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their problem was more complicated than that and sighed. The bear’s appearance might have marked the start of their troubles—or so it seemed to her—but matters now looked bigger than just the bear.
    True to Jake’s hope, Mr. Brunson drove his truck up the driveway and parked it in front of the house just as the sun rose. The first rays of light flooded across the yard. To save Mr. Brunson the walk to the house, Hannah went out to meet him in the yard. He saw her approach, waved, and waited in his truck.
    “Nice of you to come out,” he said when she was within earshot. “Old bones hurt in the morning.”
    “Jake was hoping you would stop by,” she said.
    “Bear back?” he guessed.
    Hannah nodded. “We heard it again. I don’t know what it’s after, though. Nothing is missing this morning. Jake was hoping you could tell the game warden about it. Maybe today? I don’t think I like a bear wandering around.”
    “That’s where I’m going now,” Mr. Brunson said, his tone emphatic. “I took a picture of the eaten hog—or his remains, anyway—to prove the matter. I’m going right into town and see what can be done. Maybe we can get some action tonight. If not—” Mr. Brunson’s face darkened again, and then he smiled when he saw Hannah watching him intently. “No, I suppose not. I better not shoot the thing myself. The law’s kind of hard about such things.”
    “Don’t be giving Jake any ideas,” Hannah said. She could just see Jake standing in the cold night air, aiming his hunting rifle into the darkness while the enraged bear grabbed for him.
    “We wouldn’t want to do that,” Mr. Brunson assured her. “There’s a considerable fine associated with the penalty.”
    “That we couldn’t afford,” she said with certainty. “This bear could be quite a problem, it seems.”
    “That’s what the law is for in this country—one would hope,” Mr. Brunson said, his face grim. “Let me see what I can get done today. I’ll try to stop by after Jake gets home. I might be able to give you both some good news.”
    After Mr. Brunson left, Hannah wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or not. From what he said, the game warden would soon do something about the bear, and that would eliminate one of her reasons for moving back East. She was surprised at the twinge of joy she felt. Apparently she didn’t want to move as intensely as she had thought. And it was true—a move back to Indiana would uproot their lives here, which had just begun to take firm hold.
    And Jake so wanted to stay here. If that was what Jake wanted, then she had better support him, whatever her own inclinations might be.
    “So, sweet Montana, be my sunshine,” she said out loud to the heavens, glancing up at the last redness of the sunrise before she walked back into the house. Hannah smiled at her own words and then hummed them with a tune of her own, thankful no one else was around. It was enough that she enjoyed the little tune herself. “Sweet Montana, come on now. Take your bears away. Back to the mountains they must go, so we can stay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s what I say.”
    Back in the kitchen, Betty’s pressure cooker still sat on the back corner of the counter, where she had left it after yesterday’s corn canning. Hannah eyed the cooker warily, her nerves still raw, the memories still vivid. Should I or should I not take on the tomatoes today?
    Jake hadn’t said anything about the weather, which he usually did if a major rain was moving in. He liked to pass on the reports his boss gave him. Perhaps he’s distracted, Hannah thought. I’ve given him plenty to be distracted about by sharing the news of the baby and blowing up the kitchen. She winced at the thought.
    Hannah went back outside and took another look at the tomatoes. Judging the coming weather by the color of the sunrise, she decided they had to be done today, whatever her feelings about the cooker. Her mom had often moved up their scheduled wash day