Chapter 4

“There’s no bathroom,” I moaned with dismay as I stepped out onto the front porch after inspecting the inside of the cabin.

“There’s an outhouse,” Kenzie offered as she climbed the small set of steps that separated the porch from the dirt patch where she’d parked the SUV. “There’s electricity and running water, though.”

“The lap of luxury, eh?” I chided with a mixture of amusement and irritation.

Kenzie gave me a look of chagrin, “I guess I neglected to ask about a bathroom. It’s a good lesson in never assuming.” Heaving a sigh, she added, “The weather’s lovely and we have that huge lake just up the road. It looked like a healthy body of water. We can bathe there and, like I said, there’s an outhouse.”

“It’s fine,” I assured her. “I was just a little taken aback, that’s all.”

“Some people’s idea of heaven doesn’t match up with ours,” she chuckled.

“Ideally, heaven would have a toilet and a shower, but, if I recall, he said it was almost heaven,” I joked, with an emphasis on the word, almost.

“Oh, well. If he said almost, then he’s in the clear,” she noted as she picked up her bag and headed inside. “Tell me that we at least have our own rooms.”

“I took the one in the back since I didn’t know what ungodly hour you might decide to head out to do this tagging stuff,” I informed her.

“Smart,” she said over her shoulder as she disappeared through the doorway of the closest of the two bedrooms. After quickly depositing her bags just inside the door, she returned to the main room that consisted of the kitchen, dining area, and living room and took a good look around. “It’s pretty rustic.”

“I like it,” I admitted. “Step outside and take a minute to really look around and you’ll understand Oscar’s claim. This place is fabulous.”

We walked out onto the porch and took in our surroundings with eyes and minds that were no longer concerned about bathrooms, showers, or where we were going to sleep.

Our expressions reflected the awe and appreciation that we were experiencing for the beauty of nature that enveloped us.

The cabin was at the end of a mile long dirt drive that wound its way up the side of a mountain until it reached a clearing. There, in the middle of the clearing, was the small, two bedroom, one-hundred year old log cabin.

Noting how deep into the woods that the cabin was, I made mention of how impressive it was that Oscar’s family was able to get the electric company to run electricity to it. It was then that Kenzie admitted that the electricity was provided by a gas generator that was located behind the cabin and needed to be started.

Instead of dulling my appreciation for the place, it actually increased it. I’d spent years fantasizing about staying in a place like this with the bare necessities at my disposal, but I’d never had the opportunity present itself. Before moving to Freedom, I’d associated with a circle of friends whose idea of roughing it was going downstairs in the hotel for a continental breakfast and I’d not had the guts or the drive to initiate such a stay on my own.

With the late afternoon sun behind her, a slight glow that resembled a halo framed Kenzie’s head as I looked at her and said, “Thank you.”

Surprised, my good friend asked, “For what?”

I spread my arms wide and enthusiastically said, “This. Thank you for this.”

She chuckled. “Don’t mention it. Now, what do you think? Should we get that generator running and unpack the food?”

“I have absolutely no clue how to operate that generator,” I confessed.

“I didn’t think you would, miss fancy pants,” Kenzie said with humor. “Lucky for us that I’m part tomboy. I know my way around a generator, a hatchet, and a campfire.”

“Praise be,” I mockingly bellowed.

“Ha,” Kenzie said as she placed her hands on her hips. With a curt smile, she said, “Just you stick with me, kiddo. I’ll make a tomboy out of you yet.”

I rolled my eyes as I placed my hand over my chest and said, “Be still my heart. I can hardly wait.”

After taking a moment to enjoy the humor, Kenzie headed for the generator while I proceeded to unpack the food and supplies that we’d brought. When I came upon the wine, I opened a bottle to let it breathe for the length of time it would take her to return from setting the cabin aright with electricity.

The sound of a vehicle coming up the long dirt drive reached my ears long before Oscar’s jeep could be seen through the thick foliage covered landscape. Kenzie was just coming around to the front of the cabin after successfully mastering the generator when I joined her on the front porch to greet our host.

Parking his jeep next to our SUV, Oscar lept out of the vehicle wearing a smile and an outfit that shouted camouflage. From his hat to his jacket and his pants, he blended with his surroundings to the point where I doubted I’d be able to spot him if he left the clearing.

“Wow!” Kenzie said with enthusiastic delight. “That’s some getup.”

“Don’t be jealous,” he teased, “There’s one for you in my jeep.”

“Seriously?” she squealed with mocking delight. “I’ve always wanted to dress like the forest.”

“Tease all you want,” he replied. “You’ll thank me after a day or two of tracking.”

Kenzie’s face grew somber as she asked, “Is it that difficult?”

He shrugged as he said, “It can be, but being invisible helps.”

“What about your scent,” I asked. “Even being invisible won’t help if they smell you.”

Both surprised and impressed by my insight, Oscar turned to me and said, “That’s a good question. We have a special perfume to wear.”

“Eau de wolf, I assume,” Kenzie said with a sarcastic sigh.

“Wolf what?” I suspiciously asked as all kinds of crazy thoughts flitted through my mind as to how they’d produce a wolf scent. I hoped it didn’t involve blood or the like. It was at that moment that I realized that I was associating blood with Oscar. Of course, I quickly rationalized it by remembering that he was a veterinarian. “Where do you get wolf scent?”

“It comes from their scent glands,” Kenzie explained. “It’s like their personal calling card.”

“Yes,” Oscar nodded, “It helps, but also can be dangerous because it’s not only how they identify a wolf, but it’s how they can tell if you’re part of their pack or part of a rival pack.”

“What happens if it’s a rival pack?” I asked while thinking that I probably already knew the answer.

“It can get hairy,” Oscar replied.

“Speaking of packs,” I continued. “Don’t they travel in packs?”

“They do,” Kenzie offered.

“How do you plan on tagging a pack?” I asked with concern. “You’re just one person.”

“There are what we call lone wolves,” Oscar explained. “They’re low on the totem pole and will sometimes be so mistreated that they leave the pack and go it alone. They’re who we’re wanting to study. We want to see if they remain alone or if they eventually find a new pack.”

“That doesn’t sound easy,” I observed.

“That’s why they’re paying us the big bucks,” Kenzie chuckled.

“Oh,” I said with a hint of surprise. “I actually forgot that you were being paid for this. It’s so nice out here that I forgot that we’re technically here on business.”

Oscar moved closer to me as he said, “So, you like my little piece of heaven?”

“I’d like it more if it had a toilet and a shower,” I chided, “but it’s beautiful beyond description.”

“We have an outhouse and the lake over there is fresh and ready for bathing,” he said with enthusiasm.

“That’s what I said,” Kenzie interjected.

I looked from Kenzie to Oscar and then back again. They really were birds of a feather. I thought about the type of couple they’d make and decided that they were well suited for dating. Not only that, but it was clear that they had extremely fond feelings for each other. What I couldn’t understand was why neither of them made an effort to take it beyond friendship.