Deja Vu: The Healer

Chapter 34: Wolf Side

KARA/CAROLINE

I had a restless night after the mess with Rick. I constantly woke with a start, expecting him to be hovering over my bed, needle in hand. Will would hold me in his arms and tell me I was safe, until I calmed.

Was Rick really prepared to tranquilize me to make me cooperate? It horrified me to think that maybe he would have succeeded without William there. I even had a nightmare about him keeping me locked in his office like a caged animal and forcing me to heal a line of sick creatures. It was horrendous. Thankfully Will woke me before too long. I had pressed myself back into his embrace and his large hand stroked down my hair until I fell asleep again.

When the earliest rays of morning came, I didn't feel any better rested and knew that was going to come back to bite my butt when we tried to drive to Boise today. At least I had a second driver.

A squeeze around my back told me that Will was awake.

"Morning," I whispered.

"Morning," his chest rumbled under my cheek.

"Did you sleep okay?" I twisted to his arm, so I could see his face. I must have woke him up a dozen times.

He gave a gentle smile and thumbed across my jawline. "Being next to you was amazing."

I caught that he did not answer my question. "Do you want to sleep more then?"

"I'm awake," he stated simply.

"Time for breakfast then? And we can get on the road after that?"

"Sure." His fingers danced up and down my arm, shooting goosebumps up.

I was pretty much content to stay in his arms all day, but I really didn't think I wanted to sleep anymore. "Feel like bacon and eggs?" I yawned and sat up.

He followed to a sitting position and stretched, looking at the earliest light spreading through the curtains. "Why don't we get breakfast to go and you show me where you and Catherine met Blake."

"You mean East Peak? But it's an hour away to even start the hike if we're still trying to do eight hours of driving today. It would take us more than half the day to make it there and back."

William gave a sly grin. "I don't think the hike will take us as long as you and Catherine took. And anyway, it sounds good to stretch our legs. We don't have to make it clear to Boise if we don't want."

I nodded considering, "okay. That could be fun."

We got ready for the day and decided to come back to the apartment after and would pack up then. With a drive through of bagels and juice, I put the destination in the GPS and watched out the window picking at my breakfast.

As we pulled into the parking lot at the base of the trail, rain was drizzling on the windshield.

He examined the water droplets and sky. "I think it'll be okay. I don't mind hiking in this, the sky still looks pretty clear. I think it'll be fine, but what do you want to do?"

"This kind of rain will only last a few minutes. But it'll still keep the tourists away."

He twisted and grabbed his spare clothing bag from the backseat and then hopped out of the car. He opened the door for me, the slight drizzle almost nice with the sun still shining.

He shouldered his bag and then grabbed my hand and started leading us to the trail.

When we were about a fourth of a mile up, the drizzle had thinned completely, and his eyes dashed around the deeper set of trees. "This looks like a good place."