Yellowstone Heart Song (Yellowstone Romance Series Book 1) by Peggy L Henderson

raised in a smile when she didn’t answer. Finally, she said, “not too recently, perhaps late yesterday.”
    His smile faded. “Why do you think that?”
    “Because most of the grass is standing up again after it’s been trampled on.”
    He studied her face. How did she know to read bison tracks so accurately, yet she couldn’t see the signs of a bear kill? Stepping up to one of many lodgepole pines, he asked, “What about this mark on the tree?” He pointed to the trunk of the pine that had some of its bark stripped off.
    Aimee walked up next to him, and ran her fingers across the yellowed scars. “A bison made those marks, rubbing his head against the tree. There’s even a little fur hanging on. See?” She pulled a tuft of brown fur from the bark and held it up to him. Daniel’s jaw clenched.
    ****
     
    Aimee smiled sweetly. He could ask her all he wanted about bison. This was basic junior ranger stuff to her. How many countless ranger-led hikes had she gone on in her life? And a favorite topic of discussion on those hikes had often been bison. She could practically lead one of these bison talks herself. She had to admit, though, that her guide this time was far more interesting than any ranger she’d met in modern times.
    When Daniel didn’t speak, she finally asked, “Well, how am I doing so far?”
    He studied her for a moment with that intense look of his. “Where would you expect to find berries here?” he asked, rather than answer her question.
    “I’d be looking around for sunny spots, I suppose, for berry bushes.”
    Daniel pointed out some strawberry patches on the ground, and huckleberry bushes among the thickets. She moved eagerly in their direction, when he took hold of her arm and pulled her back. She turned her head, and raised her eyebrows in a silent question. 
    “Bears, remember?” he warned. He scanned the area for a moment, and inhaled deeply. “Often, you can smell a bear before you see him,” he explained.
    “What do bears smell like?” She recalled the death and decay smell of the elk carcass, but she couldn’t remember now if the bear smelled like rotten meat as well, or just the air around him.
    “Most of the year, bears smell like the places they visit,” Daniel explained. “In the early part of summer, they smell like the wet grasses.”
    “Sweet?” she asked. He nodded.
    “The tundra smells like the earth and sage, and a bear has that smell as well. It is only much more distinct. You need to train your senses to pick up the differences. Bears like to roll in their food, or anything with a strong odor, so whatever they have eaten, they will smell like it.”
    “Ew. Okay. Kind of like dogs. They do that, too.” She took a deep breath, but all she smelled was the pine scent of the forest.  “What else?” she asked eagerly.
    “Listen to the forest. What do you hear?”
    She closed her eyes and inhaled. The tranquil sounds of the forest birds, the smell of fresh pine and musty earth, even the distinctive cow scent left behind by the bison, and the rushing sound of the breeze through the tops of the tall lodgepole pines all had an intoxicating effect on her.
    “I hear the wind and birds,” she said softly.
    “What kind of birds?” Daniel prodded. 
    She tried to concentrate on the different sounds. “Oh! A woodpecker,” she said in surprise. She had never paid attention to different birdcalls before. She turned her head to listen closer. “I hear ravens, and probably some kind of jay?”
    “Any other animals?” Daniel pushed her further. “You must learn to separate all sound.”
    She sighed, but kept her eyes closed. Amazingly, she could, indeed, sift through the cacophony of chirps and make out individual animals. “Hey, that’s not a bird . . . that was an angry-sounding squirrel.”
    She opened her eyes. In front of her, Daniel stared intently at her face. Her heart skipped a beat.
    “Is it safe now?” she whispered.
    Was he going to answer? She