Page 23 of Protecting Vidalia
“It was Vidalia who took the shots,” Jake replied.
“We’re going to call the parks service and let them know,” Vidalia chimed in. “Jake says they sometimes track and name the bears and it looks like this one has a tracker on it.”
“Maybe there isn’t as much room at a higher level this year,” Jake explained with a frown. “Lack of range and food might send them lower.”
Poke nodded. “There is an open hunt season planned this year, so that should help.”
Vidalia frowned. “People are allowed to hunt bears up here?”
Jake nodded. “Bears populations have grown in the last 40 years and when they have no natural predators, they can start to get dangerous when they come lower and run into civilization. That makes it necessary for everyone’s safety, including the bears.”
“I see. Sort of like deer season in other states. The herds have to be culled every year because they populate really fast. A lot of people in my state depend on venison to ease their meat budgets during the winter. It can be an acquired taste though. I like the burger and the summer sausage my dad used to have made up, but not much of anything else,” Vidalia contributed.
“Poke, I need ya back here,” Joe called from the back.
“Be right there,” she replied. “I’ll get your lunches and bring them to the table,” she promised before she hurried off.
It wasn’t long before they were biting into the juicy burgers and enjoying hot French fries washed down by ice cold sodas. “Mm mm...delicious,” Vidalia enthused, some juice running down her chin.
Jake reached over with his napkin and dabbed the corner of her mouth. “Can’t take you anywhere, can I?” He teased. He was delighted to see her enjoying her food. What he’d seen so far hadn’t been encouraging as thewallowing in her miserysort of appetite had been obvious. He’d been to that address before.
She wrinkled her nose at him. “I can wipe my own mouth...Daddy,” she retorted with a taunting grin.
Boy did that one word send a direct arrow to his quivering buddy making him stand on end and try to stare at her through his jeans. What the hell?
Vidalia Minton was causing reactions in his body that he simply wasn’t used to. Involuntarily his own mouth went with the natural flow her sassy remark had started. “Be careful, little girl.Daddiesspank naughty brats.”
She stared at him, her green eyes wide as a pink flush crept into her cheeks. She looked as shell-shocked as he’d been. Maybe they were both learning some new things about each other. He knew his protective hero streak was as wide as the Sahara Desert, he just hadn’t realized how much he enjoyed this sort of teasing and playing around.
At least with Vidalia.
Her eyes dropped and she lent all her personal attention at that point to her food, barely glancing at him. “I’m not a brat,” she managed to huff indignantly while devouring an innocent French fry with all the zest of an attacking piranha.
He thought back to a girl named Suzy, a girl with a dependent streak that had looked at him with dollar signs in her eyes and had tried to call him daddy. He knew right then and there a sugar daddy was never going to be his persona. Not that he had a lot of money, but the clingy type hadn’t appealed to him. He liked the spirited, independent, feisty type. In fact, the more layers that peeled away from his little onion, the more he liked her.
“That’s too bad,” he replied softly, his eyes devouring the temper on her face. “I like cute little brats—it gives me a reason to spank.”
She chewed on her last burger bite and finally lifted her eyes and studied him, the food puffing out one side of her cheek. God...he was falling in love with this woman.
She swallowed her bite, licked her fingers and then swiped her napkin all over her mouth. “You,” she stated emphatically, pointing her delicate forefinger at him accusingly, “are an 1870 throwback. I don’t know why I thought I liked you. Don’t plan on staying at my cabin tonight I’ll be fine on my own,” she huffed, pushing her chair back and standing up.
He stood up too. “Vidalia,” he said, a warning tone in his voice.
They were both startled when a young man standing at the bulletin board suddenly exclaimed. “Hey, we saw this bear today.”
His friend pointed with excitement at the baby. “Yeah, man, that’s the same baby. That was pretty cool.”
Jake strode over to the two men, Vidalia following. “Where did you see them?” He asked with a frown.
“Up by the falls.” His blue eyes were animated, his cheeks almost as red as the head of carrot top curls he sported on his lean, six-foot frame.
His friend was probably a bulky two inches taller with dark hair cropped close to his head, but no less excited. “They were in the same place as this picture,” he added.
Jake nodded. “Just be careful, don’t try to approach them if you see them again.”
“Oh, heck no,” Carrot Top assured him. “We wouldn’t do that, would we?” His gaze slid to his friend and he nodded in agreement, then they hurried right out the door.
Watching their antics, Jake wasn’t so sure. Something about those two seemed a little off, but he couldn’t identify just what it was.
