On the doorstep, Riley hugs her grandmother goodbye and wishes her a hearty bon voyage to Bedrock. The old lady waves until we close the fence gate and take the shadowed path to Glitter Hollow. This time, the birds sing happily again as we pass under the trees. I missed their chirping when we came here earlier. The forest is always quieter when the Wolf is out.
Infected by the lighthearted mood at lunch and the merry sounds of the woods now, I cheerfully bump Riley’s shoulder. “I didn’t know you could cook so well.”
She throws a saucy grin back at me. “And I didn’t know you were so deeply in love with your tail.”
Yeah, that was clear. It had to come out now that it’s just the two of us again. I roll my eyes and pull the hood of her cloak over her head, snorting, “I don’t normally chase my own tail. You know that, Red Riding Hood.”
She peeks at me from under the fabric. Her eyes sparkle with a smile, and the sight suddenly holds a beauty I can barely grasp. She’s always been pretty to me when she looks at me so shyly in the tale. But we aren’t following a storyline here, acting something out. This is different. It’s sincere. The real Riley I haven’t seen before.
“Pity I had no camera with me,” she teases. “You were the cutest pup in the world.”
“I had drugs pumped into me,” I mutter through clenched teeth. But the smile is hard to keep away from my face. “Next time, someone should knock you out with Jekyll’s serum.” Throwing an arm around her, I tickle her side and pull her closer.
“Jack!” she squeals and almost trips. Pushing away from me, she bats her lashes rapidly in sweet innocence. “Will you sit with me all through the night and rub behind my ear, too?”
A deep growl rolls in my throat. Riley interprets it perfectly and takes a wary step backward even though her eyes gleam excitedly, and the corners of her mouth twitch. Heck, after last night, scaring this girl has probably become a whole lot harder. It doesn’t mean I can’t chase her to the other side of the forest, though. My lips curve up.
She doesn’t need more warning than that. Her giggles echo through the woods as she whirls about and dashes away. Three seconds of a head start is what she gets, and then I bolt after her.
The woods are her home. Too easily, she finds her way out of the forest and sprints through Duckburg right down to the Swan Lake. The giant chestnut tree by the lakefront not only provides a shadowy shelter to a small group of frogs there, but it obviously looks like a good shield to Riley, as well. She slips behind the trunk and peeks out to check which side I’m coming from. “Give up! You’ll never get me, Jack!” she shouts.
Slowing to a prowling gait, I lower my chin, fixing her with a predatory gaze. “Oh, how wrong you are, Red Riding Hood.”
For a second, she disappears behind the tree, only to peer out from the other side, giggling. “And what will you do if you catch me? Blow me down like the first little pig’s house?”
Hmm, she gives me an idea here. My chest swells with a mighty breath, and the exhale hits her like a squall. This is something all Fairyland wolves have down pat. Squeezing her eyes shut, she ducks her head and grips the tree for support. Her cloak flaps until the button at her throat pops, and the red satin scatters in the wind along with a handful of frogs before the whole lot lands in the grass near the water.
When the blast ebbs off, she looks at me with new awe in her eyes. The cheeky smile, however, I couldn’t wipe off her face. “Is that all you can do, big, bad puppy dog?”
I cock my head. “Do you really think it wise to tease a wolf? One blow and your cloak vanished.” As I stalk closer, the left side of my mouth lifts into a sneer. “Another…and you’ll stand in front of me butt-naked.”
Her cute mouth shapes into a perfectly round O. “You wouldn’t!”
Ever so slowly strolling closer, I fix her with a challenging stare. “You want to try me?” Oh, I hope she does because right now, there are so many things I’d like to do with her.
“No!” Riley squirms away and hides behind the tree. I guess it doesn’t matter anymore which side I come to attack her from. I go for the opposite one from where she just disappeared, hoping that she’ll run right into my arms. Well, she doesn’t, and I have to chase her around the chestnut, which I don’t mind doing because her pony-like snicker is the sweetest thing I’ve heard today.
We switch directions every so often, but the little weasel is too quick, always grinning back at me…just out of reach. This will go on until sunset unless I change my strategy soon. So, when Riley slides around the trunk again, I take the chance and jump, grabbing onto a thick branch above my head. Swiftly, I hoist myself up, crouch there, and wait.
Two seconds later, she peeks around the tree, hands braced against the trunk. I hold back my chuckle and quietly watch her as she goes looking for me.
“Jack?” Her voice is soft, teasing, and full of cockiness. “Where are you?” Soon enough, it dawns on her that she won’t find me behind the tree, and she steps away, scanning the area around her. Because she’s right beneath my branch, I tighten my grip and lower myself soundlessly to the grass behind her.
Leaning in just a little bit to get closer to her ear, I whisper. “Miss me already, honeydrop?”
Riley shrieks, and I swear she jumps three feet into the air. My intent was to catch her in an embrace before she made another dash for escape, but I can’t because I’m laughing so hard that I need to grab on to the tree for support.
“Ha. Ha,” she snorts, staking me with a scowl. “You’re so funny.”
“No, you are.” Still laughing, I take her hand and drag her with me to the lakeshore where her red cloak enjoys a sunbath. Instead of picking it up, Riley lowers onto the grass, and so do I. She plucks a blade and jams it between her thumbs, cupping her hands around it as she lifts it to her mouth. The creaking sound when she blows into her makeshift instrument tortures my eardrums, and not just because of my supersensitive hearing. Even the swans paddle away across the lake to escape, and the frogs nearby simply dip underwater.
“Stop it, woman!” I whine, pressing my hands to my ears. “Please.”
The painful sound isn’t lost on her, either, because she winces and, with a sheepish grin, throws the blade of grass away. Then she starts tossing pebbles into the crystal-clear water. That’s a sound I don’t mind.
For a long while, I watch her, quietly drinking in her unobtrusive beauty. Her amber eyes and snowy face. Her entire bearing. She appears happy, frisky, and thoughtful all at once. I suddenly realize that I just can’t look away, wondering what’s on her mind.
The answer to that question is given when she plucks a daisy from next to her feet and starts to pull out the little white petals one by one.
“He loves me… He loves me not… He loves me…” I taunt her, going along as she works the flower.
Riley doesn’t look at me, but a smile puffs out her reddened cheeks.
The realization that she’ll soon break with our tale brings a whiff of sadness once again. Even if her initial plan with Cupid’s arrow didn’t work out the way she hoped, plan B is already in progress. Funny, it’s my best friend of all people who’s going to aid Riley in her endeavor. Then again, Phil never can say no when his golden-locked love flutters her eyelashes at him. Sebastian and I have had discussions about it with him for ages.
Crossing my legs and bracing my forearms on my knees, I breathe in deeply and turn my head to Riley. “So…a royal ball, huh?”
Her shy gaze is the only thing that briefly moves to me. Lips compressed and gaze focused back on the flower, she nods. “Mm-hmm.”