Chapter 10
T rina was not thrilled with the idea of sharing the woods around their rental cabin with a bear.
Especially a mama who’d already almost attacked Ben to protect her cub.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Joel to protect them, she did.
When they’d first arrived at the cabin, it had been a relief to feel safe.
The two shooting incidents, the fire, then having to leave the hotel only be under fire for a third time had been more than anyone should have to handle.
The cabin had represented a bit of normalcy, well, as much as possible while spending time with Joel under the same roof.
Yet now that secure feeling had abruptly dissipated, replaced by the nagging feeling of being in danger.
As they walked through the woods, she couldn’t help glancing frequently over her shoulder, expecting someone or something to pounce on them at any moment.
She shivered as the temperature cooled with the setting sun. Maybe it was her imagination running amok, but she saw a couple of shadows beyond the trees.
Stop it! Don’t let fear rule your life , she silently lectured herself. It’s not healthy, especially for Ben.
As they retraced their steps toward the cabin, Royal ran ahead sniffing the ground with interest. If the K9 was worried about the shadows, he didn’t show it. She tried to relax, knowing Royal would let them know of a threat. Human or animal.
The way he’d alerted at the creek? She grimaced. Seeing Royal alert there had been creepy, and despite Joel’s nonchalant comments to the contrary, she could tell he’d been bothered by the dog’s alert too.
She wanted to weep with relief when the cabin came into view.
“Go inside.” Joel gestured to the clearing along the front of the structure. “I’m going to give Royal time to get busy.”
“Sounds good.” She opened the door, turning to glance down at Ben. “Time to get ready for bed.”
“Aw, Auntie Trina, do I have’ta? I don’t wanna go to bed.” Ben’s whiny voice only reinforced how tired he really was. And on cue, the boy yawned. Then he asked, “Can I play my game for a while?”
“Not tonight.” She leveled him with a hard look as she held the door for him. “You threw the video game and almost hit Royal, remember? You don’t get the game back until tomorrow evening.”
“That long?” His lower lip trembled.
“We’ll see.” She suppressed a sigh. Being wishy-washy wasn’t smart. “Now go in to brush your teeth and wash your face.”
“Okay.” Ben walked in slow motion as if he couldn’t bear the thought of going to bed.
Why kids fought against sleeping, she had no idea.
She wished now that she’d set a different timeline for him to regain his video privileges.
Why was it that punishing a child ended up punishing the parent more than the kid?
Kids needed to come with a training manual.
One that explained exactly how to help a child understand there are consequences for their actions.
Maybe when this was over, she’d check out the library to find more parenting books.
There was so much she still needed to learn to become the best guardian possible for Ben.
She’d already made some mistakes. From here, she could only hope that she didn’t mess up too badly.
Listening at the bathroom door, Trina was grateful to hear water running in the bathroom. At least Ben was doing what he’d been told for once.
Covering her mouth as she yawned, she glanced out the window at Joel and Royal. They were standing in the front of the cabin, Joel watching his K9 with a serious gaze. She wasn’t sure what they were doing, until the dog lowered his nose to the ground and began to sniff the grass around the SUV.
She frowned. Had Royal alerted again?
“Auntie Trina, I’m done,” Ben called.
“Coming.” She turned away from the window, hurrying into Ben’s room. He was wearing his favorite race-car pajamas. “Get under the covers.”
“But I’m not sleepy.” He opened his brown eyes wide, as if to prove his point. “Will you tell me a story?”
“Yes, I’ll tell you a story.” She’d been making up a story for Ben each night, using him as the main character.
She didn’t write books for kids and was basically winging it each night, but so far Ben hadn’t complained about her lame stories.
“Once upon a time, there was a boy named Ben who could talk to the animals in the forest.”
“Like the mama grizzly?” Ben asked, his eyelids already starting to droop.
“Yes, exactly. Ben was walking through the woods one day when he saw the big scary-looking mama bear. He wasn’t afraid because he knew she was just trying to protect her baby.
When the mama bear growled and roared loudly, Ben lifted his hand and told her not to be worried because he would never ever hurt her cub. ”
Ben forced his drooping eyelids open. “Then what happened?”
“Well, the mama bear could speak the same special language as young Ben. She tipped her large head to the side, looking at him for a long time. Until that moment, mama bear hadn’t realized she could talk to little boys too.
She nodded her large head, understanding at last that Ben would not hurt her baby.
She said thank you for being kind, then turned and walked away.
” She hid a smile as Ben’s eyes slid the rest of the way closed.
“And from that day forward, Ben told all the animals he met in the forest they were safe from him. Especially the mama animals with babies standing beside them. The end.”
Moving cautiously, she stood and made her way to the bedroom door. Ben didn’t stir as she switched the overhead light off. The rooms each had a small nightlight, which she left glowing in case Ben needed to use the bathroom. Then she tiptoed down the hall to the main living space.
Joel and Royal were still outside. She watched through the window for another moment, then turned away. Obviously, Joel could take care of his K9 without her help. Deciding there was nothing to be alarmed about, she turned and headed into her room.
Ben wasn’t the only one who was exhausted. She was well into her last bit of reserves. It seemed as if she’d run a full marathon from the moment she’d woken up only to discover Ben had gone missing, until now. She quickly changed into her sleep shorts and sleep shirt, then crawled into bed.
Despite her bone-weary fatigue, she didn’t immediately fall asleep. Her mind replayed the series of events throughout the day, ending with Royal’s unexpected and unexplained alert near the creek.
She must have fallen asleep at some point because Joel’s hand on her shoulder had her bolting upright in bed. “What’s wrong?”
“I think we need to get out of here.” Joel’s low, grim tone filled her with dread.
“Why?” She pushed her hair from her eyes. “What changed? Did Royal alert on the gunman’s scent?”
“I’m still not sure what caught Royal’s attention.
I had him check the area around the cabin and our SUV, and he didn’t alert here, so the creek could be a false alarm.
” He paused, then added, “It’s bothering me that Royal doesn’t normally alert on animal scents.
And he doesn’t make many mistakes either.
I promised to keep you and Ben safe, so that means taking extra precautions.
I’ll feel terrible if something bad happens because we stayed. ”
“What time is it?” She had no idea how long she’d been asleep. “I don’t really want to wake Ben unless we absolutely have to. He needs his sleep.”
“It’s ten thirty.” Now that her eyes were adjusting to the dim light, she could see the indecision in Joel’s gaze. “What if I’m wrong about why Royal alerted at the creek?”
“He’s smart, Joel, but he’s still a dog, right?
Nobody is perfect. Besides, we’ve only been asleep for ninety minutes.
” She tried to hide her annoyance “If Royal hasn’t alerted anywhere around the cabin, then my vote is to stay here.
Besides, where would we go? We’re not likely to get a hotel room at this hour. ”
“I have camping gear—a tent, sleeping bag, and other stuff in the SUV.”
Camping? In the dark? In the woods where they’d run across a bear just a few hours ago? Was he joking? She stared at him. “No way. Uh-uh. Not happening.”
“Then we’ll sleep in the car. The front seats recline, and Ben can stretch out on the back seat.”
His persistence was frustrating. “I don’t see why that’s necessary.
You’ve said from the very beginning that Royal will let us know if there’s a problem.
And I believe the dog was warning us about the bear at the creek, and that he’ll bark or growl if he catches the gunman’s scent.
” She yawned and lay back down on the bed.
Ben wasn’t the only one who needed sleep.
She didn’t have the energy for this. She closed her eyes and turned onto her side so that she wasn’t facing him. “Good night, Joel.”
He lingered for a few more seconds, but then she heard a soft, “Good night.”
She sighed, relaxing her muscles. This was better than camping in a tent or sleeping in the car. Less than a few minutes later, she was sound asleep.
A crying sound penetrated her consciousness. Pushing herself upright, she quickly realized Ben was crying. She jumped out of bed and hurried to the room next door.
“Shh, Ben, it’s okay. You’re fine.” She sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the little boy into her arms, wishing there was something she could do to help ease his grief over losing his mother. “It’s okay. I’m here.”
“I talked to the mama bear, but she didn’t listen.” He sobbed against her shoulder. “She kept roaring and slashing at me with her paws. Then she said she was gonna eat me for dinner!”