She turned from the door and met Grandma’s gaze. “Well?”
Grandma folded her hands over the handle of her cane and rested her chin atop them. “I think you were right, Granddaughter. Right about Alex and especially about the young man.”
Julie crossed the room and sat at her grandmother’s feet. “I still can’t figure what they had to do with Cheryl’s murder, I know they couldn’t have been directly involved. My dreams won’t come clear. But somehow—”
“Somehow there’s a connection,” Grandma finished. “The spirits don’t always make it easy, but they don’t lay false trails either.” She sighed and rolled her neck. “What did you think of Kieran’s explanation for running?”
Julie knotted her fingers. “I can’t see it. Running the wrong way for help, or running because he was afraid. It doesn’t fit. But it’s part of all this.”
“Yes. That’s what I got from my talk with him. He wouldn’t be the kind to run that way.” She leaned forward. “And the wolf?”
The wolf. The wolf that had helped save Tracy, who now lay exhausted but recovering in a warm bed, Brenda by her side.
“It’s too strange. And it’s no coincidence,” she concluded.
Grandma scratched her chin. “No.” She gestured Julie closer. “I know Cheryl’s death was never resolved for you. We all grieved. But it’s still a broken circle in your heart. That’s why this is coming clear to you now.”
“And do you think there’s a chance to close the circle, Grandma?”
Grandma was silent a long time, rocking, her eyes halfshut. “There’s more to this than even your dreams are telling you. Tonight I’ll pray and burn the cedar. We’ll talk tomorrow. I think the spirits will be ready to give us the rest of the story.”
Julie helped Grandma to her feet, and the two of them went to check on Tracy one more time. The little girl had gone back to sleep, her small form bundled under blankets, motionless in the healing rest of an exhausted child.
Julie stood in the bedroom doorway long after Grandma and Brenda left. Tracy hadn’t been afraid of the wolf that rescued her. She’d said something about wanting to thank him before she drifted off.
Maybe you’ll get your chance, Trace, Julie thought. Cheryl is gone, but you’re alive. It’s part of the circle. Alex and Kieran are part of it, too—the circle that hasn’t closed.
But something told Julie that it would be. Very soon.
Chapter 9
The sun was sinking below the tops of the trees, limning their uppermost edges with a subtle halo of fading light. Alex leaned over the porch railing and smiled. This was one of her favorite times in the woods; everything seemed at peace, hushed and waiting, ready to reveal the answers to all her unspoken questions.
Contentment had stolen up on her with no warning over the handful of days since Tracy’s rescue, like the most subtle of predators. It was a contentment that came with the unspoken truce between herself and Kieran—an agreement to let things flow as they would, with the timeless serenity of the forest. No demands, no pressure, no intimacy.
There was companionship. They shared meals, even quiet walks in the forest, but Kieran seemed careful not to intrude on any part of her privacy. He ranged far in the woods, returning without explanation when he was ready. She demanded no explanations. Kieran didn’t push for her help in learning more of his past; she didn’t push him to remember.
She hadn’t forgotten her promise to him. This peace couldn’t last. Alex knew she couldn’t live with any man indefinitely; sooner or later they’d have to resume the lessons, and Kieran would go on to whatever fate awaited him.
But she didn’t let herself think of that inevitable future. Now was enough. This was what she had hoped for when she returned to Minnesota. She’d have peace again when Kieran was gone. He wasn’t the cause of it, only a temporary alteration in the untroubled course of the life she’d planned.
She was about to turn back into the cabin when Kieran emerged from the woods. Her heart chose that moment to skip a few beats. It didn’t mean anything, of course, except that he was still a magnificent sight by any standards. Deliberately she jumped down from the porch and went to meet him.