Wolf Tracks - Bianca D'Arc Page 0,30

with Jim, and hope that she did the right thing.

Jim held her gaze for a moment longer, then something on the dashboard drew his attention, and he looked away. Helen was able to breathe again, as she started eating the bagel she’d prepared for herself. Jim had to make some sort of course change, so he was busy for the moment.

When he’d finished with the turn that put them on a more direct heading, he started eating. The two sandwiches she’d set out for him disappeared in short order. Helen wasn’t surprised. She’d expected to have to get up a couple of times to keep him supplied with fresh sandwiches. Leslie had packed a bunch for them, probably knowing full well how much a shifter like Jim could eat.

Helen fetched two more sandwiches and another bottle of juice and placed them all on the tray next to Jim. He looked up and thanked her as she sat back down and went back to eating her bagel.

“So, did you learn to fly in the Navy?” she asked when he’d eaten the third sandwich and was starting to slow down a bit as he savored the fourth.

“Actually, Uncle Arch taught me when I was a kid, but the Navy gave me even more training on many different kinds of aircraft. I can fly anything from a single prop Beaver to a 787, but this little Beechcraft is a dream to fly. This is one really sweet ride,” he replied, enthusing over the borrowed airplane.

“Really?” Helen looked around the interior of the craft. “I don’t know much about small planes.”

“This has to be Sal’s baby,” Jim replied. “The pressurized cabin. The engines. The trim. It’s a very high-end version of a very useful aircraft. I’m actually surprised they loaned it to me. Someone must have done some arm twisting.”

“Maybe at first,” Helen replied. “But, once Sal found out you were Arch’s nephew, you were golden.”

“Huh.” Jim tilted his head as if considering. It was a very wolfish pose that made Helen wonder what his animal side would look like. “You might be right about that.” He shook his head and grinned at her. “Plus, he knows that Arch would have my hide if I messed up this beauty.”

“Does Arch still fly?” Helen asked, just to make conversation.

“He does,” Jim confirmed. “We were talking about maybe building an airstrip on Pack lands, but it’s a big commitment and not enough of the Pack members fly yet. Arch is teaching a bunch of the kids in his spare time, so maybe, in a few years, he’ll be able to do something. He wants to leave a legacy for the Pack, and a small airport would be a good one.” He finished the last of his fourth sandwich before continuing. “You’ll see when we land. Big Wolf Airport is the grown-up version of what Arch wants to build. It started out like any other small airport, but it’s evolved over the years to become a hub for the Pack that owns it, as well as a waypoint for other shifters in transit.”

“Big Wolf Airport is owned by a wolf Pack?” She’d been told some of this already but wanted to get the full story, if Jim was willing to talk about it.

“The Big Wolf Pack. In Big Wolf, Texas. Just about everything in the town is named Big Wolf this or that. It’s kind of a running joke that the Alpha, Joe, had no imagination when it came time to name the various businesses in the town.” Jim grinned. “I think he did it on purpose. I mean, after he named the airport and the town, everything else became a joke. He oversees all the Pack businesses, but a lot of them are individually owned, and the people who started them named them. I think they were all in on it, naming everything the same as a show of unity and also as an inside joke. You have to admit, it is easier if every business in the town has basically the same name.”

“Like Big Wolf Barber Shop? Or Big Wolf Delicatessen?” Helen asked.

Jim nodded. “And Big Wolf Bakery. Big Wolf Barbeque. Big Wolf Pharmacy. You have to admit, it is kind of funny in a nerdy sort of way.”

“Will we be welcome in the town?” Helen wondered aloud.

“Oh, yeah. Our Packs are allies from way back. My Alpha already cleared our arrival with Joe Villalobos, the Alpha and mayor of Big Wolf,” Jim explained. “He