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“Here.” He tosses me his shirt, already having slipped on his pants. “Lost yours somewhere during the chase. I’ll replace it. And the sports bra.” His lip curls into a grimace as he eyes the remnants.
My good mood sobers. We were lucky, ridiculously lucky. I know bear attacks aren’t common, but still. We were sleeping. Naked and smelling like sex and sweat and all sorts of things a bear might want to taste. I shiver. The thought of walking all the way back through the woods makes me uneasy.
I check my watch. The sun will be setting in a half hour, and the hike back will be far longer than that. I brought a flashlight just in case, but I don’t want to be out here in the dark alone, not after seeing the bear. As I’m weighing whether I want to ask if I can go with him or suck it up so I’m not a burden, Shane slings my backpack over his shoulder.
“You ready? The further we can get before dark, the better.”
I blink at him. “Didn’t think you did this.” I gesture vaguely between us. “You know, it kills the whole mood. That’s why it’s chase, fuck, leave. I’m pretty sure that was in the contract.”
Rubbing a hand across the stubble on his jaw, he gives me a look like I just suggested we try to find the bear and invite it for a threesome. “Do you want to walk back in the dark alone?” he asks incredulously. “Knowing there’s a bear around?”
“No,” I huff, sounding like said bear for a moment. “Of course not. It just surprised me.”
“I’m not sure what that says about me if you’re surprised I don’t want you roaming around the woods at night with a bear,” he sounds thoughtful. Something about it makes me uncomfortable.
“There’s a flashlight in the bag,” I offer, tugging his t-shirt over my head.
“Good thinking.”
I shouldn’t feel a little jolt of pleasure at the praise in his voice. I shouldn’t care that he gives me an approving look. But I do.
Despite loving the woods, walking through it in the dark isn’t usually my favorite activity. It’s enjoyable with Shane though. He tells me about the property, how he bought the house and renovated it. That everyone told him he was insane to live so far from the firm, but the peace of living out here makes up for the commute. I’m complimenting the house when rustling in the bushes ahead stops me mid-sentence.
We halt, Shane training the flashlight on the bushes. They shake and shift, the branches rattling. Shouldering his way in front of me, he stands up straight, clearly intending to intimidate what I assume is the bear coming back for a second sniff. While I can appreciate the gesture, it doesn’t seem like a great plan. I step up beside him, pressing close, hoping we’ll look like one formidable beast.
The bushes rustle louder, the movement closer.
“Get behind me,” Shane hisses, trying to shuffle in front of me.
“We’re scarier if there’s two of us,” I hiss back, moving with him.
Before he can respond, a creature emerges from the bushes, freezing in the flashlight’s beam. A raccoon. One who looks like he or she’s regretting every choice that brought him to this encounter. Eyes shining yellow, it pauses for a split second, then turns to rush back into the brush. We stare. The raccoon makes so much noise that I laugh, even though my heart rate hasn’t dropped yet.
Shane relaxes, his shoulder bumping mine. Then he’s laughing too, a deep rumble that makes my stomach tighten.
“You were willing to fight a bear with me.” He nudges an elbow into my side as we begin to walk again.
“I don’t want to drag you back half-mauled if I can help it.”
We fall into a companionable silence. Shane stays close the whole way back, our arms brushing. His skin is warm against mine, but I feel even warmer on the inside. Cozy, despite the circumstances. There’s a sense of otherworldlyness, and crickets serenade us with their nighttime song the whole way back.
At the house, we part ways. The porch lights steal the night magic of the woods, any comradery gained by our brush with the bear left among the pines. We’re employer and employee again. I try to ignore the sensation of loss settling over me. This is the natural cycle. I shouldn’t mourn it any more than I’d grieve the setting sun dropping below the horizon. But a small, foolish part of me does.
***
As I shower off sweat and dirt, I try not to think about how nice it was to walk back with Shane. It’ll never happen again, so there’s no point in dwelling on it.
Get your life together.
A man doesn’t leave you to get eaten by a bear, and you’re swooning?
I should listen to the little voice in my head. I can’t think tonight was anything more than basic human decency. I’ve learned I can’t trust my instincts. I never doubted Keith. Looking back, I can see what should have been warning signs. The way he was never home, the way his phone was always in sight, how he was always a little too friendly with women. But I was sure he loved me, so I didn’t question the red flags. I just let those fuckers fly.
I’m contemplating what the future looks like sans Keith as I brush out my wet hair. I’ve convinced myself that it’s going to be good when I feel something suspicious on the back of my skull. Abandoning the brush to explore with my fingertips, I probe the tiny lump. It shifts from my prodding but doesn’t come free.
Damn it.
I don’t have to see it to know what it is. A tick. Lodged directly on the back of my head, sucking my blood, and, considering we’re in Maine, possibly giving me Lyme disease. Despite the near-bath I took in bug spray before the hunt, I’ve been invaded. I weigh the options.
