It’s late in the day with the sun beginning to set, but it’s hot and muggy out. I take my shirt off and wipe the sweat off my face with it. I look down at the dark hair on my chest and wipe that off too. I’m not chiseled or cut like I’ve been in the gym, but I’m strong and solid like the tree I’m slicing into. My beard gets itchy in the heat so I had to shave it down a bit, but once the cold weather snaps back I’ll let it grow like a bear.
I got asked by a camper why they call me Moose and I told her the truth. I said I once ate an entire gallon of Moose Tracks ice cream, but I don’t think the kid believed me. Hey, what can I say? I’m a big guy with a big sweet tooth.
It’s the one indulgence I don’t mind being around civilization for. Sweets are my weakness and sometimes it gets out of hand.
I place the wood on the chopping block and swing my axe down on it. The blade splits the stump and I stack it up next to the others.
When I bend down to pick up another piece of wood I hear my radio go off. I toss down my axe and go over to it and hit the button on the side.
“Moose,” I say and wait until I hear the click and then Ford comes on.
“We’ve got a problem.”
“I assumed that’s why you’re calling.” I take a drink of water and wonder what’s going on. He only uses this for emergencies when I’m at my cabin.
“We’ve got a girl gone missing. She didn’t come down after a hike today and her friend said she headed up the trail in the restricted section. That could be up your way, but we can’t be sure.”
“I’m on it.” I go into my cabin and grab a fresh shirt and my gear. I keep it by the door for times just like this. It’s sad to say she’s not the first to go missing, but it doesn’t take long to find them. I need to know a little more about who I’m looking for and where she was last seen. “Give me all the details you can.”
“Her name is Zara, and she’s seventeen.” I hear a rustling of paper and a curse. “Wait. She’s eighteen as of two days ago. She was last seen headed up your trail but she would have hit your cabin a long time ago. Chances are she got lost where it forks and couldn’t find the trail markers.”
“Shit.” Now it’s my turn to curse. I saw mountain lion tracks there earlier in the week but it was so far out of bounds I didn’t think it mattered.
“Blond hair, about five foot five,” Ford says, and I hear his wife in the background.
“Don’t worry. I’ll bring her back,” I vow, then tuck the walkie talkie in my pack and grab a couple of water bottles.
It’s hot in the summer, but as soon as the sun sets the temperatures in the mountains can drop fast. If she’s out there in the dark at night then it’s possible she’s already in danger. I don’t even want to think about what could happen if a hungry animal spots her.
I set out for the mountain and say a silent prayer that I can get to her before something else does.
I’m not prepared for what happens when I find her.
Chapter Three
Zara
I clench my hands into fists as my fingernails dig into my palm and I try not to shake. I don’t want to show fear. Maybe they can smell it. For the life of me I can’t remember if you play dead or run when you see a black bear. How’s a person supposed to remember something like that in a panic moment? I never really thought I’d come across one.
“Hi, little baby bear,” I say gently as I take a step back, trying to make space between the bear and me. The bear inches closer, negating my progress. He’s not a baby at all. “I didn’t mean to bother you.”
I make my voice as soft as possible, like talking to a little newborn baby, but still the bear comes closer, sniffing the air. It doesn't look angry or aggressive. I’m pretty sure running from black bears is bad, but there is a fifty percent chance I’m wrong. I know I can’t outrun a bear either way because I can't outrun anything. My legs are already heavy from the hiking I did before I got lost. Not only that but I don't know which way I should run. Each second that ticks by I’m losing more daylight.
I close my eyes thinking maybe this isn’t really happening. I don’t know what I fear more: the dark of the woods or the bear. I take another step back, knowing either way I have to get out of here. I hear the snap of a branch and my eyes spring open to see the bear standing on his hind legs staring at me. My mouth opens to scream but just as I take a breath a hand comes down over it and my back meets a wall of a chest.
“He’s just curious,” the deep voice rumbles into my ear. “It’s why he’s up on his hind legs like that.” I shake my head no because he most definitely doesn’t look curious. He looks big and ready to rumble.
“Get on, Berry. You’re scaring the girl,” the man says loudly to it.
It falls to its feet before giving a huff and turning to leave. I swear it shakes its ass as it goes and I stand there in shock. He shooed the bear away? That was not one of the many things they told us to do when we saw a bear. Not that I was recalling anything else that was helpful.
Slowly his hand drops away from my mouth and I lick my dry lips as I turn to see the man who had a hold on me. My eyes meet a wide plane of solid muscles, and without having to look up I know who it is. I’d know this broad chest anywhere.
Moose. My heart flutters as I tilt my head back to meet his dark green gaze. I’ve seen him around Camp Hardwood talking to Mr. C. I’ve had a weird fascination with him and hide when I see him so he can’t see me watching him. I try not to stare but I can’t help it. There’s something about him that draws me in.
Something pokes my belly and I’m surprised by how close we are. Wait, is he hard? My ass was pressed up against him and I felt something digging into me. Most of my attention was on the bear, but I felt something hard in my backside that wasn’t his thigh. But my mind must be playing tricks on me because no way Moose would be turned on by me. Don’t men get hard-ons from adrenaline rushes? Though he doesn't seem scared over the bear—Berry, as he called him.
“You lost, little girl?” The use of the word “girl” irritates and does something funny to me. I like it on his lips but I don’t like him thinking of me as a kid. I want Moose to look at me as a woman. A man like him would want a women and I want nothing more than for him to want me. My whole body heats at the idea of being taken by him.
“No,” I lie.
His hard jaw ticks. If I’m lost that makes me look more like a girl, but who am I kidding? I’m not only lost here in the freaking woods, I don’t know where I’m going in general.
“I’m lost.” My shoulders sag along with my head. I’m no longer able to keep staring into his eyes that could so easily hold me captive.
“Are you hurt?” he asks, and his voice is softer this time. I shake my head because physically I’m not. My legs ache and so do other parts of me, but I’m not sure that counts, nor do I want to admit to those aches.
I let out a small scream when a loud pop sounds and the ground shakes below my feet. I jump, unsure of what the hell is happening.
“Fuck,” Moose grumbles, and I’m in his big arms a moment later. “We gotta move.”