CHAPTER SIX
Logan
At the crack of dawn the next morning, Logan was wide awake and, unable to fall back asleep, got up and went off to gather firewood. Tess might get mad that he didn’t take a buddy, but she’d be happy to have a warm spot to sit.
By the time everyone else emerged from their tents, Logan had collected wood, started a fire, and had the coffee going.
“I could kiss you,” Grayson said, plopping down on the ground and warming his hands by the flames.
“Pass.” Logan held up a hand.
“You get a gold star for initiative,” Tess said. “But don’t think I’ve missed that you broke the buddy rule.”
“Won’t happen again, ma’am.” He wasn’t brown-nosing, just figured it was in his best interest to stay on Tess’s good side.
Like the day before, breakfast was only protein bars and coffee. Logan broke down and ate one of his extras from Joseph’s cache.
“And then there were four,” Ashton said.
“Hey, you guys were great yesterday,” Tess said. “It’s important to remain calm and work together in an emergency.”
“Joseph could’ve died,” Carter said. “I didn’t realize how dangerous this campout might be.”
“There are some lessons to be learned here,” Tess said.
“Listen to your guide?” Logan said.
“For sure,” Grayson said. “If Joseph had listened to Tess, he’d still be here. He didn’t freeze when we saw the snake, and he didn’t remember there was a cliff nearby, even though Tess warned us multiple times to steer clear of it.”
Carter nodded. “Just like Ashton getting blisters ’cause he didn’t listen.”
Tess remained quiet, as though she’d been through this before. As if proving herself was something she had to do on every campout. And not only that she was competent, but that she was better and more prepared than they were for facing the challenges up here.
Logan had no doubt that some men could be sexist, judgmental jerks. Many probably underestimated Tess, but she was tough and doing a fine job of earning their respect—his at least.
“Anyone get any sleep?” Tess changed the subject.
Everyone shook their heads.
“Sleeping on hard ground takes some getting used to,” she said. “But by tonight you should be so exhausted you could sleep on a bed of nails.”
“My stomach growling kept me up all night,” Carter said.
Heads bobbed up and down in agreement.
“Well,” Tess said. “Joseph leaving messes up the buddy system. We can only split into two groups now. Logan and Grayson can try fishing this afternoon. The rest of us will collect firewood. This morning—” She stopped mid-sentence, staring at the treeline.
They followed her gaze and watched as a huge black bear lumbered out of the woods.
“Ack!” Grayson gasped.
“Get the gun,” Carter said.
Tess rolled her eyes. “Why is he headed to your tent, Ashton? Did you seal all your food?”
“Yes,” Ashton said, but hesitated.
“What about trash?”
He mumbled something incoherent, which Tess apparently took as an admonition of guilt. She stood, pulled a bear horn from her backpack, and looked at Ashton. “Come on. This is your fault. You’re gonna help me take care of it.”
“What?” he choked out. His eyes widened to saucers as his daredevil facade fell away. “I didn’t sign up for bear fighting!”
Tess planted a hand on her hip and tapped her foot. “Better hurry before he demolishes your tent and steals whatever food you have left.”
Ashton jumped to his still tender feet, the threat of food loss instantly motivating him to action. “We’re going to confront it?”
Tess nodded. “Follow my lead.”
Logan, Grayson, and Carter watched as the bear poked its head into the tent, ever so politely. As if he planned to go in and take a nap.
Tess picked up the pace, and Ashton hopped along after her. They honked the horn, waved their arms, and yelled until the bear got fed up with the noise and left. Tess stood guard as Ashton crawled into his tent and, Logan guessed, “cleaned up.”
He slunk back with a chagrined look.
“And that is why we seal up all food and all trash,” Tess said. Her tone was calm, but Logan caught the hint of irritation.
“Think he’ll come back?” Grayson asked, eyes darting to the woods every couple of seconds.
“Now that he’s close, maybe,” Tess said matter-of-factly. “Especially when we finally catch some fish and fry ’em up.”
“Thanks a lot, Ashton,” Carter said. “So much for sleeping on this trip. Why do you think you’re above the rules anyway?”
Ashton didn’t defend himself, just mumbled an insincere apology. Logan figured his cocky attitude would be back before lunch. Probably with a vengeance, considering his dislike for being chastised and need to seem better than everyone else.
“I do have one idea,” Tess said, getting everyone’s attention. “I wasn’t planning it until later in the week, but we could hike to the falls today, pick some berries along the way, and leave them there. If Beary White follows his nose out that far, he’s less likely to come back here.”
“You named him?” Logan asked, and she shrugged.
Carter stood. “Yes. Let’s do that.”
“Maybe we should all stick together from now on,” Grayson said. “You know, just in case.”
Tess, fighting a smile, agreed. “Fine. Let’s clean up breakfast and get going then. Bring your fishing poles and a swimsuit if you want a swim.”
Logan helped extinguish the fire, double-checked that all his garbage was sealed, put on his swim trunks, and reconvened with the others.
“Your feet okay?” Logan asked Ashton.
“No,” he grumbled. “But there’s no way in hell I’m gonna complain about it.”
“Smart.”
They hiked for about an hour, picking berries as they went. As tempted as they were to eat some, they were more interested in making sure the bear didn’t return.
Another thirty minutes, and they popped into a clearing with the most amazing, picturesque scene. A hundred-foot waterfall, encircled by vibrant green trees, cascaded into a glassy emerald pool. It was late June, and at this altitude, Logan imagined the water was still very cold.
“The water’s chilly this time of year,” Tess confirmed.
“Consider yourself warned.” Then she stripped off her shorts and T-shirt, revealing an athletic, lithe body.
The plain black one-piece was utilitarian, but Tess made it look good!
Curves in all the right places, long, lean legs.
Logan wasn’t the only one open-mouthed gawking as she entered the water via a graceful dive.
“Oh, yeah,” Carter said. “I’m gonna get me some of that when we get back.”
“You don’t have a shot,” Ashton said.
“Why not? I’m rich and basically famous. Why wouldn’t she go for me?”
Logan could think of a lot of reasons, but kept his mouth shut.
Tess surfaced with a gasp. “Yeah. Freezing.”
The rest of them scrambled to undress and jumped in. Luckily, they’d gotten hot and sweaty while hiking, so the water was refreshing. At first.
And while it felt good to wash off the grime of the last couple of days, the water’s temperature was not conducive to lounging. Logan scrubbed at his hair and armpits and got the heck out.
For the next hour, they sprawled on massive sun-drenched rocks and dried out.
“Hey,” Carter said, peering into the water. “There’s fish in here. Should we try to catch one?”
“Sure,” Tess said, not moving from her spot in the sun. “If we get lucky, we’ll gut it and leave it here. Tempt the bear to stick around after we leave.”
Carter and Logan redressed and got out their fishing gear.
“Tess,” Grayson said. “Do you know of anything that might lure Bigfoot to us? He probably eats just about anything, and I’m sure he’s not dangerous.”
“Beats me,” Tess said. “You’re the Bigfoot expert.”
“A hot chick in a black swimsuit might bring him ’round,” Carter whispered.
“Heard that,” Tess said from her perch on the rock, eyes still closed. “Not appropriate.”
“Sorry,” Carter said. “Just call it like I see it.”
Tess finally crawled off the boulder and dressed.
While she was putting on her socks and shoes, Logan noticed a small tattoo on her ankle.
It was a basketball going through a hoop with “#1” underneath it.
Huh. Number one—the same thing the barista had put on her coffee cup.
He’d have to ask her about it sometime. Either she was very confident, or it meant something.
Logan surprised everyone—including himself—when he actually caught a fish! They debated taking it back to camp for dinner, but in the end, decided it was more important to make sure Beary White didn’t show up again.
“You know how to gut it?” Tess asked.
“Yeah,” Logan said. “I take it there’s a you catch it, you clean it rule?”
“Indeed, but lucky for you, our furry friend doesn’t mind the guts. Just cut it enough to give off some scent, and let’s go.”
Logan used his pocketknife to make a few gashes in the sacrificial offering, then rinsed the knife and his hands in the water.
“Great catch, Logan,” Tess said. “Now, let’s get out of here and see if this plan works.”
By the time they returned to camp, dusk was only a few hours away. Before they split up, they dragged two huge logs over to the fire pit so those who hadn’t packed a seat could sit on something other than the ground.
Tess, Carter, and Ashton collected firewood for the night while Logan and Grayson fished in the lake. Logan solidified his reputation as a master fisherman when he reeled in two mid-sized trout.
He gutted one, and Tess used the second to teach the others the process, telling them that for the duration of the trip, they were responsible for whatever they caught.
They roasted the fish over the fire and savored their first bite of hot food in three days.
Unfortunately, two small fish divided five ways only amounted to a few bites each.
They supplemented with the half-bucket of berries they’d collected on the return hike, a few ash cakes each, and jerky from their emergency rations.
“Logan, you’re the king, man!” Grayson praised. “This beats another night of granola bars by far.”