Page 118 of Tangled up in You

Then she stopped, shook her head, and backed up a step.

He took that moment to quickly back away, spraying her again. “Go away bear!” he yelled.

The cub behind her turned and ran the other direction, shaking its head, so he guessed it’d received a dose, too.

The sow swung her head around, then back toward Mark, and finally turned, loping after her cub.

He holstered his gun, turned, and ran after Chris, glancing back to make sure the sow wasn’t following.

He registered that the mules were making a commotion but they didn’t sound hurt.

He caught up with Chris who still held his can of bear spray.

“Give me the radio,” Mark said. “I need to call that in, find out which bear that is.”

Christopher’s eyes widened. “Uh, radio?”

“Yeah, the radio! I handed it to you hold while I went to take a dump.”

“Um…”

His heart dropped. “Chris! Where the fuck is the radio?”

Christopher’s face reddened. “I, uh, think I threw it at the bear.”

“Youthrewthe radio at the bear?” he screamed. “Why thefuckdid you throw the radio at the bear?”

“Because it was in my hand and I was too worried about her charging Jesse to process what it was and not throw my bear spray at it!”

“Why would youthrowyour bear spray instead ofsprayingbear spray?”

“I did spray my bear spray, but you always told me you’re supposed to throw something to distract it! It was in my fucking hand!”

In that moment, if Mark didn’t love Chris he’d be tempted to strangle him.

Scratch that, he was still tempted to strangle him.

“You’re supposed todropsomething, not throw it, and?—”

They both turned at the sound of Jesse’s panicked screams.

They shoved through the underbrush, following the sound. They quickly emerged at a stream bank and spotted Jesse’s orange rain slicker as she thrashed in the cold water about thirty yards downstream. While the water wasn’t exceptionally deep it ran higher and faster than usual due to spring melt, meaning it could easily sweep an adult off their feet.

And obviously had, carrying her away.

Not to mention the snowmelt was frigid. If they didn’t get her out fast it might be hypothermia that killed her instead of a bear or drowning.

“Shit!” they both screamed. Mark shed his pack and bolted along the bank, trying to catch up with her. Chris still wore hispack and stumbled, falling. Mark knew that more because of the sounds Chris made because Mark didn’t dare take his eyes off Jesse, much less look behind him.

“Grab something!” Mark screamed at her, not sure if she could even hear him over the rushing water and her own panicked howls.

Fear even colder than the water racing past him sliced deep into his gut. That’s when she managed to flail herself halfway across a large, flattish rock close to the bank and hung on as the frigid water sluiced over her.

He wasn’t even thinking when he stopped just past her and shed his duty belt and jacket on the bank. He looked around for a branch he could hand to her when Christopher, now minus his pack, pounded up with a coil of rope in his hand. “Here!”

“Hang on, Jesse!” Mark yelled.

Mark quickly tied a harness around himself while Christopher belayed the other end around a sturdy tree and made ready to haul them in.

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