Garvey and his men didn’t waste any time regrouping. By the time Jesse, Rakov and the kid pulled up to Doc Ogle’s with Namid in tow, they were right on their heels, right along with about ten townsfolk they’d already whipped into a frenzy.
The sheriff was there, along with two or three of his men, [...]
In the midst of all the confusion, things didn’t register at first for Rakov and the kid. It was only after Rakov had effectively sedated the girl and the quit struggling and snarling that they both looked over to see tears rolling down Jesse’s face.
And even then, Rakov and the kid were slow to make [...]
They left again the next morning about an hour before dawn.
Both Jesse and Rakov reasoned, correctly, that wolf would likely travel at nightfall if it were injured. Jesse pointed out, though, that the distance between resting places had been greater and that there was a good chance the wolf may have already bypassed Grand Junction [...]
Jesse and Rakov sat on a large log, which probably blew down during a winter storm. The wagon and horses were tied up, about forty yards from the area where the wolves had been attacked. They did those partly, not to further spook the horses, but primarily so as not to disturb the scene.
Rakov insisted [...]
Jesse and Rakov rode in silence for about the first hour of the journey, acclimating themselves to the cold and checking their gear. It was a pretty straightforward trip, but in below-zero weather, one could never be too careful.
Jesse spent a good part of that time just taking in the landscape. It was amazing to [...]
As promised, Rakov checked in on Jesse, who was rising from bed, just before dawn. Jesse threw on his overcoat, collected his gear and the two men walked downstairs into the dark and cold morning. Rakov had a wagon parked outside pulled by two horses.
“What is the trail like that way?” Rakov asked, glancing towards [...]
Jesse was none to happy about being remanded to bed, but when he finally did lie down, he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep and was out for close to twelve hours.
It was dark out when he woke to the heavy smell of cigarette smoke. He glanced over and saw the Russian, Rakov, sitting in [...]
They’d barely made it out of Manny’s and onto the street when a large bear of a man walking up the street called out to them.
Even from twenty feet away, Jesse could see the man was an anomaly of sorts, who looked like he’d stepped into Grand Junction from another place or time. He wore [...]
They stopped at Manny’s blacksmith shop. The kid tried the door. It was locked so Doc Ogle rapped briskly on the front glass. The small shade on the inside of the door moved to the right and then fell back into place, and the lock clicked open.
Manny opened the door and hurriedly ushered Jesse, Ogle [...]
They stepped outside and even though they were still standing on a covered porch, the bright sunshine was blinding, and made Jesse’s head throb. Jesse’s hand shot out to the porch railing, to steady himself and Doc Ogle glanced at him disapprovingly.
“Are you going to make it?” Ogle asked.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Jesse said.
