Chapter Twelve
Wanda lay awake long after Eric’s breathing had settled into what she thought must be sleep.
She was cozy and warm, her left side warmed by the fire, the right by Eric.
They lay side by side on a bed of mostly dry laundry, under his space-age blanket.
It was toasty and warm, but sleep wouldn’t come.
She stared up at the stars; it was a beautiful, clear night.
The air was chilly. Not cold enough to see her breath, but cool enough that she was grateful for the fire and the blanket.
And, of course, for the man beside her. Off in the distance, the Big Dipper sparkled at her, though she couldn’t find the Little Dipper.
Star watching was never about the constellations for her.
It was about their infinite number, and how they somehow made her feel like she had a purpose.
The Milky Way was bright, like an astronomer’s photograph. So stunning and inspiring.
Beyond the quiet crackle of the fire, the night was loud.
Coyotes howled, wind rustled in the trees.
An owl hooted. She had heard more night noises on this trip than she had in years.
Unlike her first night, they didn’t bother her tonight.
Maybe it was being so close to Eric that soothed her.
Closing her eyes, she focused on the coyotes.
A howl to her left. Three yips to the right.
Another howl from across the river. It was like a symphony.
Waking slowly, she opened her eyes. She was facing the fire pit. No flames danced within the border of stones Eric had created around it before they went to sleep. His arm was slung over her waist, his body pressed against her back.
She should get up.
Savoring the feeling of being cuddled up to Eric, she didn’t want to move.
This trip had changed her first impression of him.
He was a nice guy who’d looked after her last night and had comforted her against night noises while they were still at the lake…
more than once. He was caring and giving.
Sure, he focused too much on work. Way too much.
She moved away slowly, making space between them, and sitting up.
As soon as she moved, needs that hadn’t bothered her through the night started demanding her attention.
Her ankle throbbed, she was hungry, thirsty, she needed to go to the ladies’ room, and a pressing need to get out of there all made their presence known at once.
“Morning,” Eric mumbled huskily. He blinked several times. “It’s barely light. What are you doing up?”
“Leg hurts,” she gave him a partial explanation. No way was she telling him that she was mad at him for being a workaholic, thus putting him firmly out of reach.
Pushing back the covers, he hopped up. “Let me get you some pain pills.” He brought her backpack over and handed her the charred water bottle. He’d boiled water in it last night and set it aside to cool for this morning.
He helped her get up. She came back a few minutes later and looked around in surprise.
While she was in the bushes, he had broken apart their bed, sorted their clothing, and stuffed his back into his duffel.
Her folded clothing was in a pile beside her backpack.
She realized that after she’d barked at him not to go in her bag, he’d respected that wish and brought it to her when she needed it.
“Time for breakfast…I guess,” she said and pulled out the candy bars. She split one and handed him the larger chunk. Men needed more calories. “What’s the plan? Do we sit and wait, or do we try and hike downstream?”
“We share that last apple, eat those cookies, and wait. First rule of being lost is to sit tight and wait for rescue. Unless you are in immediate danger, which we are not. We’ve got a couple bars left, clean water, fire, and a blanket. We’re good for a couple days. I’m sure they’ll find us today.”
“I hope so.” She settled down on a large rock, taking the weight off her throbbing ankle. “I thought they’d come yesterday,” she said sadly.
“Hey, it would have been late when they missed us, and it would be foolish to send out a rescue team in the dark.” After finishing his breakfast chocolate, he stirred the coals and got the fire going. “Might as well stay warm until the sun’s up.”
Her large rock was close to the fire, and once he had it built up, the warmth was soothing. She struggled for a topic of conversation, but her mind kept going back to waking up in his arms and how much she liked it. She stared into the flames.
“Wanda?” Eric whispered. “Stand up and look over there. To the left.”
She turned slowly, barely moving, and gasped. An enormous bear was about two hundred yards upstream from them, ankles deep in the river. “What do we do?” she whispered frantically. “Oh my God, he’s going to eat us.”
“No, it won’t. It’s far enough away that we can’t be between it and its cubs. If it’s a female. If it’s a male, he’s still a long way off.” He bent down and grabbed two fist-sized rocks and beat them together. The bear looked up and stared for what felt like an eternity.
“Where do we go? Do we run?” She jerked to her feet and grabbed her stick-cane.
He beat the rocks some more. The bear rose to its hind legs and roared.
The sound scraped across her heart and nerves like metal-on-metal squealing. Her stomach clenched, her mouth went dry, and she sucked in several deep breaths.
Bears. Why did it have to be bears? She hated bears.
The enormous black animal dropped back onto four legs, roared once more, and lumbered into the woods.
“See,” Eric said soothingly, “it’s gone. We’re good.”
“H…h…how do we know it’s not sneaking through the bushes to attack us?” Her knees shook, and she lowered herself back onto the rock before she fell down.
“We’d hear him if it were. Bears aren’t exactly quiet, and we’ll make more noise. Unless it’s completely starving, or has cubs, it’s unlikely to attack.”
She hugged herself and stared at the point where the bear disappeared.
“That was amazing. What a great looking animal,” Eric said, dropping the rocks and picking up a piece of firewood. Their blaze was small. If they were rescued, they didn’t want to spend much time ensuring the fire was out.
“Hey,” a distant voice called out. “I see them.”
Wanda leaped up, stumbled on her sore ankle, and bumped into Eric. His arm slipped around her waist. “People!” she shouted.
“Indeed.”
He didn’t sound disappointed, did he? No. Couldn’t be.
“We’re saved!” she blurted.
“Indeed. Let’s go meet them.” He bent over and grabbed her cane. “Here.” Side by side, they made their way down to the water. The canoe was a big one, much larger than the one they had destroyed. After a few minutes, it pulled up to the bank, and two men stepped ashore.
“Eric. Wanda. We were worried when you didn’t come back to camp,” said the shorter man. He was one of the team leaders who helped track all the participants and their needs.
“Yeah, we were too,” Wanda said. She recognized both men but could not remember their names.
“Thanks for coming. Got room in there for two hitchhikers?” Eric asked.
“Sure do,” the second man said. “Everyone else has headed out for the last stop, and then to the bus, which is taking them home.”
“I’ll just grab our bags and put out the fire.”
“Let me help,” the short man said.
“Thanks, Josh. Wanda’s hurt. I think she may have broken her ankle. We’ll need to take her straight to a hospital. Can you let someone know, Jim?”
He nodded and pulled out a satellite phone. Call complete, he said, “I can look at that. I’m a first responder with the Calgary Fire Department.”
“It’s okay,” Wanda said as Eric and Josh walked toward the fire. She lifted her ankle. “Eric wrapped it up. Tight enough to be steady, but not too tight. Though it itches like heck.”
“It’s probably swollen. We should check it; make sure it isn’t too tight.” He smiled reassuringly.
“Let me help you sit,” Eric said from behind her. “It won’t hurt to have it checked.” His arm slipped around her waist, and he lowered her down. Kneeling before her, he lifted her foot and unwrapped the bandage.
Jim gave them a quizzical look but said nothing; he just waited until it was unwrapped and gave it a quick examination. “If it isn’t broken, there is some serious tendon damage. Definitely needs a doctor. Let me wrap it back up.”
Warmth flooded through her at Eric’s protectiveness. He hadn’t taken his eyes off Jim during the whole exam. It was like he didn’t quite trust the man. She hid her smile.
“I’ve got it,” Eric said and started re-wrapping it.
Another quizzical look. Jim kept silent but was obviously watching to ensure Eric wrapped it correctly.
Fire out, and bags loaded, Eric helped her into the canoe while Jim and Josh steadied it. Once she was settled, everyone else got in, and they were off.