Wild Eyes

Thirty-three-year-old Weston (West) Belmont is driving through his hometown of Rose Hill when he sees a tourist on the side of the road, videoing a grizzly bear. He pulls over, noticing the young woman’s fancy clothes and car and scoffing at the tourists who visit Rose Hill unprepared. When the woman turns around to face him, he’s shocked to recognize “country music superstar Skylar Stone” (4). He tells her to back away from the bear, but she argues that she’s taking footage for her social media. Her defiant manner reminds him of his six-year-old daughter, Emmy. The bear becomes more nervous, and West again begs Skylar to step away. Finally, Skylar approaches him when the bear’s babies appear. He grabs her and rolls them onto the ground, shielding her body with his, then comforts her while they wait for the bears to pass.

Once the bears leave, West and Skylar get up, and West teases her about what happened. Skylar gets upset because she is tired of everyone pushing her around. She reveals that she is in town to visit Ford Grant at Wild Rose Records. West offers to lead her there, as Ford is his friend and neighbor.