Chapter Seventeen
Logan
E ven though we know where the camera is, it's a slog to get there through a couple feet of snow in snowshoes. Then we have to track the cat itself .
It's left a trench in the snow, along with a thin trail of blood. We find the bobcat in no time, and as soon as it sees us, it backs up against a tree and hisses. I can't blame the poor thing. If my leg were stuck in a trap like that I'd be furious at everything, too .
After a little doing, we manage to get close enough to shoot a tranq dart into its neck.
This kind of thing is always tricky, because it's not like we can weigh the cat before we do it — we've gotta guess.
But even though he fights it for another minute, soon enough he's wobbling in the snow, and finally falls over, totally passed out .
Now we can get to work. We take the trap off his leg, clean the wound as best we can, wrap it, and put it in a splint since it's also broken. It'll be a mess for the wildlife vet, but out in the field, in a few feet of snow, it's the best we can do .
Once he's bandaged, we both take a moment and sit on a fallen tree, eating our lunch. It's backpacking food, not good , but neither of us gives a shit about good right now .
"We better get the straightjacket on him," Knox finally says as we sit there, looking at the sleeping bobcat .
"I'll take the first shift carrying him," I offer .
"Sure, when he's least likely to wake up," he jokes .
"I offered first," I say, laughing. "You should've been quicker on the draw ."
Together, we wrap the bobcat tightly in a contraption that's somewhere between a swaddle and a straightjacket. He's way too wounded to leave out here, and since bobcats in this region are endangered, we need to take him back to the animal pens at the cabin until we can get him to the wildlife vet .
That means we make him into a bobcat burrito, so if he wakes up, we've at least got some time before he claws our faces off.
I carry him through the snow first, but Knox and I switch off the bobcat backpack pretty frequently.
They're surprisingly heavy animals, and carrying him through the snow is exhausting .
The things I do for conservation , I think .
* * *
The cabin has a few pens connected to the side of the house, about six feet by six feet, with some straw bedding and water. There's some frozen rabbit carcasses in the deep freezer for exactly this purpose, but our cat friend shouldn't eat until the sedatives wear off .
We put him into his pen, turn the heater on low, unwrap him, and close the pen. He doesn't stir, still sleeping soundly .
It's getting dark, so I'm glad we're back.
There were a few minutes where I was totally sure we'd still be snowshoeing our way home past sunset, and while I know we could find our way without a problem, I wasn't particularly thrilled about it.
Hiking at night when it's warm and clear is hard enough; doing it in the cold snow is pretty rough .
"Think Rose found a way to entertain herself?" Knox asks, his voice low and rumbling .
My heart thuds a little faster, just hearing her name. She's a great reward for snowshoeing six miles .
"I hope so," I say. "Not that she had much of a choice ."
We take our snowshoes off outside and lean them against the cabin, and then Knox pushes the door open .
"Rose?" he calls .
On the living room floor, in front of the fireplace, a head pops up, and we both stop in our tracks .
She's completely naked, lounging on her stomach on the bear skin rug in front of the fireplace, and she looks at us a little sheepishly .
"I'm glad you're back," she says, her voice shy again .
My eyes roam over her perfect body, the curve of her spine, the swell of her breasts with the nipples pressed into the rug. Rose kicks one foot up, pointing her toes, and I look at her plump ass .
I'm hard as fuck . Even though I've had a day so exhausting I feel like my bones have turned to liquid, I'm so hard I feel like I might burst .
"I was worried," she goes on, softly .
"There's a bobcat in the pens," Knox says, but I can tell he's distracted too. "Be careful ."
"Okay," Rose says. "How was it ?"
I can't take it anymore. I shed heavy layers, tossing them on the floor as I walk over to her.
By the time I'm next to her and on my knees, I'm just in my pants and undershirt.
Knox is right behind me, and Rose looks up, her eyes wide as I run one hand down her bare back from the nape of her neck to her ass, cupping it in my hand .
"It was cold and miserable," I say, truthfully. "But my day just got way better ."