• “Would ye like to relearn it?” he asked. She nodded.
    “Yes, I’d like that very much,” she said.
    “Alright, then,” Jake said. “After lunch, we’ll go fishing.”
    “Sounds good to me,” June said. He looked up at her then, a slight smile playing across his lips. She found her gaze held by his single grey eye, and she couldn’t keep from looking at his scars.
    “They look worse in the daylight, don’t they?” he asked She shook her head, breaking eye contact.
    “No, they don’t,” she said. “They look different, but not worse.”
    “Different how?” he asked.
    “When I saw you last night, the firelight made you look forbidding, even a little scary,” she said. “Now you don’t look like someone to be feared.”
    “Did I really look like someone ter be afraid of?” he asked. She hesitated, then nodded once. He grinned.
    “Ye don’t need ter fear me, June,” he said. “I won’t hurt ye.”
    “I know,” she said. “I didn’t say I was afraid of you.”
    “True,” he said, turning his attention back to the fire. Spitting two of the four trout, he placed them over the fire to cook.
    “How d’ye plan on gettin’ yer family ter meet me?” he asked.
    “Does that mean you’ll meet them?” she asked, looking at him then. He nodded.
    “Just don’t try gettin’ me ter go into town,” he said.
    “You won’t even try?” she asked. Jake shook his head.
    “Not a chance,” he said.
    “Fine,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll figure something out.”
    Two days later, the chopper returned to the clearing for June. Jake had already helped her take down the tent and pack the rest of her gear, so all she had to do was load everything in the chopper. As she was getting ready to board the chopper, she stopped and looked back at Jake, but he was nowhere to be seen. She knew he would be hidden somewhere nearby, watching. She smiled and waved to the forest, then got into the chopper and closed the door behind her. A moment later, the chopper lifted off and turned east, heading for June’s hometown.
    Five and a half months passed. It was now nearly Christmas, and all Jake could think about was June. He hadn’t seen her since the visit in mid-July, and he wondered what she was doing now.
    He was so lost in thought that he failed to notice the noise of a helicopter approaching from the east. It wasn’t until the fourth time the chopper approached that Jake finally noticed the noise. Curious as to what a chopper would be doing out here in the middle of winter, he went to investigate.
    He wasn’t far from the small clearing when he heard voices. Two men and two women were standing near the chopper, unloading several packages. Jake wondered what they were for until he saw June. He knew then that the others must be her family, and he quickly turned around and went back to his cave, resolving not to return to the clearing for several days. Unbeknownst to him, however, June had followed him to his cave the last time she had visited, so she knew where to find him.
    This time, though, there was no visible trail for her to follow, so she had to rely on her memory alone to locate the cave. She had no way of knowing that Jake knew they were there, and had already left to go on a hunting trip.
    “Here’s the cave,” she said, as she led her family through the forest. “Hmm, that’s odd. He’s not here, and neither are his bow and arrows.”
    “Which means….?” her father, Jack, asked.
    “He know we’re here,” June said. “He’s gone hunting.”
    “How do you know he knows we’re here?” Joseph asked.
    “I spotted him watching us when we were unloading the chopper earlier,” June said.
    “If you saw him, why didn’t you tell us?” her mother, Janet, asked.
    “Because he doesn’t like being around a lot of people,” June said. “He’s afraid of how you’ll react the first time you see him.”
    “Why?” Joseph asked.
    “It’s best if I let Jake tell you himself,” June said, shaking her head. “Let’s go back to the clearing and wait for Jake to show up.”
    Three hours later, Jake returned from his hunting trip. June had led her family back to the clearing, and the four of them were sitting around a small fire in the quickly fading daylight. She had told her family that Jake would show himself when he was ready, which, from her experience, would most likely be near or after darkness fell. She was right. Unable to contain his mounting curiosity, which finally got the better of him, Jake took a turkey he had shot and cleaned and headed for the small clearing with the bird under his arm.
    When he was within thirty yards of the clearing, he laid the bird on the ground, then climbed a nearby elm. Settling himself in the lower branches directly behind June, he cupped his hands around his mouth and gave a whippoorwill call.
    “Listen,” Joseph said, and they stopped talking. The call came again, and Jack spoke.
    “I thought whippoorwills only called during the day,” he said.
    “That’s not a whippoorwill,” June said.
    “Yes, it is,” Janet argued. June shook her head.
    “It sounds like a whippoorwill, but trust me, it’s not,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”
    With that, she rose, turned around, and walked into the forest. She was near the elm Jake was perched in when he spoke.
    “So ye came back again,” he said quietly. June stopped and looked up at him.
    “Will you come down and meet my family?” she asked.
    “Why?” he asked, and she could hear uncertainty in his voice.
    “Because I want them to meet you,” she said.
    “Ye know I don’t like being around people, June,” Jake said. She nodded in the darkness.
    “Yes, I know, but there’s only four of us,” she said. “Five, counting you.”
    “Fine,” he said. “But only on one condition.”
    “Name it,” she said.
    “I’ll meet them so long as I don’t have ter sit in the light,” he said quietly.
    “Fair enough,” she said. “Now, will you come down here and join us?”
    “As ye wish, June,” he said, climbing down from the tree. Picking up the turkey, he followed her to the clearing.
    “Who’s that?” Joseph asked, when June and Jake joined them.
    “This is Jake,” June said. “Jake, these are my parents, Jack and Janet, and my older brother, Joseph.”
    Each person said hello as she said their names, and Jake nodded in reply as he spitted the turkey and set it over the fire to roast.
    “Is that a turkey?” Jack asked.
    “Aye,” Jake said. “I killed it myself yesterday.”
    “So you’re a hunter?” Janet inquired. Jake nodded from the shadows.
    “I’ve been hunting since I was ten,” he said.
    “How old are you now?” Joseph asked.
    “Twenty-three,” Jake replied.
    “You’re the same age as me,” Joseph said.
    “Not many people my age come out ‘ere,” Jake said. “Most people cringe when they see my face.”
    “We won’t,” Janet said.
    “I didn’t,” June said.
    “I’m not moving into the light,” Jake said. “Not this time.”
    “Please?” June asked.
    “No,” Jake said, shaking his head.
    “Alright,” Jack said. “We won’t force you to move into the light if you don’t want to, Jake.”
    “I’m glad,” Jake said.
    They talked for two hours while the turkey cooked. Once it was done, Jake sliced it on a nearby stump, and they ate. When they were done eating, Jake led them to his camp.
    “’Tis gonna snow tonight,” Jake said, as they reached the cave.
    “How do you know?” Joseph asked.
    “My scars are aching something fierce,” Jake replied. “Every time they ache like they are now, it snows real heavy.”
    “How heavy?” Jack asked. “And for how long?”
    “Depends on how cold it is,” Jake said. “Right now, it’s cold enough to snow fer probably a day or two.”
    “Hopefully it won’t snow for more than a day,” Janet said.
    “With any luck, it’ll pass by the day after tomorrow,” Jake said.
    “We need to leave in two days,” Jack said, and Jake nodded.
    “All we can do fer now is wait’n see what Mother Nature decides to do,” he said. “I’ll start a fire.”
    Gathering a small pile of dry twigs from the rear of the cave, he took his pocketknife and struck a shard of flint rapidly with the blade until sparks showered down on the twigs and ignited them. Within minutes, he had a fire blazing merrily within a ring of stones near the rear of the cave.
    “Ye might as well try ter get some sleep while ye can,” Jake told them. They all nodded and settled down around the cave. Within minutes, everyone but June and Jake was peacefully asleep. After a few moments, he noticed her watching him, and he beckoned for her to follow as he walked toward the cave mouth and stopped just inside the entrance.
    “Can’t sleep?” he asked quietly. She shook her head.
    “I don’t know why,” she said.
    They stood side-by-side in silence for several minutes before June began to shiver slightly from the cold. Jake noticed this and wrapped a blanket around her. She looked up at him when he did this, and he saw a flicker of trust in her eyes.
    “We should head back to the others,” he said, and she nodded. They returned to the fire, and June settled down to sleep with her family. Jake waited until her breathing was deep and regular before putting more wood on the fire. The wolves joined them a few minutes later, each one laying down near a member of June’s family.
    “Guard,” Jake said quietly, and he heard four low growls of acknowledgment as he settled down to sleep.
    Every two hours, Jake was awakened by one of the wolves, letting him know to put more wood on the fire. Each time, after he had done so, he went right back to sleep. The last time he was awakened, all four of the wolves settled down to sleep. Jake, however, did not go back to sleep. It was nearly dawn, and he got up and went to the cave mouth. Looking out at the surrounding forest, he came fully awake as a blast of icy air hit his left side. Moving back a few steps, he saw that it was snowing heavily. A thin layer of snow covered the ground already, so he knew it had been snowing for some time.
    “Up already?” June asked quietly, joining him a few minutes later.
    “I always rise with the sun,” he said, just as quietly.
    “I don’t usually get up this early,” June said, “but I woke up every time I heard you moving around. The last time, I couldn’t get back to sleep, so I just got up.”
    “I didn’t mean ter wake ye,” he said.
    “I’ve always been a light sleeper,” June said. “At home, even an animal moving around outside will wake me up.”
    “I don’t know what ter tell ye, there,” Jake said. “I, myself, have always been more of a heavy sleeper.”
    “If you’ve always been a heavy sleeper, then how do you rise with the sun every day?” June asked.
    “I’ve always been that way,” he said. “Even as a kid, I got up at dawn every day. I have no idea why.”
    “Yet you stay up until after sunset every day,” she said. He nodded.
    “What were those packages for?” he asked, after several minutes of silence.
    “They are for you,” she said.
    “Me?” he asked, confused. “What would I need packages for?”
    “You do know it’s Christmas, don’t you?” she asked.
    “Aye, I know it’s Christmas,” he said. “But what does—presents, right?” She nodded.
    “We all got you something,” she said.
    “But why?” he asked. “Why would ye want ter get me anything?”
    “We got you things because that’s what Christmas is all about,” June said, turning to look at him. “It’s about giving to others.”
    “It’s also about the birth of our Savior,” Joseph said, coming up behind them.
    “What’re ye doin’ up?” Jake asked.
    “I woke up when you two started talking a few minutes ago,” Joseph said. “Hey, it’s snowing!”
    “Aye, it is,” Jake said. “Although it ain’t been doin’ so fer more’n two hours.”
    “How do you know?” June asked.
    “There ain’t much snow on the ground yet,” Jake answered. “Give it about four to six more hours, and ye’ll really see what a mountain snow looks like.”
    “I bet it’s pretty,” June said, turning to look outside again. Jake nodded.
    “Aye, it is,” he said. “’Tis also dangerous ter be caught out in.”
    “Why is that?” Joseph asked.
    “If ye don’t know yer way around the woods, ‘tis easy ter get lost and freeze ter death in a mountain snow,” Jake replied. “That’s why every time it snows and I have ter leave the cave, I always make sure and mark my path as I go along, so I can find my way back without gettin’ lost.”
    “That makes sense,” Jack said, and he and Janet joined them.
    “Why is everyone up so early?” Jake asked. “I know why June’s up, but what about the rest o’ ye?”
    “I woke up when I heard someone snoring beside me,” Janet said, looking at Jack as she spoke.
    “Don’t look at me!” he said. “I don’t snore!”
    “Yes, you do, Papa,” June said, grinning at her father. “You’ve woken me up many times with your snoring.”
    “Actually, it wasn’t Jack ye heard snoring, Janet,” Jake said.
    “It wasn’t?” she asked, confused. Jake shook his head.
    “If it wasn’t me, then who was it?” Jack asked.
    As if in answer to his question, the adult male wolf appeared beside Jake and sat down near his left leg.
    “I-Is that a wolf?” Janet asked, fear in her eyes. Jake nodded.
    “I saved his life two and a half years ago,” he said. “Ever since that day, he’s joined me every night, ter be fed and guard my camp. Usually, they’re all gone before dawn.”
    “’They’?” Joseph echoed. “You mean there’s more than one?”
    “There’s four all together,” Jake said. “The parents and two pups.”