Idaho Wild Child

Besides, what the hell could they say? They had her, and she obviously wasn't a normal woman. A couple of them actually accused him of abusing her, keeping her locked up in the cooler for all that time.

Dan stuck to his story, they finally grudgingly let him go.

One evening when the sheriff was out to ask him some more questions they heard the Wolf pack howling up in the hills.

"Hell, that sounds like...Wolves?" The sheriff looked at Dan in surprise.

"Told ya." Dan said.

They all left him alone after that.

Fall arrived, Dan moved his flock down the valley to the lower pasture. Jojo was getting the hang of things, he rode on the back of the lead Ewe almost all the way, slipping off from time to time to change directions. Runt brought up the rear, tucking any strays back into the flock. As Dan was settling in for the Winter, he noticed one of his helpers he hired to move the flock was smoking a cigarette and reading a paper.

The headline was about the wild woman, she had escaped from custody at a medical center where she had been taken. The man looked at Dan oddly when he grabbed the paper right out of his hands. There was a photo of a rather pretty young woman in a dress, sitting on a bunk in what seemed like a jail cell. Her hair actually looked nice all brushed out, it reached to below her waist.

Without the story Dan knew he would not have recognized the photo. He read the whole story twice, his name was never mentioned.

She had attacked one of the orderlies, messed him up pretty good. Then she had managed to get outside and simply vanished.

Dan threw his head back and laughed, just went back to his work.

The next Spring found him working his way back towards the valley up in the hills. He was worried about the Wolf pack, hoping they would leave his animals alone. It took the better part of a week to move and get settled in.

He let Jojo and Runt run the fields at night, Jojo had put on some good size and they now worked as a team. So if they did get jumped, they could put up a pretty good scrap. He slept with one ear open and his Winchester close by anyway, just in case.

A full month went by, everything was normal. It was comfortable, the warm winds that flowed up the canyon from the South usually kept the valley above 50° even at night. Then a warmer stretch came along, Dan was sleeping with a window open.

There was a noise outside. He lay there and listened, it came again. He heard the dogs bark, so he got up to investigate. Opening the door, there she was, hunched down in his yard. The Dogs ran up to her and sniffed, she didn't move.

"Hello." She said. Her voice was odd, without inflection.

"Well, hello." Dan answered, surprised at hearing her speak.

"What are you doing back here?"

"Home. Man hurt me, bad man." She said, cocking her head.

Dan figured he knew what that meant. Someone had probably tried to take advantage of what they saw as a frail and vulnerable woman, and found out. The newspaper story had mentioned serious injuries and hospital, so she had protected herself.

"Would you like to come in?"

She looked at Dan for a moment, then stood. He held the door, stepped aside. She came closer, then hesitantly walked inside. Her eyes darted from him to the door. He left the door standing open, catching her sidelong glance at it. She seemed to relax then, and squatted down.

She had on a coat and pair of boots she had obtained somewhere. Jeans and a sweater made up the outfit. Her hair was shorter than it had been when he saw her in the newspaper, but it was still very long.

Conversation was difficult, Dan found himself saying things several ways before she understood. But she had the beginning grasps of language, with an odd accent on the words he had never heard before.

He asked her name and all he got was a confused cock of her head.

"Dan." He told her, pointing at himself.

She made a whining sound that seemed to be "Iane" or something like that, then patted her chest.

"Jane?" He asked her. Probably Jane Doe, of course.

"Iane!" She nodded, and even smiled.

"Food?" He asked her.

She nodded. Dan went in and fixed a meal, not thinking he found some bacon and eggs, and sliced some potatoes to fry. She just watched as he cooked. He set the plate in front of her, then realized.

"Would you like the meat raw?" He asked, reaching for the uncooked remains of the package.

She looked at him and shook her head, then took a bite. She even ate the potatoes.

Dan realized she had learned to eat food cooked, except she used her fingers. She rubbed her fingers in the eggs and then licked it off.

She did drink water from the cup.

"So what are you going to do?" He asked her, as they finished the meal.

"Home." She said flatly. Dan wasn't sure what she meant by that, back to the hills, wherever maybe? Then she looked down at the cup, he realized she wanted it. He picked it up and handed it to her. She looked at him with her big dark eyes, then actually smiled and put it in a pocket of her coat.

Then she got up and went outside. She stopped and turned back to him.

"Good man." In a burst of motion, she was gone into the darkness.

Several times over the Summer she showed up, always after dark. Dan would feed her, he repaired her clothing. He even got her a new pair of lined boots to help keep her feet warm, although it really wasn't cold outside. He carefully checked the fit, noticing the bottoms of her feet were thick and almost like gristle.

The good part was his flock remained untouched, the Wolf pack never came in to take any at all. Some evenings he sat outside, waiting to hear their cries up in the mountains, other than a rare Coyote he heard nothing. Dan wasn't sure what he would or even could do now if they had come in after his Sheep. It was like they were not in the area, there had been no sign.

Except for Jane. Jane was out there, but she was coming to the house more and more as time went by.

A few times he had wondered about it, how in the hell had she survived out there all that time? He really didn't have a clue. But he realized he was always looking forward to her visits.

Then one day there was a change. She showed up around 9 PM, way earlier than normal, Dan knew it was her from the way his dogs reacted. They now made whining noises when she arrived instead of barking, then ran out to nuzzle and rub up against her. He looked outside, she stood there waiting for him to open the door.

He let her in, she went and sat on his couch. Dan sat in the chair, she seemed nervous somehow. Then she got up, came over to him and got down on all fours.

Mildly confused, he reached out and touched her hair, she turned towards him and made some little rumbling sounds in her throat. Then she pressed her cheek against his leg and stroked herself back and forth. She turned her face towards his upper legs and began to nip at him.

Dan just stroked her back, he understood perfectly. He knew what she wanted but no way was he going to do it. Somehow, it just didn't seem right, she was reacting to sheer instinct, not out of love or even as part of a relationship.

Dan recognized that, she was in heat. He really didn't know what to do. She became insistent, pressing more and more.

Dan felt himself begin to react, she nuzzled his groin making the situation even more intense. She never said a word. He reached down and stroked her, she began to make a sound almost like a purr. Dan felt his own body begin to react, he felt somehow ashamed of himself for that.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed her away. She retreated to the couch, curled up in a ball and stared at him.

She stayed that night, then again the next night. Dan didn't mind at all, he found he liked coming out into the living room to find her curled up on his couch. He even showed her to his spare bedroom, she looked around but went right back to the couch.

Both Jojo and Runt curled up close to the couch with her, when she got up to go outside, they went with her, they were right with her when she came back in. He expected her at any moment to just go back to wherever she went, she didn't. She stayed right there with him, it oddly reminded him of how a house cat will sometimes just...adopt a place to live?

Days became weeks, she began to do things around the house. Little things at first, she saw him do simple chores like carry a load of firewood inside for the early morning fires he used to take the chill off. In short order she was bringing in some, stacking it by the big wood furnace neatly. He taught her how to set and build a fire, soon she was doing that, too.

She studied him as he washed dishes, then she was picking them up and washing them right along with him.

Every once in awhile she would go somewhere, he made no effort to try to stop her or follow. Later he would hear the long cries, he was sure it was her calling out to the pack. When he heard that he listened, there was never any answer. She would return, it was like she was waiting for something, though.

Once again she went into her cycle, he could tell by the way she acted but instead of coming to him she stayed on the couch. During those times her eyes followed his every movement.

Dan had tried several times to get her to take a bath, she refused. He had even undressed and got into the tub, she had stared at him with interest but still refused. Next he tried the shower, the instant he turned it on she darted out of the bathroom and refused to go back in. She would accept a pan of warm soapy water, and she washed with a cloth. She did that usually in the living room, not liking the bathroom with it's door. There was no way out, he noticed she always placed herself with a way to go. She would come in there when he was inside, she would not go in first.

There was trust between them, but it was a guarded trust.

The time came to move the herd. He had no idea what would happen. It was a surprise when she just watched what he was doing, then took up a position at the rear with Runt, helping to keep any strays in the flock. The two men he hired to help looked at her but said nothing.

She stayed quite a distance from them, if they got closer she moved away. A few times he saw her run to head off a straggler, lord could she run.

Dan spent the week getting his flock settled in at his main ranch. Most of them were quite content, just the young animals that were born in the Spring caused troubles. They didn't know the property and were forever pressing the fence lines, it kept Dan busy fixing and patching the holes they made to get out.

As the weather warmed, it came time to shear. The crew arrived, Jane was getting more comfortable with people around from time to time.

The Ewes were driven into a tight yard, then when the first one was brought in and the clipper started, her eyes went wide she was off like a shot. She was gone for five long days, no sign of her at all.

He didn't know if it was the sound of the clippers, or the wool flying off that frightened her. Maybe she thought they were killing them? Dan just didn't know.

He saw some Buzzards circling, checking on that he found the carcass of one of his Lambs, something had killed it and fed. He thought perhaps it was her, he just was not sure.

There was nothing he could do but wait. Finally one morning he spotted her, moving along the South fence line. Some of the flock was down there, they didn't seem to be afraid of her at all. She was watching the now naked animals with interest.

Later that day, he found her on his porch, both Jojo and Runt had let him know. They ran out, all excited at seeing her. She nuzzled them, then stood up and walked by him inside the house.

Just like that, she was back. She seemed to understand that they were just taking the wool, but she still would not go anywhere near the barn when the men were working.

Jane was beginning to act more and more like a normal woman, except for a few reactions that people might find odd at best. One of the hardest things for Dan to manage was convince her to keep her clothes on during the warmer days.

One day she had come outside completely naked, the crew was still working and several of the men saw her. She had marched across to one of the water troughs and leaned down to lap up some water. They stood there in shock.

Dan hustled her back inside, tried to get her to dress but she looked at him with that cock of her head. That afternoon he went into town and bought the largest air conditioner he could find.

He either kept the house at a steady 60° or she would soon be naked. Dan was used to her being naked, his crew was not.

The trouble with that was that people talked. It didn't take very long and the Sheriff showed up again. Dan told Jane to hide, she knew enough to do that.

The Sheriff asked a bunch of questions about the stories he heard, a naked young woman running around Dan's ranch?

"Hey, a man's got needs, Sheriff." He grinned at him.

"Oh. Well, where is she?" He asked.

"Beats me, probably off somewhere taking care of business."

The Sheriff nodded. He gave Dan one of those looks that let him know he was being watched, then he left.

Later that evening he talked to Jane about it, she was getting better at understanding all the time. But Dan could see she was having trouble understanding what was wrong. Still, after that she always stayed covered up when she went outside. Dan even managed to get her to not drink from the water trough, too.

There was some fun when Dan tried to teach her to cook. She got the gas stove turned on and managed to cook some eggs. They turned out fairly well until she tried to do it on her own one morning before he woke up.

He got there just in time to put the fire out before it did any real damage. It was a long time before he could get her to try again.

It seemed like Jane had to be carefully shown how to do everything. She always watched with interest, and seemed to get the hang of things quickly but if there was a chance for upset she would find it.

The truth is Dan was enjoying her, he had now developed an attachment that he really didn't understand completely. Back when he had been married, the relationship was stormy. He had never in his life ever related to women worth a hoot.

Jane was like no other woman on Earth, she was there because she wanted to be, too. Dan began to have dreams about her, but he felt shameful about them. Doing anything with her would be like...? He just didn't know what it would be like. He knew that if he ever did anything to hurt her, or that she did not like she very easily could just vanish and he might never see her again.

The relationship was there, but it was fragile.

Jane had regular cycles, he had tried to teach her to use feminine napkins, she just would not. But she did use a washcloth, and she also bathed now every single day. No way in hell would she get into the tub or allow him to turn on the shower with her in there, though. What she would do is go down the the stream and wash there. The water ran right out of a Spring that was very cold, that didn't seem to bother her at all.

Dan had gotten used to her walking naked through the house and out the front door to the creek. There was no one around now most of the time, but she also carefully checked before going out.

It was like she understood that about others seeing her, yet around Dan she had no modesty at all.

Dan had Jane hide when it came time to run his Lambs to auction. He had a crew come in to help with the loading, and they drove down to market. Normally Dan would be there, this year he had Armando, a man he had used several times over the years handle that.

Dan wanted to be close to Jane, just in case. He was nervous about the idea of leaving her alone for any length of time.

After the harvest was done, Dan counted out and paid all of the bills. It was a pretty good year, he had lost just two animals the entire season. One he suspected that Jane had taken when she took off for almost a week, the other was just a case of a fat Ewe getting down and couldn't get back to her feet. That happened from time to time.

The next Spring found them headed back up to the upper pasture. Dan had another decade left on his mountain pasture leases. Both Jojo and Runt were fully trained now, that made things easy. He didn't even need to hire anyone to help, with the Dogs and Jane's help, they moved the entire herd up the mountain by themselves. Of course, The lead Ewe now knew the way and the flock tended to mostly follow along, clipping grass as they went.

They had been settled in for a week when late one evening, Jane suddenly sat up. Both Jojo and Runt came alert, too. Jane went outside, stood there for a long time.

Dan had a sick feeling inside, but he made no move to interfere. She took off at a run, headed up the trail. Then in the distance, he heard them.

Wolves.

There was a long cry, Dan knew it was Jane. She was answered in seconds, there was a long series of long cries. Every instinct in his body told him to run after her, bring her back.

Instead, he went back inside the house. He called Jojo and Runt, they came inside reluctantly. Jane didn't return that evening.

The house seemed empty the next morning, Dan made himself a breakfast and ate, not really tasting it. That night he was out on his deck, watching. He just had a feeling.

It was around 10 PM, the Moon was rising, casting shadows. He waited for the shadows to move, but they didn't for a long time.

Then over at the side of the house he saw a motion. Jane stepped out, looked up at him. Right behind her was a Wolf. It was huge. He heard both Jojo and Runt cut loose inside the house, he shushed them and they went to whining quietly.

Both Jane and the big animal stood there, watching him. Dan went over to the outside steps, walking slowly. Neither one of them moved.

The big Wolf stood there, it's eyes black as coal.

For some reason Dan had no fear of it at all. He walked up to Jane, held out his hand. She took it, smiled. The big Wolf stared at him for a few seconds, then turned and was gone.

"You won't hurt them, will you?" She said.

"No."

"Home is here now, yes?"

"Yes." Dan reached out and put his arms around her and hugged her. It was the very first time he had ever done that, up until that very moment it was just small touches and even that only rarely.

She didn't cringe or even pull back. In fact, she snuggled in closer.

That night Jane joined Dan in his bed. She was hesitant, not really knowing but knowing, if that can be understood?

Jane was a virgin, he didn't really know what he had expected there, to be honest. Her body was so slender and muscular, they joined in a way he had never known when he was married before. That had been a lovemaking between two people, somehow with Jane it was a joining of one.

When she reached her peak, she threw her head back and let out a long piercing howl. Dan knew right at that instant that the two of them were with child.

Off in the distance, they heard a long howl in answer, it lowered into a series of happy yips, then faded away.

Somehow he knew that they knew, too.

Dan didn't hate the Wolves any more.