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The following day, the sun shone bright, with no afternoon storms; the breeze provided a break from the heat, and the team made good time getting to Beaver Lake. After dinner, Lauren and Rowan stretched out in their tent to catch a quick catnap before the midnight watch. Lauren was stiff and sore and took advantage of Rowan’s offer to give her a proper rubdown. A good massage helped, and by the time Bahati tapped on the tent flap, she wasn’t hurting nearly as bad.
“Anything on camera?” Lauren asked, unzipping the flap, pulling on her jacket before stepping out.
“Absolutely nothing,” Bahati said, yawning. “I hope you don’t get bored and fall asleep. It was everything Joshua and I could do to stay awake.”
“Well, go get some sleep,” Lauren said. “We’ve got it from here.”
* * *
Lauren sat in front of the computer screen by the fire, watching the night vision cameras, smiling as something moved into view. She nudged Rowan. He glanced over and grinned. “I don’t think that’s Bigfoot.” He chuckled at the raccoon as it sniffed at the camera before moving on.
“No, I’m pretty sure you’re right.” she agreed. After a long pause she said, “When I was a little kid, I used to pretend I was a raccoon.”
“Hmm?” Rowan had been gazing at the stars above. “A raccoon?”
“I would sneak out of the house at night and run naked through the woods around our house. I would catch crawfish in the river, and climb trees.”
“Naked?” She now had his full attention.
“I was just a kid.” She slapped his arm.
“How old?”
“I don’t know. Five, maybe six?”
He sat chortling. He had learned something new about her. She rarely talked about her childhood, so this was a rare treat.
“There was an old raccoon that lived in a hollow tree. It was the biggest raccoon in the whole county. It had to be. I used to pretend it was a wizard who would tell me stories. I used to hide candies in a hollow log for him.”
“A wizard, huh?” Rowan’s gaze returned to the sky. He lowered his tone. “Do you suppose we could find us a secluded tropical island where we could lay out under the stars and watch the waves rolling onto the beach? Where I could strip you naked and make love to you in the moonlight?”
Lauren felt her color rise. She smiled at the thought of it. “That would be nice.”
“You’d like that?”
She glanced at him sideways. “It would be very romantic.”
“That’s what I want to do for our honeymoon. Just you and me and no one for days.”
She chortled. “Like we don’t camp out enough.”
He leaned in. “Well, not where we can really enjoy it.” He tried to think of the last time they’d made love in a tent. Now their relationship was no secret and even though they shared a tent, someone was always on watch and there was no way to be discrete. No matter how hard she tried, Lauren was not a quiet lover. He liked that about her ... most of the time.
“So, what do you want to do?” Lauren’s eyes remained transfixed on the cameras.
“Fiji. I’m thinking Fiji.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Lauren elbowed him. “I meant about getting married. Do you want a church wedding? Do you just want to go to the courthouse?”
“As long as I’ve waited for you to say yes, I intend to have a proper wedding.” Rowan grinned. “It’s up to you if it’s in a church or a garden or on a beach.”
“How about a meadow like this, with all the Sasquatch invited?”
Rowan laughed heartily. “I was thinking of asking Jean-René to be my best man, but I guess I could get Bigfoot instead.”
“Suppose you could get him to wear a tux?” Lauren grinned brightly.
“I’ll ask him next time I see him.”
“Suppose that will be any time soon?” She asked, shutting the lid of the laptop. She rubbed her eyes. “Two days and we haven’t heard so much as a growl from our hairy friend.”
“Maybe it’s too hot for him.” It barely got above 80, but with the humidity and bright sun, it felt much hotter. “They do have a fur coat to contend with.”
“It might have been warm this afternoon, but it sure isn’t now,” Lauren shivered, pulling her jacket around herself.
“I’ll put some more wood on the fire.” Rowan unfolded his tall frame slowly. The cold left him stiff and he grumbled as he got up and made for the woodpile.
He was just about to sit down when the snap of a limb and a rustling in the trees broke the eerie silence of the night. Rowan paused. An owl hooted. Lauren was at his elbow with the thermal camera fixed on the area where the noise had come from.
“Do you see it?” He whispered. Lauren adjusted the focus and panned the tree line, her shoulders sinking.
“It’s a deer.” She lowered the camera. “Just a deer.”
“Dang it,” Rowan grumbled. “What time is it?”
“We have another hour,” Lauren said. “I could go for a snack.”
Rowan grinned. “Me too.”
Half an hour later they both had a cup of hot cocoa and were sticky with chocolate and marshmallows. They enjoyed s’mores by the fire. They kept their playful banter low so as not to wake the sleeping or disturb the fauna.
The time passed quickly. Lauren crawled into their tent while Rowan woke the next watch. He gave them an update on the night’s inactivity then bid them all goodnight.
* * *
Rowan gave the morning briefing. “Today, Lauren and I are going to go scout around the lake and see if we can find any signs of activity in the area. We saw deer and other small creatures last night, but we haven’t heard or seen any evidence of Bigfoot activity yet.”
Lauren took over. “Team Two I want you to go southeast down to the public area. That’s where there were reports of damage to the picnic area you wanted to check out.”
“Team Three, there are some caves not too far from here. See if you can find anything over that way, but don’t go into the caves. Last thing we want is for anyone to get lost in the lava tubes.” Rowan folded up the map. “Everyone should check in with base camp on the half-hour. If you find anything, radio it in. Any questions?”
There were none.
* * *
Lauren had the forethought to bring a smaller backpack, in which she’d stowed provisions for their mini-expedition. Peanut butter sandwiches were carefully tucked inside plastic containers. With some granola bars and bottles of filtered water and a couple apples they could have lunch whenever they were hungry. Rowan brought his entire pack, with all his emergency supplies. He also had his camera and audio equipment, just in case. The consummate boy-scout, he was always prepared.
The day was clear and cool, and the ground was slick with mud and damp lichens from the rain that moved in after they’d gone to bed. For once, the heat wasn’t oppressive. Lauren considered it a pleasant day, despite the damp.
The hike to the lake wasn’t especially hard. It didn’t take long to get there either. Lauren paused to take pictures as they entered the valley, just to document the sheer beauty of nature. If she had her way, the pictures would appear on their website along with their travel blog.
Deer lifted their heads in the meadow and bolted when they caught scent of the approaching hikers. While Lauren was enraptured by the breathtaking vistas and glens, Rowan was looking down, scanning the damp ground for tracks, traces of anything that might have passed this way.
She paused when they reached the edge of the pond, which was mirror-clear. She could see fish collecting in the still water. “Look, trout.” She pointed.
“Guess if we can’t find Bigfoot, I can at least catch something to eat,” Rowan grinned. He always carried fishing equipment. He could find a good meal almost anywhere there was water.
“Nothing like a broiled rainbow trout over an open camp-fire.” Lauren continued her inspection.
Rowan pointed out deer tracks as he worked his way along a small game trail. Lauren lingered behind. She veered out across the field when something caught her eye. A dark form hid in a deep patch of thorny blackberry bushes. She turned, raising her camera, zooming in on the shaded patch. She tried to focus on it. Branches rattled and the smell of crushed berries and stale cat litter assaulted her nose at the same time. She fired off a series of shots with her Nikon. The bleep of her digital camera broke the silence. The form startled and rose, turned and matched her gaze with two dark, cold eyes. Lauren stood transfixed, her finger still on the camera button.