White Water (11 page)

Dad paused beside her and laid his hand against her cheek, then his fingers slid down and tipped her chin back until she could see his face. “Good job, Wakara. I mean that. We couldn't have done it without you.” His gaze shifted from her to where Colin and Greg had collapsed on the ground, then to Anne and Ryan, who still sat rubbing the horse's neck. “You were troopers, all of you, and Lyman is going to be fine!”

After Dad had joined Tia for the trek up the hill to the lodge, Ryan turned to her and whispered, “Is he, Kara? Is Lyman really going to be okay?”

His face was pale, and tears were coursing in rivulets down his cheeks. She wanted to pull him close and hold him, like she had that evening after they had escaped from the fire and he had been so scared that she was going to die. She started to reach for him, but saw her hands were still wet with Lyman's blood, so she hid them in her lap.

“Yes, Ry. Lyman's going to live. And you really helped calm him down. I'm proud of you.”

She looked over at Greg, who nodded. “Yeah, so am I,” he said. “Thanks, Tiger. It's obvious Lyman trusts you.”

“'Course he does. That's 'cuz I love him, lots.” Ryan swiped at his eyes with the back of his hand and let Anne help him to his feet.

Greg's gaze followed them as Anne led Ryan away. “Maybe Lyman has the wrong owner.”

Greg's tone wasn't bitter, just thoughtful, but Kara's head snapped up. “Don't even go there! Lyman is way too much horse for Ryan,” she insisted.

Greg's eyes challenged her. “I don't know about that. You haven't seen them work together. Ryan gets a lot more cooperation out of him than I do.” He leaned forward and with his fingers brushed the forelock between Lyman's ears.

Two hours later Mark's plane arrived, and the vet took over Lyman's care. After his examination, he turned to Kara and echoed Dad's praise. “Well done, young lady. Your Dad says you want to be a vet.” Kara nodded, and he continued, “Well, when you get ready to do your internship, you've got a job with me.”

She looked at him, astounded.
Close your mouth, Wakara, or you might catch a fly
. Mom's teasing voice sounded in Kara's ears.

“And to show you I'm not just spouting air, how would you like to help me stitch this thing shut?”

A
T BREAKFAST
, K
ARA COULD HARDLY
keep her eyes open. Anne had fixed scrambled eggs and ham for the family, as well as for Mark, the vet, and a forest ranger who had come along to evaluate the bear situation. The ranger's name was Brad
.
Probably twenty-five,
Kara guessed
,
and drop-dead gorgeous!
She made an effort to concentrate on her breakfast. Tia was doing her best to embarrass both of them; practically drooling over the guy. If Tia hadn't been down at the other end of the table, Kara would have kicked her in the shin
.

“We'll get that bear,” Greg was saying. “Colin and I followed his tracks yesterday morning, so we know which direction he goes, even if the trail's cold.”

Brad took a swallow of coffee, then set the mug carefully on the table. By the look on his face, Kara knew he was thinking about his answer. He wiped his mouth with a napkin, then looked at Greg. “I think it would be better if you guys get some rest and let the forest service handle it.”

“When? You said yourself no one else is coming until tomorrow. Are we supposed to just sit back and let that bear chew up the entire herd?”

Kara could tell Greg was getting hot, and evidently so could Dad. He leaned over and placed a hand over Greg's arm. “That's enough, Son.”

“It sure is!” Greg's tone was bitter. He pushed away from the table and started to stomp off, but Brad's voice stopped him.

“Listen up, Greg.” Greg turned around. His face was red with anger, and his eyes were puffy from lack of sleep. Kara felt a rush of pity for her brother. Lyman was the best thing that had happened to him in the last couple of years. She could understand how upset he was, not to mention exhausted
.

“Look,” Brad's tone softened when he had Greg's attention. “I don't blame you for wanting that bear dead. But like it or not, it's against the law for you to shoot it. We have enough trouble with poachers doing that. I'll be back tomorrow with a team and my tracking dog. We'll dart the bear and relocate it somewhere the other side of Cedar Ridge.”

Colin pushed his plate away and got to his feet. “We'll take turns keeping watch tonight. I can't imagine him coming back, but if he does, we can scare him off.”

Brad nodded. “You do that. But if I get back here and find out that that bear's been shot, it better be in your cabin with its jaws wrapped around someone's leg. Clear?”

Colin and Greg looked at each other. Colin nodded once, then followed Greg out of the room.

Mark cleared his throat. “Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I've got to get back to work. Doctor, Brad, if you're finished here, I think we'd better take off.”

The men thanked Anne for breakfast and shook hands with Dad. “Your daughter will make a good vet some day, Harley.” The doctor winked at Kara. “She's got my instructions for taking care of that horse. I didn't see anything to indicate any lasting damage. Just keep him isolated for a few days, and he should be right as rain in a couple of weeks.”

Kara and Tia helped Anne with the morning chores, then headed for their room. It was only a little after noon, but they'd been awake since 2:00
A.M.
, and Kara could hardly hold her head up.

“I don't know about you,” Tia moaned, “but I'm going to sleep for a year.”

“Make that two years!” Kara peeked out the window. The shades in cabin number one were drawn, and her brother's jacket was hanging on a rack outside the door. She yawned, crawled into bed, and closed her eyes.

It was dark again when Kara awoke and went down to check on Lyman. The generator was silent, and Greg sat in the dark, propped against the stall door with his rifle in his hand. When she walked up, the three packhorses trotted off to the other side of the corral.

“They're still a little nervous,” Greg said.

Kara nodded. “I can see why.” She shined her flashlight into the darkened stall where Lyman stood head down, eyes closed, apparently asleep. “How is he?” she asked Greg.

“He's doing okay. Dad brought Ryan down an hour ago with a couple of apple cores. Lyman gobbled them up. The wound looks nasty, but clean.”

Kara nodded. “That's good. The vet said he could have some Banamine whenever he needs it.” She yawned. “I'm going to check on Lily and Dakota. Is Colin going to relieve you?”

“Yeah.” Greg pulled the horse blanket he was wrapped in closer around his shoulders. “He already fed the others. They're put up for the night.”

A quick check of the old barn showed that Greg was right. Lily and Dakota were quietly munching their ration of hay. Lily nickered and bumped Kara affectionately, then went back to her meal.

Kara trudged up the hill to the lodge, where Anne had set out cold cuts and bread. Tia ate a sandwich, yawned hugely, and headed back to bed. Kara took a few bites, swallowed some orange juice, and joined her friend.

They woke on Monday morning to the clatter of helicopter blades. Kara pulled on a sweat suit and hurried outside to the front deck. From there she could see all the way to the river and the meadow, where a huge forest service helicopter had just touched down. Tia joined her just as Mark's plane landed. It taxied over the bumpy ground and came to a stop just outside the hangar, where Dad's plane was tied down for the week. A man and a dog climbed down over the wing and headed to the spot where the chopper had landed
.

The screen door slammed and Ryan charged out of the house, one arm in his jacket sleeve and the other sleeve dangling out of reach behind him. “Hey, Brad's back,” he yelled as he bolted from the porch before Kara could help him.

“I'm out of here,” Tia squealed as she ran her hands through her tangled hair and ducked out of sight.

Kara laughed. “You're right. If we don't get cleaned up, they'll sick the dog on us!”

By the time she and Tia finished washing, dressing, and brushing their teeth, the men were gathered in the dining room. Anne was just coming through the kitchen door with a huge platter of pancakes. The three rangers, including Brad, stood and nodded a greeting, while Mark squeezed Kara's shoulders in an affectionate hug. “Morning, Princess. Ready to catch a bear?”

Kara grinned back at him. “Not on your life. For once I'm happy to leave that to the experts.”

Brad smiled and used a hand signal, which brought the dog lying at his feet to a sitting position. “Then you should meet the expert,” he said. “Ladies, may I present Beaker, the best bear dog in the state of Oregon.”

One of the other rangers chuckled. “You mean the only bear dog in the state of Oregon.”

Kara reached out her hand. The black-and-white dog sniffed it, let out a short, sharp bark, and then lifted his paw for her to shake. “Is he a Husky?”

“He's a Karelian.” Brad patted the dog, then lowered his hand, and the animal once again lay down at his feet.

“He's really friendly, Kara,” Ryan said around a mouthful of pancakes. “Brad let me pet him before, and he likes me.”

“What's a Karelian?” Tia avoided the dog and slid into the empty seat on the other side of Brad, not taking her eyes off his face. Kara rolled her eyes and sat down next to Dad.

If Brad was embarrassed by Tia's attention, he didn't show it. “A Karelian is a special breed,” he explained. “They're superintelligent and have been trained to work a bear on the ground, like a cow dog would round up a stray. A hound will tree a bear, then the hunter shoots it, or in our case, darts it with a tranquilizer gun. This dog rushes in for a nip, then backs off. He can move like lightning from every direction and hold a bear in one spot until we can get a dart into him.” He paused and looked at Dad. “Relocation is really not the best way; you need to know that. A bear is territorial, and given a chance, will usually return to its home territory.”

Dad frowned. “What other choice do we have?”

Brad shook his head. “None.” Kara could hear the frustration in his voice. “If I had another dog, more men, and a couple of weeks, we'd have that bear totally trained to stay away from people.”

Greg grunted. “What about horses?”

Kara had to admire Brad for keeping his cool. “Horses too. This is a black bear we're dealing with here, folks, not a grizzly. Black bears rarely attack a human, and you notice he only took a swipe at your horse. A grizzly would have chewed it to pieces.” He shook his head. “This guy's being a nuisance because he's hungry. It was a hard winter, and after the fire last summer, food is scarce.”

“I'm sympathetic to that,” Dad said, “but we don't have a couple of weeks. We're here until next Sunday, then we won't be back until the first of June. I can't risk that animal coming in here and wrecking the place. And,” he gestured to Colin and Greg, “I can't spare the manpower to guard the stock every night.”

Brad nodded. “Fair enough. We'll nab the animal and release him the other side of Cedar Ridge. If we're lucky, it might take him until August to work his way back. By then his belly will be full, and he'll be less inclined to be around humans.” He looked pointedly at Greg. “Or horses.”

The rangers thanked Anne for the breakfast and headed out the door, Beaker following obediently at Brad's heel. His tail was going a hundred miles an hour, and Kara could see the muscles quiver up and down his back. Did he know he was going on a hunt?
Dogs sense those things
, she thought as she poured syrup over another pancake.

“I wish they'd let me go,” Ryan whined. “I could help.” He brightened. “It would be an adventure. Like the Crocodile Hunter, only with bears!”

Everyone laughed, and Mark spoke up. “Speaking of adventures, I guess the youth group had quite a rafting trip.” Kara felt a stab of envy and quickly pushed it aside.

Colin's head snapped up. “Oh yeah? What happened? How did it go?”

“It went fine,” Mark chuckled, “until Mr. Andrews steered to the wrong side of Donner's Rock and dumped the whole raftload of kids into the water. Luckily everyone was wearing life jackets, and the current pushed them toward shore. Mr. Andrews stayed with the boat and came out about a mile ahead. He was one scared man until he hiked back and found all the others safe and sound.”

“Did they finish the run?” Colin asked.

“Sure. I guess a couple of the parents were upset because the kids were an hour late getting back to home base, but when Mr. Andrews explained, they were just relieved that no one was injured.”