An Agent for Phoebe

by Nerys Leigh

  That took him aback. He hadn’t intended to say it out loud.

  She stared at him as if expecting a joke. “And?”

  “And nothing.”

  She blinked and then looked away. “Oh. Well… thank you.”

  There was something satisfying about seeing her flustered at his compliment. If she didn’t care about him at all, she wouldn’t have reacted to it at all.

  Not that he cared if she cared about what he thought of her.

  She looked at the leaf. “Is that breakfast?”

  “It is. Sorry it’s just plants, but I figured we should get going as quickly as possible and it would take me a while to catch and cook any meat.”

  She waved one hand while using the other to sort through the selection of berries and edible leaves he’d found. “I’m so hungry I could eat just about anything. Ooh, are these strawberries?”

  He watched her pop a wild strawberry into her mouth and close her eyes in bliss.

  No, he didn’t care at all if she cared about what he thought of her. And if he told himself that enough times, he might even start believing it.

  ~ ~ ~

  After breakfast, they extinguished the fire and started out.

  Phoebe cast a wistful glance back at their camp as they left. Much as she hadn’t wanted to sleep outside for the night, it hadn’t been nearly as bad as she’d anticipated, and leaving their makeshift home had her feeling a little sad. Not so much to make her want to stay there, but sad nevertheless.

  “I think it’s time I gave you a lesson in the dangers we might face out here, and how to survive them,” Jonah said as they walked.

  She scrunched up her nose. “I’m not sure I want to know. I don’t ever plan on coming out here again.”

  “I still need to teach you. We’ve still got to get back. And whatever your plans, this might not be the only time you’re in the wild. As a Pinkerton agent, you could be sent anywhere.”

  That didn’t sound promising. “All right, go ahead. Although once I’m an agent, I will be requesting Mr. Gordon only sends me on cases that take place in civilization.”

  He made a sound that was half chuckle, half skeptical snort. “Good luck with that.”

  “You don’t think I can persuade him?”

  “If you could, would you be married to me?”

  She opened her mouth and closed it again. He had a point.

  Although being married to Jonah wasn’t turning out to be so bad.

  “I’ll start with ticks and work up to bears,” he said.

  She heaved a sigh. “This is going to be so much fun.”

  Jonah’s horrifying tales of poisonous plants, and venomous insects and reptiles, and animals whose teeth and claws did the job without any need for poison or venom, had Phoebe trying to keep her eyes on everything at once as they walked. Eventually, she had to tell herself to just trust him to keep her safe, before she drove herself insane.

  She didn’t know how far they went, following the horses’ hoof prints, until they emerged from the forest.

  “This is where they left the wagon,” Jonah said, pointing at the ground.

  She looked at the perfectly obvious tracks. She didn’t have to be a skilled tracker, or a tracker at all, to see that.

  Her eyes followed the impressions of the wagon’s wheels wending their way through the rocky soil stretching out before them. She’d been hoping that, once they got out of the trees, they’d be able to see signs of other people, maybe some houses. But all she saw was rocks and dirt and scrubby grass and stunted bushes. And more mountains. Endless, desolate mountains.

  “We’ll get there,” Jonah said.

  Lowering her eyes to the ground, she nodded without enthusiasm. She was bone-tired, and it wasn’t even noon yet.

  His hand touched her shoulder, turning her to face him. “We’ll get there,” he repeated. “Say it.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I’m not five.”

  “Just say it.”

  She stared at him silently.

  He placed his free hand on her other shoulder. “Say it. That’s an order from your superior agent.”

  Huffing a sigh, she said, “Fine. We’ll get there.”

  He grinned and tweaked her nose. “Good girl.”

  She batted his hand away, pressing her lips together in a futile attempt to keep from smiling. “I’m also not a dog.”

  Turning from his infectious grin, she took a step in the direction of the wagon tracks.

  “Phoebe!” He grabbed her, his arms wrapping around her from behind and pulling her to an abrupt halt.

  She did wish he’d stop using her Christian name. She liked the sound of it on his lips too much. “What is it?”

  “Just stay calm,” he murmured, his voice right beside her ear. “There’s a rattlesnake.”

  She lowered her eyes to the ground. “Where…” And then she spotted the grayish-brown snake against the grayish-brown earth, huddled beside a rock. Disturbingly close. “Oh!”

  She recoiled, her back pressing against Jonah’s chest. A highly inappropriate awareness of how solid he was slunk over her. Honestly, Phoebe, this is not the time.

  She turned her head, keeping her eyes on the snake while she whispered to him. “What do we do?” She was sure he’d told her at some point, but he’d given her so much information that she was having trouble recalling the specific part of it that pertained to rattlesnakes.

  “Go around it,” was his reply.

  His arms slipped from around her and they backed up to give the rattlesnake a wide berth as they continued on their way.

  “Wonderful,” she muttered, “now I’m going to have to watch the trees for poisonous plants, the ground for poisonous snakes, and everywhere for poisonous spiders. Not to mention all the big animals. Is there anything in this wilderness that won’t kill me horribly if I happen to stray anywhere near it?”

  “I haven’t even told you about the worst one yet.”

  She stared at him. “What?”

  He gave her a somber look. “It’s called a pika, and it has the power to render a person insensible for several minutes.”

  “How does it do that?” What did she have to worry about now?

  Tiny wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes. “By being unrelentingly and unspeakably cute.”

  She slapped his arm with the back of her hand. “Stop it.”

  His face became a picture of wide-eyed innocence. “I’m not joking. I once saw a man, when faced with the sight of a calling pika, stand still for a good five minutes, unable to move. Anything could have snuck up on him and he’d have been powerless to react. Dangerous things, pikas.”

  Smiling, she returned her attention to the ground ahead of her. How did he always know how to make her feel better?

  After a minute or so, she said, “The man mesmerized by the pika was you, wasn’t it.”

  “I admit nothing.”

  They stopped for lunch by a stream where they could drink and there was a huckleberry bush laden with fruit. Sadly, there were no wild strawberries, but Jonah found some stonecrop and wild onions and the food did stop her stomach from rumbling. When they got back to civilization, she was going to have the best meal of her life.

  After eating, she made her way down to the stream and sat on a rock at the water’s edge to remove her boots and stockings.

  Sliding her aching feet into the cold water, she sighed in relief. Her boots had evidently not been designed with walking long distances in mind.

  Jonah joined her, sitting beside her on the rock. “Let me see your feet.”

  She drew one up from the water and he took hold of her ankle to inspect the sole. A day ago she would have been mortified at the prospect of him seeing her bare feet, much less touching her ankle, but such social conventions tended to fade into the background when she was tired and sore and very far from society.

  He pressed his thumb onto her sole. “Does this hurt?”

  It did, quite a bit. “Yes.”
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  He lowered her foot. “You’re going to get blisters. Wait here.”

  He rose from the rock and she slipped her foot back into the water as she watched him walk slowly along the bank, searching the undergrowth.

  When she really allowed herself to look at him, she couldn’t deny he was a fine figure of a man. Tall, broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted, with a pleasingly muscular physique. He was the kind of man women sighed over and went to great lengths to attract. When she was younger, she’d have been the same. But that was before her marriage to Norman, when she’d discovered there were more important qualities to a husband than a pretty face and charming words.

  But there were times, like now, when Jonah was being exceptionally kind, that she could almost wish their marriage was real. Maybe she should be grateful to her former husband that he’d put her off men for good, or there was a very good chance she would have ended up with a broken heart when she and Jonah parted ways.

  “These should help,” he said, returning to her with a handful of leaves large enough to cover her whole foot. He picked up one of her boots, layered three together, and pushed them inside. “They’ll have to be replaced every few hours, but they should help to cushion your feet as you walk.” He held out the boot to her. “They’ll also probably turn your stockings green.”

  She took the boot from him. “On balance, I think green stockings are preferable to sore feet.”

  After drying her feet with her skirt, she pulled on her stockings and the boots with their leafy insoles. They rustled a little as she stood but were surprisingly comfortable.

  She bounced on her toes a few times. “Much better. Thank you.”

  He smiled. “Maybe husbands do have their uses, on occasion.”

  She returned his smile. “On occasion.”

  It was a good thing she knew better than to ever let herself fall in love again.

  Because otherwise a man like Jonah might prove too tempting, even for her.

  ~ ~ ~

  It was well into the afternoon when Jonah came to a halt, studying the undergrowth ahead of them.

  Phoebe stopped beside him. “Is something wrong?”

  He didn’t reply.

  Something had caught his attention, but he wasn’t sure what. A sound? Movement? They’d been talking and he’d been enjoying their conversation. He liked talking to Phoebe.

  The undergrowth had thickened since they’d entered a forest with fewer pines and more broad-leafed trees.

  A faint rustle emanated from the bushes ahead of them which could have been the breeze. It was most likely the breeze.

  “Did you see something?” Phoebe whispered.

  “I–”

  A snuffling growl sent his gut plummeting to his feet. He knew that sound. No person who’d ever spent any time in the woods forgot it.

  “Start moving backwards,” he said, keeping his voice low. “Whatever happens, don’t run.”

  The bushes parted.

  A huge brown bear lumbered into the open.

  “Get behind me,” Jonah hissed, grasping her arm and pushing her back.

  He’d only seen grizzlies a handful of times, and they’d all been from a distance. Up close, the bear was terrifyingly big.

  He tried to recall everything his father had taught him about them.

  Making noise may help, but it might also agitate the bear and make it madder. He remembered at the time thinking much of the advice was unhelpfully contradictory.

  The bear pawed at the ground, ears forward, eyes fixed on them.

  His father’s lessons had included something about ears, but Jonah couldn’t remember what it was.

  Don’t make eye contact, but keep your eyes on the bear. Six-year-old him had questioned how he could do both at once. He couldn’t remember his father’s answer.

  He looked at the bear’s huge paws. One swipe could kill a man. He knew that much.

  Suddenly, the bear lifted its head and launched itself at them.

  Jonah’s heart hit his throat.

  Behind him, Phoebe gasped.

  “Don’t run,” he hissed. “Don’t move.”

  It took every bit of willpower he had to obey his own instructions as the huge animal bore down on them.

  Abruptly, it came to a stop and raised its head to roar.

  Phoebe whimpered.

  Jonah breathed out. His father’s voice came to him. A grizzly will charge at you, but it will usually be a bluff. It’s testing you. Don’t, whatever you do, run. Always make yourself as big as possible. Speak loudly, but keep your voice calm.

  He drew himself up to his full height. “We’re not a threat. Leave us alone and we’ll all get out of this unharmed. How does that sound?”

  The bear looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. There was a chance it was right.

  He wished he could remember more details. He’d always thought he’d have his gun with him if he ever did encounter a bear up close.

  “Tell me what to do,” Phoebe whispered from behind him.

  If there’s someone with you, stand side by side to combine your size. If you need to fight, fight together.

  Except he didn’t want Phoebe to fight. He didn’t want her anywhere near danger. With all his heart, he wanted her safe. And he would give up his own life for her if he had to.

  But maybe he also needed to trust her. She was strong. Together, they’d be even stronger.

  “Stand beside me,” he said quietly. “We need to look big. Hold out your skirt.”

  She did as he told her, stepping out from behind him. He glanced at her for a moment. She looked terrified, but she stood up straight as she held out her skirt to the side.

  The bear backed up a couple of steps. Then it rose onto its hind legs.

  Phoebe squeaked.

  What little moisture remaining in Jonah’s mouth fled.

  The thing was massive, at least ten feet tall, towering over them both. It shifted from foot to foot, sniffing the air as it eyed them.

  “What’s it doing?” Phoebe hissed from the side of her mouth.

  “Trying to work out if we’re dangerous. Don’t…”

  “Run. I know.”

  It dropped back to all fours. Jonah could have sworn he felt the earth shudder.

  And then it charged at them again.

  Phoebe grasped his hand.

  He braced himself to leap in front of her.

  Thirty feet away, the bear slid to a halt and pawed at the ground.

  “We’re going to back away slowly,” Jonah said. “Don’t turn your back on it.”

  Her hand was still in his and he squeezed it. Not that all the hand-holding in the world could reassure her now, but she hadn’t let go.

  Slowly, they took a step back. Then another.

  The bear’s ears flicked.

  What was it about the ears that he couldn’t remember? It was important.

  They backed away another step.

  The bear lowered its head, baring its teeth in a deep growl. Its ears pressed back.

  Jonah’s father’s words suddenly came to him. If its ears are forward, it’s a bluff. If it flattens them, it’s going to attack.

  With its ears flattened against its head, the bear charged.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jonah shoved Phoebe away as the bear rushed at them.

  She stumbled and fell.

  “Stay down!” he yelled. “Play dead!”

  The bear angled towards her.

  “No!” Jonah waved his arms to get its attention. “Over here!”

  And then he did the one thing he’d always been taught to never do around bears.

  He ran.

  As he’d hoped, the bear’s predatory instincts kicked in and it charged after him.

  He had to get it away from Phoebe. Nothing else mattered.

  But the bear was a whole lot faster than he was.

  When a growl sounded right behind him, he threw himself to the side.

  A massive paw swiped past
his face, so close he could feel the breeze left in its wake.

  The bear reared onto its hind legs.

  Jonah rolled to the side as it slammed back to the ground, right where he’d been.

  He shuffled backwards as it turned in his direction, his heels sliding in the dirt. Soft soil slipped between his fingers.

  Grasping a handful, he flung it into the bear’s face.

  It jerked back, shaking its head.

  He pushed to his feet and backed away.

  And then his heel hit a rock.

  He crashed to the ground again, landing painfully on his back.

  The bear loomed over him, raising one huge paw.

  He hoped Phoebe had run while he distracted it. If she escaped, his death would be worth something.

  Please, God, save her.

  “JONAH!”

  A screaming blur charged at the bear and a branch smashed down on its snout.

  Leaving Jonah, the bear swiveled to face the new threat.

  Phoebe swung the thick branch she held, hitting its face again.

  It roared, rising onto its back legs.

  Jonah lunged to his feet, a rock the size of his fist clutched in his hand.

  He hurled it with all his strength at the bear’s nose.

  He followed it with another rock, and another.

  The bear dropped back onto all fours and Phoebe raised her branch to attack.

  Apparently deciding they were too much trouble, the grizzly turned and made for the bushes from which it had emerged.

  Jonah grabbed Phoebe’s arm. “Come on!”

  She dropped the branch and they ran blindly in the opposite direction.

  Branches slapped at them as they plunged through the undergrowth. Roots threatened to trip them. Rocks rolled from beneath their feet.

  But they kept on running, until they couldn’t run anymore.

  Finally stumbling to a halt, they gasped in ragged lungfuls of air.

  “Quiet,” Jonah panted, stilling his breathing.

  She did the same, and they listened.

  Birds sang. Small creatures rustled in the dead leaves on the ground.

  No bears crashed through the forest after them.

  She stared at him with wild eyes. She was covered in dirt. One sleeve was ripped. Tangled hair splayed over her face, half still pinned in place, half blowing in the breeze.