*Just as a side note reader, none of the places in this story (Rutherford, Arrowfield, Copper Lake, etc.) actually exist. They are fictitious.

In the early morning, after a restless sleep in her old bed, Meadow found her father was already up and gone to the wood lot. She let out a deep sigh. It was a relief not having to deal with his unpredictable mood swings that morning, and a joy to be greeted by Taffy the moment she stepped into the empty kitchen. The two of them had the ground floor all to themselves since her mother was a late sleeper. Already the day was starting out far better than Meadow had expected.

It didn't take Meadow long to decide to spend the day hiking up the mountain behind her parent's place. There were plenty of trails up beyond her family property that led to a small green glacial lake where she and her brothers use to go swimming all the time. Though it had been years since she'd made the two hour hike to Copper Lake, Meadow trusted it would be a great way to spend a beautiful spring day that promised to be sunny and warm.

Grabbing a worn knapsack from the closet, she packed a picnic lunch, a first aid kit, and a couple of towels into the canvas bag. If the sun was out and the breeze warmed up, she thought she might even be brave enough to take a dip in the lake for old times sake. She left a note for her mother and called for Taffy to follow her as she stepped off the veranda.

Taffy was good company and a good walking dog. She didn't need to be leashed and she rarely ventured far from the path. She was also good at spotting bears. This time of year, when mother bears were out foraging with their young cubs, it was important to be vigilant about potential bear encounters. Consequently, Taffy was invaluable on a mountain hike in what was typically considered bear country.

Meadow wasn't overly afraid of bears, certainly not enough to stay off the mountain, but neither was she okay around them either. There was something particularly frightening to her about the sight of a bear on its hind legs, which is why Eddie's dark image through the window had freaked her out so much the evening before. 

Her mother told her she'd been attacked by a bear once when she was a kid, though Meadow had no memory of this, and that was why she was extra sensitive about the large rambling omnivores. Apparently, the animal had snatched her off a biking trail close to her school and had dragged her to its den where it kept her for a couple of days before Search & Rescue found her.

Local Rangers claimed that the mother bear had lost its young, and they believed its mothering instincts drove it to claim Meadow as its new offspring. The family was told this sort of thing was unusual but not unheard of. And a local child psychologist told Meadow that she couldn't remember a thing about it because she suffered from selective amnesia, which was common among children (less so with adults) who suffered through a traumatic event. Meadow didn't know what to make of it all, not being able to recall a single memory, but she definitely was hyper aware of bears.

Which is why, she had checked and rechecked the town's 'Bear Watch 2020' page on its website that morning. Luckily, there had only been a handful of bear sightings on her side of the mountain all spring. The risk of running into one was pretty low as a result, which was why Meadow felt confident to take the chance.  

As it was, the hike up the Elk Trail to Copper Lake, Meadow's destination, proved uneventful. She and Taffy encountered more squirrels than Taffy could bark at, some Grey Jays that flitted across the trail from time to time, a handful of big horned sheep high up on a rocky outcropping, and that was about it. Meadow wasn't disappointed. It was a relief not to encounter any dangers.  

By the time the two of them reached Copper Lake, named after copper mining that took place near the lake at the turn of the last century, Meadow was in great spirits and in a great lather too from the rigours of the hike. She instantly felt the call of the frigid glacier water. Taffy, very much a water dog, must have felt it to. She ran right in as soon as Meadow dropped her backpack to the ground. Laughing and not wanting to be outdone by the dog, Meadow quickly began to strip on the little gravel shoreline.

"Wait for me Taff!" she called as she dropped her last item of clothing on the sun-baked stones and ran into the lake.

It was really shallow for about ten feet and then it dropped off into a deep crater. Meadow ran and canon-balled as best she could into the deep water. The lake was bitterly cold and immediately took her breath away when she was submerged. But, she loved it. She and her brothers use to always run up here on a hot spring day and get in a dip long before the warm days of summer had come - long before the trails were overrun with tourists. It was tradition.

With teeth chattering in her skull and arms covered in goosebumps, Meadow swam to the surface and broke through to the warm sunshine. She had an overwhelming desire to get out of the bitterly cold water. But, she didn't. Instead, she forced herself to swim a few strokes to her right and then a few strokes back before she simply couldn't hold out any longer. Taffy, on the other hand, was already on the shore shaking out her wet rusty coloured coat and barking playfully the instant Meadow began to swim back.

She hit the shallow water and emerged shaking and shivering from head to toe. Luckily the sun was warm and the beach stones even warmer. Pulling a beach towel from her backpack, Meadow wrapped herself up while she jumped around a bit trying to get some blood circulating through her frozen limbs. The more she jumped around the more excited Taffy got, and the more excited she got the more she barked and ran around like a crazy dog. It was comical to say the least.

Meadow climbed one of the smooth SUV sized boulders by the lake and lay on the heat magnet with her face to the sun and Taffy beside her. The two of them lounged in the sun and drifted in and out of a light sleep while Meadows's elbow length wavy black hair dried and Taffy's dark red coat turned a light rust in the sun. These were the most peaceful moments Meadow had experienced since her university days, and she was loving it. 

Their slumber was interrupted by the neighing of a horse. Meadow, still wrapped in her beach towel and not wearing a stitch of clothes underneath, sat up quickly. Panic and embarrassment were battling to take over her mind as her stomach clenched tightly and then plummeted with dread. She blinked and pushed her damp hair from her face while she quickly looked around. Taffy stirred at her side but didn't seem alarmed.

"It must be my lucky day," an amused male voice spoke from her right.

Taffy woke then at the sound of the stranger, and barked a few times at the new arrivals. However, her tail was wagging her hips and it was clear she was no threat to anyone.

Meadow turned ever so slightly to her right, looking over her shoulder. She was too embarrassed to say a thing.

"I didn't know water nymphs could be found this high up in the mountains," he said as his eyes found hers.

Meadow swallowed nervously. He was a very handsome man. In fact, so handsome that she pegged him for a lycanthrope right away. And she felt very under-dressed for this unexpected encounter.

"You can stay like that if you want, little nymph, but I think you'll catch cold soon," he said with a slow smile that warmed his milk chocolate coloured eyes and made her stomach flutter.

Meadow didn't need any more encouragement. She grasped the towel tight around her and scrambled off the rock. Her pack and clothes were on the opposite side as the rider. So, if she was fast, she could be dressed before his curiosity got the better of him.

Taffy raced down the rock as well and barked with excitement. She was glad to make a new friend. But, faithful girl that she was, she stuck close to Meadow's side.

Meadow had an awful time putting on her bra and panties. Her body was dry now but her hands were shaking from the fright the handsome stranger had given her. She would have been calmer if he had been a bear.

"You alright over there? You haven't slipped back into your watery home, have you nymph?" The stranger asked in a teasing tone that gave Meadow goosebumps.

"F-f-fine," she called back and then swore under her breath when she nearly fell over trying to get her jeans on.

"Do you need any help?" Came a bemused response.

"N-no, no, no," she partly squeaked as she finally had her jeans up, zipped and buttoned.

She sat down and pulled on her socks and then her sneakers, which she hadn't bothered to unlace earlier. It took a moment, but she slipped her feet back into them with a little grunt each time. Finally, she was dressed and ready. Ready to run if he turned out to be a creep.

She exhaled a shaky breath and came out from behind the boulder to peak at the rider. Seeing her standing there, fully dressed, her damp hair blowing gently around her face in the perpetual mountain breeze, he gave her a charming smile before dismounting and bringing his horse around the boulder.

Meadow stepped well out of his reach and watched him give her an amused look from the corner of his eye as he passed her and Taffy by. He led his horse to the lake's edge and the horse bent its neck to take a drink.

Without looking at her, he just casually mentioned, "I come here every morning on my rounds, about this time, and let Wanderer here have a drink." There was a long pause before he turned his shoulder and head a little in her direction. "Should we expect another sight like we saw this morning?"

"Another sight?" Meadow repeated a bit confused at first.

"It's not every morning you are treated to a nymph swimming in all her glory in these aquamarine waters," he told her with a mischievous grin.

The grin turned faintly provocative when he saw her eyes grow wide with understanding and her face grow red with mortification. He chuckled and turned his attention back out over the water while Meadow hurriedly grabbed her things and pulled her pack over her shoulder.

"Duly noted, " she told him just before turning and rushing off.

He had seen her naked. She wanted to die. She wanted the earth to burst open right then and there and for Hades' hound, Cerberus, to drag her down into oblivion. Since that was not going to happen, she immediately struck out for the trail that meandered all around the crater. She wanted to get lost in the woods where he couldn't see her. She just hoped against hope that he wasn't headed in the same direction.

To her utter dismay, he and the horse called Wanderer met up with her just a few minutes later. They followed slowly behind her and Taffy. Meadow, not sure if this was planned or if it just so happened he was going this way, stepped off the trail to let him and his horse pass. But he didn't pass. He brought Wanderer to a stop right in front of her.

In a serious tone he spoke to her, "I can tell you and the dog here are familiar with the area. Only locals ever come up to the lake this time of year. But I don't recognize you. I'm guessing you haven't been here in a while."

Meadow looked up at him just enough to make eye contact and then looked away again. She was still feeling too awkward to do much more. Especially, given how good looking he was and how inviting both his eyes and his smile were.

"I'm Hale Seppanen, the local forest ranger here in Queen's county," he told her. "I'm up here with Wanderer monitoring the hills for grizzly activity."

He had Meadow's full attention now. Her head snapped straight up, and she looked him square in the eye.

"I checked the town's website," she said a bit nervously. "It said the risk of a bear sighting on this side of the mountain was low right now. Is the info on the sight not accurate?" 

"Ahh," he responded with a growing smile, "So, you are a local girl after all."

Meadow couldn't help but smile back at him ever so briefly. His good looks, his inviting smile, his beautiful eyes, and his disarming personality were just so irresistible that she was responding to him without thinking.

Forgetting her earlier embarrassment, for the moment, she took the bait and replied, "I'm Meadow Rask, Niko and Noora Rask's daughter." Then she inquired, "Maybe you know them or the name? There are a few of us Rasks around here."

His smile deepened and with a little nod he answered, "Yes, I know the name. I've been working this area for the last five years and know most of the folks around," he offered conversationally. He looked her over from head to toe, and then his face was serious again, "Come home for a vacation?"

"Yes, sort of," she replied with a hefty sigh. The sigh was unintentional. It just sort of slipped out in the moment. But, it caught his attention and he raised an eyebrow at her as if to say, 'things that bad?'. Embarrassed, Meadow didn't bother to elaborate.

"Well, I hate to cut this hike of yours short, but there have been two grizzly sightings here around Copper Lake just this past week. So, why don't you hop on up here and I'll give you a ride back down the mountain. Your parents live in the house with the red tin roof, right?"

Meadow realized she couldn't very well say no. She was not equipped to fend off a grizzly. And, she certainly didn't want to risk running into one on her first full day at home. Next time she'd make sure she rode one of her mom's two trail horses up here and brought her dad's 22. But, for now, she just nodded and said, "Yes, that's the one," in reference to his question about her parent's house.

Hale pulled his foot out of the stirrup and reached out a hand for her to grab. Meadow stepped forward, grabbed the arm he offered her, put her left foot in the empty stirrup, and swiftly mounted Wanderer. Though she hadn't been on a horse in years, having grown up with them, some things your muscles just never forget.

Once she was secure on the horses rump, Hale gave her a playful grin and cautioned her to "Hold on tight."

Meadow blushed. Now that she was this close to him and had a good look at his melt-your-heart deep brown eyes, framed so perfectly by his slightly curled black lashes, she felt her stomach flutter, her heart race, and goosebumps break out all over her. It was like sensory overload. How could anyone be this delectable? She wasn't sure she could take her eyes off of him.

But, not at all comfortable with the idea of wrapping her arms around his waist because she was flustered by how deep her attraction run, she opted to grab the little loops on his belt. If the ride got rough, she'd reconsider. But this little contact would suffice, for now. She didn't want to risk embarrassing herself further by clinging to his warm back and breathing in his cologne too deeply, if she could avoid it.

"Ready?" he asked with a killer smile as he looked at her over his shoulder.

"Ready," Meadow replied with a touch of a smile and an answering blush.