Page 46 of Double Exposure

“Oh, no. How can I? Your mom would have a fit.” But there’s something going on. I can sense it.

“Oh my God. You are going after bears by yourself—”

He lies there shaking his head the whole time I rant.

“—In March when they're hungry and with babies and you’re on crutches. What the hell.”

He reaches under his pillow and sets a lens on the metal tray in front of him.

“Not me,” he says softly.

Me?

“Oh, you want me to go do this now? Go to their cave?”

His face darkens. “No. Not the cave. I’ve given up on that. I would never ask you to do that. Too risky.” There’s a pause. “But . . . it would be nice if somebody was up on the other side of the mountain with a scope.” Now he reaches under his pillow a second time and sets his scope on the tray. “You could sit a good distance back, use the scope and land some great shots. And at least get a head count.”

“But safely out of reach.”

My father leans back and makes eye contact. “Not the cave Jade. I mean it. But yes, if you can throw together a blind and stay downwind from them, you should be able to get a good head count.”

I stare at the two instruments on the tray. “Okay,” I say.

He leans forward now conspiratorially. “Take that young man, Carter, with you—”

My parents in my love life, is a bad ida. I have to shut this down. “Dad.”

But he’s already back to the bears. “They won't be up and about this evening. But tomorrow morning, early, those twilight hours. There’s not a lot of sun. You’ll need—”

“I know what to pack, Dad.”

“You go tomorrow morning.”

“But that’s when you have your surgery. I can’t—”

“Your mother and I will be fine. I’ve been waiting for this all year. You go. They might even be gone by today. We might have already missed them. Then it’ll be another year.”

My mom returns with Carter and they’ve brought us deli sandwiches. I spend another awkward minute watching her sit on the edge of Dad’s bed. He slips his hand over hers and then they both look at me.

I don’t know what’s worse: constantly changing allegiances from one to the other, or suddenly realizing I’m the odd one out.

“No dare devil stuff. Just get yourself in position and safely out of reach.”

“I got it.

Does he know me at all?

“What are you two talking about?” asks my mother.

“Nothing,” we both say.

Carter’s not buying it.