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imagine Eliza will want to stop by and sit with her a while before long, if you think she’s up to having visitors.”
    “She’d like that. But I don’t imagine that’s why you’re here, is it?”
    “No. It isn’t.” Ira looked around, his gaze traveling slowly across the flat mountaintop where Hank Campbell had built his farm. “I’ll cut to the chase, as I know you’re probably busy. My daughter was just saved from almost certain death by a wolf. I thought it might be the courteous thing to do to come up here and let you know that. I know you like to walk in the woods a lot, and I’d hate to see you run into the creature without warning.”
    Ira was watching him closely, and a prickling awareness danced down Owen’s spine. He narrowed his gaze, trying to gauge the other man’s mood. “I appreciate the warning. I’ve not seen any signs of a wolf around here, though. You sure she didn’t mistake a dog for a wolf? What with the excitement from being almost bitten by a rattlesnake, I’m sure she wasn’t thinking straight.”
    Ira’s lips quirked up at the corners. “I never said she had an encounter with a snake.”
    Owen sucked in a sharp breath. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He weighed his options. A knowing light was in Ira’s eyes, and Owen decided to gamble. Besides, he was too tired to try and bluff his way out of it. “What do you want to know?”
    “I want to make sure that wolf doesn’t pose a threat to my daughter, or the rest of my family. That’s all.”
    “It doesn’t. You have my word on that.”
    Ira studied him for another few seconds, then nodded and let out a breath. “I figured as much. I just needed to make sure. And I wanted to say thanks, as well. That snake was so big, Sarah never would have survived had it bitten her. It was a risk, what the wolf did. He could have easily been bitten himself.”
    Owen didn’t know what to say, and thankfully, Ira seemed to sense that. He held his hand out, and they shook. Ira placed his free hand over their joined hands and squeezed, the male equivalent of a hug.
    “I’ll head back down the hill. Listen, if you or your mama need anything, call us. That’s what neighbors are for.” With a tip of his cap, Ira turned to go back home.
    Owen cleared his throat and stopped him. “Ira? Does Sarah know?”
    Ira stilled, then turned. “No. Eliza and I put it together a couple years ago, but we’ve not told anyone. It’s not our secret to tell. And you have my word on that, son.”
    Owen thanked him, the words barely audible around the lump in his throat.
    “No thanks necessary. Just holler if you need us.” With that, Ira was gone, and Owen was left staring after him, puzzled. He’d never talked to anyone outside his mother’s family about his shifting, and Ira Browning’s calm acceptance of his dual nature left him speechless.
    Before he could consider the implications, his sister-in-law stepped out onto the porch. “Owen? Mother Lucy is asking for you.”
    “On my way.” He’d have to ponder the new information later. He had other, more pressing worries at the moment.

Chapter Five

    June 1956…

    T HE BROWNING HOUSEHOLD WAS IN a tizzy. With children running in and out of the house, laughter filling the rooms, and food weighing down the table, the good spirits were infectious. Sarah was astonished that so many people had gathered to wish her well.
    Her mother stopped on the way to the kitchen to give Sarah a hug. “I’m so proud of you, so very proud, and so is your father. We can hardly believe it. Our little baby girl is grown and getting ready to go away to college.” She gave Sarah an extra squeeze, and Sarah closed her eyes.
    It didn’t matter that she was nearly eighteen years old and the world viewed her as an adult. As excited as she was about going to college to become a teacher, part of her was still a scared little girl who needed her mother.
    The moment was interrupted when Sarah’s two-year-old niece, Moira, came