White Water (8 page)

“When I talked to the ranger station, they told me there
has been some problem with bears this spring,” Dad
answered. “Be sure and aim for the eyes. This packs a pretty good sting and blinds them long enough for you to get out of the way.” She must have looked as nervous as she felt, because Dad laid a hand on her shoulder. “I doubt you'll need it. Colin and Greg each have one. Put Lily in the middle and stay with the others. You shouldn't have any trouble.”

Kara shivered. “I hope not. I've seen all the bears I want to see for a while.” On impulse she put her arms around Dad and hugged him hard. He kissed the top of her head, and when she moved away, he said, “Be careful, Sugar Bear. Remember everything you've been taught and you'll be fine.”

She nodded and climbed into the backseat of the Land Rover. It wasn't until they were almost to the end of the drive that she realized Dad's words of caution could have a double meaning.

T
HE TRAIL WOUND DOWNWARD, SNAKELIKE
,
narrow, and steep for the first few miles. They had to ride single file, which didn't leave much opportunity to talk, but that was fine with Kara. She was still too confused about Colin's and her relationship, not to mention Dad's reaction to it. She knew by the way that Colin had been avoiding her that Dad had warned him off. The more she thought about it, the more it made her mad. Dad had probably insisted she ride in the middle not just to keep her safe, but so that she couldn't talk to Colin. He was in the lead and trailing another horse, which meant he could hardly turn around in the saddle to carry on a conversation. And Greg was bringing up the rear. Was he supposed to be the watchdog and keep an eye on them both?

She tried to distract her thoughts by studying the scenery. Most of the snow had melted, revealing a graveyard-like landscape with the skeletons of blackened trees scattered over acres of burned-out land. Where brush and wild rhododendrons once fought for space beneath the fir and juniper trees, a hint of green blanketed the damp, bare earth. When she looked closer, she could see tiny white wildflowers dotting the new grass like tie-knots on a hand-stitched quilt.

Kara took a deep breath of the clean spring air.
New growth—new life
. It was so amazing how quickly the earth was restored, even after something as devastating as a wildfire.

Colin pulled Dakota to a halt when they reached Otter Lake. The small basin was once again full of water from the melted snow, and Powell Creek ran fast, but shallow, dissecting the trail just below the lake. Colin stopped there to let the horses get a drink, then moved on across the creek. Kara let Lily drink her fill, then followed Colin to the other side.

“Are you watching this?” Colin tipped his hat back from his forehead and nodded toward the creek.

Kara heard Lyman snorting and Greg muttering under his breath as he tried to spur the skittish Arabian into the water. The horse behind them stood placidly, waiting for the lead mount to make up its mind. Kara tried not to laugh as Greg and his new horse wrestled it out. But Lyman was stubborn. Greg couldn't let go of the lead line, so he finally dismounted and led both animals across the creek.

“Keep it up and you're dog meat!” Greg slapped his hand against Lyman's rump, then remounted. The horse gave a little buck in protest. Greg stood in the stirrups, then plopped down hard into the saddle. The Arabian tossed his head once, then walked forward, placid as a little lamb.

Kara and Colin both gave in to laughter. Colin winked at her. “I'd call that a draw, wouldn't you?”

Kara shook her head. “I don't know. Something tells me Lyman thinks he's won.”

“This time.” There was a hint of a threat in her brother's tone, but he patted Lyman on the neck. “We've still got some work to do, don't we, boy?” He grinned at Colin and Kara. “All right, you guys, the rodeo is over. We've been at this for over three hours, and we're almost there. Let's get on with it.”

Colin tipped his hat and turned Dakota down the trail. Kara sighed and fell in line. She had warned Greg that that horse would be a handful, but she could see how attached Greg had already become to him. It might take a lot of work to train Lyman, but Kara knew she would do the same as Greg.

When Eagle Lodge came into view thirty minutes later, they could see Dad's plane, with the brown-and-green logo on the side, still standing on the landing strip. The tractor was parked close to the tail section, where Anne and Ryan were pulling out luggage and hefting it into the small trailer for the quarter-mile trip uphill to the lodge. Ryan saw them coming and waved.

Kara watched as Ryan tried to wrestle a heavy duffel bag into the trailer. “Where's Dad?”

Anne looked up from her chore. “He is making repairs.”

Ryan finally shoved the heavy bag over the side of the trailer. He wiped his hands down the legs of his jeans, then ran over to Greg and patted Lyman on the neck. Kara expected the horse to shy. Instead, he leaned into Ryan's hand like a contented pup.

“Dad's fixin' the door to the storage shed,” Ryan told Greg. “It's all broke down, and I bet I know what did it.” He lowered his voice to a mock whisper. “I'm not s'pose' to say in front of Kara, but there was claw marks all the way to the roof. Boy,” he shook his head, “that must have been one big ol' bear.”

Kara shivered and nudged Lily into a trot. When they got to the barn, she helped Greg and Colin unsaddle the horses. Lily and Dakota went eagerly into their stalls, but Lyman balked at the narrow entrance, so Greg led him to one of the outside stalls built along the back of the airplane hangar. They were right off the corral, so Lyman still had the three other horses they had lead in for company. He sniffed out his new domain, then settled down to munch his pile of hay.

While Colin filled three five-gallon buckets with water and set them in the stalls, Kara filled the trough in the corral. The horses drank thirstily after the long ride, and Kara couldn't wait to quench her own thirst. “I hope Anne brought lemonade,” she said as they took turns washing their hands under the water spigot. “I think I could drink a gallon by myself.”

She followed the guys up the hill to Eagle Lodge and into the kitchen, where Anne had set out lemonade, bologna sandwiches, chips, and cookies. Kara ate her fill, then found Dad out behind the lodge. The door to the storage shed had been splintered down one side, and the frame was shredded beyond repair. Dad already had it sanded down and was adding strips of lumber for another frame.

“Whoa, that bear must have been starving.”

Dad grunted in reply, then took a handful of nails out of his mouth. “It sure didn't take much in the way of food. Just destroyed the door. We'll have to buy a new one, but I doubt Mark has room to bring one tomorrow.” He motioned her inside the shed. “You might want to help Anne out by taking this stuff into the kitchen. We'll have to keep all the food in there until I can finish the repairs.”

Poor Dad
, she thought as she filled a box with packages of pasta and dried beans. There was already so much to do around here, and this just added another chore to his list. They'd be lucky to get half of it done this week. She kept at it and managed to have all but the highest shelf cleared out by the time Anne called her in.

Dinner was spaghetti and salad Anne had brought from home. By nine o'clock, even Dad was yawning. “I don't know about the rest of you,” he said, “but I'm ready for bed.” His gaze traveled around the table. “Greg, you and Colin can bunk together, or one of you can take cabin number one.”

Greg pulled a coin out of his pocket and tossed it to Colin. “Flip you for the cabin.”

Colin grinned and shook his head. “Nah. You take it. I'm used to sleeping in small spaces. That closet was my bunk all last summer, remember?”

Dad nodded his approval, then said, “The flooring in my room is rotten in spots, so until we can get it fixed, I'll hole up in my office and Ryan can sleep upstairs. I set up a cot for him in Anne's room.” Anne slipped an arm around Ryan, who yawned and leaned against her shoulder. “Wakara,” Dad continued, “you can keep your usual room. When Tia gets here tomorrow she will bunk with you.” Kara nodded. Her room was on the main floor of Eagle Lodge, across from Colin's and next to Ryan and Dad's. It was just as small as the others, but the floor was fine, and unlike Colin, she at least had a window.

When the dishes were done, Kara gathered up a towel and her shower sandals. The shower room was behind the lodge next to the storage shed. She hated going out there after dark, but unless she walked over to one of the cabins, there was no other choice.

She showered quickly without washing her hair and hurried back inside, bolting the door behind her. Dad had turned off the generator, so she used her flashlight to guide her through the kitchen and dining room. She turned left into the recreation room, careful not to bump into the pool table. She propped open the door to the hallway with a stack of jigsaw puzzles from the game shelf and tiptoed past Dad's door to her own room.

The room wasn't much bigger than a walk-in closet, but it housed a narrow bed and a small table that doubled as a desk. Wall shelves with pegs underneath held her books and clothes, and another small table under the narrow window held a lantern, water carafe, and glasses. Once she set up Tia's cot tomorrow, there wouldn't be much room to walk around, but they'd done it before and the arrangement had worked out fine. Kara stowed her flashlight on the table beside the bed, crawled under the covers, and fell instantly asleep
.

A scraping sound like a tree branch rubbing against the window woke her.
The wind must be up
, she thought sleepily as she snuggled back under the covers. The scraping came again, this time followed by a thump and noises Kara couldn't identify.

She sat up in the thick, black darkness, suddenly realizing where she was. There weren't any trees even close to the windows here at Eagle Lodge. Dad kept the area around the buildings clear for more than thirty feet in case of fire. That's what had kept it from burning last summer.

She fumbled for her watch. The luminous dial read 2:00
.
Shivering, she pulled on her fur-lined slippers, grabbed her flashlight, and crept to the window. After pulling aside the curtains, she had full view of the meadow and two guest cabins with the woods beyond. The area between the lodge and cabin number one was bathed in the glow of a three-quarter moon. There in the middle of the clearing, a full-grown bear hunched over something on the ground
.

Kara's stomach knotted in fear. She was tempted to go back to bed and pretend it wasn't there. But what if it didn't go away? Gulping down the lump that had formed in her throat, she slid open the window and shined the flashlight on the animal. “Hey!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. “Go on. Get out of here!”

The bear lifted its head toward the sound, and Kara gasped when she saw the thick, dark liquid that coated its face and dripped from its open jaws. She knew those jaws were capped with ugly yellowed teeth.

“Oh, gross!” The thought of some poor, defenseless little animal being ripped apart for the bear's dinner made her gag. She screamed, grabbed the water carafe from the table, and threw it as hard as she could. When the bear only grunted, she heaved the water glasses through the window. Yelling at the top of her lungs, she had just picked up the lantern when she heard the blast of a gunshot. She looked up to see Greg, dressed only in pajama bottoms, standing on the porch of cabin one. Her brother pointed his rifle into the air and fired a second time.

When she looked back, the bear had picked up whatever it had been chewing on and was lumbering as fast as it could toward the woods. Greg followed it with his gun, and for a heartbeat she thought he was going to shoot it, but the animal made the cover of the tree line, and her brother let it go
.

If Dad knocked before shoving open her door, she didn't hear it over the sound of her own heartbeat thudding in her ears.

“Wakara!” He cringed from the glare of her flashlight, and she quickly turned it away.

“Sorry, Dad. You startled me.”

“I startled you?” He strode to the window and pushed it shut. “You scared
me
out of three lives! What's going on in here?”

She started to explain about the bear, when Colin pushed into the room, followed by Greg. “Hey, Wakara, are you okay?” her brother asked. There was a chuckle in his voice.

She nodded, then realized he couldn't really see her. “I'm fine,” she said.

Greg laughed. “Well, that bear's not. Between your screams and your pitching arm, I'd bet he's in Mexico by now.”

Kara shivered in spite of her flannel pajamas. She hugged herself and sat down on the bed. “All he did was look at me. He didn't take off until you fired those shots.” She grinned at her brother. “Thanks, I owe you one.”