Page 116 of Tangled up in You

“Hell, no. We’re not going anywhere near it.”

“Why did you call it in?”

“Because if any of the scientists want to observe in case wolves or bears show up, they’ll know where it is.” He looked through a pair of binoculars. “Looks like it’s been dead a few days and is pretty well picked over,” he added. “And that’s a cue for us to pick up the pace so we don’t run into any bears.”

By the end of day six, Jesse was more than ready for a hot shower and real food, but she found herself enjoying the men’s company more than she’d imagined she would.

I wish I didn’t have to say good-bye to them in a couple of days.

She still hadn’t summoned courage to ask them about the dating comment Chris made at the bar. Tomorrow they would reach the last sensor, and then Mark would decide about heading for the cabin or heading for the trailhead.

What bothered him was the sky had turned overcast and the temps dropped. For most of their trip they’d enjoyed beautiful weather, a light, misting rain one afternoon, and cold but not frigid temperatures at night.

“Do you think the weather will hold?” she asked.

“Hard to say. There’s a front approaching but it’s not supposed to arrive for several days. That doesn’t mean the weather here won’t change sooner. I’ve seen it snow in July and hotter than hell in October. We should pick up the pace tomorrow.”

The next morning they set off just as the morning twilight lifted enough for them to have safe footing. So far, the journey had gone perfectly. When they reached the last sensor she quickly installed the equipment, and when she locked it up and stowed her gear she turned to find the men staring downhill at something.

“What’s going on?”

Mark waved her over and handed her his binoculars. In the distance, down in a valley, a small wolf pack playfully bounded through the spring wildflowers and grass.

“That’s so cool!”

“Yeah, but they usually don’t roam in this area,” Mark said. “That’s kind of odd. I’ll call it in.”

While he did that, she moved stuff between her backpack and the mules, lightening her load even more, then used the binoculars to watch the wolves a little longer.

She would have stood there watching for hours if a breeze hadn’t washed over her, making her shiver. She looked up to finally process the overcast skies were now lightly misting rain.

Mark and Chris looked up, too. “Damn,” they said in unison, making her laugh at their parroting thing.

“Let’s get moving,” Mark said. “Temps will drop and if that wind picks up, it’s too exposed to camp up here. Let’s head down and find a spot. We won’t make that cabin tonight before dark falls.”

They packed everything and she pulled on her rain gear over her clothes. That soon became too hot when the rain stopped, so she paused to ditch the pants. She kept the jacket on however,because of the wet foliage they brushed against. She also pulled on her knit hat, which she’d packed on the mules earlier when she’d felt too warm.

But despite the rain stopping the cloud cover thickened, turning the afternoon ominously dim. They stopped in a small clearing to rest and for Mark to try to call in by radio for a weather update. They tied the mules to a sapling and Mark dug out his radio, but didn’t seem to have reception.

Meanwhile, she took the opportunity to make a pit stop. Now she could do it without shedding her pack, not that it was a skill she could translate into everyday life.

She was finishing when she heard Mark give up.

“We must be out of range. I’ll try the satellite messenger in a minute. First, hold this for me, would you?” Mark handed Chris his radio. “Pit stop of my own.”

“Sure.”

Jesse stepped away from the clearing because she recognized the sound of rushing water. There was a drop-off a few yards away, so she walked over and peered down into a rushing creek.

I will miss this place.

Despite the exertion and her exhaustion, she found herself unexpectedlylovingthis time spent in nature. It was easy to understand why the men felt so passionately about the park.

She didn’t register the other noise, at first, until she smelled…something. Something kind of…gamey, musky?—

That’s when her head snapped up and she turned and spotted a bear cub maybe twenty yards from her.

Shitshitshit!

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