Taking the camera from her outstretched hand, Ryne looked as if he were about to say something, but then thought better of it. Instead, he turned and headed towards the door.
“Umm... Didn’t you forget something?” Despite the tense mood that had filled the room, Mel couldn’t keep a tinge of amusement from her voice.
“What?” He had his hand on the door knob, his back to her.
“Clothes?” A snicker escaped her lips, despite her best efforts to keep it back.
His whole body went rigid and he turned, shooting her a filthy look before grabbing his clothing from in front of the fire. “I’ll get dressed outside.” With that, he left carrying his clothes in his arms.
Well! Mel wasn’t sure what to think about that. At least there were no neighbours nearby to wonder why a naked man was getting dressed in front of her cabin. She giggled again. It sure beat the traditional gnomes and pink flamingos as far as lawn ornaments went.
Walking over to the computer, she sat down in front of it, her mood sobering again. Staring at the screen, she chewed on her lip. Why hadn’t Ryne wanted her to see his pictures? It couldn’t be because they were bad shots, he didn’t strike her as having a perfectionist streak in him, and besides, the few she’d seen had been perfectly fine.
Furrowing her brow, she tried to recall the images on the screen. The one he’d seen—the one she’d left open on the computer—had been of a lake. Before that, there was a house, an older couple, a woman by a lake, a group of people, a butterfly on a flower... That was all she could recall. It seemed pretty innocuous. There was no reason for him to get all bent out of shape like that. Sure, he was heavily into maintaining his privacy, but she hadn’t purposely gone snooping and the pictures didn’t really show anything... Or did they? Had she missed something significant? Or were there important photos that she hadn’t viewed yet?
Too bad he’d erased the file. Just for curiosity’s sake, she’d love to have another look. It would certainly make Aldrich happy if she could come up with something specific about the man. She winced, thinking of his disparaging comments when she’d reported Ryne’s ‘I didn’t exist before photography’ answer. He’d been even less impressed than she was, insisting she needed to be more pushy when delving into Ryne’s background. Even worse, Aldrich threatened to have Mr. Greyson cancel her contract and demand the money back. That had sent a wave of fear down her spine. His cold accusing voice echoed in her head.
“Excuse me if I’m mistaken, Ms. Greene, but isn’t an investigative reporter supposed to actually investigate? Not just sit around and wait for the subject to hand over the information. From where I sit, all you’ve done is tiptoe around the man. Hardly earning your keep now, are you? Especially considering how many zeros were on that cheque. Don’t be surprised, if things continue as they are, to find Mr. Greyson initiating legal proceedings with the aim of obtaining a full refund of all monies paid, up to and including this date. Unfortunately, you’ll be out of pocket any expenses you’ve incurred up to now, but that’s what happens when you don’t deliver what you promise.”
With that the man had hung up, leaving Mel madly calculating how she’d cover the rent on the cabin, the cost of the plane tickets, the car rental...
Mel’s stomach quivered nervously. She didn’t have any money beyond what Greyson had given her. She’d been living hand to mouth before getting this job and used her small savings to pay her apartment rent a month in advance. But what was she supposed to do? If Ryne didn’t want to talk, didn’t want to share, well then... A thought popped into her head as she stared at the computer screen. An internal battle raged, even as her hand manoeuvred the mouse across the screen. Ryne didn’t want her to see those pictures, obviously worried they’d reveal some personal information, but... She bit her lip as she double clicked on the recycle bin icon and stared at the deleted, but not yet erased file.
*****
Ryne, unabashedly naked, headed across the open space that served as the front lawn for Melody’s cabin. His clothes were still damp and the idea of putting on wet denim was repugnant. Glancing around, he walked over to a bush and shoved the clothes underneath, pulling some leaves up to cover them. Satisfied no one would notice the clothing until he returned to collect it another day, he headed into the woods, and once concealed behind the trees, closed his eyes and brought his wolf forward.
Even with his eyes shut, he could sense the air shimmering around him, knew that if he opened his eyes, the images he saw would be momentarily distorted as if looking through a cascade of glitter in a snow globe. It was only a momentary phenomenon and then the world righted itself. Giving himself a shake to adjust his fur, he stretched his front quarters and then his hind before picking up the camera in his mouth and heading for home.