Heat of the Moment by Lori Handeland Page A

with him?”
    â€œHe said he’s hunting wolves.”
    Owen doubted the fellow had been hunting them with the pistols at his hips, but he’d also carried a rifle and a shotgun. “That legal?”
    â€œGotta have a permit, and they ain’t easy to get, but yeah.”
    â€œIt’s wolf-hunting season?” Seemed early but what did Owen know? He’d never hunted anything but terrorists.
    â€œMid-October to February. Though if the quota’s met, they end it early.”
    â€œYou get a lot of wolf hunters in here?”
    â€œHe’s the first.” From the twist of his lips, Krazy hoped he was the last.
    â€œYou don’t approve of wolf hunting?” Owen asked.
    â€œI don’t know. They say there are too many now. They’ve been protected so long. But around here I’ve only seen one. Black as the ace of spades.”
    Owen must have started because Krazy’s gaze flicked from his perusal of the back door to Owen. “You’ve seen her too?” He didn’t wait for a response. “She’s beautiful, and she doesn’t seem to be bothering anyone.”
    She’d bothered Owen, and Reggie too for that matter.
    â€œThey say wolves steal small dogs, cats, chickens, calves. Sometimes an old horse or cow. But I’ve never heard of any being lost around here.”
    Apparently the “lost” animals that had been found in Owen’s house had not been widely reported. Which was odd considering every stray cat was usually cause for a bulletin. Three should have been front-page news.
    â€œWolves are hard to find,” Owen said. “I’ve heard that wolf hunters have to bait them, like bears.”
    â€œTrue,” Krazy agreed.
    â€œYou don’t sound convinced.”
    â€œThere’s something about that guy…” He shook his head. “Weird smells coming from his cabin.”
    â€œProbably sauerkraut.”
    â€œI know what sauerkraut smells like.”
    â€œKielbasa?”
    â€œIt was more metallic.”
    â€œHe was cooking metal?”
    â€œI don’t know, dude.”
    â€œYou didn’t ask him?”
    â€œHe said he was making his own bullets.”
    â€œThat would explain the metal.”
    â€œI’ve smelled melting lead. This wasn’t it.” Krazy shifted his shoulders, uneasy. “He creeps me out.”
    He’d creeped Owen out too, and he’d only caught a glimpse of the guy.
    â€œWell, if creepy were against the law, half the world would be in jail.”
    â€œPreaching to the choir, brother.”
    Krazy was a lawyer. Guess he’d know.
    â€œMy place isn’t next to his, is it?” Beggars couldn’t be choosers but still …
    â€œNah. He wanted the cottage closest to the woods.”
    â€œI bet he did.”
    â€œYours is up front. Closer to the bar, right?” He held up a hand, and Owen slapped a high five. “But after this week, it’ll just be you and him, so you could move wherever you want. I’m not full again until the weekend before Thanksgiving.”
    â€œGun deer hunting.”
    â€œRight.” Krazy seemed like he wanted to high-five Owen again, but it was too soon. “You from around here?”
    â€œI was,” Owen said. He really didn’t consider himself from here any more. He was a soldier. His home was the United States Marine Corps.
    At least until it wasn’t.
    â€œVisiting family? I know how it is. Visiting’s one thing. Sleeping in the same house’s another.” He tapped the keyboard of his laptop. “You’re good for a month if you want. Though who wants to visit family for a month? Unless they’re in Italy or something, right?”
    â€œRight,” Owen agreed.
    He hadn’t planned on being here more than a week when he’d arrived. Hence the sleeping bag and Coleman lantern in his truck. But more than a month?
    No way in hell.
    Owen took the