Page 60 of The Cowboy Takes A Bride

She didn’t need to ask if this was the bear they were lookingfor. It clearly was. The animal was mangy and thin, if something so large could be considered that. Two things surprised her. The first was the state of the bear, not what she expected from an animal slaughtering livestock, and the other? She was cognizant of the specifics about the bear when every part of her was screaming to run.

Jace crouched down and began to creep slowly back through the herd.

Then a cow caught wind of the bear and the herd shifted away from both Jace and the beast. The bear back peddled a few paces then began to skirt around the cattle moving parallel to Jace. The bigger cows lowed. The bear stopped, sniffed the air, then lifted on its hind legs, only to drop quickly and stomp the ground near the injured calf who scuttled away.

Meredith sucked in a breath. “Easy girl,” she whispered to Coco who was shifting nervously beside her. “Stay nice and still.” She made small strokes down Coco's neck, her attention on Jace and the bear. “Atta girl, I'm going to give you a special treat when we get back.”

If we get back.

She stroked down Coco's wither until she felt the hard leather of the saddle. Using touch to guide her, she continued searching until she bumped the cold metal of the twelve gauge. With a flick of her thumb, she undid the strap that kept it contained, then slid the shotgun from its holster, her attention on the giant beast. Jace's horse shied nervously beside her, turning in a circle. Meredith continued talking to the horses to calm them, keeping her voice steady while her mind screamed hysterically.

The herd shifted again, splitting open and exposing Jace. The bear lifted his nose and sniffed, turning in Jace’s direction. Meredith slowly slid the shotgun out of the holster and brought it to rest against her shoulder. Bless Coco for her loyalty.

With one eye on Jace, the other on the bear, she fumbled to find the safety. She sighed with relief at the audible click of its release, though she barely heard it over the pounding in her ears. She pumped the gun, chambering a round, and stared down the barrel to line up the bead sight. A tear ran down her cheek.

“Easy,” she said, to both her and the horses. “Steady.”

The bear stalked toward Jace, stopped feet from him, and rose on its back legs. Meredith’s hands began to shake.

In a flash, the bear lunged into Jace’s space, and simultaneously Meredith pulled the trigger, aiming for the head.

The boom from the shot leaving the gun was deafening, making her head fuzzy. When the kickback slammed the butt of the gun into her shoulder, blinding pain seared through the right side of her body and brought her to her knees.

The bear’s claws were up and out, raking down as he fell toward the earth.

Through streaming tears and scorching pain, Meredith pumped the gun a second time then tried to bring it up, but the muscles in her shoulder refused. Gritting her teeth and screaming through the pain, she forced her arm up. The gun against her shoulder, she took aim, but the bear was on the ground, not moving.

And so was Jace.

25

Dizzy, Meredith dropped the gun and fell forward onto her hands. She closed her eyes and tried to clear her head, but the ringing was deafening. She called on the yoga breathing she'd done with her migraines to help her garner some control.

A spray of water hitting her face brought Meredith back to the moment. She snapped her eyes open. Coco was snorting on her! The horse whinnied and, using her muzzle, nudged Meredith out of her fog,

Jace!

In the twenty or so seconds it took for the ginormous bear’s central nervous system to cease working, it had raked its large paws down Jace’s back and left side. Maybe it was more that the bear was in motion when he was shot than a last ditch attack but, nonetheless, Jace had caught the business end of the bear’s claws. Fortunately, if that word could be used, Jace had done what he was supposed to, balled up as tightly as he could and covered his neck with hishands,.

Jace lay next to the bear on his side, a bright crimson stain spreading across his jacket, the acrid odor of blood filling the air.

Meredith scurried to him as fast as her weak legs could manage, still clutching the shotgun.

“Jace, Jace,” she cried, though it sounded distant and muffled to her, her ears ringing loudly. Tears poured down her face. A large gaping wound ran the length of his forearm. Matching wounds were at his shoulder, ribs, and hip area. It was unsightly, his flesh flayed open. Meredith dropped the shotgun and pulled off her jacket. The worst of the wounds looked to be at his ribs. She jerked off her top layer, a flannel shirt, and balled it up so the cleaner side was against the wound, then she ripped her T-shirt down the front to make long strips to wrap around him, leaving her in nothing but her bra and a coat to cover her.

“Jace?” She touched his face. A beady pulse throbbing in his neck gave her the courage to not freak the hell out.

She felt a vibration rumble through his chest and recognized it as a moan.

She pushed back a lock of hair from his forehead and kissed his temple. “Babe, come on. We have to get you back home. I need to wrap these wounds.” She sniffed and wiped her nose on her shoulder.

He moaned again, and his eyelids fluttered opened. His eyes were cloudy with confusion and pain.

“Hey, can you sit up?” She tried to modulate her voice, afraid she was yelling, since it felt like she was speaking into a tin can. She held his arm, cradling it against her legs, and wrapped one last strip around the wound. Her own shoulder screamed with each move, making her work sloppy and difficult as she was forced to use her non-dominant hand.

“The bear?” she thought he said. At least it looked like it and sorta sounded like it.

She looked over his shoulder at the bear, but had to look away; even in death, it was terrifying. She glanced at Jace and shook her head. “We need to get you home.”

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