I fling the ball into the trees, and Cocoa goes bounding after it. It lands in a thick clump of clover growing beneath one of the trees, and Cocoa snuffles around for it. With the sticks, she frequently picks out a new one when she loses the old, but this time she’s determined.
I look up at the house and see Hunter watching us from the desk, smiling.
I’m glad he approves.
I toss the ball for Cocoa, and the novelty keeps her going even after she would’ve collapsed with a stick. I throw the ball over the branch of a nearby pine tree, and it disappears into the thicket beyond. Cocoa disappears after it, and I hear her barking.
I walk over by the woodshed and sit down on the stump Hunter uses for chopping wood. Perhaps I should get him to show me how to do that one of these days. I’m sure I wouldn’t be as efficient as he is at it, but it’s not as if I need to be in a hurry to do anything in particular.
Cocoa’s barking grows more frantic, and I stand up, brushing my hands off on my jeans.
“Did it get it stuck in a tree?” I call to her as I make my way into the brush. “Or have you just lost it?”
She responds with barks that are increasingly high pitched, and I hurry toward her, though I can’t see her through the patch of thick, stalky plants and a large cluster of juniper bushes. I hope she hasn’t hurt herself, and I realize I don’t even know how far we’d have to drive to reach the nearest veterinarian.
I hear a sharp tapping on the glass behind me and turn back to see Hunter standing at the window now, watching me with alarm. From his angle, I wonder if he can see Cocoa if he knows what’s happened to her. His eyes stretch wide with fear, and then Cocoa gives another yelp and comes streaking out of the bushes, b
arking up a storm.
And then I smell it. A stench like a skunk who’s rolled around in a garbage bin. I hear movement in the bushes behind me, and a chill runs through me. I know, even before I turn around, what I’m going to see. Yet I’m still unprepared for the size of the hulking brown bear that lumbers toward me. The thing seems nearly as tall as I am, even bent over as it is, and while I’m pretty sure I scream, my limbs feel rooted to the spot. I can’t move. I can’t breathe.
The bear passes me, apparently after Cocoa, who turns when she reaches the house and weaves back between the bear and me, directing her piercing shrieks at the bear as if telling it to stay away from me.
Yes, Cocoa has undoubtedly welcomed me into her pack, but she can’t be more than one swat to a bear, and I’d much rather she ran than fought.
I stumble toward the house, but the Bear rears up on its back paws and swipes toward Cocoa, who dodges just in time but weaves back in with a deep growl.
Oh, God. The bear is between us and the door, and the only chance for both of our survival is that we get inside, fast. I could run around the house, but I don’t want to take my eyes off Cocoa, so instead, I move through the trees, hoping and praying this bear doesn’t have a mate following after her, and circle back toward the door.
The bear drops onto four paws and charges again at Cocoa. I emerge close to the door to see Cocoa darting out from beneath the bear’s paws, still unharmed. She races back toward me, and we’re now both on the same side of the bear as the front steps. I’m about to make a break toward them, when the bear wheels around, opens its mouth, and with a great bellowing roar charges directly at me.
Run, I think, but my limbs won’t move. My heart is in my throat, and I’m paralyzed to the spot as the bear lumbers toward me. It’s only a few paces away when I realize I am going to die.
The world seems to explode. A large crack, like a tree falling, breaks through the air, and the bear falls as if flattened. But there is no tree, only an explosion of blood at the top of the bear’s head. Cocoa streaks by me, barking her way into the house. And I turn and see Hunter standing there with a shotgun and staring at me like he’s just seen a ghost.
He drops the gun on the porch and moves down the steps toward me. I’m shaking, still rooted to the spot, and I can’t help but feel humiliated that at a time when I should have kept my wits about me, I failed to do anything.
Hunter reaches me, but instead of giving me the chastisement I no doubt deserve, he takes me in his arms and holds me against him. I collapse against him, my limbs trembling, but I realize that his are too. His whole body is shaking as if he’s just had the scare of his life. I feel Cocoa brush up against us, whining softly, but Hunter holds me tight—so tight it’s hard to breathe—as if he’s afraid if he loosens his grip I might slip away.
At last, he runs a hand under my chin and guides my face up to look at him. He’s gone pale, and I realize we’re both breathing heavy from the rush of adrenaline. But as we stare into each other’s eyes, I realize the rush isn’t just from my brush with death.
“Are you alright?” he finally asks.
I don’t feel particularly okay, but the bear is dead, lying in a heap, not even twitching. The danger is past, and I’m as safe as I’ve ever been in these woods with Hunter holding me. I look up into his eyes and find it’s the steadiness of his arms around me that makes me feel safe.
“Yes,” I say. “Th-thank you.”
I expect him to stammer something awkward in response, but instead, his gaze intensifies, and his eyes drift down to my lips. The adrenaline is ebbing, and a wave of desire washes over me, taking its place. I want him—want more of him than he seemed willing to give me. I’m trying to find the words to say this in a way that doesn’t sound desperate or trite or, well, awkward and more awkward, but for once, Hunter seems to know what he’s doing.
His mouth closes on mine, and he’s kissing me, deeply and passionately, like I’ve never been kissed before in my life. I feel lost in him like we’ve wandered into a dark part of the woods from which I never care to emerge. My hands move up to his neck, holding onto him tight, and I’m oblivious to everything that isn’t him, this, us.
Hunter lifts me off the ground, holding me against him as he kisses me. My hands slide up his chest, feeling each one of his taut muscles, and eliciting a soft groan.
I smile and look into his eyes again, and this time I see unmistakable desire reflected back at me.
“Take me inside,” I say.
He looks at me intently, as if he’s trying to discern what I mean. But my body burns against his, and I don’t think it’ll take him long to figure it out.