Chapter 10
Seeing Grayson fighting with the wild grizzly over her, Kendra had been terrified. She had to help, which had scared her too, because she was a smaller bear, and an attack was an attack. The wild bear could have easily killed her.
But she couldn’t allow Grayson to be hurt or killed, not to mention that she would have had to put up with the other males’ advances.
She walked beside Grayson, hating that he’d been so injured.
He was walking more slowly, his gait betraying that he was in pain.
She could smell his pain, his heart still beating like crazy, and knew his adrenaline was still rushing through his blood, probably helping a little to block all the pain.
Likewise, adrenaline was still pumping through her blood like crazy, too.
Then she saw a blondish grizzly bear she thought was Rowland, sniffed, and recognized it was. She sighed with relief. Grayson perked up and gave the deputy sheriff a bear smile.
Rowland ran to join them, looking over Grayson’s injuries.
Then they continued to head for Grayson and Kendra’s backpacks. They finally found them, shifted, and dressed.
“I’m going to where I left my backpack. Are you returning to your campsite?” Rowland asked.
“Yeah,” Grayson said.
“And we’re going to the clinic,” Kendra said firmly. “We can’t search for Younger while wild male bears are looking for me and fighting my bear.”
Rowland raised a brow. “Okay, so what happened to you, Grayson?”
“I had to fight an amorous wild bear who wanted Kendra,” Grayson said.
“Hell.” Rowland looked back at Grayson’s wounds.
“Younger may be gone anyway. We destroyed his camp as bears, and he doesn’t have anywhere to stay comfortably. A wild grizzly ate his food,” Kendra said.
“All right, I’ll find your campsite and join you there as soon as I have shifted and dressed. I would have you come with me, but you need to just go to the camp. Wait for me, and I’ll help you break it down.” Then Rowland shifted into his bear and headed out to wherever he had hidden his backpack.
Kendra glanced at Grayson. “I never thought we would have issues with male bears interested in me to mate.”
He took hold of her hand. “You’re only mine.”
She chuckled. It took them forever to reach their camp, and they saw the other men walking on the trail toward their own camp. Grayson’s face and head were bloodied, and the blood was seeping through his cargo pants and T-shirt.
“Hell, man, did you tangle with a cougar?” one of the men asked, his eyes wide with concern.
“Grizzly. This is their time to mate. I just got between a couple of grizzlies fighting over a female. Just be cautious out there,” Grayson said.
Which was true, even if she and he had been the grizzlies involved in the fight. Humans needed to be careful not to get hurt in a situation like that.
“Grizzly bear? Which direction were they in?” the one camper asked.
They couldn’t tell them they’d gone off trail. “Oh, I’m sure they have left the area already. Just keep an eye out, don’t make eye contact, back off if you encounter one,” Kendra said. “And of course you should always bring bear spray, a bear horn, or a banger.”
“Got it,” the one guy said, patting his backpack. “Are you leaving your campsite?”
“Yeah,” Kendra said before Grayson could answer them. “We’re going to the hospital. If you get into a bear fight, infection can set in, so you want to have someone clean the wounds.”
The guys exchanged looks, as if they wanted to end their stay there too. “Can we help you?”
“We have a friend coming to help. Thanks,” Grayson said.
“All right. Well, take care.” The three men hiked off.
When Rowland arrived, he helped them pack up the camp and carried some of it back down the trail toward the parking lot.
He had wanted to carry more of it so that Grayson wouldn't have to carry very much, but Grayson was fine.
He didn't want to act like he was an invalid, though he was banged up quite a bit.
They walked in silence for hours until they finally reached the parking lot, where Rowland helped them load their gear into Grayson’s SUV.
"Are you going to search for him some more?" Grayson asked.
"I think you're probably right. That Younger would have packed it in and taken off, either to get more camping gear or to find somewhere else to hide, but since I’m here, I’ll search a little longer. I'm surprised he hasn't already left the state," Rowland said.
"Maybe he wants to grab his stepson when he's bonded out and then leave the state. Even though he's the stepdad, he might want to save him so he doesn't go to trial, or he wants to ensure the kid doesn't tell on him. He might not trust him to keep his mouth shut," Grayson said.
"Who's handling Billy's bail bond?" Rowland asked.
"My dad." Grayson knew he’d done it to see if they could put the kid back in jail if he broke any of the rules.
"That's good, then you can take him into custody if he flees," Rowland said.
"And if they're together, catch them both," Kendra said.
They looked over the vehicles parked there, sniffing them for any sign that Younger had a different vehicle, but none had his scent. Grayson presumed Younger had taken off.
"You get him looked after," Rowland said to Kendra. "I'm going to check out the area some more. I shouldn't have the kind of trouble you had unless I run into a female and a male thinks I'm after her."
"Just be careful," Kendra said.
"Yeah."
Kendra checked her phone and said, "Oh, Amy texted me saying that we were going to run into bear trouble at Glacier National Park."
"Now she tells us." Grayson eased into the passenger's seat of his SUV since Kendra was standing at the driver's door, and he knew she wasn't going to let him drive.
"We were running as bears, while our phones were in our backpacks. She texted us well before you were in the fight."
"That’s amazing."
“It is.” Kendra got another call. "Hey, Amy."
"Did you get my message?"
"Too late. We're headed back to town. Grayson got chewed up pretty bad." Kendra climbed into the driver's seat and waved to Rowland, wishing him luck and happy hunting.
"The other bear looks worse," Grayson said, and leaned his head against the window.
“Oh, no. I’m so sorry. Okay, I’ll talk to you later,” Amy said.
“Thanks, Amy.”
“You’re welcome.” Then they ended the call.
Kendra drove off toward Kalispell. "I just wonder if anyone is watching the teen. That would be an easy way to capture Younger if he goes after him."
"My brother will. The only reason Dad would get involved in giving him a bond would be to keep an eye on Billy."
"Oh, good. We need to cover all our bases."
Then they finally reached the clinic, and she parked. She and Grayson went inside.
"Grayson needs to see the doctor for grizzly bear wounds," Kendra told the receptionist.
The receptionist eyed his wounds and called the nurse. She came out to get Grayson and take him to a room. Grayson glanced at Kendra. "You can come with me."
She was like family to him now. Besides, he wanted her there with him.
The nurse gave him a gown. "Dr. Weston will be here in a few minutes."
"So what happened here?" Dr. Weston asked as she hurried into the exam room.
Kendra explained it was all her fault. “I never thought we would have issues with a wild bear over mating me.”
Dr. Weston raised her brows. “Now that’s a new one on me.”
“Yeah, I recommend women who are in my situation don’t go to the park during mating season.”
“Sound advice.” The doctor began stitching Grayson up.
Grayson was gritting his teeth, even though the doctor had numbed the area. It hurt like crazy.
“Do I need to numb the area more?” the doctor asked as Grayson continued to flinch, trying to keep his composure. He guessed the adrenaline from the fight had completely worn off.
“He needs more,” Kendra said, always his advocate.
Grayson knew they could smell his scent, which indicated he was in pain. He nodded.
The doctor numbed him some more and waited for it to take effect. Then she began working on him again. “It probably goes without saying, but no running as a bear until your wounds heal.”
“Any other restrictions?” Kendra asked.
Grayson wasn’t going to ask, hoping she wouldn’t give him any others without a prompt.
“Just be careful to keep the bandages dry for the first 48 hours. After that, you can shower. Just washcloth baths before that.”
Kendra smiled.
He was glad she was here. He was all for having her bathe him, but he would love to shower with her when he was able.
It seemed to take forever for the doctor to finish, stitching up the worst of the wounds and then bandaging them.
"Do you want to go to my house?" Kendra asked.
"Yeah, sure."
He thanked the doctor, then paid his bill. They returned to the SUV, and she drove home.
When they arrived, he was impressed. The log home was set back from Flathead Lake and surrounded by forest. Homes there were around ten acres apiece, so they were private. The house was one story high, with large front windows and double oak-stained front doors.
She drove into the driveway, and the two of them got out. He was trying to look like he wasn't hurting all over. How would that appear to a potential mate?
He couldn't even believe he was thinking along those lines, but he couldn't help how he was feeling about her.
They unpacked the camping gear to clean it and dry it out, though she hadn’t wanted Grayson to help after all that he had been through.
When they walked inside, she motioned to the couch. "Why don't you get comfortable. Unless you want to sleep. I wouldn't blame you. We can eat dinner after that."
"Yeah, but only if you join me."
She smiled. "I'm all for it." She took him to a large bedroom, all done up in pale blues. "The master bedroom."
It had a king-size bed, and he was glad she had one! Even though she must have felt lost in it all by herself.