Chapter 8
A thundering roar pierced the air, pulling Trina from her story.
At first she thought she imagined the sound, along with the frantic barking of a dog.
Then the tiny hairs on the back of her neck rose when she heard the roar again.
It was a ferocious sound, one she’d never heard before in her twenty-eight years.
Tossing her laptop aside, she jumped up and bolted outside. She thought she heard a deep voice yelling, too, but couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. “Ben? Joel?” She scanned the clearing around the cabin, her heart thundering in her chest. There was no sign of Ben, Joel, or Royal.
The three of them had to be together, but what happened? Where were they? What animal had made that awful sound?
“Ben!” She couldn’t hide the desperate fear in her voice. Which way should she go to try to find them? She wasn’t the search and rescue expert, Joel was! And where was Royal? “Ben! Where are you?”
Now there was nothing but silence, which was oddly more frightening than the roar. Was it over? Were they all dead?
No! Please, no!
“Ben!” she shouted again.
After what seemed like a lifetime, but was only a few seconds, she heard Joel’s calm voice. “We’re okay, just stay where you are, we’re coming to you.”
Coming from where? She turned in a full circle, trying to pinpoint where his voice originated. The woods surrounding the cabin were pretty, but now she’d have given anything to be back in Cody with lots of people surrounding them.
Not whatever wild animal had made that disturbing noise.
“Aunt Trina!” Ben broke free of the woods to her left. She turned and hurried forward to meet him. He threw himself into her arms, and she clutched him close. “It was huge!” Reaction must have set in because Ben’s shoulders shook, his voice muffled against her chest. “Biggest ever.”
“It’s okay. You’re safe now” She tried not to let her own panic break through. She hadn’t seen any blood on Ben, so she had to believe he wasn’t physically hurt.
Joel and Royal emerged a moment later. The grave expression on Joel’s face worried her more than anything else could have. If he had been scared, she understood the situation had been dire. “What was it?”
“A bear!” Ben’s arms clamped tighter around her waist. “Aunt Trina, it was a giant bear!”
“It was big, but we’re okay.” Joel’s calm voice wasn’t as reassuring as she’d have liked. “Mama grizzly was protecting her cub. Somehow, Ben and Royal got too close.”
A grizzly? Of all the wildlife in the area, grizzly bears were by far the most dangerous. Knowledge she’d only gotten through books, not firsthand experience. Her mouth went dry. “How did you get away?”
Joel somberly shook his head. “I’m not sure. One minute I was aiming to shoot her in the heart, the next she turned and ambled off.”
He’d almost been forced to shoot! Her knees threatened to buckle, but she managed to stay upright. “I can’t believe this.”
“Yeah, it was not a great situation. Let’s get inside,” Joel suggested. “I think we’ve had enough outside time.”
“Agree.” She leaned back, trying to see Ben’s face. “Hey, are you okay?”
The boy nodded and finally loosened his grip around her waist. When he looked up at her, his red eyes betrayed his tears. His voice wobbled a bit as he said, “That was scary.”
“I’m sure it was.” She tried to take her cue from Joel, who’d obviously been concerned about the seriousness of their predicament but hadn’t shown it.
At least, not to Ben. No wonder Royal had been barking.
The dog was calm now, though, which was a good sign.
With forced cheerfulness, she said, “Why don’t we see what’s on television? ”
Ben nodded but stayed close to her side as they turned to head into the cabin. Joel came up behind her, holding the door for them.
“Find the remote, Ben.” She knew her nephew would have better luck understanding how to use it than she would. “See if you can find a good station.”
Ben headed into the living room to find the remote, with Royal on his heels. She grabbed Joel’s arm and tugged him into the kitchen. “What on earth happened?”
He grimaced. “I heard the bear grunt in warning. Royal barked, but Ben didn’t seem to understand the danger. Somehow, Ben had gotten too close to her bear cub. By the time I got there, well, the bear was in full protection mode. She roared and went up on her hind legs to intimidate us.”
She swallowed hard, trying not to imagine what would have happened if Joel hadn’t gotten there in time. “She would have attacked Ben.”
“Probably.” Joel nodded to where Royal was stretched out on the sofa beside Ben. “Royal stood protectively between the grizzly and Ben.”
“That’s all fine and dandy, but the dog would have died too. Just like Ben.” She closed her eyes for a moment, trying not to lose it. She took one deep breath, then another. She finally looked at him. “I can’t believe Ben stumbled across a bear.”
“I know. It was a close call.” Joel lightly touched her arm. “God was looking out for us today. It’s the only explanation for why I wasn’t forced to shoot her. A few seconds longer and I would have taken her down.”
Her brief flash of anger faded as she understood Joel would have sacrificed himself to protect Ben. “Thank you.”
He shrugged. “Like I said, God was watching over us today.”
Maybe he was right. Just remembering that roaring was enough to make her blood run cold. With a few swipes of her bear paws, that mama bear could have killed Ben and Royal in seconds.
Joel too.
“I’m glad God was watching over us.” She tried to smile. “But I would rather not repeat that experience anytime soon.” She didn’t add the thought that they’d come to the cabin to be safe from the gunman, not to be mauled by a grizzly.
“Have to say, that was a first for me.” Joel shook his head ruefully. “I’ve seen bears from afar, but not up close and personal like that.”
“Thanks again for protecting Ben.”
“Always.” He tucked his hands into the front pockets of his jeans.
Joel was so handsome, she wanted nothing more than to step into his arms, reliving their brief yet powerful kiss.
Instead, she turned away from the temptation.
She needed to be strong. Leaning on Joel for comfort and support wasn’t smart.
Doing that would only make it more difficult to move on with her life alone once he was gone.
And she had no illusions about the chances of their friendship turning into something more.
Joel was a great guy—sweet, caring, and protective.
But he would never be satisfied with a dull and boring homebody like her.
Someone who lived her adventures through her storytelling, not by doing them herself.
Besides, she was a single mother now and needed to stay focused on providing a loving home for Ben. Her personal life wasn’t important.
“I, ah, should think about dinner.” Another part of her life that had changed since taking guardianship of Ben.
Living alone, she hadn’t necessarily kept to a specific schedule regarding meals.
If her writing was going well, she’d go with the flow.
But the books she’d read about parenting suggested kids did best with a scheduled routine.
Glancing at her watch now, she realized it was close to five.
“I can handle that,” Joel offered. “We bought the fixings for spaghetti, right?”
“Yes, Ben’s favorite.”
“Great. We’ll have that tonight.” Joel gestured toward the living room. “Why don’t you try to finish your scene?”
She flushed, amazed that he’d even mentioned her work.
Robby had treated her livelihood more like a hobby than a job.
As if she made money without putting forth an effort.
Ben, too, hadn’t really seemed to understand that her time at the computer generated her income stream.
Joel’s offer to cook was sweet. Yet she’d just lectured herself on not leaning on him. “I can handle making dinner.”
He frowned. “I know you’re capable of that and more. But I don’t mind. I’d rather cook, if that’s okay. I’m used to being busy.”
That she could believe. Joel wasn’t the type to sit around doing nothing. Maybe she was doing him a favor, rather than leaning on him. Still, she hesitated. “Are you sure?”
“Yep. I’ve got this.” He pushed away from the counter. “Go do your thing.”
Suddenly tears pricked at her eyes, which was ridiculous since she hadn’t been the one in danger.
His kind understanding wasn’t a reason to become overly emotional.
What was wrong with her anyway? She needed to stop being foolish.
Subtly brushing the moisture away, she crossed over to grab her computer.
Ben sat on the sofa with Royal curled up beside him.
With one hand on the dog, Ben used the remote to flip through the seemingly endless stream of stations.
Leaving him to it, she carried her laptop to the recliner. She had been close to finishing her scene, which was why it had taken a moment for the bear’s roar to penetrate her brain. Now she reviewed what she’d written and picked up her train of thought.
She finished her scene, then went back to read what she’d written to make sure it made sense. It was only then that she realized the way she’d described the local sheriff of her fictional Montana town was a man who looked exactly like Joel Sullivan.
Shaking her head at her foolishness, she closed the laptop. Another reason why she wouldn’t tell Joel her pseudonym. The last thing she wanted was for him to realize the extent of her ridiculous childhood crush.
After washing up at the sink, Joel began making dinner. The close encounter with mama grizzly had shaken him more than he cared to admit. Describing the event to Trina had only reinforced how close Ben had come to being hurt. Or worse.