“Let’s see if we can get him moving,” Gina suggested. “Arms up, everyone. Wave them. Make some noise.”
They stuck close, kept calm, and shouted as loud as they could. The bear showed little fear of people, and it took five full minutes of yelling before the old guy finally turned away.
The grizzly wandered off the trail and up the hillside. They waited and watched through the increasing snow until he crested the top and disappeared.
Nick’s pulse was still hammering. When Gina met his eyes and let out a shaky breath, something shifted between them—less about fear, more about recognition. They’d both been holding it together for everyone else.
“Let’s move,” he said. “Keep up the talking. We don’t want to surprise him if he comes back...or if he has a friend.”
They moved as a tight group, everyone hyper alert. Nick noticed how differently the encounter had affected each person. Joe was visibly shaking. Kelsey seemed almost detached. Brooke continued her GPS monitoring.
And Gina had backed his lead without hesitation. They’d functioned as a team without discussion, reading each other’s responses and building on them in a natural way that surprised him. He hadn’t felt this connected to anyone since Sara.
“That was incredible,” Joe said, his voice shaky but excited. “I mean, terrifying, but incredible. I’ve never seen a grizzly that close.”
“Let’s hope we don’t see another one,” Gina replied. Nick noticed she kept scanning the area around them. Smart. Snow was reducing visibility to maybe fifty yards—perfect conditions for accidentally walking into another wildlife encounter. At least the bear they’d seen was a male and not a sow with a cub. That could have ended very differently.
He wrinkled his brow. “Are there still moose in here?”
“Yup,” Gina replied. “And it’s right about calving season.”
“Great. That’d be a real treat.”
“I’ve never seen a baby moose,” Joe said. “I’d love that.”
“Not if the mom sees you first, you wouldn’t,” Nick said. “They’re pretty protective.”
About a mile later, the adrenaline crash hit Joe hard. His already labored breathing became worse, and his pace slowed significantly despite the downhill grade.
“You okay?” Nick called, dropping back to check on him.
“Just need a minute,” Joe gasped, bending over with his hands on his knees. “Altitude’s killing me today.”
“Let’s stop,” Nick said. “Everyone, drink some water.”
“We’re almost there.” Brooke motioned in the direction of the ghost town. “Suck it up.”
“We’re stopping.” Gina’s tone left no room for argument. “Get a drink, and let’s do a quick med check.”
She started with Joe, crouching beside him as he bent over, still catching his breath. Her movements were quick and practiced. She checked his face and hands, asked a few quiet questions, and waited for his nods in return. After a moment, she gave a small nod of her own and handed him his water bottle.
“Kelsey? Let me see your fingertips.”
Kelsey rolled her eyes. “Yes, doctor.”
Doctor? Interesting,Nick thought as he watched Gina check Kelsey and then Brooke. His cousin hadn’t said much about her friend beyond a quick comment that Gina had agreed to be part of her crew for the Moose and would even run alongside her as a pacer on one of the sections.
Nick watched the way Gina moved from person to person, her medical training evident in every gesture. There was something appealing about someone who knew exactly what they were doing, who didn’t second-guess themselves or look for someone else to make the call.
Sara had been like that, too, at first. Confident. Capable. Until the moment she’d looked at him and said, “I need someone who knows where they’re going in life.”
The memory stung—because Gina probably needed the same thing. And Nick had no idea where he was going beyond the next couch, the next temporary job, the next town.
Brooke had called, mentioning a friend who needed summer help on a building site. At the time, Nick had been staying with a cousin in Montana, waiting for the weather to break so he could do some dispersed camping in the national forest. He figured the cousin had called Brooke and told her it was her turn.
Nick knew he’d pretty much worn out his welcome there. With the other relatives and most of his friends too. He didn’t really mind. He was ready for new scenery.
This traveling life was starting to feel comfortable, moving from house to house, campsite to campsite. He practically lived out of his SUV. He’d do the job in Irma and, afterward, maybe head somewhere warm for the winter. He’d heard of a popular dispersed camping area in Arizona where he could live cheaply.
