look so sure. Hesitantly, he leaned down, wrapped his arms around Dakota’s chest, and helped him limp up the stairs. He made it look a lot easier than it had been for me.

I followed behind them with the bowl of chicken in my hands. As soon as Dakota reached the top step, Noah let go of him and stood up. Dakota headed into my room and we followed as he made his way to his bed, settling onto it with the drumstick still in his mouth. He slid the bone between his front paws to hold it in place as he started gnawing on the meaty end.

“You’re going to let him eat raw chicken in your bedroom?” Noah asked curiously.

I set the bowl down next to Dakota and walked over to my dresser. “First of all, he won’t leave as much as a crumb by the time he’s done. And secondly--” I held up a book of matches and struck one against the grainy side. It flared with a hissing sound for a split second before diminishing to a small flame. “I have a scented candle to keep my room from smelling like raw meat. In a few minutes, it’ll smell like baked cookies up here.”

I lit the wick, blew out the match, and carefully moved the candle jar to the other side of the dresser near the wall. Then I turned to Noah who stood with his back to my closet door. I suddenly noticed my purple lacy bra hanging from the closet door handle, and I felt heat flush through my cheeks. My heart raced as I hoped he hadn’t seen it when he had walked into my room a few seconds ago. Needless to say, I wasn’t accustomed to bringing guys up to my bedroom, except for Ethan, and he didn’t count.

“Okay. I’m done up here. We can go back downstairs now,” I announced.

Noah swept his gaze around my room with sincere interest. “I like your room, especially your wolf picture.” He nodded toward the picture that hung over my headboard.

“Thank you.”

As I tried to think of a way to get him to leave my room, he walked past me between my bed and the wall across from the window, studying my photographs. “Wow. These are really cool. Did you take them?”

“Yes,” I admitted. “I got into photography a few years ago when I got a digital camera for my birthday. And not some little matchbox camera, either. A real good one, see?” I pointed at my desk where my Nikon D3200 sat beside my computer keyboard, the thick strap dangling over the edge.

Noah followed my stare, immediately noticing the camera. “Nice. That looks pretty fancy. But how did you get such up close pictures? Do you have a telephoto lens, too?”

I shook my head with a shrug. “No. This camera has a zoom that’s pretty good.”
Please don’t ask any more questions. Please,
I begged silently. It had been hard enough to get my parents to understand how I’d gotten most of those shots. I didn’t want him asking, too. As we both paused, Dakota’s teeth crunching on the raw bone the only sound in the room, I inched toward the doorway. “Come on. You’re hungry, right?” I hoped I could get Noah out of there before he noticed my bra. It almost worked.

Noah started to follow me, but stopped and turned back to look at Dakota one last time. When he glanced into the room, I noticed his eyes stop to rest on my closet door. I was absolutely mortified, and I held my breath as my heart raced.

Dakota must have sensed my apprehension because he started growling. Noah jumped back, gently knocking into me. “I think I’ve overstayed my welcome,” he said nervously.

I laughed at the wide-eyed fear in his eyes, realizing how silly I was to worry about him seeing my underwear when he probably just wanted to make it out of my bedroom alive. “You’re fine. I think he just wants us to let him eat in peace.”

I instinctively grabbed Noah’s hand, but dropped it when our eyes met. My heart fluttered as I turned to head downstairs, his footsteps echoing close behind me on the hardwood floor.

Once we had returned to the kitchen, Noah shed his jacket and hung it on the back of a chair. His black T-shirt stretched tightly along his broad shoulders, revealing his strong muscular arms. I wondered what it would feel like to have him sweep me into those arms, but I forced myself to look away and focus on making dinner.

We both went straight to the sink to wash our hands. My shoulder gently bumped his, and I quickly moved away as heat rushed through my arm. After we took turns drying our hands with a kitchen towel, Noah asked, “Can I help with anything?”

“Nope. I’ve got it. Have a seat.” I gestured at the table, and he walked across the kitchen to sit down. Then I side-stepped over to the refrigerator and opened it. The cool air felt refreshing against my hot, flushed skin. “What can I get you to drink? We have Coke, ginger ale, Sprite, juice, milk, iced tea, and water,” I said, taking inventory of everything on the shelves.

“I’ll have a Sprite.”

I grabbed a can of Sprite and filled a glass with ice. As I approached the table with them in my hands, Noah asked, “So how did you end up with a wolf?”

Placing his drink in front of him, I shook my head. “It’s really not a very exciting story. My uncle who’s a cop in Boston found him chained up in a backyard during a drug raid. He took him and brought him up here to us. The only other options probably would have been a zoo or a wolf sanctuary.”

“And your parents let you keep him?”

“Only after days of begging. And I had to take an oath that I would get good grades and basically stay out of trouble forever.”

“Did you?”

I laughed. “Ha, ha. Seriously though, I don’t think my parents can complain.” I leaned against the table. “You’re still hungry, right? What would you like? We have ham and turkey for sandwiches. And there’s some Swiss and cheddar cheese.”

“Ham and cheddar would be great.”

I returned to the refrigerator and pulled out sandwich and salad ingredients. Ham and cheese for him, lettuce, hard boiled eggs, and cottage cheese for me.

“I still can’t believe you have a wolf. And he seems so tame, at least with you. I can tell you’re really in control with him.”

I briefly thought of yesterday morning when Dakota chased me back to the house. I wasn’t in control then. “It’s not as much control as it is a bond. I’ve done a lot of research on wolves and they are very social animals. Basically, I’m his pack.”

I finished preparing his sandwich and carried it over to him.

His eyes met mine as he took the plate out of my hands. “Whatever it is, it’s pretty cool. You’re a fascinating girl who only gets more interesting the longer I know you.”

I spun around and returned to the counter to fix my salad. “It’s no big deal.”

“Maybe not to you, but to the rest of us, it’s pretty amazing. And it’s how you found Ryder, so you can hardly say it’s no big deal.”

“Dakota found Ryder, not me,” I said with my back to him. I focused on my salad, heaping cottage cheese, eggs, and pre-sliced carrots on a bed of lettuce. I topped it off with creamy Ranch dressing, then grabbed a ginger ale from the refrigerator and joined Noah at the table.