Hold On! - Season 1 by Peter Darley Page B

have intervened personally, and vowed not to take the easy way out the next time. The following morning, at dawn, he’d scaled the ridge harder than ever before, punishing himself for his failure. Upon his return, he’d rested on the bench beneath the kitchen window. That was the first time he saw the bear cub. It had come toward him, lost, alone, and hungry. But it gave him just enough to keep him motivated.
    It needed him.
    He stroked the creature’s forehead as it ate. “I’m so sorry I’ve got to go, Snooky. I really wish you could understand what I’m saying to you. I have no choice. But I’m really gonna miss you, bud.”
    He heard Belinda’s footsteps coming up behind him, but they stopped. He knew she was watching him, although he felt she wanted him to have a last moment with his friend in private.
    Snooky looked up into Brandon’s eyes as he petted its brow. He had no idea how saying goodbye to his wild pet would affect him, and fought back his tears. “Who’s gonna take care of you now?”
    Finally, he pulled it together and turned away to join Belinda, not daring to look back. The scene had affected her too, as was apparent from her moistened eyes.
    As they reached the turn to the porch, they were startled by a roar so powerful that the air itself seemed to vibrate.
    Alarmed, they turned, and Brandon cautiously eased his way back along the side of the cabin, bracing his chest against the wood. Within seconds, he could see clearly from the shadows.
    Snooky ran across the snow toward the trees and a huge, cinnamon-colored sow of the Black Bear species—his own kind. The sow dropped back onto all fours to greet the little cub.
    Brandon watched, open-jawed. Snooky’s mother had finally found him.
    Or had she? It was such a notable coincidence, it caused him to contemplate the possibility that it was always meant to be—that the universe had brought the cub to him in his darkest hour, only to be reunited with his mother when the time was right.
    Perhaps .
    With his feelings of sadness and conscience alleviated enormously, he took Belinda’s hand. They grabbed their suitcases from the cabin, then walked outside and locked the door.
    He approached the van and opened the passenger’s side door for her to climb inside.
    As he walked around to the driver’s side, he stopped momentarily to look back at the cabin with sadness in his heart. He didn’t know if he would ever see his idyllic home again.
    Finally, he climbed into the van and turned to Belinda. They were tied to one another now, for better or worse.
     
    As the engine started, Belinda gazed with awe at the snow-caked landscape. It reminded her of how she’d seen it for the first time on that dark night. Although it was spectacular in daylight, it lacked the ethereal, supernatural quality it had in the moonlight. That was a vision she would carry with her for the rest of her life.
    Her mind became awash with thoughts of the technological wonders that might be in the two attaché cases. She’d already experienced the wire glider equipment, the laser cutter, and the Turbo Swan. What else did he have in his arsenal?
     
     

Fourteen
     
    On the Run
     
    “I hope Snooky’s going to be all right.” Belinda placed her hand on Brandon’s lap as he drove. One of his rock CD’s played at a low level, just enough to provide some background ambiance.
    “He will be. I just know it,” he said. “I still can’t get over what I just saw. His mother came back just as we were leaving.”
    “It’s certainly remarkable. What family do you have, Brandon?”
    Despite feeling somewhat uneasy, he said, “Aunts and uncles scattered here and there. I’ve never really been close to them.”
    “You said your father died. What happened to your mom?”
    His eyes misted at the mention of his mother. He could almost smell her warm scent, and see her shimmering golden locks resting on her shoulders. “S-she’s still alive. She lives in New Mexico in the house