Chapter 28
Benson
My heart is beating like a drum as Remi freezes, having caught sight of the bear making a meal of his trail mix on the ground below us.
I’m fairly sure the bear is a grizzly, based on the shoulder hump, although both grizzlies and black bears can be the same brownish color. It must be an adolescent, as small and gangly as it is. But it’s still a bear.
And clearly hungry, if it ventured so close to humans.
The mantra my mom taught me echoes in my head. If it’s a grizzly, play dead. If it’s black, fight back.
Of course, I never imagined I’d be in a position where I’d have to defend myself from a charging bear. I pray I still never do.
Remi’s gaze comes back to me slowly, his eyes wide. August is cursing quietly above me, the guide talking calmly, as he has been since he spotted the bear from above.
“Direct Remi to climb back up before doing the same. Move slowly, no loud sounds or quick movements unless it approaches. We’ll leave it be, and it should move on once it’s finished eating.”
I take a calming breath before repeating the information to Remi.
His eyes stay glued to me, his fingers blanching where they’re gripping the rock.
As the guide uses his sat phone to call in backup, just in case, I wait and watch Remi, not moving until he does.
He glances one more time down at the bear before steeling himself and starting the return climb.
I stay half a foot below his position, keeping a close eye on where the bear is.
It doesn’t seem remotely concerned with us as it picks up scattered nuts and raisins, but I suppose I’m not concerned over ants that have a fraction of my strength.
I have no doubt the grizzly is well aware of our presence and was only drawn in because of the smell of food.
Can bears climb rock? Or only trees?
I decide I don’t want to know.
My chest is in a vise until the moment Remi clears the ledge. I puff out a breath as I follow him, and then I look back down at the bear. It’s pawing at the dirt where a piece of trail mix likely got stuck.
“There’s a park ranger on the way with a vehicle,” our guide says, which August repeats to Remi before I have the chance. “We’ll stay here until they arrive. Everyone okay?”
“Fine,” August says tightly. “Just, uh, realizing I’ll never go outside again after this.”
“Encountering a bear is statistically unlikely,” I assure my brother. “Especially in a well-traversed area like this.”
He waves a hand to our small group and then toward the bear, his voice high. “But clearly not impossible.”
“Is he freaking out?” Remi asks me, tone soft.
I nod.
August scowls, but it lacks any heat. He adds sign as he asks, “Why aren’t you freaking out?”
“I will later,” I tell him, fairly certain it’s the truth. My freakouts just tend to involve a lot of quiet as I process my emotions.
Remi gives my leg a squeeze before peeking over the side of the ledge. I do the same, the bear farther away now. Remi’s fingers tighten against my thigh as he sucks in a breath. He lets it out afterward, relief painting his features.
“I see my CI. There.”
He points, and I follow his gaze to where the small device is hanging on the spindly branches of a bush. Hopefully, that means it didn’t get damaged on the way down.
I run my hand across my forehead. ‘Phew.’
Remi shoots me a small smile. ‘Should I go for it?’
I know he’s kidding, but August squawks, his hands whipping through the air. ‘Don’t even think about it! You two are going to kill me, I swear.’
My lips twitch. ‘You grab the CI. I’ll distract the bear.’
August steeples his hands in front of his mouth, closing his eyes as he prays for patience, I’d wager. Remi snickers.
It’s a decent distraction as we wait for either the bear to move on or the ranger to arrive.
As it turns out, the bear leaves first, ambling off into the woods after scouring the ground one more time for any remaining trail mix.
It feels as if we all hold our breath for a good few minutes before collectively relaxing.
Even so, we stay on our ledge far off the ground, where it’s at least marginally safer.
Our guide calls to check on the ranger, and she arrives not five minutes later in a heavy-duty SUV. After checking the area, she urges us down, the short descent feeling longer than the first time. Maybe because I keep checking over my shoulder, despite the ranger standing watch.
“From what you described, it was a juvenile,” she confirms. “But any bear can do damage. You did the right thing staying put and calling it in.”
I listen with half an ear as Remi retrieves his CI from the bush. He looks it over, a relieved smile on his face as he jogs the few steps back to us. After the guide collects all our gear, we file into the SUV.
Remi and I are in the very back row, August in the middle, and our guide up front with the ranger.
They chat a bit about the recent bear sightings in the area, but my focus is on Remi.
He tugs his ballcap off and slips his CI back over his ear, no visible damage on the outside.
After a beat, the flicker in his eyes assures me it’s still working.
“All good?” I check.
He nods, slumping back in his seat. His slim backpack, broken now, is resting near his foot as we drive back toward the entrance to the park. Luckily, the area we were in was accessible by vehicle, but there’s no solid path, which means a lot of bumping over uneven terrain.
Even so, I feel immeasurably better than I did ten minutes ago when we were sitting ducks.
“You doing okay?” Remi asks.
I nod, even as I let out a heavy exhale. “Yeah. But I think that’s enough excitement for a while.”
“Didn’t like that surprise?” he teases. “I’m quite a fan of bears myself.”
It takes me a second. “Am I a bear?”
Remi laughs, and August slowly turns his head, looking at us over the back of his seat. “Can we talk about you nearly dying?”
“I didn’t nearly die,” Remi says patiently. “I was strapped to the mountain the whole time.”
“Except for the part where you free-fell and whipped so hard to the side you smacked a tree.”
The memory has my own gut swooping, the same way it did when Remi’s face disappeared over the edge of the rock. Worse even was the harsh snapping sound his rope made when his momentum was abruptly stopped.
And later? When our guide called down for us to halt, that a bear was approaching, and Remi had no clue?
It scared the crap out of me. Enough for me to skid several feet down the rockface to get his attention.
Remi, realizing August and I are looking at him with concern, lets out a gentle sigh. “Y’all need a hug when we get back?”
“Damn straight,” August gripes.
Remi chuckles lightly, leaning forward to nudge August’s arm with his knuckles.
My brother turns back around, and Remi looks over at me with a smile.
My heart hurts a little too much to smile back, but Remi doesn’t seem to mind.
He twines his fingers with mine, and I can’t look away from it.
From the way we’re wrapped together like vines.
Once we reach the parking lot, we file out of the SUV. The ranger gives us the number to call in case something like this happens again, and our guide checks in with us one last time. He’s apologetic, but even he can’t control Darling’s bear population.
Remi gives me a little tug once we reach our vehicles, pulling me in close without a word.
His arms loop around me tight, and I have to work hard not to bury him under my weight.
My breath shudders from me, Remi warmer than the heat from the sun, smelling of hay as he always does, feeling so humanly fragile yet strong.
His fingers sift through the hair at the back of my neck as he lifts his lips to my ear. “Come over tonight?”
I nod against him, and he steps back. August is standing a couple feet away, his arms crossed and his gaze aimed away from us.
He looks upset, and I can’t blame him for that.
Remi shoves his shoulder before wrapping him in a bear hug.
August blinks a couple times, hugging Remi so hard his fingertips turn white.
“I’m fine,” Remi tells him again.
August still mutters an, “Asshole.”
When Remi backs up, he waves between the two of us. “Come on. You guys now.”
August looks at me in horror.
“Come on,” Remi repeats, a chuckle in his voice. He signs a swift, ‘You’re brothers. Hug it out.’
Feeling ten shades of awkward, I step toward August. He pats my back, the motion stiff. I squeeze him around the shoulders, trying to recall the last time we did this.
“Oh my God,” Remi mumbles. “For being the two best huggers I know, this is the most painful thing I’ve ever witnessed.”
We step apart with August grumbling.
“See you soon?” Remi checks.
I nod, and with a quick wave, Remi gets into his vehicle.
August drives us back to our mom’s, chewing his lip as he stares out the windshield. Comforting others isn’t exactly easy for me. It feels like there are so many ways people want to be comforted, and I never know how to tell which course is best. It’s another minefield I don’t have the map to.
Even so, I make an effort. “Doing okay?”
My brother sighs. “No, but yes.”
I get that, so I say nothing more.
August glances over at me as he pulls to a stop in the driveway. “Did I tell you I talked to Dad the other day?”
I shake my head. “No. About anything in particular?”
“Mostly painful small talk.”
That has me huffing a laugh. Sounds about right.
“But he asked about you,” my brother goes on. “About how you were doing after the episode at work. When he realized I didn’t know what he was talking about, he clammed up. Said it wasn’t his place to share.”
My heart beats heavily, a worn, tired rhythm. I nod, staring at a scuff on the dash. “Yeah, probably because he views it as a moment of weakness. Something to be embarrassed or ashamed about.”
“Well… Can I ask you about it?”
“You can.”
My brother huffs, but there’s a gentleness in his voice. “What happened?”