Page 81 of Capture the Moment

“Maisie, this is as far as we should go,” Kate said. “I promise to keep my back turned.”

“You might hear me ... you know ... tinkling.”

“Not over the sound of this creek!” Kate looked like she was trying to swallow a smile. “Stay close to the trail. I’ll wait for you here.” She lifted her hand in a wave and turned around to face the rocky creek bed.

Maisie wandered in the opposite direction and looked for a narrow spot to jump across the creek to an area that was full of bushes. She finally found a suitable, private spot, completely hidden.Imagine if Frankie came along right now. I would curl up and die.

But he didn’t. And she survived the moment of mortification. As she zipped up her jeans and tucked in her shirt, she went back to the narrow part of the creek to cross it. She noticed something moving on top of a fallen tree and realized it was a bear cub, trying to climb over it. She stopped to watch.Soooo cute!

Long before dawn, Wade had Feldmann drop him off at the trailhead that led to Middle Pilgrim Creek. Feldmann planned to meet the turncoat at the parking area right at seven o’clock, and Wade wanted time to scope out the area and stake out a position to wait, watching for them, so he could trail them, unseen. He smiled to himself. Another form of glassing.

He had time to spare, and he was too amped up to sit still, so he left his hiding spot to follow the creek for a distance, looking, listening, vigilant for the slightest hint of life. His heart thrummed a rapid beat against his ribs. Adrenaline flooded his veins, sharpening his senses to a razor’s edge. Every whisper of leaves, every crackle of a branch underfoot sent a jolt of alertness coursing through him.

Periodically, he’d halt to scan the surroundings through his binoculars, then check his watch impatiently. Feldmann and the turncoat should be heading up the trail soon, so he turned around to head back to his hiding spot.

Suddenly, a subtle movement snagged his attention. He stilled, every muscle tensed in electric anticipation. Among the shadows, a dark silhouette stirred. Could it be the bear? Could it really be this easy? Scarcely an hour into the hunt and he’d found this elusive creature. He could’ve laughed out loud, almost giddy.

His heart hammered with a fierce intensity as he crouched lower, every sense homed on the large rumbling figure as it moved along the creek bed. Cautiously, he followed it. The air vibrated with tension, the hunt was nearing its crescendo, the final act about to unfold.

With the target in sight, Wade silently withdrew an arrow from his quiver.

Nineteen

An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language.

—Martin Buber, philosopher

Kate wandered slowly along the rocky creek bed, camera in hand, trying to capture the light as it danced on the rushing water, filtered by the quaking aspen leaves, creating a mesmerizing play of shadows and reflections. As she adjusted the focus on her lens, a deep and guttural huffing sound echoed through the forest, reverberating off trees, filling the woods with an ominous presence. It sent a shiver down Kate’s spine. Slowly, she turned around to discover that Maisie was standing on a long, rocky creek island between a grizzly bear on one side of the water and her curious cub on the other.

Maisie, eyes wide, frozen with fear, had realized what danger she was in. Kate lifted her hands like a stop sign to indicate that Maisie should stay put and not run.

A scream built in Kate’s throat. Why had they left the truck without bear spray? Why had she let Maisie rush her? She was responsible for this girl!Stay calm, she told herself.Think, think, think.

But she couldn’t think what to do. She couldn’t think at all. How was that possible? A person had to think.

No. She didn’t. Hadn’t Coop just told her about the importance of paying attention to your gut instinct?

So what was it telling her?

That the sow only wanted to protect her cub. Bluffing. Please, please, please, be bluffing.

Think, think, think.

Kate scanned the area, her mind racing as she assessed the situation. She needed to create a clear path for the cub, now standing up on the log, to reunite with its mother. Her eyes fell on a large boulder on the creek island, about ten to fifteen yards behind Maisie. That’s where she needed to get herself. Kate gestured toward it with an urgency, just as the bear let out a loud huff, heavy with warning.

“Kate, I’m scared!” Maisie’s loud voice had a quiver.

Kate slowly made her way into the water toward the creek island, all the while trying not to think about Coop’s warning that bears were excellent swimmers. She kept one eye on Maisie and the other eye on the grizzly—who was watching her cub. Maisie still hadn’t budged.

When Kate made it behind the boulder, she called out to Maisie. “Take slow steps to back up.”

With cautious steps, Maisie began to inch her way down toward safety. When she was just a yard or two from the boulder where Kate now stood, the bear huffed again. Startled, Maisie slipped over a rock and fell, prompting Kate to act swiftly. She picked up a big rock and threw it about two feet beyond the bear cub on the log, startling it so that it darted into the water toward its waiting mother.Don’t look, Kate thought.Don’t look a bear in the eyes!But she couldn’t help herself. She did look, just as the mother bear looked over at her. Their eyes met and held, just for an instant. But in that look, there was somekind of communication between them, some understanding. It was the strangest thing, yet it was real.

Then the bear lifted its nose, as if catching a scent. Kate looked down the creek and saw something large moving along the creek bed. She squinted. It was a man, holding a bow and arrow. He paused to draw the string, aiming straight at the bear. Kate grabbed the world’s loudest whistle, brought it to her lips, closed her eyes, and blew with all her might, as long as she could, until she ran out of breath.

When she opened her eyes, the bear and its cub were gone. So was the hunter.

Tim Rivers raced down the winding roads of Grand Teton National Park, his heart pounding with urgency. He was trying to catch up with Sally before she made it to Pilgrim Creek Road, desperate to stop her from making contact with the poacher, to talk some sense into her before it was too late. Before the poacher found 399. For the hundredth time since yesterday, he’d wished Coop hadn’t told Sally the bear was out of her den—even more so, he wished he hadn’t given her the lair’s coordinates. Unintentionally, Coop sealed the bear’s fate.

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