Page 40 of A Wolfe in the Woods

The most honest words I’d probably ever said out loud in years. A breath loosened from my chest, like a knot had come undone. I’d never even said those words to Meg. Not directly, at least.

So what was it about Jonathan that had made it easy?

“What do you do?” he asked, shifting his position to face me more fully.

“I’m acorporate liaison,” I replied, casually rolling my eyes as if my title was anything near as lofty as it suggested. “I’m a link between my boss, who’s the CEO of our company, and different departments. I oversee everything from communications to conflict resolution…which there’s been a lot of lately. Occasionally, rarely, I’m permitted to use this big brain of mine to pitch things…which mostly get dismissed.” I trailed off. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be complaining…I’m ruining this.” I gestured vaguely toward the ridge and everything around us.

Jonathan shook his head, kindly. “Nah. This is the perfect place to let things go. Cliff of Confessions, remember?”

I grinned. It was the way he said things, without judgment, that made me see him differently than I originally had. He spokehard truths like they were simple facts and let everything else roll off his shoulders. I liked that. I respected that.

“My best friend, Megan, is always encouraging me to quit and pivot to something else. Somethingmeaningful.”

“Sounds like a smart friend. I agree with her.”

“Well, easy for her to say…she’s well off. And easy foryouto say. You have this place.” I paused, letting the next sentence hit me like a sobering sad reality. “Eight years in and I have nothing to show for it.”

“What would you want to do instead?” he asked.

“That’s just it. What Iwantfeels impossible. Unrealistic.”

He turned toward me slightly. “Why?”

“Because I’m notthem. You know? The people who just chase their dreams. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

Jonathan’s voice was calm. “I’ll let you in on a little secret: No one knows what they’re doing in this life. If they’ve convinced you otherwise, they’re lying or naive. Everything’s just a hunch. You bank that you’re right about yourself, and you have the courage to take a step forward. That’s all you need to do.”

I turned that over in my mind before nodding. “You make it sound simple.”

“Sometimes itisjust that simple,” he replied.

I couldn’t help but think it was sad we’d never met before. All these years…it seemed strange our lives had never crossed.

Then, almost without thinking, I said, “You know…when we were kids, there were all these stories. Rumors. About the families that lived in Juniper woods.”

Jonathan let out a low chuckle. “Yeah, I’m aware of them.”

I hesitated. “You know how kids are. If someone lived past the first row of pines, they were automatically a ghost or a witch or a wolf.”

“Yep,” he said. “Everwick always had its nose up in the air when it came to us. We were always the wild folk in the trees.Less…civilized. Grew up with it. I was called everything short of a forest dragon.” He gave a dry smile. “One of the many reasons I wanted out.”

I nudged him gently. “So…any truth to it?”

He looked at me, amused. “I don’t know. What do you believe? Are you afraid of forest sprites, bigfoot…the big bad wolf?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Maybe. Should I be?”

He leaned in slightly. “I don’t know. I mean, what doyoufeel? Do youfeelafraid?”

I shook my head. “No. Actually, I don’t feel afraid at all.”

“Well, there you go.”

A breath passed between us. His eyes were pinned on mine, and my heart was fluttering in response.

“Stop staring,” I said, half laugh, half deflection.

“I’m not staring,” he replied calmly. “I’m looking. There’s a difference.” He widened his eyes dramatically, bugging them out. “That would be staring.”