A Crossing of Paths Ch. 02

Being that this last hole was a farther up the slope and closer to the tree line we were about a mile from the container I was on the ground scanning the slopes with her binoculars.

"Well look who's on their way to join the party. Hand me that 308. Let's see if I can detour him."

I jumped off the machine and reached behind the seat and pulled the rifle out and handed it to her. She laid down and looked through the scope at the bears that were still several hundred yards off I looked through the binoculars and watched as she fired a warning shot at a log in front of the bears hopefully to scare them off. Splinters and bark flew off when the bullet hit the log.

"It didn't even slow them down a little. We better get in the excavator and close the door."

We didn't want to shoot the bears unless we had to. It was better to just get away from them.

"That cab is a little small don't you think." Sandra said while we were at the door.

"I'll get in and you sit on my lap and close the door." I climbed up and took the rifle from her and put it behind the seat. And sat down. "Hurry get in they are closing in fast."

As soon as she was in and closed the door I started the machine and told her "I'm limited with what I can see with you on my lap. You take the controls and keep the bears off of us and I'll track it to the container. I'm not confident they can't get in if they have enough time."

"Turn the machine in circles and keep them away with the auger, I'll keep on a path to the container. Keep an eye out for the other two, there's no telling when they'll jump in too."

It seemed the bears thought the thing to go after was the auger. So far they were ignoring us in the cab. The mean one wouldn't leave it alone. The other two looked to be along for the ride. Maybe it was more of a courtesy to them. I could see oil was dripping out of a hydraulic line attached to the boom the bear kept biting it as it swung around with the movement if the machine. It gave me an idea. As soon as the bear bit the line again I pushed down on the peddle that actuated the auger the bear got a shot of hot high pressure oil. That got his attention and he backed away from the machine. I tracked towards him.

"Are you crazy? Your tracking toward him."

"He needs to believe the machine is the aggressor now. We have him backing up."

"That I can do." She swung the auger at the bear narrowly missing it and it sprayed dirt everywhere when it hit the ground. Picking it up she shook it at the bear while I tracked toward him. Then I hit the peddle again spraying oil every where. That seemed to do it, the two bears that were flanking us decided they didn't want any part of it and ran.

The last bear followed them but kept looking over his shoulder at us.

"Well I guess that worked but now we're out of hydraulic oil and this thing isn't moving with out it and were going to have to fix the line the bear bit. There is a spare hose in a side compartment. I'll stay here and get started on fixing the hose, why don't you go to the container and grab a bucket of hydraulic oil while I get started. Take the rifle."

"Ok, but watch out for the bears. We're going to have some distance between us so I can't watch for you." She climbed off the mini excavator grabbed the rifle and started in the direction of the container.

"You keep an eye out also, you could be surprised too." Sandra gave me a thumbs up with out turning around while she walked.

In the mean time I went to work taking the damaged hose off.

"JEFF! JEFF!" I heard Sandra screaming at me. "BEARS!" I was up on the boom and hadn't really watched close enough. The bear was too close to get in the cab. So I jumped down and and rolled under it between the tracks. Just when I got under it the bear skidded to a stop three feet away from where I was. There wasn't enough room for the bear to get under the machine to get me. But it was trying. I would wiggle to one end while it reached under one side. It was grunting and snapping its teeth and clawing the dirt trying to get to me. Then it would go round to the other side and do the same thing while I wiggled away from it there.

"THERES ANOTHER ONE COMING!" I knew I would be screwed if I had two bears, one on each end trying to reach me, one would be able to.

In the middle on the excavator there was a hole running up into the engine compartment that I could fit in. It was oily and dirty and hot from tracking it. I wiggled up into it hoping the bears weren't motivated enough to get me that they would dig under it.

There was a warning shot from the 308. One of the bears took off running. I could hear it as it got farther away. Then another shot. And another. I quickly crawled out of the hole I was in but stayed under the machine. I didn't want to get shot. I knew Sandra couldn't help but shoot in my direction. I worried the bear would charge her. Now two more shots and then silence.

"SANDRA, SANDRA!" I yelled and I stood up behind the boom of the machine in case she wasn't done shooting. I peaked around one edge and saw a motionless hunched over grizzly bear laying with its nose tucked under one of its front feet. I walked out toward the container and took a moment to scan the area and situation. I didn't want to get caught in the open half way between the excavator and the safety of the container.

"I'M OK, THE BEAR IS DOWN." I watched her get up from her prone position with the rifle and start my direction. The bear was only fifty feet away from where she was and she would get closer to it to get closer to me.

I was walking to her. "Don't get closer to that bear in case he's not dead. If he's alive he'll be pretty pissed off."

"He's dead. That last shot was a brain stem shot and he folded. That was scary, I shot him in the chest three times and he kept coming."

I got to her and she had that expression of letting down after a stressful event. "Are you ok."

"Yeah, I'm good. Relieved I think. There was something wrong with that bear. He seemed bent on getting to us."

"I know, I've been around lots of bears over the years and have had them be everything from curious to angry at being surprised even seen a few that wanted to attack but as soon as they hear gun fire they were gone. This one was intent on getting us."

"At the very least he had a really bad attitude." Sandra looked up at me when I got to her and leaned against my chest and put the arm that wasn't holding the rifle around me and hugged me for a few seconds before letting me go.

"Hopefully those other bears take this as a warning."

"It seemed like those other two were being driven by this one, but we'll see, we don't want to let our guard down."

We fixed the hose on the mini excavator and used it to burry the bear after contacting the dept. of fish and wildlife and submitting the proper reports. They said they had a report of a grizzly that had been shot and presumably killed by a hunter a year earlier. But a body was never recovered. They said it was likely that the bear hadn't been killed and had a festering wound that caused it to behave the way it did.

***

"Ok, we have our baselines on the depth of the frost from the bore logs and I've turned that information over to my friend at the USGS and based on that and the satellite data they sent me, here's the map overlay of the frost depths." Sandra was at the computer and looked over at me. I was making lunch while she typed away.

"That's awesome. You having those contacts is going to save us lots of time here. The rest is a matter of making our report and getting this can ready for our pickup. What will we do with the time?"

"Well based on what I'm seeing on the radar we've got more weather coming our way. This storm looks like a good one." She turned the monitor my way so I could see it.

"Oh, that'll keep us inside for a while." I smiled when I said it causing Sandra to stand up and come over and wrap her arms around me.

"I can think of a few things." She stood up on her tip toes and reached up for a kiss.

"Mmmm, funny how I look forward to bad weather now."

I returned her kiss and it turned into more than just a quick peck, her tongue played with mine in a soft subtle hide and go seek. One hand stroked the side of my face while the other gripped my sweatshirt and pulled me into her. My hands were on either sides of her chest and held the sides of her breasts.

"But it will have to wait, with the size of that storm that's coming, we better make sure that we have everything secured and we can sustain our selves for at least a few days." I pulled away from her.

"Ok I'll take a rain check. Let's have lunch and I'll give you a hand getting everything ready." She gave me a quick peck on the lips.

We sat and had lunch then spent the rest of the afternoon preparing for the storm that was already kicking the wind up a bit. By the time we finished it was at a full gale. With powerful gusts and snow flurries. The leading edge of the storm had arrived.

As we worked together side by side in many of the tasks we needed done before the storm settled in and kept us inside. I couldn't help but think ahead, the truth was I really did like Sandra. Love might have been a better description of what I felt. But I also wondered what that would look like? Here I was thinking that after the loose ends of this and a couple of other projects were finished up I would retire. I'm not sure its a lifestyle Sandra was ready for. I decided to not think too far ahead. After all, these were things the two of us would figure out not just me.

It was cold when we came back into the container and I latched the door. We were taking off our leg holsters and outer wear that kept us warm. And still even with all that gear on she was incredibly attractive. And I watched her as she pealed the layers off exposing more and more of her curves. And while that would be enough to turn any mans head, I found what was even more attractive was that she was softening. It seemed the tough exterior of a woman in hard circumstances was letting the soft loving, fun woman that was her core show through. Since she shot the bear it was like a stress had been lifted. She smiled more and seemed at ease and comfortable.

I guess I was oblivious for a second my mind was captivated with her at the moment and she paused taking her boots off and said "Are you ok?"

I couldn't help but smile "I love you." It just came out, I hadn't planed on saying it. And for a second I almost panicked thinking what if thats not what this is anymore for her. A long time ago she said she felt that way but what if...

She dropped the boot she had just taken off and came over and wrapped her arms around me and kissed me. "I love you too. I have for a long time. Even over all the years and relationships I don't think I stopped thinking about you."

I picked her up and sat her on the small counter next to our stove and her legs parted and I moved between them and kissed her while I pulled her close the the edge so I was firmly between them. She pulled my shirt off and I pulled hers off and reached behind her and unfastened her bra all the while we kissed and ran our hands over each other's bare skin.

She slid off of the counter and into my hands and I carried her to the bed and laid her on her back and unbuttoned her pants and slid them and her panties off. As she lifted her hips and they slid the rest of the way off. I saw she had shaved her mound. Something that was new today. Her labia glistened becoming wet and it was too inviting to ignore. I kissed my way from her neck and shoulders to her chest and pointed her nipples toward my mouth with my hands. Her dark areolas responded to my tongue offering a hard nipple in the center of each one. I encircled them with my lips and sucked one at a time flicking them as I did.

There were soft sighs and her hips were rising to meet my chest. I took my time kissing down her flat brown stomach pausing at her indented belly button kissing it while she pushed my shoulders down with her hands. "Oooooh, don't make me wait. I shaved this morning and I've been thinking about this all day." The intoxicating smell of her wet pussy was too much for me to keep prolonging this and I kissed her button and then each thigh next to it. She was ready to scream, her sighs had turned to moans that begged me to return to her clit. starting at the bottom I ran my tongue up and followed up to the hood and then to the top and flicked causing her to buck her hips up and her hands to push my head down. I placed my mouth over her clit and sucked and flicked at it while she raised and lowered and circled her hips. Tightening her thighs and clamped my head between them trying to buffer my efforts she then spread her legs wide and let out a scream. "OH GOD, OOOOHH". Just then I pushed two fingers into her with my palm facing up and found that rough little patch and she screamed again. And then pulled me up by the sides of my face. "You need to take off your pants mister."

As soon as my pants lowered past my very hard member it sprang up and bounced up and down a few times. As soon as I got on the bed with her she leaned over me and kissed me hard, she could taste herself on my tongue and she moaned into my mouth. Her hand wrapped around my shaft not able to encircle it she stroked it then broke our kiss and slid down needing it's swollen head in her mouth. While sucking and slurping on just the head she stroked the shaft and squeezed my balls. I could feel the pressure start to surge but I wanted this to last longer and knew I couldn't take much more of this. Pulling her up I kissed her.

"I want to be in you." I told her and I rolled her over and got between her legs and rubbed my cock head between her lips lubricating it before pushing it in stretching her as it slid in. I started slowly but it didn't take long before I was thrusting faster and she squirmed and bucked and met my strokes while she came. She could feel me about to burst and she squeezed my climax out of me with her muscle control. I was resting on my elbows above her and kissing her slowly now.

"I love you, and I like saying it." She ran her hand across my cheek when she said it.

"I love to hear you say it. I could get used to that."

It was still early and we weren't ready to call it a night so we both showered one at a time in our little shower and Sandra made us tacos out of a grizzly bear back strap that were delicious and I think a bit of a payback.

We had more than a couple of beers and talked until it was late and the storm had arrived.

It was snowing hard and the wind howled while we lay in bed listening to it. My thoughts and hopes for us only deepened. More and more I wanted to be with her.

"It's ironic to me that we are here and it's storming like it is outside, and we are just like we started out a long time ago. Only that was just the start. It's been worth the wait to be here again with you."

Sandra's brown eyes were looking at me as she was saying it. "I hope it's still storming tomorrow. I've had enough battling bears for a while. I just want you to hold me for a while. And I want to make love to you."

Her smooth naked little body against me was addictive, I couldn't get enough of her. And not just the sex. It was the intimacy and the comfort of it. I wanted this to be part of my life.

"You are right it has been worth the time apart. As much as I liked you then, I love you even more now. All those qualities you had are refined and richer now."

We made love that night while the storm raged outside. Hearing the wind battering our little shipping container in the wilderness I was struck by the contrast of the brutal force of it and the tenderness and soulful soft touch of Sandra as she slowly rocked above me and repeatedly kissed and caressed my face. Her eyes connected with my soul and looked into me at times. We drifted off to sleep together with me spooning her for warmth and comfort.

I woke up just as I had gone to sleep. I had one of her breasts in my hand. She was awake before I was and was stroking the hand that was holding her.

"Are you finally awake?" She rubbed her small foot on mine when she said it.

"Yeah, I am. Have you been awake for long?"

"For a while. I've been laying here listening to the wind and..."

"...and?"

It was obvious she needed to share some things. She turned over and searched my eyes.

"I'm worried that...that we." There were some tears starting to form. "When we go home from here, you to Washington and me Texas. That this is going to fade and just...ahh, I should shut up or you're to run home from here." She wiped her eyes.

"Nope"

"Nope?"

"No I'm not going to let that happen. Not as far as it's up to me."

"But Texas, Washington. They're not exactly close."

"Listen after this I'm retiring I have decided. I mean I'll do something but I don't have to do this anymore that leaves me with lots of options. We'll work it out."

Sandra seemed to be satisfied with that answer. I knew it wasn't something concrete but under our circumstance it was at least communicating a desire. The rest would come with time I figured.