Page 10 of Dead Air (Moon Murder Mysteries)

Eight

They took turns and Niall enjoyed hosting breakfast on the cabin’s porch so much, he was ready to move their dates indoors.

Of course, Chance had never implied that any of their meals or hikes had been dates.

But he did seem to want Niall’s company, requesting his assistance or offering to tag along when there were park duties to attend to.

Not as much as he did in Niall’s dreams, unfortunately.

He’d had another saucy dream about Chance and woke up aching and tender in the strangest places.

Which was amazing but also made it hard to think about anything else when they were together.

But Niall had woken this morning feeling extra roughed-up and Chance was waiting with scrambled eggs, yogurt, and berries when he limped into the glade for breakfast.

Chance insisted that Niall relax while he cleaned up and “snuck” extra snacks into his cargo pockets.

“It’s just a tangerine and some trail mix.

Because you won’t stop until dinner,” he whispered in Niall’s ear while buttoning the pocket on his thigh.

He stood and offered Niall a hand up and kissed his cheek. “What’s on your agenda for the day?”

“I…have an errand to run.” That felt kind of like a date and Niall was ready to go back to his place. Niall gave his head a shake to clear it. “I can stop by after if you want to do a little salamander hunting.”

“An errand?”

Niall made a giddy sound as he pumped his fist. “I’m going to check on some babies!”

“I like babies,” Chance said and Niall laughed as he turned and waved for him to follow.

“I have a good feeling about this morning,” Niall declared, his heart fluttering with anticipation as he quickly made his way to the fork in the trail and turned east at marker 142.

“Where are we headed?” Chance asked, skipping to catch up with Niall.

“To Little Hawksbill Creek. A mama bear gave birth to three cubs a few months ago and I’ve been waiting to get a look at them. That creek is one of our bears’ favorite fishing spots—and mine—and she was there a lot while she was pregnant.”

“How do you know they’ll be there?”

“I don’t!” Niall confessed in an excited whisper. “But it’s already warm and the sun’s up and the sky is clear so the caddisflies will be jumping and that brings out the trout and the bears know that. Plus, I just woke up feeling like the day is going to go my way, you know?”

He usually woke up in a cheerful mood but Niall felt unstoppable, albeit mighty sore that morning.

But once again, Niall was enjoying the tenderness in his backside and the rawness between his cheeks as he marched along the trail.

His dreams were vivid and vigorous enough to make it feel like Niall had a sex life again and it was giving him an extra boost of confidence around Chance.

Thanks to those dreams, Niall wouldn’t be completely rusty if something happened with Chance.

Unfortunately, Chance was still acting like a perfect gentleman and had yet to do more than flirt back.

It was driving Niall out of his mind. He’d done everything short of screaming that the booty call line was open.

Niall had even explained that he didn’t like having extra bodies inside his cabin but that Chance had been granted the very rare privilege of an open invitation to drop by whenever.

Niall stopped when he noticed Chance lagging behind, his gaze distant and unfocused. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing! Woolgathering,” he said, laughing it off. “I think I left something on at my campsite. Come back with me and we can look for that family of skunks you told me about or…you can play with my microscope.” Chance wiggled his brows but Niall scrunched his nose.

“I know you mean your actual microscope so I’m gonna pass this time. I don’t want to miss the new cubs. You can go back and I’ll swing by after I’m done gawking at them.”

“What if they aren’t there?”

“Then I went on an awesome hike to one of my other favorite spots,” Niall said with a shrug. “It’s not that much farther. I can hear the water.”

“So can I,” Chance murmured, sounding worried.

“I’m going,” Niall said, turning and hurrying down the path.

He slowed when the trees thinned and he could see the creek’s rocky bank and the stream.

Not wanting to disturb the scene, Niall lifted the binoculars at his neck and removed the lens covers.

It was an old field set that had belonged to Niall’s grandfather and had brought him lots of luck on his adventures.

He squinted into them, scanning for the park’s other inhabitants and spied a small, dark brown shape about thirty yards ahead of them on the bank.

“I think I see one! It’s too small to be an adult bear.”

“Wonderful,” Chance said flatly.

Niall hummed in concern, searching through the lenses for any sign of the cub’s mama in the trees on the other side of the creek. He couldn’t see her or the other two cubs and worried that this one might have been abandoned.

“He’s tangled in something.” Niall adjusted the focus on his binoculars and gasped when he saw the bits of a broken fishing pole trailing after the cub as it pawed at its face and turned in circles. “Looks like it found a pole and the hook is caught in its mouth.”

“I think we should leave it alone. We don’t know where its mother is,” Chance whispered but Niall heard its frantic growls and it had blood all over its muzzle and paws.

“I’m going to see if I can help it,” Niall decided, dropping his binoculars and letting them hang around his neck as he reached for the tube of bear spray in his right cargo pocket.

Chance grabbed Niall’s wrist, shaking his head. “She’s probably close by and it’ll run to her.”

“I didn’t see her. She might have gotten spooked by something or left it here because it’s injured.”

“Either way, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to interfere. Let nature take its course,” Chance urged but Niall gave him an impatient look and hurried along, ducking behind trunks and brush as he got closer to the cub.

“I’m a ranger, Chance. It’s my job to help and to protect all the park’s visitors—human, animal, amphibian, insect… I’ll be careful and I’ll back off if I see any sign of the mama or any other adult bears.”

“I’d say a lone cub is a pretty good sign.”

Niall let out a stubborn “Pffft!” and tiptoed out of the tree line and toward the creek.

The water was up to his calves as he calmly waded in but the cub was too distressed to notice him.

Once Niall was close enough, he unclipped the Leatherman from his belt and opened the scissors so he could start cutting away the line as soon as he had a hold of the cub.

It was as big as a medium-sized adult dog but probably weighed as much as Niall already.

Niall hissed at the cub’s mangled cheek.

Bits of raw tissue had been exposed from the poor baby’s attempts to scratch the hook out of the flesh.

Niall’s pulse was throbbing in his ears as he eased up to it.

He said a quick prayer and grabbed it by the scruff with his left hand and was able to cut the line in two places before the cub tried to swing its head and its body bucked.

“Easy, pal!” Niall said soothingly, throwing a leg over the cub and holding it with his knees. He cut fast, slicing through the line quickly and in as many places as he could. Chance had caught up to him and was pulling the broken bits of pole free and tossing them behind him at the shore.

“Hurry before this gets out of control,” Chance ordered through clenched teeth.

He grabbed hold of the back of the cub’s neck so Niall could use both hands to open its mouth.

The large hook was twisted in the corner of the bear’s cheek so Niall had to stretch its jaw as wide as it could while it howled in terrified agony.

“It’s alright! We’re almost done,” Niall sang soothingly, sliding his fingers in as far as he could and did his best to free the hook without tearing anything else.

There was a bit of resistance and Niall apologized when he felt the slight tug of the hook’s barb as it came free.

“I got it!” Niall cheered as his hand slipped out of the bear’s mouth, the hook pinched tight between his fingers.

“Let’s go!” Chance urged just as they heard a deafening roar and a massive sow came charging at them from the forest on the other side of the creek.

Niall released the cub and leaped off, tackling Chance and shoving him back in the process.

The entire forest seemed to shake with her rage and Niall was in awe at the size of her paws and claws and how huge her jaws and teeth were.

And the smell was bewildering! He’d often compared finding the scent of a bear on the trail to the largest, wettest, mustiest dog but it was so much more than that as she towered over him.

Niall scrambled to get between Chance and the irate mama, falling and splashing as he clicked the safety on the can of bear spray. She crashed into the water, swiping and snarling at them.

“Get back! Go away, we won’t hurt you!” Niall yelled and waved his arms.

He aimed the spray, prepared to press the trigger but she abruptly lowered and sat on her bottom. She let out a low growl, swinging her head towards the woods as the cub ambled toward her. When it reached her she gave it a gentle nuzzle before rising and slowly leading him back into the forest.

“Holy sugar, that was scary!” Niall whispered as he stood on wobbly legs and backed out of the water, then gasped when Chance snatched his arm and dragged him away from the creek.

“Scary? Do you have any idea what would have happened if I hadn’t—!” He spit out a string of real swear words as he stormed back to the trail, towing Niall along.

“You’re right.” Niall conceded quickly, hoping to calm Chance down.

He looked genuinely rattled, which was completely understandable.

“I couldn’t have handled that cub on my own but it all worked out.

Hopefully, that wound will heal without too much infection.

I should see if DeeDee can slide me some antibiotics so I can treat it next time. She’s a veterinary technician.”

“Next time!” Chance stopped Niall, cupping his cheek roughly. “You’re a ranger , Niall. You don’t tackle bears and perform surgeries in the middle of a creek. You could have been killed!”

“But I wasn’t,” Niall said obviously. “Black bears aren’t aggressive. They’re food motivated and they avoid interacting with humans.”

“Unless you get between a mama and her cub,” Chance argued, tossing a hand in the direction of the creek.

“She calmed down when she realized her baby wasn’t being harmed.”

“She calmed down because I—!” Chance pulled in his lips and squeezed his eyes shut. He counted down from ten then opened them. “If I hadn’t been there, she probably would have mauled you to death and it would have been days before anyone found your body.”

“Maybe.” Niall deflated, suddenly sorry for putting Chance in danger and for upsetting him. “That was…reckless. I tend to lose my head when any kind of baby is in trouble or hurting. And I love our bears and forget they’re not for cuddling,” he admitted.

Chance pushed out a heavy sigh as he slung an arm around Niall’s shoulder. “No more bear wrestling, promise?”

“I promise. Next time, I’ll call Health Branch and let them send a professional. DeeDee’s training to be a park vet!” Niall said, excited for his friend.

“That’s wonderful for DeeDee. Let’s pick up the pace. I need to get back to my tent and change my boxers. I think you took years off of my life and that’s saying a hell of a lot, Niall.”