Walk of Shame

by Gregory, O. L.

  "But you've shot rifles?"

  "Yeah. My dad made me learn how to handle guns, and then made me go hunting and make an animal kill, before he'd give me his blessing to live on the road. He said I had to be prepared for both human and nonhuman predators."

  He gave me a nod. "All right, then." He handed me two rifles with straps. "Put the one with the red tape around yourself first.

  I handed the blue taped one back to him to hold while I checked the red one's safety and ammo quickly before putting the strap around me.

  "The red one is filled with bullets. It's plan B. You only use it if the bear is charging you directly. Otherwise," he said, handing me the second rifle again, "use the blue rifle. It shots tranquilizers."

  I took the weapon and checked its setup quickly. "Why are we gearing me up?"

  "Because you never know what's going to happen when working with wild animals. We like to be prepared. Look over at the other ranger. He's strapping on two rifles as well, in case the animal heads for their group. But it's our job to bring it down first and keep the animal contained."

  "Okay."

  The ranger took us through the woods, to the spot of the last sighting, and then he and Phillip tracked the animal from there. I saw the size of the prints. This thing was no small, furry, woodland creature.

  Phillip and the ranger started signaling back and forth to each other, obviously having spotted the animal and not wanting to tip it off to our presence. Phillip held out his hand, curling and uncurling his fingers for me to come to him. As silently as I could, I made my way over.

  He lined me up in front of him and he walked me into the position he wanted me in. Then he stood behind me, just to my right, so he could whisper into my ear.

  "What. The. Hell. Is that thing?" I whispered.

  "A bear," he whispered back.

  "It's a freaking big bear."

  "It's a grizzly."

  I turned to look at him.

  He put a hand on top of my head and turned it back. "You never take your eye off the animal. He wondered into the park a few weeks ago. They want him collared so they can track him and make sure he doesn't become a nuisance."

  "Okay."

  "All right. Now, get your blue gun, line up your shot, and take it."

  "You've got to be freaking kidding me."

  "I'm going to stay right beside you and line up a shot, too. If you miss, I'll shoot him with a tranquilizer."

  "Are you serious?"

  "If you can't do it..."

  Son of a bitch, I thought with an agitated sigh. I pulled the gun off myself, slowly, and lifted it to line up the shot. I waited until Phillip had his shot lined up and I wondered how many of the others had figured out that I had a hard time backing down from a challenge.

  "Go ahead," he whispered.

  I braced myself for the kickback and fired.

  Have you ever watched a grizzly realize it's been shot and get mad about it? The roar was enough to make me pee my pants a little. Seriously. He sank to the ground and I about sank to my knees.

  I'm game to participate in a lot of things, but I was good living life without this being a part of this.

  Phillip gathered me to him in a one-armed hug and kissed my cheek before he and the ranger sprang into action. They approached the bear to get him equipped with a collar and give him a quick exam to make sure he was relatively healthy.

  "Come over here," Phillip called out.

  It was a series of tentative steps that carried me over to them.

  "Pet him," Phillip said.

  I just looked at him, stupefied.

  "When will you ever again get the chance to be this up close and personal with a grizzly?"

  I gave him a weak smile and placed a hand on the bear's head.

  Once they had their tasks done, we all found spots to sit and watch the bear from a distance, to wait and make sure he woke up all right.

  "So, what do you think?" Phillip asked.

  "You know, you're so quiet. You're the quietest out of all the guys. And you play your cards very close to the vest. But then you come out here, strap on guns and shoot grizzlies, and you're perfectly fine going right up to him and start working around his big head. You're quite the paradox."

  He chuckled. "Not your cup of tea?"

  "I think with practice I could manage to not get so freaked out by it, but I'm in no way thinking about changing careers. I'll be quite happy to let you handle the shooting and tagging. But the following behind sounds pretty cool."

  He smiled and gave me a squeeze.

  "I can't believe you do this for a living."

  "I don't do a lot of this. I'm telling you, most of my job is computer and paperwork."

  The moment we stepped foot back in camp, Stephen opened his door, stuck his head out, and whistled for me to come over.

  "You mean to tell me that you're finally going to get around to doing something with me?" I teased.

  "Go grab your laptop," he said.

  I nodded and headed for my rig. I went in and grabbed my computer and a soda on my way between rigs, and stepped up inside Stephen's travel trailer.

  The interior was all neutral wall coverings and wood trim, but with vividly colored accents.

  "What are we doing?" I asked.

  "Well, I figure you've been outside for the last forty-eight hours, except for a few hours of sleep. You must be ready to get out of the sun."

  "What? You're not jumping on the 'let's show the little lady what I do for a living, for real' bandwagon?"

  "I've already taken you traipsing through the woods to take pictures. I could take you back up in a chopper to get aerial photos, but I think you get the idea."

  "I do."

  "Good. So I thought, since I'm ahead of the game, that I'd show you everyday life with me."

  I smiled. I was constantly underestimating him. Here I thought that he was lagging behind, again, in spending time with me. But the whole time, he was letting the others play catch up, all the while planning his next move.

  "Okay. So, what do we do?"

  "We're going to work in here."

  I laughed. "You're serious?"

  "Sure. Pick a spot, pull up a draft or outline, and have at it. I'm going to take up residence in my chair and bring up video clips so I can record and add voiced narrations. We'll see if we can get the work done without driving each other nuts."

  It was an intriguing idea. "Is your couch comfy?"

  "Very. Give it a try."

  We spent the entire afternoon and early evening working. And I didn't work on articles or blog posts, I worked on outlining more on that novel idea I'd had a few weeks prior. Ideas for that story had been marinating in my mind and it felt good to get it all down on virtual paper.

  The camera crewmembers were bored out of their skulls, waiting for us to do something worthy of their being there with cameras rolling.

  When he started recording his voice work, I took a moment just to watch him. It was then that I decided I liked the timbre of his voice and the way he was careful to enunciate each word, without sounding like a robot. He could inject a touch of humor or excitement into his voice just enough to make the information sound interesting. "You should record books," I told him.

  "I've thought about it," he answered with a smile.

  "I can hook you up with a site where you can freelance and give it a try."

  "You put a family in close quarters like this and it'll be hard to make a spot quiet enough to record for any real length of time."

  "True."

  He smiled. "You like the sound of my voice?"

  I smiled back at him. "Yes. And I like how this place smells like you."

  His smile broadened, though he tried not to let it, as he set his laptop aside and moved over to sit next to me on the couch. "So, you like what you hear and what you smell. I assume you like what you see." He brushed my hair behind my ear and nuzzled my neck. "Do you like what you feel?" he whispered when I breathed a sigh.
His hands cupped my chin and let his lips hover centimeters from mine. "Do I overwhelm your senses?"

  "Keep it up and you just might," I whispered back, closing my laptop before he reached over and took it off my lap to place it on the side table.

  By the time he got me horizontal, Troy was knocking on the door to snag me for interviews about my day.

  After Troy finished with me, I joined the nightly gathering around the fire pit. I let Chloe hold court for the night. She was in the midst of quizzing the guys how they have handled a crisis on the road. They all had ready answers.

  I shook my head at her. If she thought to help eliminate a guy because he wasn't road savvy, I thought she was going to come up empty-handed. They all seemed to have a good handle on the lifestyle.

  Goldie whined on the outskirts of the gathering, and I looked down to find her with a stick and a wagging tail. The poor dog looked like she didn't even care who got up to throw for her. She'd take anybody. I felt bad over not having had any time for her over the last couple days and got up to go to her.

  Jared was already standing to help her out as well. He gave me a questioning brow and I nodded. We walked Goldie the short distance to the lake and he started tossing the stick out for her to swim after.

  "Do you miss your dog?" I asked him.

  "Yeah, I do, especially now that we're back in our rigs."

  "How do you keep him from messing up your field samples?"

  "I gate off the kitchen."

  "Like with baby gates?"

  "Yep."

  "And he respects the gate?"

  "If he doesn't want a time-out, locked in the bathroom, he does."

  "Cool."

  His grin was lopsided. "I am the alpha dog."

  I grinned back at him. "I bet you are."

  He took my hand. "And they like to sleep with me because I have the cuddle thing down to a science."

  I turned into his ready embrace and stared at his mouth. "Well this, I know. And I bet you manage to rub them in just the right spots, too."

  His gaze fell to my mouth, as his smile grew more confident. "Damn right I do," he whispered before closing the distance to kiss me under the moonlight.

  We ended up horizontal in the sand before Goldie got impatient enough to come over and shake off the water clinging to her coat right next to us. It was enough to break the spell between us.

  Jared walked Goldie and me to our door, where Chloe was waiting. He said goodnight and winked before turning to leave.

  I shut the door and grabbed a towel to help dry Goldie.

  "Why is there sand in your hair?" Chloe questioned.

  "Because we were at that small portion of sandy beach a little bit down from here."

  "That explains sand on your feet and legs. It doesn't get in your hair unless you're rolling around on it."

  "Jealous?"

  "Yes."

  We laughed, then I showered before collapsing into bed.

  Friday

  "You've got to be freaking kidding me! Go. Away," I yelled at the door that'd been stupid enough to let somebody knock on it.

  Goldie whined and lifted her head.

  "Don't you dare bark," I muttered at her.

  She yawned, dropped her mouth open to pant, and wagged her tail.

  Jared opened the door and stuck his head in the room. "We have breakfast waiting," he said.

  I grunted at him.

  He took two steps into the room and closed the door behind him. "If you want, I can bring a plate in to you," he offered.

  Goldie whined and inched her way over to the edge of the bed.

  "I'm too tired to eat. I'll find something at lunch, if I'm still alive," I said.

  He stepped forward, gave Goldie an affectionate pat, kicked off his sneakers with a sigh, and got under the covers with me. He wrapped his arms around me, nuzzled my neck, nipped my ear, and started whispering in his low, southern voice. "You're the center of attention, baby. We need you out there. We're all lost without our ray of sunshine."

  I blew out a breath. "You're so full of it."

  "Wow. Usually you think I'm all sorts of cute. And deep whispers in your ear make you feel like you're being coated in melted butter."

  I reached around and put a finger on his lips. "Shhh. I'm tired. I'm grouchy. I don't want to take that out on you, so either hush or leave." Then I rolled back over and snuggled with a pillow, hoping someone would hit the pause button and let me sleep a little longer.

  Jared pulled his arms away and I thought he was going to go and take Goldie with him. I was sorry to have chased him away and made a mental note to apologize to him later. But then his hands reached under the back of my pajama top and he began to massage my shoulders. When I didn't respond right away, he upped the pressure and dug in, kneading the muscles.

  Heaven, pure and simple. He worked the back of my neck, both my shoulders, and lower back with me humming and sighing the entire time.

  He massaged me out of my grouchiness.

  And this time when he nuzzled my neck, my head moved back to rest on his shoulder. He reached down and pulled my hips back against his. I could feel him through his shorts, against my backside, and it took everything I had not to grind back on him.

  But then he nipped my ear and whispered, "All better now?"

  And I ground back on him anyway.

  Goldie jumped down to the floor and resettled herself, safe away from nudging feet.

  Jared groaned and started laying strategic kisses on my neck that had me humming in a completely different way.

  I rolled in his arms, pushed him on his back, and climbed on top of him.

  Chloe opened the door and snapped her fingers for Goldie. "Do whatever you two are going to do, but don't corrupt the dog." She shut the door after Goldie left.

  The intense spell broken, we laughed and decided that it was time to get up and get the day started. Jared straightened his clothes and headed back out to the guys. I grabbed my robe and made my way to the shower.

  Showers usually served to revive me a bit, but it didn't work this time. I came out feeling about as energized as I was when Jared first woke me up. The MA came, dressed me, and swiped her brushes all over my face. She tried to engage me in conversation, but the most I managed was a few grunts. She sighed, swiped something else on me, and deemed me acceptable for the cameras. I went outside and flopped into a camp chair.

  "Good morning, princess," Troy said from the picnic table.

  I just looked at him, still in no mood to really move or do anything.

  "Tired, are we?" he asked.

  My stare continued.

  He nodded knowingly. "Over-stimulated, I know. Too much going on," he murmured. He clapped his hands together and looked up at the guys. "You all broke the pretty, pretty princess when you wouldn't give her any downtime."

  "So now what do we do with her?" Jared asked with a devilish grin. "Toss her in a boat and throw her overboard?"

  "How about we turn back time and don't make her get out of bed?" I tossed out, openly letting my sarcasm flow.

  "Okay," Troy said, trying to placate me. "What would you like to do today?"

  "Nothing," was my immediate response. "You know how you feel when you need an extra day of vacation to recover from your vacation? That's how I feel. I need a day of nothing. No work, no pulling me in a half-dozen different directions, no cameras, just a day of nothing."

  "All right," Chloe said with a determined nod, turning to Troy. "She's mine today. Tell production we're deliberating over the men, or whatever you need to say, to keep them out of our hair." She turned to me, "Go hook your computer up to your TV. I'm going to go put an order in with catering."

  I didn't wait for anybody to agree to anything. I just got up and went back inside my home. I was in the middle of hooking the cord to the TV when Chloe got back.

  She came in with a grocery bag full of stuff, set it on the floor, and started yanking cushions off the couch.

  "What're you
doing?" I asked.

  "You remember when we'd get sick and Mom would gather all the cushions, pillows, and blankets on the floor?"

  "Yeah. She said she was building us a nest for us to relax and get better in."

  She lifted and unfolded the pullout bed and pointed down to it. "Well think of this as a nest for adults. Go grab all your pillows."

  I had to hand it to my sister a few hours later. She knew how to break my mood. We watched back episodes of my favorite soap opera and snacked on junk food. I was back to almost normal by mid-afternoon.

  Catering knocked on the door at two and dropped off two more bags of groceries to Chloe.

  "What are we making?" I asked.

  "I can do it myself, if you still need more time," she said.

  "Are you just making something quick for dinner, or are you going to get a project going?"

  "I was thinking a big batch of meatballs."

  "Using Mom's meatloaf recipe?"

  "Yeah. Cook up some spaghetti and let the guys see a little of what they have to look forward to. We wouldn't have to eat with them. We could fill our plates and then throw the rest out the window, they'll come running like dogs," she teased.

  I smiled. "I could handle eating with them if they'll stop dragging me off to different places."

  "I didn't realize how exhausting this all must be for you. I was picturing all Champaign and moonlight for you."

  "It wasn't this bad before. It's just that since we got here, they've all declared open season on getting my attention. Every time I turn around, someone is snagging me to take me somewhere else. I'm used to there being some semblance of a break."

  We continued with our discussion, and she got me talking about how things were going this week as we pulled out ingredients and started mixing. We rolled the balls and got them in the oven, having to cook them in two separate batches because of the smaller size of my appliance. Then we started simmering them in spaghetti sauce.

  Dinner turned out well. We made the meatballs and then realized we could call catering and ask them to handle the rest. By the time we ventured out of the rig, they had sent down spaghetti, salad, and cheesy garlic bread.

  "The pretty princess is still on a dating strike," Chloe warned the guys, after I'd sent her outside first. "If you spook her, she will go back into hiding."