Above the Bridge Read Online Free Page B

water’s edge.  A bright yellow canoe rested upside down against the far bank.  There was no fence separating the road from the water and a dusty, makeshift parking area marked this spot as an unofficial swimming hole.
    Not more than another hundred yards beyond the stream, the road became increasingly narrow and began to climb.  At first following only a slight incline, it quickly turned into a steeper grade, dipping periodically in roller coaster fashion.  Finally, the road leveled out into a flat plateau, at which point Paige noticed a rustic barn in the distance, brown and weathered, surrounded by a handful of smaller buildings which were barely visible above the surrounding brush.
    An impressive log gate stood alongside the road at the entrance of a narrow dirt driveway. Silhouettes of cowboys, wildlife and trees decorated the top of the arch, stretching overhead in a sculpted metal design.  Small clusters of scrub brush dotted the surrounding landscape, alternating with taller bursts of dry grass.
    Paige pulled her car up past the front gate, turned the wheel to the right and guided the vehicle over to the side of the road.  She stepped out of the car quietly, feeling a slight breeze graze the side of her face.  Leaving the car door only partially latched, she looked around, seeing only open stretches of land.  This was what Dan meant about finding peace and quiet outside of town, Paige thought.  As if in rebuttal, a crow above her let out a piercing screech before continuing its journey across the sky.
    To the left of the driveway, a white metal sign with the words “No Trespassing” was nailed onto a fencepost.  Faded and weathered as the sign was, the lettering made a clear enough statement. The property was off limits.
    Paige walked to the barbed wire fence that ran alongside the entrance.  There was no sign of anyone present on the land, at least not anyone she could see from where she stood.  It was tempting to duck between the spiked wires and get a closer look at the property.  She’d never been one to stay within the rules, a trait that had landed her in trouble more than once in her life.  Still, her instincts told her not to push this time.  She retreated to her car, paused to take in the overall view once more and then drove away, continuing east.
    Paige followed the road a few more miles, winding into a canyon, where the landscape of trees thickened.  Out of the corner of her eye, she spied a sudden movement within one particular cluster of trees.  Pulling over quietly and peering through the foliage, she could make out the dark outline of a moose .   Paige stepped cautiously out of the car and positioned herself at the side of the road, not close enough to be in danger, but close enough to clearly see the animal.
    A few other cars passed by, passenger necks swiveling as the vehicles slowed down, something Paige would soon come to expect, the braking of cars to see why other cars on the road were stopping, all hoping to catch a glimpse of area wildlife.  A young man stuck his head out of one car window and snapped a quick picture of the moose with a small point and shoot camera.  A large motor home with blue horizontal pinstripes along the side yielded several tourists with cameras, who hopped out to take photographs from the side of the road.
    Paige moved slowly around a small tree, resting against the bark and watching silently.  Within a short time, the other onlookers returned to their vehicles and headed down the road.  Paige remained behind, watching as the young moose meandered between trees and nibbled on branches and leaves, his fuzzy, newly-grown antlers not yet fully formed.  Eventually the moose and Paige made eye contact, neither one moving, but letting their notice of each other linger silently in the autumn air.  Determining that he was not threatened, the moose lowered his head and continued to munch on the local vegetation.  Paige remained quiet and