Part 5 (2/2)
”It's on my list of spots I have to get to this summer. It'd be awesome if I had someone to go with.” she beamed.
”Is this a second summer for you?” Gloria asked, scanning the simple menu.
”Yeah, it's a pretty sweet setup. I get food and board and a chance to hike on my days off. All of my friends are totally jealous of my summer job.”
”You're in college during the winter months?” Gloria asked. Please, please, she thought, let her be working on her master's degree.
”I'm second year at UC Santa Cruz,” Ocean said, quickly adding, ”I took a few years off after high school. I wanted to do some backpacking in Europe, which my parents totally didn't get, so I worked for two years to have a few months of travel.”
”What are you studying?”
Ocean shrugged. ”I'm undecided right now. Taking cla.s.ses keeps my parents quiet, and then I get to play all summer.”
Ocean happily described the various kinds of play she enjoyed, requiring very little partic.i.p.ation on Gloria's part to keep the conversation going. Had she ever been this young and self-absorbed? She tried to picture a whole day hiking with this woman. Would she ever run out of things to say? Gloria wondered if she was remotely curious about her job or the things that she enjoyed. As they paid the check, Gloria realized she'd be just as content to return to her camper and lose herself in a romance novel, a pastime that she loved and would have enjoyed chatting about, had she been asked. However she found that she couldn't say no when Ocean excitedly suggested that Gloria come to her cabin to see the picture of the bear she'd told her about.
”That's the Dumpster they get into some nights when the kitchen crew forgets to lock the bar across the top.”
Gloria resisted the temptation to check the Dumpster to make sure that it was secure. Inside Ocean's room, she chuckled politely at the snapshot. When Ocean offered her a beer Gloria looked for a way to cut out but didn't, not wanting to be impolite. As she sipped, she thought about why being in Ocean's company wasn't taking away her disquiet. She concentrated on not gulping her beer, so she wouldn't seem rude. When she finally finished it, she declined a second and stood to leave but didn't move fast enough to escape Ocean's moving in for a kiss. Out of instinct, she kissed Ocean back, but she found herself unable to move her hands past her shoulders. Ocean's hands traveled freely over Gloria's back, even tucking under her s.h.i.+rt to make contact with her skin. Gloria searched for a reason her kiss and touch did nothing to excite her. It wasn't that her feelings were hurt over Ocean's lack of interest in her career or hobbies. She'd fallen into bed with people she'd exchanged fewer words with, yet the entire time Ocean kissed her, her mind continued to search for a polite way to disengage.
Was she missing Meg? The thought was so foreign to her that she stepped back.
”Sorry,” Ocean said, though she smiled. ”Too forward?”
Gloria sighed apologetically. ”No. It's not that.”
”What, then?” Ocean asked, stepping close again and slipping a hand around Gloria's waist.
”I...”
Ocean's thumb traced a path down Gloria's jaw and hovered in front of her lips.
”Did you hear something?” Gloria asked, wondering if the banging she thought she'd heard was only wishful thinking.
Ocean tipped her head to the side, listening. Her eyes opened wide. ”The bear!”
They rushed out of the room to see a large brown bear pacing by the Dumpster behind the cabin. It stood on its hind legs bawling at the metal container.
”What's it doing?” Ocean asked.
Gloria clapped her hands together and hollered for the bear to get moving. Instead of fleeing, the bear turned to face Gloria. Gloria knew the stance and looked for the cubs mama was protecting. A moment later, two small faces emerged from inside the bin. Their paws sc.r.a.ped at the walls as they attempted to gain enough purchase to get out, but they both failed and fell back into the Dumpster, prompting mama to turn again.
”We're going to need a truck,” Gloria said, relieved to have a legitimate escape. ”And a ladder.”
Chapter Nine.
On Friday, the entire crew gathered in the meadow next to the Lodge for the demonstration on how to recondition bears. Kristine's attention was supposed to be on Gloria, but every time Gloria made eye contact with her, she felt awkward. They hadn't spoken since she'd turned Gloria down, but Kristine knew that she'd have to stop by the camper eventually to retrieve her coat. As Gloria glanced in the direction of the pack crew again, Kristine elbowed her brother who was gossiping with Dozer.
”Would you quit and at least pretend to listen?” Kristine hissed.
”Dozer says that hottie bear lady made the moves on Ocean last night.”
Kristine scowled at her brother, trying to shut him up.
”Good for her.”
”Aren't you mad about it?” he asked.
”Why would I be mad?”
”Because you've got the hots for the bear expert.”
”How about you stick to who you've got the hots for. Talked to Takeisha yet?” she asked pointedly.
Gabe's shoulders sank. ”Dozer said she's all over Brian. Bear lady's looking your way again, though.”
Kristine frowned as she felt stern eyes on her. She didn't feel it fair for Gloria to be the one disappointed. She was the one disappointed. She shouldn't be, she knew. It's not like she expected Gloria to pine away after her all summer after she turned her down, and Ocean was an attractive and fun woman. Still, Ocean just seemed so young. Fun to chat with, sure, but she found it difficult to imagine spending more time with her than it took to ring up an ice cream.
Kristine saw Gloria set her shoulders just as she had during her presentation in the diner. Back to business. ”Bears are very intelligent,” she said, emphasizing the very, ”and persistent. This area has had a jump in reports of human/bear encounters, as ill.u.s.trated by last night's visit from a mama and her two cubs. We want to shut that down before the little ones learn to a.s.sociate humans with food. I'll walk you through some of the scare tactics, and we'll wrap up by practicing with the rubber bullets I brought. You can practice with a rifle or a handgun, whichever is more comfortable for you.”
While Gloria talked, Kristine watched Ocean. She was full of smiles, but wasn't she always? She tried to discern whether Ocean was watching Gloria any more intently than any of the other employees were. ”How do you know they hooked up?” she whispered to Gabe.
”They went up to the corrals last night to borrow a truck. Dozer drove down and helped Gloria drop a ladder into the Dumpster, so the cubs who'd got stuck could get out. He said Ocean made a big deal about how good it was that Gloria'd been right there when it happened, and when he left, he said they were going back into her room.”
Suddenly, Gabe's eyes grew wide, and he stood stock straight, looking away from Kristine. She found Gloria's eyes on her yet again.
”I realize you all feel you have experience with bears, but believe me, you have a problem in this valley. It may not seem like that big a deal to you, but a fed bear is a dead bear. If they get food-conditioned, they are destroyed. You might not care about that. I do.”
Kristine blushed deeply, regretting her juvenile susceptibility to the barn gossip.
”Busted,” Gabe whispered.
Kristine elbowed her brother and tried to concentrate on Gloria's talk.
”I've covered these bales of hay with newspaper,” Gloria explained. ”Remember that we're shooting to scare, not harm, these animals. We're using bullets that are widely used for riot control. Your store manager will have a gun and ammunition here, and folks who run overnight trips will be equipped as well. Let's start with a backcountry scenario. Sandy? Dozer? A bear is in your kitchen. What's your plan of action?”
”Throw on some jeans and boots, I figure. Them backcountry bears come snooping around our camps when we're still in bed. Should I practice that?” Dozer said.
”That's not necessary.” Gloria deflected Dozer's flirtation with ease.
”We prop plates on our tarps, so the clatter of those usually startles the bears off a bit,” Sandy said, more helpfully. Her eyes held a warning that Dozer either didn't see or ignored. She ticked off some of Gloria's methods she might try before the rubber bullets. ”And if all that fails, we reach for the gun.”
”Only if you've got light to see. We're talking dusk and dawn. You don't want to risk missing your target and hitting someone in your group.”
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