Chapter 3: Blake Winter
Autumn awoke in a panic the next morning to the sound of her office phone ringing. The caller ID said it was Nick, so she answered it with a groggy ‘hello’.
“There’s a plane ticket waiting for you at O’Hare International Airport. It’s a one-way to Traverse City in Michigan. We have a rental car waiting for you there that’s yours to use while on the job. You may want to hurry up, O’Hare is always busy,” he concluded before hanging up.
Autumn rushed around getting ready for the day in her tiny bathroom off her office. She made a quick cup of coffee in the employee lounge and grabbed Blake Winter’s file off her desk before heading out the door.
The plane ride had been fine, and she was surprised to find the rental car place had plenty of vehicles for her to choose from. She went with something with 4WD. She didn’t know how far off the map the Wolf Sanctuary was, and as she pulls up to the long dirt road that leads to Winter Wolves Sanctuary, she’s grateful to have 4WD.
The woods around her are stunning as she drives along slowly. The location is remote, but that’s typical for a Sanctuary. She rolls her windows down and turns off the AC. Cool air rushes in followed by the fresh scent of the pines.
Autumn’s mind momentarily drifts back to Dustin. “Good luck finding me all the way out here,” she says with a smirk. She had worried that the Sanctuary may be too close to a city, but that’s not going to be a problem.
The road opens up to an empty dirt parking lot where there’s a path that leads up to what looks like a welcome center. The roof of a large manner home can be seen over the tops of some of the trees to the right of her. Another dirt road is located to her right, Autumn assumes it leads to the home located on the property.
A flash of movement on the left side of the car makes her jump.
“What in the?” she yells, looking around at the still-empty parking lot. She swears she heard something run past her open window. “Calm down, you really need to just relax,” Autumn tells herself while taking a couple of deep breaths.
Thinking about Dustin on the way out there has put her on edge. She glances over the parking area one more time but comes to an abrupt stop as her eyes land on Mr. Blake Winter in the flesh.
Autumn instantly forgets what she’s doing as he strides out of the welcome center and heads right for her car. His file had said he was tall, but the man is a giant. He has on dress slacks, a black button-up shirt, and dress shoes. Blake’s shirt is just tight enough to hint at his muscular physique.
The man is almost to the front of her car by the time Autumn rallies herself enough to get out of the vehicle. Her knees buckle as he smiles at her and extends his hand.
“Blake Winter,” he says as she returns his greeting.
“I’m Autumn…”
Blake doesn’t let her finish. “I’m sorry, Autumn, but the Sanctuary is closed right now.”
Autumn drops his hand, not happy about being cut off. It’s not like she’s in jeans and a t-shirt. She has on a navy blue pencil skirt that stops just above her knees. Her white blouse is tucked in and her long red hair is wrapped up in a bun. Not exactly casual wear, she thinks to herself.
“Let’s try this again,” Autumn says while bending into her car to retrieve Blake’s file. “I’m Autumn Stein, from the B.E.B.W. My file should have been sent over yesterday. I’ll be taking Connie’s place to evaluate your Sanctuary,” Autumn concludes while holding up the file Nick had given her.
Blake takes a step back and furrows his brow.
Autumn can’t help but notice that he even looks sexy when he’s upset. Okay, we’re not here for a love connection, she thinks to herself. Everything going on with Dustin needs to be resolved before she even considers if she wants to be with someone again.
“I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing, Miss Stein,” Blake replies while eyeing her up and down. “We requested Connie for a reason.”
Did he just check me out? Autumn wonders to herself. She feels his eyes rake over her and a shiver runs up and down her spine.
“You don’t really have a choice right now, Mr. Winter,” Autumn says, taking a step closer to him. “Connie reported in from Yellowstone yesterday, and she has at least another month on that job.”
Blake stares at her with his cold gray eyes. Autumn can’t decide if he’s trying to figure out a way to get rid of her or just processing what she said.
Autumn addresses him to get his attention. “Mr. Winter?”
He stirs a little and plasters on a fake smile. “Blake, please.”
Autumn can tell the smile is fake because his eyes don’t participate in the act.
“Blake. I understand people finding comfort in having someone who knows their sanctuary doing the assessment. This has clearly blindsided you. But, I assure you, I am here for the job. I will treat the pack, and your staff, with the utmost respect.” Autumn can see him physically relax a little.
She takes a few steps back to her car and places the folder inside. “I would normally be willing to wait a month and let Connie take care of you, but this virus is spreading quickly,” she says while turning back to him.
Blake drops his smile. “Well, I think it’s obvious I can’t just send you away until I clear this up. You can stay on the back of the property in Connie’s trailer until I talk with your boss.”
Autumn is starting to get offended. Who does this man think he is? “Well, why don’t you point me in that direction so I can unpack? I may as well make myself comfortable since I’ll be staying a while,” she retorts with a fake smile of her own.
Blake points toward the access road to the right of the parking lot. “Take that all the way to the end and you will see a group of double-wide trailers. Connie’s is the only one with blue siding. The key is under the mat.”
The man turns away from Autumn quickly and starts walking back toward the building. “Why don’t you come by my house around six? That will give me plenty of time to call your boss and get you a ticket home,” he says without turning back around. “My house is the big one. You’ll pass it on your way to Connie’s.”
Autumn huffs while climbing back into the rental car. After shoving his file over onto the passenger seat Autumn starts the car. She heads down the dirt road, driving slowly so the deep pits that pepper the road don’t send her flying around the car.
“You could at least fill these,” she mumbles as her attention is drawn to the woods off her passenger side.
She swears she keeps seeing something dart between the trees. That, coupled with the fact she feels watched, is making her very uncomfortable. She just wants to get to the trailer and bring in her things. It’s only four in the afternoon, so she has a couple of hours to kill before going to talk with Blake again.
Nick’s going to let her stay, she doesn’t doubt that. Her boss knows a lot more about her situation than Mr. Winter does. Autumn’s positive Nick will tell Blake to suck it up. Maybe not in those exact words, but something similar.
The road turns into a giant loop that provides access to a few different trailers. Autumn passes three before coming up to Connie’s blue home away from home. She pulls into the dirt next to the building, making sure her rental car is out of the makeshift road. Before unloading her things, Autumn walks up to the porch and checks for a key.
She manages to dig one out from under the mat and turns back to her car, just in time to watch a very large wolf dart off into the trees behind Connie’s. Her heart starts to race and she gets a little light-headed. The wolves of the sanctuary shouldn’t be running wild, she thinks while darting back to her car. She pulls out her cell phone and unlocks it.
“Oh, no!” Autumn gasps as she realizes her phone has no service.