Then they finally made it to shore, and after Kendra got out, he left the canoe and carried it up to its rack near some woods. She actually had four canoes, which was great for visitors too.
“We’ll make the salmon for dinner, and then we can watch the sunset on the deck.”
“That sounds great.” Romantic, like a first date. He was all for it.
He helped her in the kitchen, making salmon, fried potatoes, and green beans.
“A bottle of white wine is in the fridge just for this moment.”
He brought it out and removed the cork. Then they sat down to dinner on the back patio and watched the sun set while the water lapped at the shore, a cool breeze stirred the branches of the trees, and an owl hooted in a nearby tree.
“This is really nice,” Grayson said.
“Yeah, especially sharing it with you.”
“That’s what I was thinking.” He kept looking in the direction of where they had spied the grizzly swimming across the lake.
She glanced that way. “Do you think he is still in the area?”
“Yeah. I’m sure of it. But across the lake. He could very well be foraging for food.”
She received an email and opened it up to check the message. “Oh, it’s my neighborhood site and someone just posted this on their security camera.”
She showed it to Grayson.
He raised his brows as he observed a bear stealing a meal in a sack from one of the local restaurants, left on a front porch. “Anyone you know?”
“Yeah, unfortunately.”
“Hell.” He took a sip of his wine.
“Ivan Osinger. I went to high school with him. He was always stealing other students’ meals. Some thought his parents weren’t paying for his meals or were withholding food from him at home. Some of us felt sorry for him and brought extra meals for him from home.”
“But he was a conman.”
“Yep. And the bad part is that one of these days he might just get shot over it.”
“Where’s the house he stole from?”
“It’s about a half mile from here.”
“Are you done eating?” Grayson rose from his chair.
“I sure am. What do you plan to do?”
He gathered their plates and took them to the kitchen. “We’ll come back and clean up afterward. I want to catch this guy.”
“Let’s go.” She frowned. “Are we going as bears?”
14
“Let’s go as bears,” Grayson told Kendra. “We can follow the bear thief’s scent. Most everyone is inside, busy with dinner and other indoor activities.”
“I agree. What do you plan to do to him?”
“Show him in no uncertain terms that he won’t steal meals from people's porches. What does he think? He’s Yogi Bear?”
Kendra shook her head. “I’m sure he thinks it’s funny that people order meals and he steals them to eat. But no one would know who he is because he is wearing his bear coat. And he probably believes he is giving them a thrill on their security cameras.”
