“I didn’t see any other tracks and male bears, this one was a male, don’t usually travel with other bears so you should be alright. If you see anything else, please call us. We will be happy to help you.”
“Thanks.” I watched them load the massive animal on the back of a truck with a wench. He was big, bigger t
han any I had seen around here. The animal was a frightening sight, even dead. Rafe and Eve were packing; I asked them to leave, making an excuse about the bear. Rafe seemed unafraid but Eve didn’t waste any time. I apologized for cutting his vacation a little short but I wanted Lilly to myself. I hoped we could repair whatever we might have had. It would be better if they were gone I figured. Rafe seemed unoffended by me asking so that was good. We weren’t really “best buds” or anything like that. Truthfully, I barely knew the guy. We just shared some of the same interests, or at least we had.
“You really like this one, huh?” Rafe asked as he loaded up the trunk with their bags. Eve was already in the car.
I thought about his question for a moment. “I guess I do.”
“I can tell. Well, have fun. Eve and I will go stay in town and see what mischief we can get into. For what it’s worth, I really like Eve too.” He laughed heartily and I smiled. I was pretty sure we were talking about two different types of “likes.” Who knows? Maybe the petite, plain Eve could keep Rafe interested. I guess only time would tell. I waved at them as they drove away. The sun was beginning to set over the lake. Where had the day gone? I hurriedly went back inside. I had promised Lilly that I would be either in the living room or in my room.
I went up to her room and listened at her door. I didn’t hear her stirring and I didn’t want to wake her up. She had been in shock earlier, I knew that, but I suspected that there was more to that story. I hoped she would tell me. I had called Andre that afternoon and cancelled his services. We’d only be here one more day and I was pretty sure I could manage the cooking. I wondered if Lilly could take off an extra couple of days.
I sat on the leather couch, staring into the fire. I relived the past morning, regretting so many things, but thankful that I got a shot at that bear before he killed Lilly. It was weird wanting to protect someone so badly. I mean, I would have protected anyone facing a bear attack but I wanted her to live, even if it meant dying myself. I was not okay with that. I was not accustomed to warm and fuzzy feelings. I was accustomed to thinking about “numero uno,” just me. Lilly made me feel differently about everything.
Don’t get me wrong, even now, right now, I would be happy to make love to her. I thought about her body, her sweet face with those tiny dimples around her lips. I could have lost her today. Thankfully, I had my pistol. I didn’t always, but thankfully I did today. I tapped my lip with my finger, thinking about what that loss would have felt like. I had lost enough, hadn’t I?
“Bullet? Are you okay?” It was Lilly, still wearing her black silk nightgown and her robe.
“Hey, come on over here.” I pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and held it out to her. “They left, I asked them to go.” She accepted the plush, white blanket and sat at the other end of the couch, nowhere near me.
“Oh, I hope I didn’t interrupt your plans.” She sounded raw, hurt and angry.
I sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy. I could see that. “No, you didn’t interrupt anything. I just thought it would be nice to be alone.”
“That’s what I thought when I told you I would come, before I knew about your ‘friends.” Lilly looked tired; her golden hair was unbrushed making her look even sexier. It was hard to believe that just yesterday she and I were making love in the shower.
“Yeah, I should have told you.” What else could I say? What did she want from me?
“Yeah, you should have.” She leaned her head against the couch and gazed at me. “You promised me that you would take me home. Did you mean it?”
“Do you really want to go home? Now that we are alone?” I hoped she would say no.
“Yes, I want to go home. I think I have had enough excitement for one weekend, Bullet. Is it too late to catch the ferry?”
I looked at the clock, it was almost seven. “Yes, actually it is too late for the ferry today. Sorry about that. Tomorrow is Sunday and it only runs once, at 3 o’clock. It looks like you are stuck with me tonight.”
It was her turn to sigh. “Alright.”
“Are you hungry? You haven’t eaten anything today that I know of. I can go make us something. Do you feel like putting another log on the fire?”
With her blanket wrapped around her, she walked to the fireplace and pushed her hair behind her shoulder. I left her to stoke the fire while I went in search of food. Andre had left us some gumbo and cold shrimp salad. I heated the gumbo up and scooped us both a big bowl and placed it on a tray. I loaded it with other goodies, including some of the salad and walked into the living room. No sense in eating formally, the coffee table would do.
“Soup’s on. I hope you don’t mind leftovers. We’ve got more gumbo. Do you want something to drink? Some wine, water?”
“Do you have any soda?”
“Yeah, hold on a second.” I scurried into the kitchen and grabbed two cans of soda. She was eating when I got back—that was a good sign. I knew that much from medical school. I popped the tops and passed her a drink.
“Thanks, this is delicious. Andre is a great cook. Does he cook a lot for you on these…trips?”
I took a swig and dug my spoon in my bowl. “I don’t know what kind of idea you have about me. I don’t get to take off very often. I work sometimes sixty hours a week. Andre is my personal chef. He cooks for me a few times a week at home. I flew him out here for this weekend.”
“Oh. Well, thanks for that.” She pushed her gumbo around a little and nibbled on a cracker.
“Do you want to talk about it? You know, it’s normal to feel some extreme emotions, especially when you’ve been in your situation.”
She wiped her pretty mouth with the linen napkin. “What situation is that?”