The Dance Part 2

Chapter 328 Bear

Although not particularly thrilled to have to drag Gabe home, a reluctant Matt and Bam joined Bear on the trip to Browntown to fetch their brother. Gabe was the sensitive brother, the one who felt everything a little more deeply than the others, so it wasn't unusual for him to retreat into himself. Bear's concern grew more out of the divide he felt Gabe was creating between himself and Lucy. They both suffered a loss but it seemed that Gabe didn't see it that way.

The crunch under their boots once they hit the beach at Browntown harkened back to their early days of living off grid. They failed to give the customary howl not wanting to give Gabe an opportunity to go deeper into the bush. The hope was to catch him off guard and drag him home to begin repairing  his relationship with Lucy.

The brothers approached the cabin from three seperate sides hoping to catch Gabe before he realized they were on family land but as they approached, each one spotted Gabe on the roof of the main cabin. He seemed to be waving or rather signaling them in some way. As the three brothers gathered at the stairs of the cabin, Bear asked, "What"s he doing on the roof?"

Both Matt and Bam shrugged peering up at him. "Gabey, quit playing games and get off the frickin' roof." Bam was in no mood to play games. He had work piling up at the dock in Hoonah and was in no mood to play childish games with his younger brother.

"Bear!" Gabe whispered down at his brothers.

Bear yelled back up to Gabe. "What?"

"Bear!" Gabe whispered louder.

"Why the heck do you keep saying my name? I'm right here."

"Beeeeaaarrrrr! Behind you!"

As the three brothers continued to goad  Gabe to come down, he kept pointing and whispering. "Sol! There's a bear behind you."

A twig snapped behind the three brothers and Matt caught the telltale smell of what Gabe had been trying to tell them. As he slowly turned, there was in fact a bear behind them. The three brothers quickly scaled the cabin walls and pulled themselves up on the roof next to Gabe as their visitor wandered the grounds scavaging for food.

"Geez, you guys have been living in town too long if you didn't hear that bear wandering around."

"How long have you been up here," Bear asked.

"Too long. You got anything to eat in that pack?" Gabe was hoping for some sustenance as he had been stuck on the roof for more than three hours.

"If you would have manned up and stayed home, we wouldn't be in this situation." Bam snarled at his brother.

"Well, it looks like it will be a while. Perfect time to catch up on my sleep." Matt used his hat to cover his face. He literally could sleep anywhere.

"Why are you guys here?" Gabe asked.

"We came to fetch you. If you've forgotten, you have a wife in Hoonah." Bear reminded him that Lucy was anxious to have him back.

"I haven't forgotten. I just haven't forgiven her."

"Forgiven her for what? She didn't do anything wrong."

"Bear's right." Bam interjected. "The pregnancy wasn't viable, Gabey."

"Lucy never really wanted kids."

"Lucy was just scared. She's been an only child forever. She's not been around a lot of kids but she was coming around." Bear was stern in his words.

"So the first hard patch in your relationship, you cut and run?" Bam shook his head. "Have you learned nothing watching me and Lila?"

Gabe smarted back. "You and Lila are the  perfect couple."

"Perfect? You think we are perfect? She is the most stubborn woman ever and she's married to me. Look at how many ups and downs we've been through but we have learned to stick together."

"You two make it look easy." Gabe sighed heavily.

"Well it's not. So you are going to pack your things and you're going back home with us. You are going to make this right with Lucy or I will personally kick your ass."

Gabe hesitated for a moment. "First we need to figure out how to get off this roof and get rid of that bear."