Those were the days.
It was after spending an afternoon at the diner, Denim had returned to the house to find Grandma Bea lying unconscious on the kitchen floor. Immediately, she'd called an ambulance and her grandmother had been admitted into the hospital, only to never return home again. Denim's parents came down and after the funeral, she went back to Tulsa. After that, she couldn't bear the thought of returning to Justice to that big house and Grandma Bea not being there. Denim knew her actions had hurt Pappy's feelings, but she just didn't think she could do it and in the process she had convinced herself there was nothing left for her in Justice. But in a matter of a day she relived the slow-paced charmed of the town and its warm friendly residents and realized that maybe she had it all wrong. Justice had once been her home away from home. Pappy needed her, and selfishly, until she figured out which direction her life was headed, she needed Justice and Pappy as well.
Denim pushed through the forest. She knew the area like she knew her way around Macy's department store. As crazy is it sounded, she used to camp out during the summer with Quinn.
Back in Tulsa she never would have dreamed of heading out into the forest, but in Justice, as she moved deeper within the trees, Denim felt a sense of peace she hadn't felt in forever. Maybe it was just being hundreds of miles away from campus and her pathetic personal life.
As she reached a tall oak, she suddenly remembered the treehouse built to look out over the rolling hills below. Grandpa once said he had built it for her father and Uncle Luke when they were younger. Denim smiled as she remembered how she used to dash out there and hide for hours whenever she was unhappy with the world and somehow being up in the tree always made things feel better. Oddly, she wondered if the treehouse still had that magic. Maybe it would have the power to make her forget her cheating boyfriend and skank ex-best friend.
Denim climbed the steep hill, feeling the pull at her calf muscles with each step. Goodness, when was the last time she had worked out?
Looking up, she searched through the trees and bush that had grown considerably tall and thick since she had last visited, and Denim spotted the tin roof up ahead. Sure enough as she stepped around a bush there it was, her treehouse, on top of a large oak tree with a trunk so thick she couldn't put both arms around the base even if she'd tried. She walked over to the tree and tested the reins of the ladder that had been screwed into the bark, before she felt confident enough to climb. It took a little effort, but she finally managed to reach the top and pushed herself into the cramped space. It was funny how at one time the house had felt so spacious to her and Quinn and now there was barely just enough room for her, and her alone. Denim crawled over to the window and with her fist propped beneath her chin, she stared down the grassy hillside. Acres and acres of land for as far as her eyes could see.
Shifting onto her knees, Denim swiveled the telescope and pointed it out the window. After all those years, she suspected the instrument was no longer functional and was amazed that it still worked. She turned the dial until her focus was clear and stared ahead. She had no idea how long she sat there staring out at nothing before her mind shifted to a time when she and Quinn thought they'd seen the boogey man. As she chuckled softly, Denim caught movement out the corner of her eyes.
Wow!
All of a sudden there were horses. Dozens and dozens of beautiful horses, galloping wild across the land.
"Oh my!" she gasped and was happy to see someone had finally claimed the land. While she watched the horses, she imagined riding on the back of one. It had been years since she'd gone horseback riding. Maybe I'd get another chance. She would certainly ask Pappy questions about the new owner.
Denim watched the horses until her knees began to hurt on the wooden planks and had just turned her head when she caught movement again. Resting her eye against the telescope, she aimed over toward the trees and saw something step out that caused her to gasp. It was a dog. No … it was bigger than a dog. A wolf maybe, except that it was the size of a horse. Denim blinked and blinked again, making sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. Nope. They weren't. Sure enough the supersized dog was standing there at the edge of the forest. And then there was another. And another. Three total. All humungous in size. Denim couldn't scream. She couldn't move. She was mesmerized. Instead, she just stared. They had to be wolves. Only they were like nothing she had ever seen at the zoo. Not that size. And definitely not that color. They were golden blonde and breathtakingly beautiful. She should have been afraid and if she could have found her voice she would have possibly screamed, not that anyone would have heard her. Instead, her lips were parted, only nothing came out. She was frozen in awe as she watched.
They hurried down the hill and raced around the horses. Denim expected the animals to be spooked and gallop away. Instead, they were calm as if they were used to roaming with wolves. There was no way in hell this was happening! Seriously … , wolves just don't get that big. Or do they? And then Denim remembered Pappy had once said there were werewolves lurking around in these parts. Grandma Bea used to tell her it was a bunch of nonsense and Denim would cover her mouth and softly giggle, but … had Pappy been right?
As she watched, one of the wolves tilted his head back, howled, then the other two stopped and did the same. The sound was loud, almost raspy. Not at all the howling heard in the movies. It was almost as if the sky had rumbled warning of a potential thunderstorm. To the horses, the howl was a command, because they all turned and headed back in the direction they'd come.
Denim watched as the wolves waited until all of the horses had disappeared before they headed after them. But just before the last wolf stepped into the thick of the forest, he stopped, turned his head and she gasped. He was staring in her direction. No freaking way! She held her breath as she waited to see what he did next.
I know you're there, rang in her ears as if he was standing right beside her. Telepathy. Uh-uh! She was really starting to lose it. There was no way she could hear what a wolf was thinking so she shook the ridiculous idea aside.
Of course he couldn't see her acres away, up high in a treehouse, but to be on the safe side, Denim reared back from the window. She waited, heart pounding heavily as the wolf tilted his head toward the sky, sniffed the air, and then he was gone.
Denim jerked away from the telescope and leaned against the wall of the treehouse, breathing heavily. "There's no way," she told herself. All those years of Pappy talking about werewolves … , had he been telling the truth?
She tried to wrap her brain around it. White wolves were practically extinct and hadn't been seen in this area of Texas in centuries, and yet, even if they were still around, there's no way they could have been golden blonde and that freaking big. What she had seen had been like wolves on steroids. There was just no way. In fact, something like that wasn't even normal, and suddenly she was afraid.
Denim hurried down from the treehouse and raced through the forest and onto the lawn, looking over her shoulder every few steps making sure none of the wolves had followed. Once she entered the house, she bolted the door and sagged against it.
Blonde wolves in Justice.
She had to tell someone, and yet … other than Pappy, who would believe her? The town would just laugh and think she and her grandfather were a joke. They would just think the fruit didn't fall far from the tree if she started talking about what Pappy had been telling folks for years. Denim finally concluded she was tired and after a long day, her eyes had been playing tricks on her. And maybe the wolves weren't as big as the telescope had made them appear. After all, the instrument was old and outdated. Yep, that's what it was. The lenses were warped. She breathed a sigh of relief at her conclusion and decided to keep what she thought she had seen to herself. Besides, if she told Pappy, what good would it do? It would just get him all agitated and ready to go hunting and she couldn't have that. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to him.
Nope. For now, what Denim thought she saw would have to stay a secret.
4
The following morning Denim showered and came down to the kitchen. Pappy was already making breakfast. He was standing in front of the deep farmhouse sink when he turned to her and smiled.
"Good morning, Sweet Pea. You want any eggs?"
"No, coffee and toast is fine," she replied, rising on her toes to brush a kiss to his butter-pecan colored cheek.
He frowned. "You need to fuel your body."