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leaning against a telephone pole across the street, staring distractedly in the distance, one arm crossed, the other hand rubbing his chin. She considered ignoring him, but then remembered his face as he helped with the grim task this morning and crossed the street to him.
     
    “Hey,” she said.
     
    He jerked as if surprised by her voice. “You’re speaking to me again?” he asked, glancing at her and away again.
     
    “That was horrible this morning,” she said, not answering his question.
     
    He nodded.
     
    “That’s a hard loss for the Johansen’s,” she said into the silence.
     
    “They have insurance,” he said offhandedly, pushing himself away from the pole. She was surprised by his seemingly callous answer. “Walk with me?”
     
    Since she’d approached him, she didn’t feel she could say no, so she nodded. Rafe shoved both hands into his front pockets, which stretched his t-shirt tight against his arms and back, clearly showing how much bigger he’d gotten than she even remembered.
     
    “What happened to your hand?”
     
    Ruby glanced down at the bandaged appendage. “Nothing. I dropped a glass. No biggie.”
     
    “Does it hurt?”
     
    “No. I’d forgotten about it,” she said honestly. He nodded, still clearly distracted.
     
    As they walked, he said, “Ruby, you need to leave town.”
     
    “What?” That was the last thing she’d expected him to say.
     
    “The wolf,” he began, blowing out a breath. “He’s getting worse. It’s getting dangerous. You need to go, just for a while.”
     
    Irrational tears pricked Ruby’s eyes. Not, I’ll take you away to safety , but you need to go . And what, leave her father here at the mercy of some vengeful creature? Or Rafe?
     
    “No.”
     
    Rafe stopped, turning and grasping her by the shoulders. “Please, Red, you don’t understand. There’s too much danger for you.”
     
    “For me? What about you? What about my father? Or your parents, or Lowell, or Marina, or anyone else in town?”
     
    Rafe shook her as if her obstinacy frustrated him. He let her go, pacing away from her, running his hand through his hair. He turned back.
     
    “What about taking your father to your grandma’s? You can go there for a while.”
     
    Ruby’s grandma lived in Anaia on the other side of the forest, about twenty miles away by foot. It was also accessible by air, or on the river barge. Of course, Ruby would have to travel ninety-five miles to the city to get on the barge to Anaia since the river didn't run through Piera. There were no roads in or out of Anaia because of the steepness of the mountainside village. The risk of avalanche, as well as resistance by environmentalists, prevented access roads being built.
     
    “No, Rafe. Marina needs me. My father needs me, and I’m not taking him to my grandma’s. She doesn’t need to see him like . . . like he is. So I’m staying.” His jaw clenched, and she said, “I’ll lock my doors every night.”
     
    Rafe’s breath exploded out of him. “Are you kidding me? You saw what the wolf did to the lock on that barn.” He bent, yelling in her face now. “You think your house’s piddly little locks will keep him out? C’mon, Red, you’re smarter than that!”
     
    She shoved her face even closer to his, which required her to go up on her toes. “And if you knew me at all, you’d know I’m not going to run away like a coward!”
     
    Rafe flinched and backed away, returning to his full height. Ruby blinked, looking away.
     
    “Like me?” he asked quietly. “Is that what you think? That I ran away, like a coward.”
     
    Ruby swallowed. “No, not like . . .” She looked up at him. “Yes, Rafe, I do think that. You ran away. From me.”
     
    He stepped toward her, taking her face between his hands. “There were . . . reasons I had to go, reasons that had nothing to do with you.” He paused. “And everything to do with you.”
     
    “What reasons?” she whispered.
     
    He