Chapter 2 #2
The bear worked his way slowly along the trail edge, occasionally glancing in their direction but showing no signs of aggression as the group shook out their arms. He didn’t seem at all concerned about what they were doing, but still, five hundred pounds of bear could change from docile to deadly in seconds.
Visibility dropped as the snow thickened, and concern spiked in Nick. If they lost sight of the bear, they wouldn’t know where he was or if he was closing in.
“Let’s see if we can get him moving,” Gina suggested. “Arms up, everyone. Wave them. Make some noise.”
They stuck close, kept calm, and shouted as loud as they could. The bear showed little fear of people, and it took five full minutes of yelling before the old guy finally turned away.
The grizzly wandered off the trail and up the hillside. They waited and watched through the increasing snow until he crested the top and disappeared.
Nick’s pulse was still hammering. When Gina met his eyes and let out a shaky breath, something shifted between them—less about fear, more about recognition. They’d both been holding it together for everyone else.
“Let’s move,” he said. “Keep up the talking. We don’t want to surprise him if he comes back . . . or if he has a friend.”
They moved as a tight group, everyone hyper alert. Nick noticed how differently the encounter had affected each person. Joe was visibly shaking. Kelsey seemed almost detached. Brooke continued her GPS monitoring.
And Gina had backed his lead without hesitation. They’d functioned as a team without discussion, reading each other’s responses and building on them in a natural way that surprised him. He hadn’t felt this connected to anyone since Sara.
“That was incredible,” Joe said, his voice shaky but excited. “I mean, terrifying, but incredible. I’ve never seen a grizzly that close.”
“Let’s hope we don’t see another one,” Gina replied.
Nick noticed she kept scanning the area around them.
Smart. Snow was reducing visibility to maybe fifty yards—perfect conditions for accidentally walking into another wildlife encounter.
At least the bear they’d seen was a male and not a sow with a cub. That could have ended very differently.
He wrinkled his brow. “Are there still moose in here?”
“Yup,” Gina replied. “And it’s right about calving season.”
“Great. That’d be a real treat.”
“I’ve never seen a baby moose,” Joe said. “I’d love that.”
“Not if the mom sees you first, you wouldn’t,” Nick said. “They’re pretty protective.”
About a mile later, the adrenaline crash hit Joe hard. His already labored breathing became worse, and his pace slowed significantly despite the downhill grade.
“You okay?” Nick called, dropping back to check on him.
“Just need a minute,” Joe gasped, bending over with his hands on his knees. “Altitude’s killing me today.”
“Let’s stop,” Nick said. “Everyone, drink some water.”
“We’re almost there.” Brooke motioned in the direction of the ghost town. “Suck it up.”
“We’re stopping.” Gina’s tone left no room for argument. “Get a drink, and let’s do a quick med check.”
She started with Joe, crouching beside him as he bent over, still catching his breath.
Her movements were quick and practiced. She checked his face and hands, asked a few quiet questions, and waited for his nods in return.
After a moment, she gave a small nod of her own and handed him his water bottle.
“Kelsey? Let me see your fingertips.”
Kelsey rolled her eyes. “Yes, doctor.”
Doctor? Interesting, Nick thought as he watched Gina check Kelsey and then Brooke. His cousin hadn’t said much about her friend beyond a quick comment that Gina had agreed to be part of her crew for the Moose and would even run alongside her as a pacer on one of the sections.
Nick watched the way Gina moved from person to person, her medical training evident in every gesture. There was something appealing about someone who knew exactly what they were doing, who didn’t second-guess themselves or look for someone else to make the call.
Sara had been like that, too, at first. Confident. Capable. Until the moment she’d looked at him and said, “I need someone who knows where they’re going in life.”
The memory stung—because Gina probably needed the same thing. And Nick had no idea where he was going beyond the next couch, the next temporary job, the next town.
Brooke had called, mentioning a friend who needed summer help on a building site.
At the time, Nick had been staying with a cousin in Montana, waiting for the weather to break so he could do some dispersed camping in the national forest. He figured the cousin had called Brooke and told her it was her turn.
Nick knew he’d pretty much worn out his welcome there. With the other relatives and most of his friends too. He didn’t really mind. He was ready for new scenery.
This traveling life was starting to feel comfortable, moving from house to house, campsite to campsite.
He practically lived out of his SUV. He’d do the job in Irma and, afterward, maybe head somewhere warm for the winter.
He’d heard of a popular dispersed camping area in Arizona where he could live cheaply.
He moved alongside Gina. Close enough that their shoulders touched as they scanned the surrounding forest. Close enough that he caught the faint scent of her shampoo—something clean and simple, like coconut—barely detectable under the smell of snow and exertion.
The casual contact sent a quiet thrill through him, cutting through the chill in the air.
The way she handled crisis situations made his pulse quicken. But what could he offer her? She clearly had her life figured out.
Nick positioned himself slightly ahead of Gina as they resumed walking, keeping her farther from the tree line where the bear had disappeared. If the grizzly doubled back, he’d be the one it encountered first.
“Good call on the bear protocol,” she said quietly. “You do that often? Face down grizzlies?”
Nick smiled despite everything. “First time, actually. Usually, I stick to facing down angry homeowners when their renovation goes over budget.”
“Somehow I think the bear might be easier to deal with.”
“You’d be surprised. Bears are actually pretty reasonable if you speak their language.” He glanced back at her. “What about you? Medical training comes in handy for more than just altitude checks.”
“I’m a nurse. ER mostly, though I float to other departments.” She adjusted her pack. “Nothing quite like a grizzly in my job description, but we get our share of wildlife encounters in Wyoming ERs.”
“How long have you been doing that?”
“After I finished school, I spent two years in Denver. I’ve been in Irma for going on five. Big-city ER was a fast road to burnout. This feels more manageable.”
“Probably a wise move.”
“Thanks.” She was quiet for a moment. “What about you? You said renovations—you do that full time?”
“When I can find the work. It’s been . . . inconsistent lately.” He didn’t mention the way he’d been drifting for the past year.
“Brooke mentioned you’re good with your hands. She’s excited to have you work on her place.”
Warmth spread through Nick. “Yeah, well, we’ll see if I live up to the hype.”
Her laugh was quiet but genuine. “I think you will.”
The easy way she said it, like she believed in him without question, made something shift in his chest. When was the last time someone had that kind of faith in him?
“We make a good team,” he said, meaning it.
The words carried more weight than he’d intended. Color rose in Gina’s cheeks, and she looked away, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Before he could figure out what to say next, Kelsey’s voice cut through the moment. “Weather’s getting worse.”
She was right. What had started as an inconvenient weather change was becoming a genuine survival situation.
“Joe, you good to continue?” Nick asked, reluctantly pulling his attention from Gina.
“Yeah. Let’s go.” Joe straightened up, though his breathing remained labored.
They resumed the trek toward Bearwater as conditions continued deteriorating. The wind was picking up significantly, creating a chill that cut through his layers. Fresh snow was accumulating fast enough to obscure trail markers and landmarks.
Nick coordinated with Gina, checking on group members, monitoring conditions, making decisions together without discussion. It felt good, but it also felt dangerous. He was in no position to start anything with anyone.
Brooke walked with obvious frustration, constantly checking her GPS and muttering about wasted training time, even as they navigated the treacherous conditions.
“Brooke,” Gina called ahead. “Stay closer to the group.”
“I’m fine,” Brooke shot back. “I know this trail.”
“In these conditions, nobody knows this trail,” Nick said firmly. “We stay together.”
By the time the abandoned buildings of Bearwater came into view through the swirling snow, Nick was very concerned about hypothermia setting in.
The bear encounter, terrible weather, and Joe’s struggles had turned what should’ve been a forty-five-minute return trip into over an hour of increasingly difficult travel.
“Finally,” Joe breathed as the old hotel materialized out of the whiteout conditions.
“Never been so happy to see a bunch of old buildings,” Kelsey added, though her tone remained oddly flat.
“Let’s go inside,” Gina suggested. “Assess the situation.”
Brooke shook her head. “No. Let’s go. If we get off this hill and back home, I can still get a decent run in.”
Gina shook her head. “I don’t think so. With this weather, the river is going to be running too fast. We’re going to have to wait it out.”
“Nick’s SUV can make it.” Brooke picked up her pace.
“Joe’s can’t,” Gina retorted.
Nick took a breath. Could his SUV make it?
Maybe. Maybe not. He was leaning toward not.
And Gina was right. Joe’s pickup didn’t have the clearance, and his tires weren’t designed for off-roading.
Though four-wheel drive, Joe had what Nick thought of as a city truck, designed more for good fuel mileage than adventure.
“We stick together,” Nick said.
Gina gave him a nod and a slight smile while Brooke muttered something he was glad he couldn’t decipher.
That smile did something to him. It was approval, yes, but also something more. Recognition, maybe? Like she saw him as an equal. Like he was capable, reliable, and worth trusting?
It made him want to be that person. Not just for today, but beyond it.
The thought should have terrified him. Instead, it felt like possibility.
Nick took one last look at the trail behind them before they reached shelter. Visibility had dropped to near zero, the world reduced to a few yards of swirling snow and vague shapes.
The bear was out there somewhere, along with whatever other predators called these mountains home. But more immediately concerning was the weather itself, which showed no signs of letting up.
As they stumbled into the shelter of the old hotel, Nick caught Gina’s eye. Whatever plans they’d had for the day had just been completely rewritten. Her poise under pressure pulled him in, even as he convinced himself she was far beyond his reach.
But maybe being out of reach didn’t mean impossible.
He’d faced down a five-hundred-pound grizzly today. Compared to that, asking a woman if she wanted to grab coffee sometime seemed almost easy.
Almost.