Page 11 of Protecting Vidalia
“She wasn’t last night,” Jake growled.
“Well, maybe you can get through to her. If you can, I'd sure appreciate it. She’s a good friend, and I hate to see her hurting like this.”
“Is that all she is?” Jake was surprised at himself, the flare of jealousy strong as the question popped from his lips.
“Uh...yeah...that's all for me. Why? Don't tell me you're finally interested in a woman,” Dax crowed. “You are! I'll be damned—it couldn't happen to a nicer couple.”
“Hey, don't go marrying us yet,” Jake protested with a laugh. “I've got to get her to talk to me first.”
“Well—good luck, buddy. Let me know how it turns out. I'll be waiting with bated breath.”
“You're a clown,” Jake said, hanging up. It was time to get on with his jeep and do a little shopping. The evening awaited and so did Vidalia. At least for tonight. He’d practically had to strongarm her into dinner. He wondered if she had actually mourned for Dani yet? Or cried?
***
VIDALIA WATCHED ASthe pickup disappeared down the lane, some of her tenseness dissipating. Taking a few deep cleansing breaths, she decided to look around the cabin area.
It was the beginning of spring, the time when mother nature once more wrapped her cloak around her with new buds and leaves on the trees. Early colorful flowers nestled among the blossoming shrubbery, peeking their heads out for the rain and the warming sunshine.
The cabin was built on a fairly flat area, but still on a mild slope, which fell away more sharply in the back. Through the trees, she could see what looked like a meadow or a clearing down below, perhaps about 200 yards away. She was sure there was a stream down there somewhere and wanted to be able to take some photos of the water and the rocks. There was always a mountain stream when you were up in the Rockies, the snow melt insured that. Cold and refreshing, but certainly not something you’d want to swim in.
Excited at the prospect; she hurried inside to get a shower and change. The electricity was back on, it had flipped on while they sat on the deck. Kudos to the work crews who’d found whatever problem had caused it to go off.
Cell phone...check. First aid kit...check. Area map...check. Money...check.
Dressed in appropriate hiking boots, jeans, and a long-sleeved t-shirt, Vidalia set off down the worn path towards the meadows. After Jake’s earlier warnings about bears, she decided to stick to trails already worn by human feet. The light pack she had on her back held a couple of bottles of water and a few cracker snacks. Nothing meaty that might attract bears, she’d decided. Keeping an eye out for a walking stick, she finally spied one that looked sturdy and was about shoulder high. Her pocketknife took care of the twigs and leaves attached. She swished it through the air a few times to make sure she could handle it.
She didn’t know if she’d pick up cell service or not, but it was worth a shot in case she moved into range. And the cash was to get lunch at Smokie’s Diner near the trailhead to Victory Falls, which she would run into when she turned back west towards the main road. Dax said it was really good food.
The path Vidalia was on took her through the meadow and into the woods on the south side. There she found a connection to the hiking trail for the falls that Dax had told her about. To her right was about a half-mile hike up to the falls and to her left was the half-mile back to the main road. So, a nice little hike for her first morning in the woods since she was planning on going both ways.
The Victory waterfall was amazing. Vidalia spent a long time photographing it from different angles. Two long waterfalls fell at enough of an angle down through the rocks that the splash of the falls at the bottom formed a V. The view from the long wooden bridge in front of the pool and subsequent stream was the best angle for shots.
Up near the base of the falls was a sandy area on the left side that Vidalia would like to get to, but she couldn’t see any paths through the dense pines and shrubs to indicate anyone had gone over there. She was just considering ignoring Jake’s advice to stick to the manmade trails when she saw movement in the shrubbery near the sand base. She gasped when she saw a small black cub dart out of the bushes and run to the water’s edge.
Oh my god! There were bears here. Her heart beating fast, she watched as the mother stepped out behind her cub. Ducking down she took her camera out and set it between the rails of the bridge and started taking pics. She froze when she heard the sound of childish laughter behind her.
Glancing down the trail to her right, Vidalia saw a young girl and what must be an older brother holding her hand, coming up the trail. She held her palm out towards them and then put her finger to her lips. She made a ducking motion with her hand and they responded by ducking down. “Bears,” she mouthed, and pointed through the railing towards the falls.
Looking down at the bears, she saw the mother entering the water with her cub and drinking deeply from the stream. The two kids behind her inched forward and nestled in behind her.
“Wow,” whispered the little girl. “This is so cool.”
“Where are your parents?” Vidalia whispered.
“They’re slow,” the older teen responded.
They all watched the bears in fascination as the bears actually played in the water, the sunshine glistening off their blackish pelts. Vidalia took a ton of pics, and so did the kids.
“Marion!” The call came from the path down and they all swiveled to see a couple coming up the path, the woman in front obviously red-faced and irritated. The man behind her hollered again. “Marion, the kids are fine, they just went ahead. In fact, there they are now,” he said loudly as he pointed towards Vidalia and the children.
Vidalia glanced back through the railing. The mother bear was standing at attention, sniffing the air. She kept taking pictures until the bear suddenly whirled around and pushed her baby ahead of her to disappear into the brush. Jake was right again, Vidalia decided. They were very shy.
The two kids jumped up and started yelling at their parents for scaring off the bears. Their mother turned as white as a sheet and the father was silent with shock. “Bears?” he finally squeaked.
The children were excitedly showing their parents their cell phone photos as Vidalia slipped away and headed back down the path.
“Oh my god,” the father exclaimed, “she has a cub. Come on, kids, we need to leave this area immediately.”
