Morning Light by Catherine Anderson

Author:Catherine Anderson [Anderson, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, Inc.
Published: 2010-02-28T23:00:00+00:00

After setting up camp Loni went searching for firewood. It still wasn’t fully dark, so she enjoyed the opportunity to stretch her stiff legs, confident that she wouldn’t get lost because she could still see the horses and the tent. She had almost a full armload of nice-size branches when she came across footprints. Trevor’s. When she looked more closely, she also spotted Nana’s tracks, following behind the boy’s.

Setting the wood down, Loni followed their trail for a way. She wasn’t entirely certain why. It was just a feeling she had. Moments later she understood. Up ahead was an outcropping of rock, and as she drew closer, she saw an opening. It was the cave where Trevor and Nana had slept the first night. She felt certain of it.

Picking up her pace she covered the remaining distance in only seconds. At the cave opening, the ceiling of which hit her about chin-high, she leaned over and went in. Silence. Light from outside illuminated the interior, creating a shadowy gloom. Loni spied a candy wrapper lying on the ground. When she picked it up, an image of the child and dog sharing a chocolate bar flashed through her mind. Smiling sadly, she sat there for a while, trailing her fingertips over the disturbed earth where Trevor and Nana had lain.

“You had me worried.”

Loni glanced up to see Clint leaning down to peer in at her. “Sorry. This is where he slept the first night. When I saw it I had to come in.”

Clint moved forward, shoulders hunched to keep from hitting his head. “Nice digs. He’s a smart kid. Sleeping in here protected him from the wind and probably from the cold as well, to a certain degree.” He sat beside her. “Picking up anything?”

“Only memories.” She patted the dirt beside her. “This is where they cuddled together that first night when I heard the wolves.”

“Maybe we’ll hear them tonight.”

Loni shivered and rubbed her arms. “Oh, I hope not.”

He chuckled. “No worries. You have me to protect you.”

“I’d hate for you to have to shoot a wolf.”

“Me, too.”

She sent him a wondering look. “You like wolves?”

“Never been around them, but I’ve seen photographs, and I think they’re the most gorgeous creatures on earth. Aside from horses, of course. There’s a huge political battle being waged right now over their growing populations in Montana and Idaho. Ranchers are up in arms because their livestock is threatened, and activists are up in arms because the reintroduced wolves were once indigenous to those areas. They want the ecological balance to be restored.”

“Which side are you on?” Loni asked, almost afraid to hear his answer.

“I lean real hard toward protecting the wolves. Dumb answer for a rancher, I know, and I might change my mind real fast if they moved into the Crystal Falls area and started killing my horses.” He gave her a sheepish look. “I know it’s not masculine to admit it, but my horses are my babies. I’d take on a chain saw bare-handed to save one of them.

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