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“What the fuck are you doing?” Galen yelled at the bear, though she knew he meant her.
“Helping!”
“You’re supposed to be heading down the trail!”
“What if there’s another bear down there?”
He couldn’t argue with that. Besides, they needed to focus on this bear.
Standing upright, the bear was at least a head taller than Galen. She watched them for a moment, as the cub bounded away into the brush. They kept at it, shouting whatever came to mind, until the bear slowly dropped down to her four paws and loped after her cub.
Worn out, Brenda dropped her arms to her sides, then hunched over to rest her hands on her knees. “Oh my God. We did it.”
She felt his hand on her hair, a light touch, and glanced up at him.
He was looking down at her with the oddest smile, almost proud.
“Yeah, thanks for coming back. That was brave. It was touch and go for a minute, but once I multiplied, she calculated the odds and decided to move on.”
“I scared away a bear,” she marveled.
“Yes, you did. You’ve got guts, Brenda McMurray.”
“You didn’t know that?” She winked at him. “What do you think I’m doing out here with you?”
He threw back his head and let out a hearty laugh that had a healthy dose of relief in it. “No arguments here. Now how about we go get some breakfast?”
“Don’t you have any of those magic pouches for breakfast? Hot cocoa, instant coffee?”
“Sure, but I figured a hot breakfast at my favorite diner would be better. Are you hungry now?”
“I could eat a bear,” she deadpanned.
They decided to put more distance between them and the bear family before stopping. As they hiked, Brenda watched the sun rise over the valleys and ridges and fill the woods with light. She felt buoyant, like a superhero, bounding her way down the mountain. It was so much easier going downhill, and they’d just scared off a bear, and they were maybe going to go to bed together, her and Galen.
No wonder the morning enchanted her.
The adrenaline kept her going all the way to the trailhead. From there, Galen drove them about fifteen minutes to a diner called the Loading Dock, which was located just off the highway on the way back to Lake Bittersweet.
The serving staff at the Loading Dock all knew Galen, and wanted to hear about their hike and how they fared in the storm. Brenda got to tell the bear story. She embellished it a little bit—in real life, the bear hadn’t actually snarled, as far as she could remember. And she gave it at least a foot of extra height. But Galen didn’t offer any corrections.
“She did great,” Galen said proudly. “Can you believe it’s her first time out there? She’s a natural.”
High fives all around. Brenda glowed with satisfaction. Not only had she survived her first wilderness adventure, she now had an epic story to tell.
“Is anyone booked in the rooms upstairs?” he asked the waitress as he handed over cash for their breakfast. “We could use a shower.”
“There was, but they checked out this morning. You can sneak up there and use the bathroom if you like. Even take a nap if you feel like it. So long as you clear out by eleven, have at it. That’s when the cleaner shows up.”
Brenda’s heart sped up at the thought of the rest of their morning dreams. Breakfast, check. Now came the shower. Would bed be next? She couldn’t keep from smiling as she followed Galen up a set of stairs to a landing with a door that stood ajar. He pushed it open to reveal a simple but clean suite of rooms. The furniture looked like it came from a real home, with old-fashioned upholstered couches, hooked rugs on the painted wood floor and jars of potpourri scenting the space.
Besides the living room, the suite had two bedrooms, and only one of them had been slept in.
She caught Galen’s eye, excitement mounting within her. But he gestured toward the bathroom. “First shower is yours. I’ll give you some space. Be right back.”
He leaned his backpack against the couch and headed for the door.
“Where are you going?”
