Page 64 of Capture the Moment

“Oliver has always had a very clear idea of the future and how he wants me to fit into it.” She wasn’t really sure why she was spilling her innermost thoughts to him, but it felt good to get it off her chest. “At first, I can’t deny it was kind of dazzling. He’s rather dazzling. But that feeling wore off and...”

“And what?”

“Well, let’s just say that after one week in the park, I’ve changed.”

He glanced at her. “What do you mean?”

“This might sound funny, but it’s like God brought me here this week for a specific purpose.” She could feel any self-consciousness lift and evaporate, like steam from a teacup, so she continued. “I sense God is calling me to something with my photography, like he’s given me this desire and I need to listen to it.” She turned slightly to face him. “I don’t even know if you’re someone who believes in God.”

“I do.”

She thought so. She’d just had that kind of feeling about him. “Even when I try to tell Oliver what I want, he doesn’t really hear what I’m saying. It’s like my desires don’t count. Like ... I don’t count.” Silence settled between them for a moment before Kate spoke again, her voice tinged with uncertainty. “I’m still trying to figure it out. I’m not sure I explained that very well.”

“You explained it just fine.”

They both fell silent, not knowing where to go next with the conversation. Coop’s gaze remained fixed on the road ahead as they continued their journey. Kate wondered what thoughts were running through his mind, what memories of Emma Dilemma lingered in his heart.

Coop lay in bed that evening, tossing and turning as Frankie’s window-rattling snoring filled the small room with a chorus of rumbles. Seriously, the kid could wake up the bears with that racket.

But it wasn’t just Frankie’s snoring that kept Coop awake. No, his mind was a swirling mess of thoughts, like a blender on overdrive.

That gunshot at Willow Flats just wouldn’t leave him alone,echoing in his head as if he’d been there himself. He couldn’t shake the gut feeling that Chief Ranger Sally Janus was somehow entangled in the chaos. Recognizing her in that photograph had sent shivers down his spine, and he was certain Tim had felt the same.

Ever since Coop had arrived in the park, Sally’s behavior had been off-kilter—yanking him from backcountry detail and replacing him with the Three Stooges. Added to that was her unreasonable restrictions, limiting public access to anywhere 399 could possibly roam. Closing areas went against everything Sally had preached about park ownership belonging to the people. It was like she was playing a game of park politics that Coop couldn’t quite figure out. So not like the Sally Janus he’d worked for last summer.

The grizzly. That gunshot. Kate could’ve been seriously hurt.

He rolled over, staring at the ceiling. So ... Kate had a boyfriend. Hearing that was like a punch to the gut. The first woman he’d had an interest in since Emma broke their engagement ... and she had a boyfriend. A persistent one too, from what Coop could see. The kind of guy who put a claim on a girl and marked his territory.

He wondered how serious Kate’s doubts were about this guy. When she spoke of him, her voice went distant. Was their relationship about to end? Or did she mean they just needed to make some changes? How did she describe that boyfriend? Oh yeah. Dazzling. He was a dazzling guy, she’d said.

Coop was anything but dazzling.

Wade Schmidt stood alone at the range’s shooting line behind the hunting gear shop, his eyes locked on the butt up ahead. The unfamiliar weight and balance of the new bow in his hands contrasted sharply with the beloved one that had gone missing. It reminded him of how a violinist or cellist might feel when handed a new instrument just before a professional performance.

The bowstring felt tight under Wade’s handgrip as he fitted the arrow in the nock, the yellow fletching pointed toward him, the carbon fiber shaft cool and smooth to the touch. His body aligned with the target as he pulled the bow to full draw with a steady, measured tension, anchoring against his face. Then, with a release as natural as a sigh, he released the bowstring and let the arrow fly, sending it hurtling.

The arrow’s flight was a thing of beauty to Wade, cutting through the air with a whisper—hence the name of his favored bow. It struck the target dead center, right in the ten ring, a sign of the hours he’d poured into mastering this skill.

The shop owner, who’d been observing from a distance, approached the butt and whistled softly. “Bull’s-eye,” he said, admiration clear in his voice. “Apparently, you’re not new at this.”

Not hardly, Wade thought to himself, a smirk playing on his lips. But to the shop owner he said, “I’ll take it. And I want a butt, as well.”

Fifteen

Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like autumn leaves.

—John Muir

Tim made his way toward Sally’s small office in the back of the visitor center, his footsteps echoing down the dimly lit hallway. The conversation with Coop and Kate had left him on edge, suspicions gnawing at him, and there was no way he was going to be able to sleep until he spoke to Sally. To ask her, straight up, where she’d been earlier tonight. He drove by her cabin, but her jeep wasn’t there and the lights were out. Sally was a night owl. He decided to drive over to her office and see if she might be there. If nothing else, he wanted to see if her rifle was in the rifle case. It was always there, unless she was at target practice or needed it for official use. She wasn’t a sport hunter. And if it was in its place, he could rest easy tonight.

Reaching the visitor center parking lot, he didn’t see her jeep. He parked far off in the distance and fished his flashlight out of the glove compartment. Using his key, he went into thedarkened visitor center, down the hallway, and knocked on Sally’s door—knowing full well she wasn’t there. Nervously, palms sweating, he slipped inside to shine the light on the rifle case against the wall. That’s all he wanted to see. The only reason he was here, skulking around in the dark like a cat burglar. His heart hit the floor.

Sally’s rifle wasn’t there.

Before he could dwell on the implications, he heard voices coming from the interior door of the visitor center, and then a shuffle of footsteps approaching. Panic gripped him, and he ducked into the closet, pulling the door closed behind him just as Sally entered the room. He felt foolish, immature, and overreactive. He would make a very bad spy. He thought about showing himself...

...until he heard a man’s voice.

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