Page 21 of Capture the Moment
He sighed. “Then I’ll come with you.”
No.
No, no, and no.
“Thank you, but I need to do this on my own.” Kate appreciated Oliver’s offer, but she needed to tackle this project solo. If he tagged along, it would become his show entirely. He’d be convinced he had all the answers—lighting, location, everything. In his mind, he could probably even control the bear if given the chance ... and knowing him, he might just pull it off.
She needed space from Oliver. Time to think. She’d felt this way for a while now, and those feelings were only growing stronger. A couple of times, she’d suggested that they take a break, but he always cajoled her into staying in the relationship, staying committed. He was big on that—hanging in there, remaining faithful. Good times or bad. That’s what God wanted from them, he would remind her.
His own father had abandoned their family and Oliver was determined to be a different kind of man. He was big on men being men. On not abandoning others. He would get tears in his eyes when he talked about his dad’s departure from the family, and Kate would cave in.
Kate had known Oliver for about six months, having met at the zoo one quiet afternoon when she was photographing a black bear for the zoo’s annual calendar. They chatted for a long while, especially about their mutual interest in bears. Then he pointed to the logo on her T-shirt and said he happened to attend the same church. It was a large church, with a lot of young people, but she was surprised she hadn’t noticed him, or that her friends hadn’t. He wasthatgood looking. He asked for her phone number, a bit brash for having just met, and she politely turned him down. That Sunday at church, he was seated a few rows away from her. After the service, he came over to say hello. He asked her out for coffee, but again, she said no. He just came on so strong. The following Sunday, he asked again. This time, she agreed to go out with him.
Over coffee, he told her that when he had first seen her at the zoo, he sensed God telling him that she was the one meant for him. It was a pretty heady thing to hear from someone like Oliver, the kind of guy women drooled over. Strikingly handsome in a preppy way, confident, charismatic, successful. He was everything most any girl would ever want in a guy. Kate’s friends reminded her of that very thing over and over.
But here’s the thing: God had never told Kate that Oliver was the one for her. She felt as if she didn’t have a choice in the matter. He was calling her his girlfriend long before she was ready. That’s the way it had always been with them—he was way ahead of her.
“Look,” she had told him. “I want to do this on my own, Oliver. Besides, you’re allergic to the outdoors.”
“Just to trees. And anything that blooms.”
“It’s spring. Everything is blooming right now or just about to. You’d be miserable.”
“Katie-Kat. Think.”
She cringed. Shereallydidn’t like that nickname. She’d told him that it sounded childish, but he brushed off her objection, insisting it was a term of endearment.
“How are you going to know where to go to find this bear? You’ve never been to Wyoming.”
“I have a guidebook.”
He burst out laughing.
She blew out a puff of air. “I can do this. I want to do this. It’ll make me brave.”
“Kate, you’re the least brave person I know. You scream when you see spiders.”
Well, spiders were creepy. But saying she wasn’t brave was hard to hear.
“How can you think that you’re going to get a photograph of a wild grizzly bear?”
Imagine what he’d have to say tonight if she told him that she had fallen into the river while photographing otters, forgotten to silence her phone while trying to catch sight of 399, and was now tagged as Zoo Girl by the truly professional wildlife photographers.
Pathetic. She was pathetic.
She rolled over and set the book she’d been trying to readon the nightstand. It was well past dinnertime, but she was too frustrated to feel hungry. The weight of the reason she’d come to Grand Teton filled her gut with athunk. Who was she fooling? She should go home and photograph puppies and kittens for the rest of her life.
Her phone buzzed, and she glanced at the incoming text. Oliver.Again.Impatient, as always.
Why am I thinking like this?
She let out a deep sigh and read his text. So many of her friends would give anything for a boyfriend who communicated constantly. To Kate, Oliver’s persistence made her feel caged. Scrolling through his long text message, she couldn’t shake the sense of being cornered.
Tim Rivers left a hastily scribbled note on the worn kitchen table, ensuring his granddaughter Maisie knew he’d be away for a few hours and to help herself to breakfast. The early morning sun was just starting to paint the sky with hues of pink and gold as he stepped outside, the cold mountain air awakening his senses. Another tip about a possible poacher had disrupted the tranquility of the morning. Sally woke him out of a sound sleep to insist that he head over to Willow Flats to investigate. Normally, protocol dictated that rangers went out in teams for safety and efficiency, so Tim suggested bringing Coop along, a reliable partner in the field.
Sally’s response had been sharp, cutting through the air like a sudden gust of wind. “No,” she said. “He’s needed at Pilgrim Creek this morning. Then I told him to head over to the Gros Ventre River to check on the wolf rendezvous site. I’d go with you myself, but I have an important early morning meeting. You’d better save some time and get up there now. Oh, and before you leave Willow Flats, I want you to put signage up to restrict the area from public access.”
“That seems a little rash.” Unless there was a specific reason to do so, Sally had always been reluctant to restrict the public from what she considered America’s land.
