‘I wish I had a better lens with me.’ Ryan reached into his front pocket, taking out a small black camera. He lifted it towards the sky. ‘I’ll have to come back out. The Oyster Plants and the Butter and Eggs are really in bloom.’
‘Are we talking about breakfast or wildflowers?’ Megan looked around. She could only guess which out of the thousands of flowers were the ones he’d named.
‘Flowers.’ He chuckled, following the bird with the small camera. He snapped the shutter several times. ‘These probably won’t come out the best. I can’t get close enough. I’d love to have my macro lens.’
Megan stretched her arms, turning around to look at the cabin. It was a small brown spot shaded amongst a backdrop of trees. ‘I didn’t realise how far we went.’
‘Tired?’
‘Why, you going to offer to carry me?’
‘Not on your life. You’re the cop. I assumed you were going to rescue me.’
Megan snorted. ‘Not likely. This isn’t my precinct. Besides, if you remember, I brought you along to feed to the wild animals should they attack, so I can get away.’
‘Don’t run off on me yet.’ Ryan motioned to the sky. The bird of prey dove towards the prairie, swooping gracefully to the ground. It disappeared briefly into the grasses only to lift once more with a small mammal clutched in its talons. ‘I think he’s found his breakfast.’
‘Looks delicious,’ she said dryly. ‘Let’s head back. My mother probably has our breakfast cooking.’
‘Does she read the plates when we’re done?’ Ryan lifted his camera and snapped shots of random flowers.
Megan rolled her eyes when he turned the camera towards her. ‘No, only the tea leaves.’
‘Yeah, what was that all about last time?’
‘She probably saw the truth.’ Megan’s smile faded. It wasn’t hard to know what that truth was. There was no marriage, no kids, no relationship in their future and the reminder of why they were in Montana only served to kill the easiness that had formed between them.
‘I’m not asking what that truth is, so don’t expand.’ Ryan lifted his small camera and aimed at one of the cone-shaped flowers. When he finished taking the picture, he held the camera out to her, as if offering it. She glanced down at his hand before turning her attention back to the cabin. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him shrug and take another picture.
‘Isn’t it against your artistic code to use a point-and-shoot camera? Won’t they kick you out of the photographers’ club?’ Watching him move, arousal unwound in her stomach. They were far enough away from the cabin not to be seen. But having sex in a grassy prairie filled with snakes and insects wasn’t exactly the top of her list of fantasies. However, considering the field was all they had to work with, Megan was more than willing to try it.
‘Ever haul around two full camera bags, a tripod and lights?’ He shot her a quick smile. ‘This is perfectly fine for basic shots – what was that?’
‘What was what?’ Megan frowned.
‘That noise. Did you hear it?’
‘Uh? That’s not funny.’ She glanced around.
‘Bear.’
‘Uh, that’s really not funny.’ Megan stiffened, but she heard it too. It was a light scraping followed by a series of short grunts. Her stomach clenched and she reached for her side, feeling for the comfort of her holster and gun. It wasn’t there. Her hand shook and she balled it into a fist.
‘It’s just a cub, probably only a few months old since most are born in January, maybe early February.’ Ryan started to lift his arm, but she grabbed it and held tight.
‘Don’t. Its mom will attack us. We should run away.’
‘They hear better than we do. If we hurry, it will definitely know we are here.’ He didn’t look at her and didn’t look as if he was ready to move any time soon. ‘Besides, it’s a black bear.’
‘I know it’s a black bear,’ she argued. Glancing at the cabin, she saw it was still far away. There was no way they could outrun a wild beast. Her heart beat hard and heavy and she felt out of breath. Every muscle in her body was tight, ready for a fight. ‘It’s black and it’s a bear. And you’re forgetting the most important point. Its mother will eat us if she sees us looking at her baby.’
‘You are thinking of grizzly bears. This is a black bear. See its shoulders? Smaller hump. And its face is less concave with pointed ears.’ He pulled away from her hand, taking a step towards the cub.
Was he crazy? Going closer to the wild animal? They were still several yards away from it, but every instinct told her to put distance between them.
‘Black bears aren’t known for killing humans to protect their young,’ Ryan continued. ‘Food must be scarce this year for them. This one still looks pretty small. It can’t be more than ten, fifteen pounds.’
‘OK, all I heard there was, this bear is probably hungry and since food is scarce guess who’s on the menu.’ Megan reached for him again. ‘Now, let’s go.’
‘I wish I had my telephoto lens.’
‘I wish I had a sane boyfriend,’ Megan mumbled. She caught what she said right after she said it. Holding her breath, she studied Ryan, worried that he might have heard her and taken it the wrong way.
Slowly, he turned to her. ‘Boyfriend?’
‘I meant fuck buddy,’ Megan said, refusing to return his easy smile. It was hard though, trying to act tough and unaffected.
His eyes fell slightly, but he didn’t comment on her chilly correction.
‘There should be two.’
‘Two what?’
‘Bears. Two cubs are normally born at once, sometimes three.’
‘Again, I’m not worried about the babies. I’m worried about the babies’ mother.’ Megan took a step towards the cabin, hoping he’d do the same. ‘You don’t happen to have some bear deterrent hidden in your pocket?’ She glanced at his stomach, hoping to see a bulge of some sort poking at his sweatshirt.
‘That’s not bear spray in my pocket.’ He gave a soft laugh.
‘Ah,’ Megan gasped softly.
Suddenly, the bear cub lifted its head and made a long resonating sound not unlike a human yelling for help.
‘I wish I had my other camera,’ Ryan whispered, holding up his small one to take another picture. ‘This just isn’t close enough.’
The bear was looking in their direction and Megan thought she saw movement in the trees behind it. ‘Time to go, nature boy.’
‘You’re probably right,’ he said. ‘The mother normally stays with her cubs until they’re close to eighteen months old. She might be near by.’
‘OK, you know a lot about bears. Quit trying to show off.’ Megan kept walking, deciding, if he wanted to get eaten, he could do it by himself.
‘There are ten to fifteen thousand black bears in Montana.’ Ryan moved to follow her, still looking in the distance. ‘And they range in colours from black, cinnamon and blond.’
‘I’ve never heard of a cinnamon bear,’ Megan drawled, ‘unless its candy shaped and chewy.’
They kept moving and Megan was glad to see the wild creatures didn’t follow them. She began to relax. Ryan was a little slower and kept glancing back longingly. Megan thought she’d have to pull at his arm a few times to get him to continue on, but he kept going.
‘You really must have a death wish,’ Megan said. ‘To want to hang out with wild bears.’
‘It’s no worse than what you do, hanging out with criminals. In fact, I’d say that was more dangerous.’ He grinned, finally looking towards the cabin as he fell into a faster pace.
Megan glanced back, but the bear was thankfully no longer in sight.
‘A bear? Really?’ Sasha exclaimed, her eyes wide as she looked from the sweaty Megan to the equally damp Ryan. ‘Did it attack you? Did it see you? Are you hurt?’
Ryan hid his smile. It was almost strange how all sisters could look so much alike, act the same in so many ways, yet have such different personalities.
‘Did you get a picture?’ Kat asked with excitement as her fingers twitched as if holding her own camera.
‘Nature boy over here is as bad as Ella.’ Megan brushed past him as she walked to the bar between the living room and kitchen. She took a piece of toast and piled it with scrambled eggs and bacon, making it into a sandwich. Her mother was there, holding a plate under her before she’d finished.
Breakfast was simple – eggs, bacon and wholegrain toast. When they had picked up groceries at a town on the way to the cabin, Megan’s parents had sprung for the main supplies. Megan purchased beer, Kat and Vincent got wine and Sasha was in charge of sneaking and hiding the contraband from their mother – chocolate, soda, chips and white bread. Ryan bought his own provisions, a few candy bars and some gum, but mostly he found amusement in watching the sisters plot like children against their mother, giggling naughtily as they smuggled their bread into the car unnoticed.
Megan continued, ‘I’m thinking of ways to get back safely and he’s reciting the nature channel, telling me how bears see in black and white and eat stupid people who stand around watching them.’
‘Ryan, dear, eat something,’ Beatrice interjected.
Ryan smirked at Megan, as he walked to the bar to get his own breakfast. Megan inched away from him, but he pretended not to notice. ‘I said no such thing. And you act like it was right on top of us about to bite. The cub was several yards out. We were in no real danger.’
‘So you say,’ Megan muttered.
‘Yes, I do say. Besides, bears see in colour and eat greens, ant larvae, nuts and fruit. They only eat meat when they can’t find other things. Food might be scarce, but the cub had a rotted log filled with ants.’
‘I still say we should have run away,’ Megan protested. ‘Its mother could have been near by.’
Beatrice made a light noise in the back of her throat, looking distressed, but said nothing.
‘Bears run over twenty-five miles per hour and they’re one of the smarter mammals,’ he said. ‘I doubt you’d have escaped.’
‘Aren’t you supposed to play dead?’ Vincent asked. ‘I think I heard that somewhere.’
‘Well –’ Ryan began, only to be interrupted.
Sasha snorted. ‘You’re right. Nature boy is as bad as Ella.’
Kat stood, grinning. She came near where he was with the pretence of grabbing a piece of bacon. Softly, she mused, ‘Smart man, huh?’
‘I was trying to impress her with my brains,’ he whispered. ‘Too much?
‘Just a little.’ Kat patted him on the shoulder. ‘But it’s endearing that you try so hard for her.’
‘Don’t worry, Ryan. They call me bug man,’ Vincent said.
‘Bug Man and Nature Boy. Sounds like a couple of tree-hugger superheroes,’ Sasha teased.
‘Hey, you leave my superheroes alone.’ Kat pretended to pout. ‘Lest you forget we used to call you,
Sha-zow
!’
‘Tell me, Sash,’ Megan mused, pretending to study her plate. ‘You still have that pink superhero cape you used to wear all the time?’
Sasha rolled her eyes. ‘I was like five.’
‘Yeah, when you first got it. I think Mom had to take it away from you when you were twelve. The poor thing was all tattered and worn.’ Kat grinned, nearly snorting as she poked fun at her sister. ‘You pouted for days.’
‘Oh, yeah, remember when we convinced her it really could help her fly if she believed hard enough? And then we got her to jump off that little shed in the back yard.’ Megan nearly dropped her plate in laughter. ‘It didn’t work, but you tried it five times before Mom made you stop.’
‘Oh, yeah,’ Kat agreed enthusiastically. ‘Then we got Ella and Zoe to put plastic bags from the grocery store over their arms, convincing them it would work like a parachute.’
‘And Mom couldn’t figure out why her daughters kept trying to jump off the shed,’ Megan finished.
‘It was your father who was most worried,’ Beatrice said.
‘I’m ignoring you two,’ Sasha announced, turning her attention to Ryan. ‘Where did you learn all that nature stuff anyway, Ryan?’
‘My father.’ Ryan picked up right on cue, helping Sasha change the subject, though, in truth, he loved watching them bicker and tease each other. It was endearing because, despite whatever they said, there was still the obvious love and affection between them. ‘He was big into camping and wildlife. We went camping every summer when I was a boy. Never this part of Montana, but to Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, lots of places.’
‘I thought you said you didn’t hunt.’ Megan gave him a quizzical look.
‘We never did hunt. We observed.’ Ryan picked up a fork, holding his plate in one hand as he stabbed at the pile of eggs.
‘And that’s why you take pictures, isn’t it?’ Kat nodded in understanding. ‘Because your father taught you to watch.’
‘I taught
you
a lot of things, my dear,’ Douglas said, looking up from the couch to join the conversation. He held a magazine in his hands. ‘How come you didn’t listen to one of them?’
‘Because Mom was too busy contradicting your wisdom behind your back.’ Sasha laughed. ‘You’d give us scientific proof that there was no boogieman and Mom would read us real-life accounts of hauntings as bedtime stories.’