Free Red and the Wolf by Cindy C Bennett

cave,” she said.
     
    Rafe straightened, disappointment in his eyes. “Right,” he said. He climbed down first, Ruby following close behind. Once their feet touched the ground, Rafe took her hand and they ran back to the cave. Rafe was drenched once again.
     
    The cave was empty.
     
    “Where’s Lowell?” she asked.
     
    Rafe glanced worriedly toward the opening. “He’ll be back.” He didn’t sound as if he believed his own words.
     
    “He left firewood?” She pointed to a pile of wood in the corner.
     
    “It’s too late to make it to your grandma’s before dark,” he said.
     
    “So?”
     
    “So, trust me, we’ll be safer in here than out there.”
     
    “You have a gun, Rafe. It’s just a wolf.”
     
    Rafe sighed, moving to the wood to begin stacking it near the opening to the cave. “Still, we’ll stay the night.”
     
    Ruby considered arguing. It would be useless, really. She knew Rafe could force her to stay. Besides, she was clever enough to know that wolf or no wolf, it was smarter to stay in the cave and get a fresh start in the morning. The rain still came down in buckets, anyway.
     
    “Guess we’ll have muffins for dinner, too,” she said.
     
    “I brought canned stew,” he said, pulling it from his pack along with a small pan to heat it over the fire.
     
    As they waited for the stew to cook, Rafe ran a hand lightly up Ruby’s upper arm, leaning to kiss her lightly where the bruises resided beneath the sweatshirt.
     
    “I swear I’ll never do anything ever again that will leave a mark on you, Red,” he said quietly, earnestly. “Lowell, your father, my father, Marina, Hutu, my mother . . . they can all have a go at flogging me for doing so even this one time. Still, it won’t begin to make up for it.”
     
    “I know you’re sorry. I also know you didn’t do it on purpose.” She smiled. “And the fact that you’ll let your mom have a shot at you guarantees that it won’t happen again. She’s pretty scary.”
     
    “Yes, she is,” Rafe agreed, laughing with her.
     
    “Maybe we should let Ali’tasi at you as well.”
     
    Rafe grimaced. “I won’t survive her and my mother. But yes, for you, I’ll let her have a turn as well.”
     
    Later, lying near Rafe, covered with a blanket he’d provided for her, she looked toward the opening. “Is he going to be okay?” she asked.
     
    “He’ll be fine,” Rafe said. “He probably went home.”
     
    Exhaustion was taking its toll on Ruby. Not physical exhaustion, but emotional. She just wanted to sleep. She let her eyes drift closed.
     
    “Red?” Rafe whispered.
     
    “Yeah?”
     
    “I wanted to ask you,” he said, “Did you love me too?”
     
    Her eyes popped open.
     
    Rafe smiled. “I’m not asking if you love me now. Only if you loved me then.”
     
    Don’t tell him. Don’t say anything.
     
    “With all my heart,” she said, turning away from him and squeezing her eyes closed.
     
* * * * *
     
    Ruby woke with a start. It took her a moment to remember where she was. The cave was dark and cold. A glance toward the opening revealed that the fire had burnt down to coals. A tortured howling tore through the night. She sat up, eyes glued to the cave opening. The wolf sounded close.
     
    “We’re safe,” Rafe said in the dark. “As long as the coals are glowing, he won’t come in.”
     
    “You don’t know that,” she whispered, as if speaking louder might call attention to their location.
     
    Rafe sighed and sat up. He crawled to the mouth of the cave and placed the last few pieces of wood on the coals. He leaned down and blew until a flame started. He came back to where Ruby sat shivering.
     
    “Cold?” he asked.
     
    “I’ll be okay,” she said.
     
    Rafe scooted beside her, wrapped an arm around her, and pulled her to his side as he leaned against the wall. He brought his other hand around and rubbed her arm. She might have pushed away except the warmth was so welcoming. That,