“Wait a second, Buddy,” I said softly. He paused, looking back over his shoulder. I reached out and scratched him behind the ears, just like I used to when he was a cub in my cabin. I felt the old scar on his side under the thick fur.
“You’ve done good, big guy. You’re a hell of a bear,” I whispered. He closed his eyes for a second, let out a soft huff, and then turned toward the deep timber. He didn’t look back again, disappearing into the green shadows of the forest.
I sat there among the shredded ropes and wolf tracks, realizing that kindness is never truly forgotten. That cub hadn’t forgotten the man who saved him, and when the time came, he’d risked everything to pay the debt in full.
