Haunted (Wolf Lake) Read online

  The image of her husband standing in front of her was fading. It was as though he was becoming less and less by the minute, evaporating like water droplets on a hot day.

  “Come back!” Amelia cried out desperately, reaching for Jake. “Don’t leave me again!” Once again, her hands slipped right through him as though he was made of fog.

  “I’ve never left you.”

  Amelia awoke with tears dampening her eyelashes.

  She simultaneously loved and hated the dreams in which Jake visited her. Being able to spend a few brief, fleeting moments with him – even if only in her mind – was precious. But it was also torture. When she woke up from a dream about her dead husband, Amelia’s grief was always magnified tenfold.

  “I miss you so much,” she said to the smiling groom in the wedding photo on the wall.

  Amelia’s stomach chimed in with a loud growl. She looked outside and was surprised to see it was getting dark. She’d slept for longer than she’d intended.

  She switched on a nearby lamp and noticed goose bumps all over her slender arms. She shivered. The cabin had really cooled down while she was sleeping and she was clad only in underwear. No wonder she was cold.

  Amelia picked up her car keys and peeked out the front window. Satisfied that no one was around, she dashed out to her car to retrieve the backpack she’d forgotten in the trunk. At least she’d remembered to pack a change of clothes, she thought wryly as she slung the bag over her shoulder. Then she returned to the cabin for a quick shower.

  ****

  In Amelia’s experience, small towns could be notorious for having unusual business hours. As she drove down the narrow, winding road, she wondered if anything would even be open. Either every place would be closed early for the long weekend or they’d all be open for business in the hope of attracting a bunch of cottagers.

  Thankfully, it was the latter.

  The small town was bustling with tourists – well, as much as a tiny place like that can bustle. Amelia parked her car in the center of Main Street. It was the only place to park in town and, as a matter of fact, Main Street was the town’s only street.

  But it had everything she needed.

  Amelia stopped at the lone fast food joint. It boasted a walk-up window and a small patio area. She bought a burger and sat at one of the umbrella-topped tables, savoring the juices from the beef patty and sliced tomato as they ran over her tongue and dribbled down her chin. She was eating like a pig but she didn’t care.

  The famished young woman swiped her hand across her mouth and looked around.

  Directly in front of her was a family of four. The parents were quietly arguing as they looked over a map. The two young children, meanwhile, were devouring ice cream cones that were nearly as tall as them.

  The little girl noticed Amelia looking. Amelia offered a smile. The cute pigtailed child grinned back, proudly showing off her missing front tooth. It appeared she was getting just as much ice cream on herself as she was eating. Amelia had to stifle a laugh.

  Then Amelia noticed the wind was getting up, seemingly with no warning whatsoever. It whipped Amelia’s fiery hair wildly around her face and threatened to topple the children’s ice cream cones. Their parents put the map away and ushered the kids to the car, warning them not to get the interior of the vehicle sticky with ice cream.

  Amelia knew they would. After all, that’s what kids do, right?

  She fumbled in her purse in search of a hair tie. She usually kept one in there for those days when her shoulder length red hair had too much volume for its own good. She located the black elastic and quickly pulled her windblown locks back into a messy ponytail.

  She stood and threw the wrapper from her burger in the garbage. She wished she’d worn something different. The strapless yellow sundress she’d put on after her shower would be the perfect attire for a hot summer day. But tonight it just looked silly as its skirt whipped around violently in the strong wind, threatening to blow up right there on Main Street.

  Holding her dress in place as best she could, Amelia dashed across the street and into the town’s grocery store. It sold the basics – milk, bread, hot dogs and marshmallows – and not much more. But that was okay. With options being so limited, it made grocery shopping a breeze. Amelia quickly loaded up a basket with enough food to get her through the next few days.

  “We’re gonna get a nasty storm tonight,” the middle aged man behind the cash register predicted as he made change. “We’re in for a real doozy.”

  Amelia peered out the window. The evening sky was full of black, ominous clouds and big, heavy raindrops were beginning to fall. The street, which had been crawling with tourists only moments earlier, was all but deserted. It appeared everyone had taken cover.

  “Have a good night,” she replied as the cashier handed her some coins and her bag of groceries.

  Amelia hurried out to her car and deposited her groceries in the trunk. Then just as she was about to climb into the driver’s seat the hardware store across the way caught her eye.

  “Paint,” she remembered with an upward glance at the sky. The heavens had yet to open up although it appeared a downpour was imminent. But Amelia really didn’t want to bother having to come back to town again in the morning just to buy paint. She’d just have to hurry and try to beat the storm.

  She ran across the street.

  Just like the rest of town, the hardware store was pretty much empty.

  A dark haired, flannel-clad guy stood at the till. He had a small mountain of paper spread out on the counter in front of him. He held a calculator in one hand and a pencil in the other.

  “I’m just about to close up,” he called out without so much as looking up when the door jingled.

  “I’ll be quick,” Amelia promised. “I’m just looking for paint?”

  “Over there,” he replied, pointing. He still hadn’t looked up. He seemed engrossed in his paperwork, apparently determined to make the books balance. Either that or he was just really, really bad at customer service.

  “Um, thanks.”

  She was somewhat amused to find there were exactly two options: eggshell white indoor paint or eggshell white outdoor paint. Had she wanted something crazy like blue or red paint, she’d have been out of luck. She picked up two cans of the indoor paint and, grimacing a little, carried them over to the till.

  The guy finally looked up. He made a face as his gaze fell on the paint and then looked at Amelia. His piercing blue eyes were intense. “You don’t want that,” he informed her.

  “What?” she asked in confusion. “Why’s that?”

  “It streaks. Buy the outdoor paint.”

  “But I’m painting inside.”

  “I don’t care. Buy the outdoor paint.”

  There was something a little abrasive about the blue eyed, dark haired guy’s personality. He seemed impatient and, well, bossy. With a sigh, Amelia turned back around and headed toward the paint aisle.

  The guy came out from behind the counter and took the heavy paint from Amelia. He set it down on the shelf, grabbed two cans of the outdoor paint and returned to the till.

  “That will be eighty bucks,” he told her.

  The price was high, but everything was expensive in the tiny resort town. Since there were no big box stores and no competition, the local shopkeepers could charge whatever they liked and people would pay it. Amelia pulled out her credit card and tried to hand it to the guy.

  “Cash only,” he informed her, refusing to take the plastic card from her outstretched hand.

  “Seriously?” she grumbled, digging through her purse. “I don’t keep much cash on me. What kind of store doesn’t take plastic?”

  “Welcome to Wolf Lake,” he said somewhat sarcastically. Then he added, “There’s an ATM down at the end of Main Street. It’s right next to the beauty parlor – can’t miss it.”

  Once again, Amelia found herself outside in the eye of the storm.

  When she returned a short
while later windblown with cash in hand, she was met with a smirk.

  “What?” she demanded, feeling somewhat annoyed.

  “Your dress,” he said with amusement as he took the money from her.

  Amelia looked down. The wind had blown her yellow sundress up around her waist and she hadn’t even noticed. She yanked it down quickly, wondering how much of an eyeful she’d given the arrogant jerk. At least she was wearing cute panties.

  “Twenty bucks is your change,” he said, carelessly tossing a twenty down on the counter.

  She picked it up feeling a little irritated. Seriously – he couldn’t even hand the money to her? Talk about poor customer service! She tucked the bill into her purse and reached for the paint. Then she paused.

  “Are you Bert?” Amelia asked, curious about the sign outside the shop that read “BERT’S HARDWARE.” She couldn’t imagine why someone with such awful people skills would ever go into business in a small town where, one would think, one’s personality could make or break their professional reputation.

  “Bert’s my dad. I’m Chase.”

  “Oh,” Amelia said, feeling a bit awkward. “I’m Amelia.”

  He shrugged. “Alright…well I’m out of here.” Then, perhaps feeling a little guilty for being such a prick, he grabbed the two heavy cans of paint from the counter, holding them as though they weighed nothing at all. “Where’s your car?”

  ****

  By the time Amelia got out of the ghost town, it was pouring. Lightning illuminated the sky and thunder boomed in the distance. She drove slowly and cautiously due to the reduced visibility. Thankfully there was no other traffic on the road whatsoever. That made the driving much less stressful.

  What Amelia couldn’t have anticipated, however, was that the dirt road near her cabin had become so saturated with rain that it had turned to mud. It looked normal, but the second she drove her car over it, she knew something was very wrong.

  The tires sunk right into the thick goopy mud.

  She tried to put the car in reverse and back up, but it wouldn’t budge.

  She tried to drive forward but couldn’t.

  She was stuck.

  Feeling defeated, Amelia pulled her cell phone out of her purse. Of course, there was no reception. She’d forgotten how spotty cell phone service was up at Wolf Lake. Back when she and Jake had spent weekends at the cabin they’d been more than happy to shut out the outside world. Now Amelia was totally alone but it wasn’t by choice.

  Irritated, she climbed out of the car, getting mud all over her favorite pair of flip flops in the process. She took one look at the deep swampy mess and decided there was no way she could push the car out of the mud. She’d have to get someone with a big truck to haul her out.

  At least the rain had let up. Now it was just a gentle mist.

  But there was no telling how long it would be before someone came along. Amelia hadn’t seen a soul since Chase the hardware store guy had carried her paint to her car back in town.

  She surveyed the area. She really wasn’t that far from the cabin. In fact, if it wasn’t for the heavy fog hanging in the air, she was pretty sure she’d be able to see its red roof peeking out from in between all the trees.

  Amelia was tired of feeling like a helpless woman.

  She’d never thought of herself that way until Jake had died. They’d split the household chores equally but Amelia’s domain had always been within the home – mostly because Jake was a lousy cook and seemed to have a knack for destroying clothes in the wash. Because Amelia had taken care of all those things, Jake had done the outside stuff like mowing the lawn, changing the oil in the car and keeping the house in good repair.

  Once he was gone, Amelia had to figure out how to do everything he’d looked after. The first time she’d tried to mow the lawn she’d accidentally mowed over the daisies she’d planted in the front yard.

  She could have cried, not because of the ruined flowers but because Jake would have found the whole thing hilarious. She could practically hear him teasing her, telling her it was payback for the time she insisted he wear the white shirt that had somehow come out pink after he’d put it through the wash.

  But Amelia hadn’t cried. Instead, she’d been more determined than ever to learn how to do the things Jake had taken care of. She didn’t want to be incapable and dependent on others for help. She wanted to prove that she could look after herself.

  She may have lost her husband, but she hadn’t lost her independence or her strong will.

  It was that same stubborn determination that made Amelia venture into the forest. After all, she had things to do and didn’t want to spend hours waiting in her car for someone to come along and rescue her. She could rescue herself just fine.

  The last thing she wanted to do was get lost. Even though Amelia didn’t know Wolf Lake like the back of her hand the way Jake had, she had a decent sense of direction. So she grabbed her bag of groceries out of the car and marched fearlessly into the forest.

  It became apparent almost immediately that traipsing through the woods in flimsy flip flops was less than ideal. It slowed Amelia down but she pressed on through the thick underbrush, determined to reach her destination.

  The further she walked into the forest, the thicker the trees became. They blocked out what was left of the setting sun, causing her to be in near darkness. She walked gingerly with her head down, watching her feet. It would be easy to stumble over a fallen tree branch – she sure didn’t need a broken ankle in the middle of nowhere!

  It was eerie, waking alone through the dark woods. It almost felt as though the trees were whispering her name. Amelia began to regret her decision to leave the safety of her car. She couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that she was being watched. She sternly told herself to quit letting her overactive imagination get the best of her, but the uneasiness continued to nag at her.

  After some time, she noticed the sun had all but disappeared behind the hills. It was getting late. Amelia wished her flip flops would allow her to walk faster. She happened to glance up as she neared a clearing, relieved that the moon was now illuminating her way – everything always seemed scarier in the dark.

  Her relief was short-lived.

  The glint of a large animal’s eyes peered back at her from the thick brush only feet away.

  Amelia’s breath caught in her throat. She didn’t know whether to run or refrain from making any sudden movements. She slowly set down the bag of groceries she held and continued to walk at a slow, measured pace, her legs trembling.

  She watched the gleaming eyes as she moved forward, barely breathing. They continued to remain fixed on her, observing. She was relieved the animal didn’t seem to be coming toward her but she was still completely unnerved. She was afraid it would advance on her and tear her to shreds at any moment.

  Amelia could see the cabin, but it was still probably a good half mile away. If she could just make it there, she’d be safe. She tried to focus on its red roof to calm her frayed nerves. When she looked back an instant later to where the eyes had been, they were gone.

  The terrified redhead’s entire body was shaking. She fought the instinct to run and instead forced herself to walk. If the animal was still around and had simply lost interest in her, she didn’t want to attract its attention again.

  But it seemed it had never lost interest to begin with.

  Seemingly out of nowhere, it emerged from the shadows directly in front of Amelia. She saw that it was a wolf. It moved with agility and grace, its coat sleek in the moonlight. Amelia frantically tried to remember if she should scream to try to scare it off or if that only worked with bears.

  It didn’t matter. Amelia was so frozen with fear that she probably couldn’t have made a sound even if she’d tried. Its teeth looked so sharp and its paws so strong that she was sure it could overpower her in an instant if it wanted to.

  But surprisingly, the wolf didn’t advance on her. It just watched her. It gazed at her with
such intensity that it sent a shiver down her spine. She was struck by the expression in those eyes – she felt crazy for thinking it but the way the wolf looked at her seemed to convey sadness, tenderness and wisdom all at once.

  Suddenly a switch in Amelia flipped. Her shock, it seemed, had worn off enough for her legs to finally cooperate with her brain. She took off like a shot, running through the woods in a panic. Somewhere along the way she lost one of her flip flops.

  She got turned around. She didn’t even know where she was anymore as she crashed through the stillness of the woods, twigs snapping and leaves rustling as she went. Her heart was beating like a hammer and her face was as white as a sheet.

  She heard voices ahead.

  She stumbled through the trees and came across the remnants of a bonfire.

  “Amelia?” It was Mike, one of the young college guys who’d been on the quad near her cabin. He was poking at a very damp looking pile of firewood with a big stick. “Our bonfire got rained out but Shawn and some of our friends are out drinking on the deck,” he said, gesturing over his shoulder towards a cottage. “Feel free to join them – I’ll be along in a minute.”

  Then he got a better look at her.

  His eyes widened.

  “Jesus, what happened to you?”

  ****

  When Mike dropped Amelia off at her cabin, she was exhausted to her very core. She assured him she was fine but she could tell from the concerned look on his face that he didn’t quite believe her. She didn’t care. The second he was gone, she collapsed on the couch.

  Once again, her dreams were fitful. It was no wonder, considering the terror she’d experienced in the forest. Her dreams were filled with shadows and uncertainty. She was once again tormented by visions of the wolf she’d encountered in the forest.

  This time Jake didn’t make an appearance to save her.

  But she could hear his voice.