Isabel and the Wolf: (Part 4) (2 page)

*

Before Isabel left, she visited her family, spending a comforting weekend in her parents’ hospitality and love. She caught up with friends too, throwing herself back into the Chicago buzz, trying desperately to forget everything to do with Peter.

She kept delaying her return to Silver City, until she woke up one morning and knew that if she didn’t go back then, she never would.

“I’m scared, though, Kara,” Isabel whispered, her eyes wide with anxiety. “What will happen if I see Peter?”

“I don’t think that’ll happen. I mean, it’s not like he’s tried to contact you, is it? And he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy you just run into in the supermarket.”

“You’re right, I guess.”

“Then, don’t worry. You can carry on with your life where you left off before you met him. But maybe you should see him to give yourself some closure?”

“No.” Isabel’s stomach knotted again. “I couldn’t stand to see him again.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

“It’s ok. If you’d seen what I saw – ”

“Hey, I understand. And I know exactly what will make you feel better. Here – give me your phone.” Isabel held it against her chest, knowing what Kara had in mind.

“No! I’m not ready yet.”

“Isabel, listen to me. You thought you were falling for Peter. But you didn’t know what a freak he is. That makes it null and void. I know it’s hard to get over your feelings, but going on a date with a man – a 24-7 man – will speed up that process. Especially when it’s a guy that you already like!”

“Ok, I’ll message him,” Isabel said at last. Reluctantly, just to keep Kara happy, she typed out a message to Jed, asking him if he still wanted to go on a date later that week.

She and Kara parted sadly, with Isabel promising to come right back if she wasn’t happy and to call Kara if anything – anything at all – weird happened in Silver City.

As the plane’s wing dipped down low, Isabel had a final glimpse of her hometown and her eyes filled with tears, homesickness clenching at her chest. Leaving Chicago was never going to be easy.

Her entire body was tight all the way back to Silver City. Her shoulders ached from being hunched, and she drove twitchily, indicating too early, annoying other drivers.

She turned into her driveway. The bike was gone. She released the jaw she didn’t even know she’d been clenching, and let out a long breath. As she opened her door and walked through the hallway, she could see that Peter’s leathers had also gone from her living room. In a frenzy, she ran around the house, looking into any place that might have been big enough to cram a set of leathers, just in case she’d hidden them herself, and had been in such a panic that she’d blocked it out of her mind. They weren’t there. Ice flooded her veins. Peter had definitely been in her house while she was away! She ran to the front door. There were the couple of scratch marks that had appeared close to the door handle when he ran away from her house, but no sign that the locks had been forced. He must have picked two, extremely secure-looking locks and broken in.

Isabel sat on the sofa, breathing hard. She hated the fact that he’d been there.
But it’s a good sign he’s taken his stuff
, she told herself.
This means that he’s not coming back. That he has no reason to bother me again. This is the end.
Her emotions were so mixed up. There was mainly relief, but a tinge of regret too, like the regret that always comes when you see the last of someone, even if you’re the one ending the relationship.

Her cell phone vibrated. Jed had messaged her, suggesting a date in two days’ time. Before she had time to change her mind, she messaged back saying yes.

For the next two days, Isabel worked incessantly, stopping only to eat and sleep. She completed a three-sculpture commission in half the time it usually took her. The finished pieces were abstracts, like most of her work, but they had an underlying coherence. When she positioned them close together and looked at them from a distance, she was reminded of Venus flytraps, with hungry, open mouths.

She put them aside for a while, worried that she’d been slapdash and that they weren’t up to her usual standard. She brought the woodcarving she’d recently completed into the house, with a little trepidation, wondering if she was bringing a piece of Gila inside. But once it was on her coffee table, it felt like it had always been there. It had a kind of burnished look to it, which it imparted to the whole room, making it look cozier than ever. Suddenly, she wanted to hang onto it, instead of trying to sell it to a gallery, which had been her original plan. There was no rush really, she could make her mind up at any point, she reminded herself.

The evening of the date with Jed came. As Isabel finished work for the day, she thought about cancelling. Nine hours of almost uninterrupted concentration had left her drained and unprepared to meet him.

It’s just a date. That means having fun, and no pressure!!
Kara’s cell phone message encouraged.
And if you’re serious about moving on here, you’ve got to make it happen, girl!

Ok, I guess you’re right
, she messaged back. She showered and washed the smell of varnish out of her hair, then picked out a knee-length black dress, with a nipped-in waist and swing skirt. The neckline finished just above her cleavage, and she set it off with an emerald-green statement necklace that she’d made herself at art school. She left her hair loose, and kept her make-up light. She smirked at her reflection in the mirror, thinking how much more conservatively she was dressed than for recent dates. And then she felt a wave of nausea. It was almost exactly three weeks since she’d last seen Peter – whoever, or whatever, he was. Closing her eyes, she forced memories of him out of her mind, and summoned up an image of Jed: tall, floppy blond hair, sparkling blue eyes, that nice, well-cared for, clean-laundry smell. There was a tingle between her thighs, and she laughed in relief. Good to know at least part of her was ready to see him!

But what if she wasn’t mentally ready to see him yet, and this messed things up and ruined the possibility that things would work out in the long term?
Kara doesn’t believe in that scenario
, she told herself. Kara always said that if you meet the right person, things will ultimately work out for you, even if you’ve just had a really bad breakup with someone else. People who used bad timing as a justification were just using it to hide more fundamental problems.
Kara should write self-help relationship guides
, she thought with a groan.

She glanced in the mirror, one final time.

“Relax! It’s only a date,” she whispered. She slipped on a pair of high-heeled emerald green sandals and turned around to check her underwear wasn’t showing through her dress. She had chosen a conservative set – a black t-shirt bra, and black lycra panties. There was no way she and Jed would have sex tonight. Even if she hadn’t promised herself that there’d be no sex on a first date, she knew Jed would be too much of a gentleman to try. Happy enough with what she saw, she picked up her purse and strolled out of the house.

They were meeting for a pre-dinner cocktail at a bar not far from the dance hall. It was a tiny, narrow place, all in white, with a cute terrace out the front. Jed was there already, sitting on the terrace. Isabel paused, taking advantage of the fact that he couldn’t see her yet. He was wearing a white, button-down shirt that accentuated his natural, outdoorsy tan and the blueness of his eyes. His blond hair was falling onto his forehead, as usual. She drew in a long breath of anticipation. It was so nice going on a date with someone you knew well enough to know that you liked them, but they were still enough of an unknown quantity that there was lots to discover.

As she walked up the steps to the terrace, Jed stood up to greet her. “Hey, Bella!” he said, grinning.

“Hey yourself,” she breathed, and then she hesitated. They’d already kissed, so should she kiss him on the lips like a girlfriend? He took the decision out of her hands by lightly touching her shoulders and kissing her on both cheeks, French-style, his stubble brushing her face. She picked up the scent of a different aftershave from the one he usually wore. It was muskier, and kind of quirky. She adored unusual scents on men. She slipped into her seat and he passed her a menu. Her eye zeroed in on the margarita, as usual, and she frowned. She didn’t know if she’d be able to drink another one ever again. Instead, she ordered a martini with a twist, and Jed ordered a French martini. When the drinks arrived, he laughed in surprise at the pink concoction in front of him.

“I wasn’t expecting that!” he said. Isabel laughed.

“Didn’t you read the ingredients list?”

“No. I’m not usually a cocktail guy, to be honest. I just picked it because we’re going to a French restaurant tonight!” Isabel laughed again.
He was just too adorable
.

“We are? I love French!” she said.

“Yeah, best place in town, apparently.” They lifted their glasses and gingerly touched them together.

“Here’s to our first date,” he said. He took a cautious sip, and then a bigger one. “Not bad, actually.” He poked the tip of his tongue out and licked his lip. Isabel watched, mesmerized. “Hey, I’m in touch with my feminine side!” Isabel leaned back in her chair. Being with Jed really relaxed her; he was so easy and jokey that you couldn’t feel tense around him. His familiar way was also arousing. The first threads of desire awakened in her body, and mingled with the pure alcohol she was drinking, making her feel voracious.

The twilight sky was a shade of green, a dreamy, otherworldly tinge.

“I never thought sky could be this color,” Isabel said. “It’s like someone’s tipped the world upside down.”

“You should see it during the full moon. There’s a moment – blink and you miss it – as the moon rises, and the whole sky glows green. You don’t need to go to Canada to see the Northern Lights, they’re right here in Silver City.”

“When’s the next full moon coming?”

“In about a week’s time,” he replied.

“Comes around fast doesn’t it?” she said, thinking it seemed like only days ago that she’d been standing in her garden, staring at it. It’s because she’d been away. Being in different places always distorts the sense of time passing.

“You’d better believe it,” Jed replied. He was smiling at her, and then his smile faded and was replaced by an intense expression.

“Bella, I’ve been meaning to explain, but I’ve been waiting for the right moment.” He swallowed hard. “I’m really sorry you had to witness the fight between myself and that – that man, last time we saw each other. The whole time I was telling him to stop, but he just wouldn’t.”

“It’s fine, really. I could see that he was the one who attacked you,” she said, shaking her head. She didn’t want to hear anything about Peter right now. Scratch that. She didn’t want to hear anything about Peter ever again. Jed took her hand across the table. “I promise that nothing like that will happen again.” Isabel met his gaze, her heart giving a jump at his allusion to the longer term.

“So if some crazy man attacks you in future, you’re just going to let him get on with it?” Jed’s smile had a hint of self-consciousness.

“No. I’ll just arrest him, like I should have at the dance. But I was off-duty, and in this town, it’s important that I separate my on-and off-duty personas, or people won’t trust me.”

“And if you’re out, you’re out, right?”

“Exactly. There’s a lot of good folks in Silver City, but it’s still a small town, with a very defined set of dynamics. It welcomes outsiders, but they’ve gotta behave, or life can get very difficult for them around here!” Isabel nodded, struck by Jed’s evident commitment to the town, and by the intelligence in his eyes.

“Why did you become a cop?” she asked.

“My father’s a cop, and so’s his father, and so on and so on. It’s in our blood. After college, I didn’t seriously think of doing anything else.”

“That’s kind of nice,” Isabel said.

“It’s safe,” he said. “And I love it. I get to speak to so many people every day, and spend a lot of my time outdoors. How about your family? You’re from Chicago, right?”

“Uh huh,” Isabel said, and began to tell him all about her mom and dad and brother and sister, and her life before she moved down to Silver City. Jed listened attentively, prompting her with questions here and there. At last, he gestured to her empty glass. “Another drink, or would you like to go for dinner?”

“Dinner, I think,” Isabel said. “I’m in the mood for red wine!”

They moved on to Chez Ricard, three doors away. It had blue checkered tablecloths and little net curtains up at the windows.

“This is lovely!” Isabel exclaimed. “It looks so authentic.”

“It has a reallive French chef too,” Jed replied, and led her to the cozy corner table he’d reserved. They spent a long time looking at the menu, eventually deciding to share a portion of moules à la marinière.

“I guess we should have white wine with this?” Isabel said.

“I’m not a fan of rules when it comes to food,” Jed said. “I believe you were craving red?” He picked up the drinks menu and suggested a classic Beaujolais.

“Perfect!” Isabel said, grinning. She’d been worried that Jed’s ‘safe’ job might mean that he was a fan of regulations in all areas of life.

The waiter brought a carafe of the wine, followed by the aromatic, garlicky mussels. It was perfectly dark outside now, and candles illuminated the little room, making Jed’s features soften and his eyes sparkle. He was such an attractive man.

“You look so beautiful,” he said, mirroring her own thoughts. Isabel’s heartbeat speeded up. Desire for him was mixed with a fuzzier, less defined feeling.

She didn’t know what they talked about that night, sharing anecdotes and snippets of their lives, while she avoided mentioning either her ex-boyfriend or Peter. Jed alluded to a long-term ex, but said he’d been single for months now. They both had filet mignon for the entrée, Jed’s cooked blue, and hers medium rare. He ate with enthusiasm, and Isabel matched him, completely clearing her plate. For dessert, they shared a crème brulée, their spoons clinking together from time to time as they broke through the burnt sugar crust and dug into the creamy sweetness beneath.