Was he seeing the intruder who had attacked Nick?Was that who was out there?
“What is it?What do you see?”Her voice came out thin, her pulse thudding in her ears as she quietly closed the truck door to keep Daisy from jumping back out.Then she scanned the area in the direction he was looking but saw nothing.
“Over there,” Axel whispered, pointing to the edge of the tree line about thirty yards away.
Movement caught Jenna’s attention and icy cold shivers scrambled down her spine as a big black bear and two small cubs stood at the edge of the tree line.How had she not seen them?
There was nothing fiercer out here in the wilderness than a mamma bear wanting to keep her babies safe and Jenna knew that if the black bear thought her cubs were in danger, she would charge at them without hesitation.
“I don’t think she’s seen us yet,” Axel said.His steady tone grounded her, even as adrenaline surged through her veins.
“I’ve heard their eyesight isn’t that good.But they have good noses.I’m sure they must be smelling us,” Jenna replied, quite grateful they were near the truck for an easy escape.
“I’d say the mamma would be about a hundred and fifty pounds,” he commented.
Her heart picked up speed as they silently watched the three magnificent creatures start to slowly walk toward them.Their black fur were dark blots against the green foliage and every minute or so the mother would snort.
Mother bear was in the lead, her big bulky body rippling with her every step.Her two cubs followed her closely in single file.Every crunch of grass under the bears’ paws felt too loud, too close.
Even through her fear, her mind catalogued details.Their size, gait, and the bright blaze of white fur on each of their black chests.The cubs looked so adorable and small.Their little ears were flicking back and forth probably chasing away flies or mosquitoes.Jenna figured they were probably around sixty pounds each.
The trio crossed the meadow near where Sam’s horses had grazed no more than half an hour ago and then they swerved to the right.
“I bet they’re heading for the blueberry bushes,” Jenna whispered.
“Blueberries?Like in the blueberry jam Sam gave you?”Axel asked.
“He’s been known to chase the bears away so he can have the blueberries all to himself,” Jenna said.
Axel chuckled and shook his head.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I think I’d rather buy blueberry jam from the store than to wrestle with bears for it.Although Sam’s blueberry jam is the best I’ve ever tasted.”
Jenna smiled.Trust Axel to find humour with a predator so close to them.She’d make sure she told Sam that Axel had said his blueberry jam was the best when he returned.The elderly man would get such a joy out of his compliment.
They watched as the bears stopped nearby and their heads disappeared into the foliage as they began nosing around a large arrangement of bushes.
“I take it they’ve found the blueberries?”Axel asked.
“Yes.I won’t tell Sam if you don’t tell him that we didn’t chase them away,” Jenna quipped.
“It’s our little secret then.Besides, that’s their grocery store.They gotta eat too.Let’s leave them in peace,” Axel suggested as he quietly opened the driver side door and hopped into the truck.
The shared secret felt strangely intimate, a tiny thread pulling them closer, Jenna thought as she entered the truck from her side.Relief loosened her shoulders as she quietly closed the door, grateful for the safety of metal.From behind them in the back seat came a low growl.Daisy had spotted the bears too; her white fangs and teeth were now bared, and her black nose was twitching as she sniffed the air.She appeared quite angry.
“We'd better get out of here before her Cujo side comes out,” Axel said with a laugh.
He started the truck and thankfully the bears ignored them as they drove past.In a minute, the bears were out of sight.
The quiet pressed against her like a second skin, thick with everything they weren’t saying and Jenna focused intently on the road ahead, half-expecting the assailant who’d attacked Nick to suddenly appear and block their way from getting home.
Her fingers held tight around the seatbelt, and her eyes flicked to every shadow along the road.After awhile, when nothing happened, a tremor rippled through her muscles.It had to be delayed fear catching up to her now that the danger had passed and with the steady hum of the truck’s engine she finally began to relax.
Only then did Jenna realize just how much the encounter with the bears had unsettled her.The tension they’d caused had seeped into her muscles without her even noticing.
“I'd like to apologize,” she mumbled after awhile, determined to break the oppressive silence hanging between them.The words scraped out of her, small and fragile, like she was afraid of how he might receive them.
Axel kept his eyes on the road, but Jenna noticed a slight hint of a smile at the corners of his lips.The tiny curve of his mouth sent a warm ache through her chest.It was a reminder of how easily he could still undo her.
