Chapter 24
24
A fter breakfast was made and the kitchen cleaned, Meredith sat on the porch next to Pops, who was rocking slowly in his chair, a shotgun resting against the wall beside him.
Meredith picked at her fingernails, occasionally biting one. The day was beautiful, cool with a crystal clear sky, but it was quiet. More so than Meredith liked. Maybe the ranch had always been this way during work hours, she couldn’t say, but it seemed as if even the chickens weren't up to their normal clucking. All she knew was that it felt different. Unsettling, like hidden within the wind was a badness blowing across the land.
Marjory was sweeping the porch of the cabin, Willow feeding the horses in the barn. Meredith was losing her mind on the porch. She had no experience with bears. Her brief Internet search after breakfast had shown pages of information about attacks and how difficult it was to kill a grizzly. She’d walked away from the computer unable to get the images washed from her mind .
Pops sighed, slapped his hand on the arm of the chair, then let out a expletive heavy with bitterness.
“Pops?”
“I should be out there,” he mumbled.
“I don’t understand how they think they can find him, or if they find a bear how they’ll know it’s him.”
Pops gave a wane smile. “They try and track the bear, but mostly wait and see if he comes back. Jace said we’ve been having problems with a bear, and my guess it’s the same one.”
“Do they hunt people?” The pages of bear attacks she’d seen flashed before her.
“Ah, grizzlies are different. Hard to say. My guess is last night old man Beasley surprised the bear, and that’s why it happened.”
“Have you heard if he’s going to be okay?” Meredith held her breath.
“He was airlifted to the city hospital. Still waiting to hear.” Pop stared out toward the road and then leaned forward. “Looks like Jace is coming home.”
Meredith squinted and saw the dark fleck, Jace’s truck she supposed, coming toward them. She wanted to jump from her chair, so when Pops stood, so did she, twisting her hands in anticipation as they waited for him to draw closer. He parked near the house, and when he got out, Meredith gasped. His shirt was covered in blood.
“It’s old man Beasley’s.” He pulled the shotgun from the truck before walking slowly to the porch.
“Did it come back?” Pops stepped toward Jace and put out his hand, taking the shotgun.
“Nah, not that we saw. Lost the trail in the woods, but looks like he was headed toward the herd. Ours or Beasley’s. Hard to say.”
He looked exhausted, and Meredith wanted to…needed to do something more than be idle. “Are you hungry? Did you sleep? ”
“I slept some in the truck. I could eat, though.” When he smiled at her, she sighed with relief. He was okay. He was okay. She had to keep telling herself that. He was okay, and he was home.
“I’m going back out. I want to move the herd closer, but I'd like to shower and get fresh clothes.” He stretched, his arms lifting over his head, and yawned.
Her knees wobbled. Going back out?
“Maybe you should get some sleep first.” Her hope was that the bear would be found while Jace was napping. It became her prayer. She felt it was a reasonable request.
Marjory came to the porch. “Give me those clothes. I’ll try and get the blood out of them. Go on inside and get cleaned up. We’ll get you some food while you shower.”
“Wait,” Pops said. “You going back out with Tuck?”
Jace shook his head. “He split off with Beasley’s foreman to start checking the herd up in the foothills. I’m gonna cover the lower pasture and work my way toward Beasley’s. I'll push them all down this way.”
Pops shook his head. “Not alone.”
Jace put one foot on the stairs and his hand on his hips. “It’s not ideal, I’ll admit, but it’s going to have to be on horse, Pops, and—”
“I’m not saying to take me. I know that would cause more stress than help. Take Meredith or Willow. Someone to watch your back.”
When Jace glanced at her, she tried to school her face, hoping the sudden escalation of fear she felt wasn’t showing. The thought of going out there with a bear terrified her, but the thought of Jace going out alone scared her more. Would she really be a help or a hindrance? Like with the cattle, would she make a mistake that could have terrible consequences? She hadn’t been afraid of the herd coming in, just being caught in it. This was different. This was a bear. A bear! What were the odds of surviving an attack?
Jace shook his head. “I dunno—”
“Come on, let’s get you fed and cleaned up.” Marjory gave him a push up the stairs.
After Marjory and Jace went into the house, Meredith collapsed in the chair and swallowed hard.
“You can do it,” Pops said sitting beside her. “Chances of seeing a bear are slim. He needs someone to keep an eye on the area around him. He’s tired—”
“We’re all tired. Which is why no one should go out.” She shook her head. Didn’t they see this was foolish?
“Meredith, this bear is close. He’s hungry, probably sick because he's hunting the herd and knows it's easy. He’s trying to fatten up before hibernation. Jace needs to drive as much of the herd as he can closer to home.”
“But what if we see a bear? My instincts aren’t what they should be for a place like this. When the herd came in, my instincts were all wrong. I did all the wrong things. I might be more harmful than—”
“That’s fear talking. To live out here means life isn’t always cushy. Now go get changed.” Turning away, Pops dismissed her with a flick of his hand.
There was no way she’d be able to cope if Jace went out alone. No way. Sitting on the porch worrying was far less helpful than actually watching his back. Meredith rose and went into the house.
Two hours later she was on Coco, a twelve-gauge shotgun in a saddle holster at her knee, and Jace beside her, clearly not happy she was going by the grumbling he was doing. He adjusted the pistol on his side then resituated the rope hanging from the lariat holder. Willow had saddled up as well and rode halfway with them, splitting off when they’d met up with another party who needed an extra person. Most of the town was out helping their neighbor to bring herds in and look out for the bear.
Word was old man Beasley was in critical condition, but the prognosis was optimistic.
They rode in silence along the wood line until they came to the first herd.
“Is this his or ours?” She looked at the cattle; it was a small herd with no calves.
“Ours, the tags in the ear are yellow. That’s us. Beasley is green.” Jace rode up next to her, took her reins, and pulled her to a stop.
“What’s going on?” She looked in every direction, even rising in her seat to scan for something awful like a giant bear.
“Meredith, you need to breathe, babe. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I’d feel better if you were safely at home but—”
“So would I. I’d love it if you were safe at home, too. I want everyone out here to be safe at home.” She swallowed back the tears that threatened to fall.
Jace brushed her cheek. “Fair enough. But this bear won’t stop. Even if he goes into hibernation, he’ll be back in the spring.”
“Pops thinks he's sick.”
Jace pressed his lips together, nodded, and then answered, “That's my guess too. Not typical behavior for a bear.”
Did that make the bear more dangerous? “What if we see him?” she whispered, her fingers brushing the shotgun.
“You let me handle it. Grizzlies like nice, calm talking. Don’t run off. If you get knocked off the horse, play dead. That gun at your side has a slug meant to stop big-ass animals, especially if it’s a grizzly, but packs serious power. It's hard to handle, and your shot has to be a precise headshot. Don't even try—go for the bear spray.” He tapped the can hanging from a D-ring by her lariat holder.
Meredith nodded and bent forward, scanning the area again, silently praying this day would end soon and uneventfully. “I feel helpless. Like food, like prey. I don’t like it.”
“Yeah, me neither. I’ve come across a few before, and it’s worked out. This will, too.” He reached for the bell on her horse's neck and took the dong stopper off, then tucked it in his pocket. He did the same to his bell. She really hoped the noise would be enough of a deterrent.
Enough with the talk. It was time to get moving and get home. “What’s the plan? We try and get these animals headed toward the ranch?”
“Yeah.” Jace leaned toward her and slid an arm around her waist. “I know this is scary, but it’s something we face often. You’ll get used to it.”
Trouble was she didn’t want to get used to it. Getting used to it meant getting complacent. Like her father had gotten used to using her, manipulating her, forgetting how to see her. If they got used to bears, didn’t that mean their guard was down?
Meredith pressed herself into him, pulled in by his warmth and musky scent, the shower still fresh on him. “Tell me what to do so we can hurry this up and get home.”
Jace laughed, the deep rumbling sound vibrating through her. His lips pressed to the back of her neck. “We should go down a few more miles. I think Beasley has a small herd there. We can drive them toward this one and get both closer to home.”
A few more miles. She could do that. Wanting something more substantial from him, like his lips on hers, she nodded and tilted her face up. Jace was quick to comply.
“If the situation weren’t what it is, I’d try and talk you into a little fun in the tall grass. ”
Meredith punched him lightly in the chest. “Not going to happen until you get me home and in our bed.”
Jace pushed her away, but righted her to keep her on the horse, and tossed her the reins. “Jesus, woman. What are you sitting around for? Let’s go up and get that other herd. We got things to tend to at home.” He spurred his horse on and galloped away.
Laughing, Meredith followed suit, catching up and passing him. They took turns playing follow the leader for a while, each trying to keep the lead, laughing and pretending to attempt to shove the other off their horse when one passed the other.
They made it to the herd in no time, a small collection hugging the tree line and grazing on the high grass, green tags in their ears.
“Circle around and push them that way.” He pointed in the direction from which they came.
Meredith nodded and rode behind the herd.
“Come on,” she called and leaned to slap the hindquarters of a brown cow.
It took coaxing, but between the two of them, they managed to get the beasts going forward at a sloth’s pace.
“Switch places with me. They’ll want to go back from where they came, but we have to convince them it’s not a good idea.”
Meredith snorted. A big ol’ bear might be able to do that. Too bad a person couldn’t reason with a cow. Meredith considered swearing off beef if they’d hurry, but hesitated. Her husband was a cattle rancher; it wouldn’t do for the man’s wife to be a vegetarian.
Meredith rode to the side of the herd, Jace taking the back, cracking his whip to get the herd moving. It was then she noticed a small calf limping along, slowing the works. She pointed the cute baby out to Jace.
“Cut them off at the top so I can get a look,” he called .
Meredith rode to the front and, without doing anything other than being in their way, got the cows to stop. It was too easy, but a perk to their frustratingly slow pace.
Jace was off his mount and walking through the herd with swift purpose. Meredith scanned the area, though they’d made so much noise she doubted any bear would want anything to do with them.
“Grab the rope, will you, Mer? I’m gonna have to lug this one home on my horse. Looks like he got caught in some barbed wire.”
Meredith rode to his horse, but had to get off to manage the rope. It didn't help that Moses shied or that her fingers fumbled on the knots. She considered remounting Coco, but then Jace would know she was too afraid to be off her horse. Some of the online stuff said that to outrun a grizzly, a person needed incredible speed and the capacity not to be winded. That was not her. That wasn't anyone. She hoped it was her horse, though.
“Wait here, girl,” she told Coco and stroked her muzzle with one hand, the rope hanging from the other. Coco snorted, and her ears shot forward in warning.
Meredith swiveled to Jace, searching for him in the cluster of cows. Something at the corner of the herd, about thirty feet to Jace's side, caught her eye. Whereas the cows were brown, some light, some dark, this one had a rust tint to it and was far furrier. It crept slowly along the flanks of the herd along the tree line.
Coco snorted again. Meredith’s heart slammed into her chest. “Jace,” she croaked and dropped the rope. She reached for her horse.
Jace continued to investigate the calf.
“Jace,” she said softly a second time.
From the corner of her eye, she saw him glance at her then jerk his attention to where she was staring.
She didn’t need to ask if this was the bear they were looking for. It clearly was. The animal was mangy and thin, if something so large could be considered that. Two things surprised her. The first was the state of the bear, not what she expected from an animal slaughtering livestock, and the other? She was cognizant of the specifics about the bear when every part of her was screaming to run.
Jace crouched down and began to creep slowly back through the herd.
Then a cow caught wind of the bear and the herd shifted away from both Jace and the beast. The bear back peddled a few paces then began to skirt around the cattle moving parallel to Jace. The bigger cows lowed. The bear stopped, sniffed the air, then lifted on its hind legs, only to drop quickly and stomp the ground near the injured calf who scuttled away.
Meredith sucked in a breath. “Easy girl,” she whispered to Coco who was shifting nervously beside her. “Stay nice and still.” She made small strokes down Coco's neck, her attention on Jace and the bear. “Atta girl, I'm going to give you a special treat when we get back.”
If we get back.
She stroked down Coco's wither until she felt the hard leather of the saddle. Using touch to guide her, she continued searching until she bumped the cold metal of the twelve gauge. With a flick of her thumb, she undid the strap that kept it contained, then slid the shotgun from its holster, her attention on the giant beast. Jace's horse shied nervously beside her, turning in a circle. Meredith continued talking to the horses to calm them, keeping her voice steady while her mind screamed hysterically.
The herd shifted again, splitting open and exposing Jace. The bear lifted his nose and sniffed, turning in Jace’s direction. Meredith slowly slid the shotgun out of the holster and brought it to rest against her shoulder. Bless Coco for her loyalty .
With one eye on Jace, the other on the bear, she fumbled to find the safety. She sighed with relief at the audible click of its release, though she barely heard it over the pounding in her ears. She pumped the gun, chambering a round, and stared down the barrel to line up the bead sight. A tear ran down her cheek.
“Easy,” she said, to both her and the horses. “Steady.”
The bear stalked toward Jace, stopped feet from him, and rose on its back legs. Meredith’s hands began to shake.
In a flash, the bear lunged into Jace’s space, and simultaneously Meredith pulled the trigger, aiming for the head.
The boom from the shot leaving the gun was deafening, making her head fuzzy. When the kickback slammed the butt of the gun into her shoulder, blinding pain seared through the right side of her body and brought her to her knees.
The bear’s claws were up and out, raking down as he fell toward the earth.
Through streaming tears and scorching pain, Meredith pumped the gun a second time then tried to bring it up, but the muscles in her shoulder refused. Gritting her teeth and screaming through the pain, she forced her arm up. The gun against her shoulder, she took aim, but the bear was on the ground, not moving.
And so was Jace.