Love Another Day

by Regina A Hanel

  She grabbed her shotgun and a few extra shells and jumped out of the truck. She ran to the back, grabbed her EMS bag, and checked the GPS one more time--still no movement or response from Halie. Praying nothing was wrong, she started off into the woods.

  Sam ran as fast as she could, zigzagging between trees and ducking around branches. Her heart beat swiftly and heavily in her chest. Sweat trickled down her face. Her eyes rocketed from left to right, fully alert of her surroundings as she raced forward. Damn it! Why didn't she listen to me? I knew I shouldn't have let her go alone!

  Nearing a clearing where bright beams of sunlight streamed through the trees, Sam paused to check her GPS. She was close. She ran up an incline to the brush at the edge of a clearing where she stopped, hands on her hips, gasping for air. Her feet mobilized when she heard the distinct roar of a bear. It was close. Too close. Another few yards of sprinting and Sam found her, at the bottom of a rocky slope.

  Halie was going backwards as a brown bear ran on all fours in her direction. It stood about four feet tall, but Sam knew it was much bigger than that. She watched incredulously as Halie raised her camera and pressed the shutter button, snapping a photo. The sound or movement or both caused the bear to rise to his full height of seven feet. He let out a roar louder than the first one, the sound reverberating in Sam's chest.

  "Shit!" Sam yelled, waving her arms in the air, shotgun overhead. "Over here, over here. Come get me!"

  She saw Halie fall to the ground, unmoving, eyes wide with fear.

  "Hey!" Sam yelled again.

  The bear abruptly swung around and fell to all fours. He smelled the air for Sam's scent and location. He stood motionless for several seconds, but rather than run off into the woods, which is what Sam had hoped he would do, he remained planted.

  Sam started down the incline, yelling louder and waving her arms more frantically.

  The massive animal responded by stomping in her direction with powerful, long strides.

  As soon as she was within shooting range Sam stopped to steady the shotgun. As she did, her boot slipped on the loose, rocky soil, sending her stumbling to her knees and further toward the bear. Her knuckles scraped against stone, exposing raw flesh and jarring the weapon from her hands.

  As the brown mass rushed toward her, Sam heard Halie yell, "No! Sam, look out! Oh my God! No!" Eyes riveted on the charging beast, Sam's hands frantically searched the ground for the shotgun, but found nothing. She'd have to break eye contact, knowing it would take only a second for him to pounce.

  Her eyes darted from the bear to the ground. The gun had slid down a few feet from her. With seconds remaining, she launched forward, stretching her arm far as she could toward the weapon. When she felt it, she wrapped her fingers around the barrel, rolled over, and pulled the trigger.

  Nothing happened. She considered drawing her pistol, but there was no time.

  "Holy good Jesus!" Sam yelled. Fifteen, maybe twenty strides at most was all the time she'd have left before she'd meet her own demise. She slammed her hand into the side of the shotgun several times, grimacing in pain. She pushed herself to her knees and steadied it. She squeezed the trigger. The gun fired.

  The bear stopped, nostrils flaring. He backed off a couple steps, his eyes fixed on Sam.

  Sam's shot didn't get the response she expected. The bear hadn't run off. Nine times out of ten he would have. Nerves rattled, she readied the shotgun again and fired. This time the bear bolted off into the woods to the other side of the grassy clearing.

  Sam leaned forward over her knees, the adrenaline receding and allowing her thoughts to flow clearly again. Hands shaking, she pushed herself to her feet and ran to Halie. She laid the shotgun on the ground, knelt, and embraced her.

  Halie's complexion was white as a ghost. She shook in Sam's arms.

  "It's okay. I'm here. Everything'll be okay." Sam held Halie and rocked her for several minutes until the shaking slowed. Thank God she's okay. She felt Halie's body heave as the sobs came pouring out of her.

  "I--I thought he was going to kill you. I'm so glad you're here. H--How did you know I was in trouble?" Halie muttered.

  Sam released her hold. "Shhhsh, it's okay, we're both safe now. I thought you called me on the GPS."

  "I didn't. I never got a chance." Halie's response was a near whisper. She reached for her backpack. "I tried to grab the GPS when the bear got too interested in me, but I guess it must've fallen off."

  "That explains why I got no answer." Sam stroked Halie's back. "I'm so glad you're here. I don't know what would've

  happened if you hadn't come." Halie paused. "I--you--didn't kill the bear did you?"

  Sam laughed and bent forward, gently kissing Halie on the forehead. "You're something else, you know that? That bear almost made minced meat out of you and me, and all you're worried about is if I killed him? No, I grazed him is all. If he hadn't run when he did though, the next shot would've been to the heart. It would've been him or me at that point."

  "I'm glad you didn't have to kill him. I would've felt like it was my fault. So he'll be okay?"

  "Yeah, he'll be fine. You, on the other hand, don't look so hot. Blood was oozing from above Halie's eyebrow, and the skin covering her cheek was scraped. Let me get you fixed up." Sam rifled through her EMS bag. "You can plan on having a beauty of a headache tonight and for the next day or two."

  "My head's already pounding," Halie said, rubbing the side of her temple. "This whole day's been crazy right from the start. I should've called you this morning and packed it in from the get go, but I was too stubborn."

  "Why? What happened this morning?"

  "I'll tell you about it on the ride back. Right now I just wanna get out of here." When Sam finished bandaging Halie's wounds, Halie said, "Let me see that." She carefully took hold of Sam's injured hand.

  Dirt and pebbles ground into the raw, torn flesh. Sam'd had worse wounds. "It's nothing. I'll take care of it when I get home," she said absently.

  "You are impossible, Samantha Takoda Tyler," Halie said, shaking her head.

  "I know. It's genetic." She pulled back her hand, stood, and then searched the ground for the GPS. She found it near a rock. The casing was shattered, but the device was otherwise operable. She tucked it into her pocket. "Can you stand?"

  "I think so," Halie whispered.

  Sam extended Halie her good hand and pulled her to her feet. She held Halie by the arms until she regained her balance.

  Halie slid her hand onto Sam's forearm and looked into her eyes and said nothing. Sam wasn't sure what she saw in Halie's gaze and jumped when she softly said, "Thank you. I've never met anyone like you."

  Sam swallowed hard, her face flush. A humble grin etched the corners of her mouth. She felt the same way.

  Halie cupped Sam's face in her hands and kissed her on the lips.

  Chapter Fourteen

  THE NEXT DAY Halie lay on top of the bedcovers resting a throbbing head. The scrapes and bruises didn't bother her, only the incessant pounding because it prevented her from working. As a consequence, she spent the morning drifting in and out of sleep, replaying the bear incident over and over in her mind.

  Several rapid knocks on the door woke her. "Who is it?" she groggily responded, wincing as she lifted her head from the pillow.

  "It's your friendly neighborhood park ranger, with lunch for the temporarily disabled," Sam said.

  "What?" she mumbled. Halie gingerly crawled out of bed and rose to her feet as if in slow motion to keep her head from punishing her, which she knew it would if she'd gotten up too fast. She straightened out her clothes and ran her fingers through her hair. "Hang on a second," she yelled as she ducked into the bathroom, took a quick swig from the bottle of mouthwash, rinsed, and spit. On her way to the door, she snatched her watch off the desktop. "Crap, it's noon already," she whispered, slipping it on her wrist. She ran her fingers through her hair one more time, then slid the chain from its holder and unlocked the deadbolt. The poundin
g of her heart quickened.

  Sam stood handsomely on the other side of the door, lunch bag in hand, smirking. Her eyes sparkled as she stood statuesque in her crisply pressed uniform. "Surprise!"

  Halie was elated to see Sam. "Surprise is right. You're lucky you brought food or I wouldn't have let you in."

  "I figured as much, which is why I came prepared. How are you feeling?"

  "Not great, but it could be worse." Halie reached out and took Sam's hand in her own. "I see you listened to me and bandaged your hand."

  "Of course, I said I would, didn't I?"

  Halie uttered an unconvincing "hmmph" before releasing Sam.

  Halie watched Sam's eyes travel across the hotel room walls. Since Sam's last visit she had hung the photos she'd shot and developed on the walls from the ceiling to the floor. Having the images surrounding her helped her with her writing.

  "These photos are incredible. You've managed to capture so many different animals already, doing everything from eating and playing to caring for their young, not to mention the incredible landscape photos." Sam pointed at a cluster of photos near the entrance to the bedroom. "And there's our muddy moose pal. I like the way you caught the reflection of that tree frog in a drop of water hanging off the end of a leaf too. No wonder your magazine chose you to do the cover story."

  "Thanks," Halie replied. She blushed as she took the sandwiches out of the large brown bag. Her stomach growled when she saw the food. She was hungry. She'd slept through breakfast.

  "These photos would look great hanging in my cabin. Too bad the magazine gets them all."

  "Well, I decided they're not getting all of them." Halie strolled over to the desk behind her, and picked up a red folder. "They're not getting this one," she said, handing Sam the folder.

  Sam opened it and stared at the contents. "When did you take this?"

  Halie couldn't keep from smiling. The expression on Sam's face was priceless. "Last Friday, by Jenny Lake."

  "But when--"

  "When we were sitting on the log waiting for the elk. You'd drifted off with your thoughts, and I wanted to capture the place you had gone to and what you were feeling there."

  Sam blushed. "I remember."

  "Every time I look at that photo, I wonder what you were thinking."

  Before Sam would have had a chance to reply, Halie put her hand up. "Don't say anything yet. I like the mystery behind it. Besides, we gotta get some food in you before your lunch break's over."

  "I brought the food more for you than for me. I'm not actually that hungry. I didn't sleep too well last night."

  Halie sat on the corner of the bed. "I'm sorry. I'm glad you stopped by though. How can I thank you for coming and bringing me lunch?"

  "You don't have to thank me. Truth is I couldn't stop thinking about you."

  "Really? And exactly what was it you were thinking about?"

  Sam opened her sandwich and took a miniscule bite, her cheeks deepening their already red color with each passing second.

  Halie sat waiting for a response, her ear tilted toward Sam.

  "Well--ugh--I ugh--I don't know. Lots of things."

  "Such as?" Halie asked.

  "Oh, no you don't. I'm not going there right now. I've only got a half hour for lunch and you're not doing that to me again."

  "Doing what?"

  "You know what." Sam pulled the crust from one corner of the sandwich and placed it in her mouth. "I know why I'm not eating, but what's going on with you? You haven't even touched your sandwich yet. You must've hit your head awfully hard yesterday."

  "Is that a dig?"

  "Maybe. Is the pounding real bad? You feeling nauseous?"

  "Yeah to both. How'd you know?"

  "I've been there. I know it's no fun, but you've got to eat to keep up your energy."

  "What do you mean, you've been there?"

  "I fell--hit my head two years ago hiking up Grand Teton. It's a long story. Too long for a lunch break." Sam put her sandwich on the desk on top of the brown bag. "I better get back to work. You think you'll be okay for dinner tomorrow, or should I call April and Corrine and cancel?"

  "I hope I'll be fine by then. Don't cancel. Besides, me pass up food twice in a row? Not a chance."

  "True," Sam said. "Pick you up at five-thirty?"

  "Five-thirty's great. I'm looking forward to it."

  Halie watched as Sam reached the door and opened it to leave. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

  "I don't think so."

  "Oh, I definitely think you are." Halie went to Sam. Their eyes met an instant before she found Sam's lips, cradling them in her own. She kissed Sam gently at first, then firmly and hungrily until Sam stumbled backward a step, loosing grip of the door. "Problem, Ranger Tyler? You haven't been drinking have you?"

  Sam responded slowly. "Very funny. You know you're not playing fair. This is what I was trying to avoid."

  "I know, but I can't help myself."

  Chapter Fifteen

  SAM PULLED INTO April and Corrine's driveway and shut off the Expedition. She glanced at Halie. "Are you okay?" "Yeah. I'm fine. I'm just a little nervous, that's all. I'm sure it'll pass as soon as I meet them."

  "They're real easy to get along with. You'll see." Sam escorted Halie toward the front door and rang the bell. She thought Halie looked stunning in the tan, rib knit sweater she wore under a coral suede jacket that tapered at the waist. The jacket had a swirling pattern of suede cloverleaf appliqué and copper snap buttons that she left open. She also wore off-white jeans that hugged her hips and accentuated her slim, curvy figure. At the last second, Sam handed Halie the bottle of wine she'd been holding.

  April and Corrine stood in front of the glass door smiling. Corrine held the door open. "Come on in you two, it's getting nippy out there."

  The house smelled of patchouli and lemon grass. Had to be Corrine's doing, since Sam knew April wasn't a fan of incense. "April, Corrine, this is Halie," Sam said. "Halie, these are my friends April and Corrine."

  "It's a pleasure to meet you both," Halie said, handing Corrine the bottle of wine. "For you."

  "Thanks so much," Corrine said, then quickly added, "Hey, what happened to the two of you? You look like you've had a run in with a mountain lion or something."

  "Close," Sam said. "A bear. We'll tell you about it later."

  "Can't wait to hear this one," April interjected.

  Halie scanned the room. "Your home is beautiful."

  "Thank you. It's an older house, but we've done quite a bit of remodeling," Corrine said. "Let me give you a tour."

  A few minutes later they joined Sam and April, who had made themselves comfortable in front of the snack trays set on the coffee table in the living room.

  "Your home truly is charming," Halie said. "I can see you've put lots of love into it."

  "Thanks," Corrine said. "We did do a lot with this house and continue making improvements. Sometimes it seems like the work never ends, but we wouldn't trade it for anything."

  "I'm sure," Halie said. "I rent, but it would be nice to own a home one day. I'm in no rush though."

  "That's smart. You don't know how often I see people buy a home that isn't right for them. Wine?" Corrine asked.

  Sam and Halie both said yes. Sam motioned Halie to sit on the sofa next to her while April did the honors of uncorking the bottle and handing everyone three-quarter-full glasses.

  The one snack tray was filled with various cheeses, crackers, and vegetables, and the other held a bowl of grapes and a bowl of mixed nuts. Next to the trays were placed small decorative paper plates and napkins.

  "Please help yourselves," April said. "Don't be shy. We know you're not, Sam."

  "I can't help myself when it comes to snacking. I'd take that over a meal any day," Sam replied.

  "So that's your weakness, is it?" Halie said.

  "That's one of them."

  Corrine stood and lifted her glass in the air. She winked at Sam. "To love and friends
hip. May they both stay strong and last forever."

  After the toast, April asked Halie, "Sam tells me you're a photojournalist for a magazine in Boston and you're writing an article on the park?"

  "That's right. Chief Thundercloud's been gracious in allowing me to do the story, and of course, I got lucky having Sam as my guide."

  Sam shifted in her seat, ignoring eye contact with April.

  "What's the story going to be about?" April asked.

  "I don't know if you were aware of this or not, not too many people are, but Grand Teton is one of the parks in line for closure next year."

  "Are you kidding? How can they do that? That would devastate this area. What makes this park such a target? I mean we're small in comparison to Yellowstone and some of the other national parks," April said.

  Sam interjected. "From what Halie and the Chief have told me, Grand Teton has had several years of significant declining visitation counts, and it's been in the public and political eye with its controversy over snowmobiling. Somehow we seem to have gotten ourselves on the radar."

  "Snowmobiling," April said. "That's crazy."

  "I know, it does seem crazy," Sam continued, "but millions of tax dollars have been spent on that issue. Maybe that's made Grand Teton an eye sore to the higher-ups in Washington."

  The ringing of the doorbell interrupted their conversation.

  "Who's that?" April asked Corrine.

  "I have no idea. I wasn't expecting anyone else. I'll go see."

  After Sam heard the front door open, she also overheard what sounded like arguing. Not a minute later, Corrine walked into the living room behind another woman.

  "Uh, everyone. This is Jenna Mills, a friend of ours and an old friend of Sam's. She's stopped by for a quick hello," Corrine said.