by Kelly Wacker
“If I were a bear, I’d have bitten you.” Sula liked to tease her.
“If you were a bear, I would have pepper-sprayed your ass! You damn near gave me a heart attack.”
“I’d rather have a cup of coffee, if you don’t mind.”
“Help yourself. You know where it is.” Betty’s mouth turned down in a frown, but her eyes were smiling.
Sula left and then returned with a cup in her hand.
“You came all the way out here for a cup of coffee?”
Sula sat down in the chair in front of Betty’s desk and crossed her legs. “I’m picking up Melissa Warren in a half hour to take her out to see one of the places in her paintings.”
“You mean your great-grandmother’s painting.”
“Yes, well, they’re the same thing, right?”
“I suppose so. So, when did you talk to Melissa? I’m guessing it went well enough if you’ve got a date.”
“It’s not a date.” Sula sipped her coffee. “We met last week—twice, actually. The first time was an accident.”
“An accident? How so?”
“I was having dinner in the bar at the River Grill. Melissa was there. She was waiting on Kerry, only I didn’t know yet who Melissa was. It was the day she went on that trail ride you suggested and saw the mountain lion. Kerry came in and, after she saw me, started showing off. You know how she is. She was a little drunk and—” Sula took another sip of coffee, pausing to figure out how to put it into words.
“You got into a fight?”
Sula winced. “Not a fight exactly, but we exchanged words.”
“Uh-huh.” The crease between Betty’s eyebrows deepened. “You know she just quit on me.”
“What?”
“Yep. She said she got a full-time government job.”
“Huh. So, what are you going to do?”
“Little Lars is going to take over for now. I always thought he preferred working in the cattle operation, but he’s been surprisingly good in the livery. I’ll give him a chance, and if it doesn’t work out, I’ll advertise the position.”
“I wonder what she means by a government job.”
“I have no idea. I wondered the same thing. So, what’d you get in a fight over?”
“It wasn’t a fight.” Sula shook her head.
“Okay…so what did you exchange words over?”
“The usual—trophy hunting. She said she wished she could have shot the mountain lion.”
Betty grunted her displeasure and didn’t ask any more questions about Kerry. “Tell me about your date with Melissa.”
Sula ignored Betty’s use of the word date. “I’m taking her up above Moon Lake. There’s a spot on Icy Creek that matches the view in that one painting.”
“And when are you going to tell her you live in the house that’s in the other painting?” Betty leaned back in her chair, clasping her hands and tapping her thumbs together while she waited for an answer.
Sula sighed. “I’m not sure. We’ll see how today goes.” Sula glanced at the clock on the wall and raised her cup. “Well, I better get going. Thanks for the coffee, Betty.”
“You’re welcome,” Betty said. And as soon as Sula walked out of the office, she called out after her, “Enjoy your date.”
“It’s not a date,” Sula said, not turning around, and put her cup in the bin by the coffee pot. She started to walk away but then turned and narrowed her eyes at Betty. “Why do you keep calling it a date?”
“Because I’ve never seen you wear makeup when going on a hike.” Betty’s laughter sounded like a hen cackling.
In a gesture of exasperation, Sula put the palm of her hand to her forehead and waved good-bye to Betty as she opened the screen door and left the lodge.
Melissa was standing on the deck of the cabin cradling a mug in both hands, gazing at the meadow, when Sula turned on to the driveway. She was just as attractive in a T-shirt, hiking pants, and boots as she was in a sundress and sandals. Sula parked, took a deep breath, and held it in for a second before exhaling and opening the door.
“Good morning!” Melissa smiled and waved as Sula got out. “I love your Bronco! What year is it?”
“Good morning.” Sula smiled back. “It’s a ’76.”
“I’m a little envious. My dad had a ’69 when I was a kid. I loved that car and was heartbroken when he sold it before I got my driver’s license.”
“These old Broncos are great if you don’t need to carry much, and they’re better for small roads.” Sula pointed a thumb over her shoulder. “I found it in North Park. It belonged to a rancher and had sat in his barn for twenty years. It didn’t look like this before I had it restored.”
“I haven’t ridden in one in forever. That’s a nice color, too. Looks like the sky this morning.”
Sula glanced up at the clear azure sky and nodded. “Are you ready?”
“I am. I just need to go in and grab my pack. Be right back.”
Sula unlatched the tire gate on the back and swung the spare out of the way to lift the window. While she waited for Melissa, she admired the view of the meadow below. She liked the way the cabin was den-like and secure, tucked into the trees against the mountainside. The leaves of the aspens trembled and shimmered in the breeze, their white trunks and branches standing out. Melissa, carrying a daypack and a water bottle, came around the corner of the Bronco and placed them in the back next to Sula’s pack. Sula pulled the window down and swung the spare tire back in place. As she latched the gate, Melissa put a hand on her forearm.
“Thank you so much for this, Sula. It’s very kind of you to take me out.”
Melissa’s touch, her hand pleasantly warm, startled Sula. Her eyes, seemingly greener in the morning light, were mesmerizing.
“You’re welcome,” Sula said. She resisted reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind Melissa’s ear. “Do you have a hat and some sunscreen?”
“The sunscreen is on, and the hat’s in my pack.”
“Excellent.” Sula pulled a folded map out of her back pocket and held it up. “Would you like to see where we’re going?”
“A woman with a real map? Be still, my beating heart.” Melissa was joking.
Sula raised her eyebrows, a question forming on her face.
“Everyone has a cell phone and GPS. So few people actually use real maps anymore.”
“I like to see the big picture…well, big,” Sula said, unfolding the map.
Melissa regarded Sula with an appreciative look. “That’s exactly what I like about paper maps.”
“And you also don’t need to rely on a signal or batteries to make it work.”
“That’s an even better reason to use them.”
Sula gestured for Melissa to follow her to the front of the Bronco. She laid the map across the hood, holding it down with her left hand and pointing out features with her right. She showed Melissa the boundaries of the ranch, her land, and the conservancy’s property.
Melissa looked at the map carefully and then pointed to a dark-green section. “So, all together they create a buffer between Buckhorn and Roosevelt National Forest here?”
“It’s more like a corridor. Everything plus the national forest make one very large area where development is restricted. My land, the conservancy’s land, and Buckhorn Creek Ranch are all in conservation easements. It’s a federal program. As long as the properties are privately owned, development is restricted.”
“And that’s good for bears.”
“Exactly, but not just bears. Protect bears—”
“And you protect everything else.”
“Very good, Dr. Warren.”
“I didn’t earn my ‘friend of bears’ sticker for nothing.” Melissa laughed.
“I noticed the sticker on your car.” Sula smiled. Melissa was difficult not to like, and she felt unusually comfortable with her. “Okay, so now that you’ve got the big picture…” Sula put her finger down on the map. “We are here.” She moved her f
inger across the surface of the map, following a solid line that turned into a dotted one near a lake. “Here, the road becomes a jeep track, and from there we’ll work our way up Raven Mountain.”
The dotted line made a series of zigzags.
“Oh, switchbacks.” Melissa’s eyes grew big. “I guess this is why you’re driving the Bronco.”
Sula nodded. “We’ll gain some elevation and then drop down on the other side of the mountain. The road ends here, and from there it’s about a mile and a half to the creek.”
“Why are we standing here talking? Fold up that map. Let’s go!”
Sula laughed, folding the map as she got into the driver’s seat.
Melissa opened the passenger-side door and looked around.
“Do you need a hand up?”
“No. I’m fine.” Melissa climbed in and slid into the well-padded bucket seat. “I’m just checking out this interior. This is not what I remember of my dad’s car.”
“These seats are much more comfortable than the originals, and safer, too.”
“It’s snug.” Melissa wiggled her butt in the contoured seat and then reached over her shoulder for the seat belt. “I feel like I’m being hugged.”
Sula imagined what it would be like to hug Melissa, to wrap her arms around her. No doubt she would be soft and warm. She imagined nuzzling her cheek and neck, getting closer to the source of her sweet scent. She smelled like spring flowers after a rain and a hint of sandalwood. The click of the seat belt snapped her out of her brief reverie.
“You okay?” Melissa regarded her with a curious expression. “You looked a million miles away.”
“I’m good,” Sula said with a reassuring smile, hoping Melissa didn’t realize exactly where her mind had wandered, and started the engine.
The drive to the lake was a fairly smooth ride on a graded road that went up the valley. Along the way Melissa pointed out all the things that interested her, and there were many—a particularly large tree, an unusually shaped boulder, the colors in the landscape, and the spectacular views out the open window. While Sula tried to never take it for granted that she lived in a marvelously beautiful place, she saw it today with fresh eyes.
She downshifted, slowing the Bronco as they approached the boundary between the ranch and her land.
“Say good-bye to Buckhorn Creek Ranch,” Sula said as they passed through the timber gate, the tires rumbling over the cattle guard.
“Does your property have a name? Everything around here seems to be called something-or-other ranch.”
“No. I just call it my land. Sometimes just the land.”
“That’s interesting. Native Americans often refer to the places where they live as ‘the land’ and to themselves as ‘the people.’ Western culture likes to name everything, because it works well with the concept of private property. Naming is owning.”
Sula thought about that idea for a moment. “I think of myself as more of a caretaker than an owner. This place existed long before me, and it will be here a long time after I’m gone. I have no right to destroy it.”
“I wish more people thought that way. The world would be a much better place.”
Sula glanced over at Melissa, who closed her eyes and turned her face to the open window. She inhaled deeply.
“Smells good, doesn’t it?” Sula loved the refreshing scent of pine. It never failed to clear her mind and invigorate her senses. She took a hand from the wheel to point ahead. “The lake is just over this hill. The pines over there are dense, and the breeze is blowing their scent our way.”
“How many acres is your land?” Melissa asked suddenly.
“Twenty-two thousand.”
“Twenty-two thousand? That’s huge.”
“It’s a lot, but many properties around here are much bigger,” Sula said.
“The lot my house is on is eighty by one hundred and twenty feet. So, in comparison, twenty-two thousand acres qualifies as huge.” Melissa shook her head, clearly incredulous. “How long have you lived here?”
“I grew up here. My great-great-grandparents homesteaded here and added to the original one hundred and sixty acres by acquiring all the failed homesteads around them. You had to stay on the land for five years to get the deed, and most people gave up before the five years had passed. Every generation since has added more acreage to the land. I’m currently trying to purchase a parcel to fill in a gap between my land and the ranch. But it’s still modest compared to the big ranches. They’re a hundred and fifty thousand acres or more.”
“I had no idea,” Melissa said. “Where did your great-great-grandparents come from? From your name and height and good looks, I’d say somewhere in Scandinavia.”
Sula’s mind momentarily faltered when Melissa described her as having “good looks.” As she began to explain that her family had emigrated from Norway, they reached the crest of the hill, and the change in landscape diverted Melissa’s attention.
“It’s so beautiful,” Melissa said in a voice that was quiet, almost a whisper.
Sula stopped the Bronco. This was where the road turned into a jeep track, and she needed to shift the vehicle into four-wheel drive. The pause also gave Melissa a chance to enjoy the fine view. The dark-blue lake reflected the sky, and its edges were dotted with large, round, gray rocks. Some boulders also poked out of the lake, forming a granite archipelago.
“This is Moon Lake. See how almost perfectly round it is? Like a full moon.”
“Yes. I see that.” Melissa touched her index finger to her lower lip, a habit that Sula realized meant she was thinking. “And what about the rocks in the water? They look a little like the shape of a crescent moon, don’t you think?”
“Huh. You’re right. From this angle it does resemble a crescent moon. I’ve never seen it like that before.” Sula regarded Melissa, who was now looking up beyond the lake. Sula liked the fresh perspective that Melissa brought.
“Is this where we get on the road with the switchbacks?”
“It is, and it’s also where I switch out of two-wheel drive.” Sula shifted the car into neutral, set the parking brake, and shifted the transfer case into four-wheel drive. After unbuckling her seat belt, she opened the door. “I have to get out to lock the hubs on the wheels. It’s an old car, not like the new ones where you just push buttons on the dash.”
“You shouldn’t insult the car by calling it old,” Melissa said out the window to Sula as she watched her twist the hub locks in the center of the wheel on the passenger side. “Especially while you’re driving it and are the only person in sight for miles and miles.”
Sula laughed and patted the hood. “This is a good old car, and she knows it.”
“She?” Melissa asked as Sula got back in the car. “Your car has a gender?”
“Yeah, like a boat. Isn’t it traditional to refer to boats as ‘she’?”
“Yes. But doesn’t tradition also dictate that it’s improper to comment on a lady’s age?”
“Shhh…don’t give her any ideas.” Sula laughed.
They continued around the lake. The road was muddy where a small stream fed the lake, but it was dry again once they reached the other side and the road began to climb the side of the mountain. The jeep track was full of low spots and big rocks that had to be navigated carefully.
“Wow. You weren’t kidding when you said we’d need four-wheel drive,” Melissa said as they drove slowly over another big rock. As the Bronco pitched forward, she hung on to the brace mounted on the dashboard.
“Have you ever been on a road like this?” Sula asked calmly, keeping her eyes on the road in front of her and glancing at her side mirror, making sure the underside of the Bronco cleared the rock.
“No. This is a first for me.”
“Are you enjoying it?” Sula glanced over at Melissa.
“Oh my God, are you kidding me?” Melissa grinned. “This is great!”
“Good.” Sula smiled back. “We’ll stay in the trees most of the way
up, but I’ll stop at the next switchback where there’s a view. After that, we’re almost to the top.”
After they rounded the last sharp turn, Sula stopped, and they got out to admire the vista. The sun was bright, and Melissa shielded her eyes with her hand. The vantage allowed a clear view of the valley and the lake below. The raspy, insistent voice of a jay got their attention, and they turned toward the sound.
A Steller’s jay, with its distinctive black head and blue body, watched them from its perch near the top of a tree. Inquisitive, it hopped down several branches, getting closer each time. Sula walked over to the Bronco, reached behind her seat, and came back with a handful of peanuts in the shell. She put one in the palm of her hand and held it out. The jay swooped down and grabbed it, taking it back to a low branch where, holding the peanut between its feet, it pecked the nut out of the shell with ease. Sula repeated the offering several times, and a second jay swooped in for treats.
“I’m guessing they know you,” Melissa said quietly.
“I always bring peanuts with me.” Sula handed Melissa the rest of them. “Here. I bet they’ll take them from you, too.”
Sula watched Melissa feed the jays. Her ponytail had come loose, and the blond tendrils danced around her face in the breeze. A smile never left her lips as she offered the treats to the birds one by one. The second jay, a little bolder than the first, landed on Melissa’s hand, perching on her thumb momentarily before snatching the peanut and taking off for the trees. The look on Melissa’s face was pure happiness. Sula watched Melissa, her obvious pleasure in feeding the birds as enjoyable as feeding them herself.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to take a little hike to our picnic spot. We’re not far from where we’ll park,” Sula said.
“Then you’d better not give me any more nuts. I could do this all day.”
Sula laughed.
“You laugh,” Melissa warned her. “But I’m serious.”
From what she’d just seen, Sula believed Melissa implicitly. They got back into the Bronco and continued up the road and over the mountain, then stopped where the road ended in a small clearing. Sula took a deep breath of resin-scented air when she got out of the Bronco, relaxing in a way that only happened when she was in the forest.
