Of Wolves and Men Read Free Page A

there and you can show me where it is?”
    “I drug her down the mountain here to the barn. I’ll load her up in the truck.”
    “I’ll be expecting you.”
    “Thanks, Doc.” Charlie put the phone into his pocket. “I’ll help you out.”
    “Go tell Vernon first.”
    Butch jogged out of the barn. Charlie sighed, feeling heavy in his heart. They didn’t need this.
    He took his keys out of his pocket and unhooked the trailer from his pickup, before backing it up to the barn to make it easier to load the dead doe.
    Vernon, Connie, and the boys appeared, rushed and worried.
    “Let me see her first.” Vernon pointed to the blue tarp.
    Goat and JP knelt down to untie the lacings while Connie wrapped her wool coat tightly around her, looking very upset.
    JP opened the tarp with Goat’s help and each made a noise of disgust when they saw the deer.
    Vernon inspected it. “I don’t like this one bit.”
    “Right by the hole in the fence, boss,” Butch said, scratching his head under his hat.
    “Vernon,” Connie said, her voice quaking, “We have to tell the sheriff about this.”
    JP wrapped the tarp up and tied it.
    “I’m taking it to Dr. McMurray’s place. Let’s see what she says.” Charlie gestured to the three other men to help him lift the carcass to the bed of his truck. He counted, “One, two, three,” and they heaved it up together.
    Butch shut the tailgate with a clang.
    “So that’s it?” Vernon asked, Charlie, “Just the hole in the fence and this deer?”
    “Ain’t no hole, boss,” Charlie shook his head as he said, “Was a huge gap. When you first mentioned it, I thought we had a tear. It was no small tear.”
    Butch added, “Five, six feet of open barbed wire.”
    “Son of a bitch!” Goat said.
    “Right.” Vernon nodded. “I’ll call the sheriff’s office and you let me know what Hope has to say.”
    “I will, boss.” Charlie hopped into the truck.
    Butch got in beside him.
    “You don’t have to come. Go eat dinner.”
    “How’re you going to get that out alone?” He gestured to the deer in the truck bed.
    “Draggin’ it out is the easy part.”
    “Go.” Butch buckled his seatbelt.
    They drove, country music playing on the radio. Neither was in a singing mood however.
    Charlie kept losing track of his thoughts. Worrying about the trouble they may be in if some strange cult decided to hit their ranch wasn’t going to help any of them. They would alert the authorities and beef up their own patrols at night. He would be the first to volunteer to head up the mountain and keep an eye out.
    Butch shifted on the seat, leaning his elbow on the armrest.
    Charlie stole a glance at his crotch. Joe sucked my cock right here. Right here where I’m sittin’.
    He and Joe had both been dirty from lying under the truck on the side of the highway. The tire had fallen on Joe when it released from under the rig. Charlie recalled his hairless chest when he raised up his shirt to see the damage. But it was the blowjob he couldn’t stop thinking about.
    That fucking hot sucking, his tongue going wild, the moaning as if the guy really liked it, even though I was sweaty and all…
    “Here. Turn here!” Butch pointed. “Christ, Charlie, where are you in that head of yours?”
    Charlie wouldn’t answer that question even with a branding iron aimed at his behind.
    He stopped the truck and immediately Dr. Hope McMurray and her husband Ralph exited the house, as if they’d been waiting for them.
    Charlie shut off the engine and got out quickly, meeting them and opening the tailgate. “Where should we bring it?”
    “In there.” Hope pointed to an outbuilding she used for quarantined animals. Charlie knew it well from when one of the horses had an unknown infection last summer.
    With Ralph’s help, he and Butch dragged the blue tarp to the lit up area inside the building.
    Immediately she put on rubber gloves and a mask.
    Charlie and Butch unlaced the tarp and opened it up, stepping