Page 64 of Fake-Off with Fate
“Ashlyn, it’s me,” Jamie says.
“Hey. Are you almost here?” I wonder why he’s calling right before picking me up.
“About that … No, I’m still home.”
“Well, get moving, buddy. I’m all dressed up with no place to go.”
“Would you mind going to the store?” he asks, sounding nervous.
“Jamie, what’s going on?” Whatever he needs, he can surely get it on his way to pick me up.
“I need about twenty boxes of granola,” he announces.
“Why?” Even as I ask I start to have a vague suspicion.
“Remember how you told me not to feed the bears because they would bring their friends?”
“Oh, no!” I can’t help it, I start laughing. “How many are there?”
“Ten? Twenty? It’s hard to say. There could be a hundred for all I know.”
“And you want me to come over and feed them?”
He pauses for a beat. “That probably wouldn’t be safe, huh?”
“I’m not worried about my safety,” I tell him. “I’ll be in a car. If it feels dangerous, I’ll just leave.”
“Then you’ll come?” He sounds so relieved, I can’t help the smile that comes to my face.
“Of course I’ll come. But the grocery store probably won’t have that much granola. I’ll have to improvise.”
“I don’t care what you bring. Just get as much granola as you can for the original three. The newbies don’t have any expectations yet.”
“Do you need anything for yourself?” I ask.
“How about a pizza?”
“I think they’re going to feed us at the ball,” I tell him. “Unless the pizza is just an appetizer.”
“Ashlyn,” Jamie says my name with the same tone he might use if he were about to confess to a crime. “I can’t leave here.”
“What do you mean you’re not leaving? I thought we were going to the Ice Breakers inaugural ball?”
“I should go,” he says. “But there’s no way I can walk through all those bears. No way. I’m trying to be brave here, but I’ve got to tell you I’m terrified. I even considered calling the police, but I’m afraid this whole thing would get out and then in addition to being Allegra’s jilted boyfriend, I’ll be the man being held hostage by bears. I don’t think I could handle the ridicule.”
Jamie Hayes is simply adorable. I know he feels like a coward, but I don’t know anyone who could easily walk through a bunch of bears. “Don’t worry about tonight,” I tell him. “Hibernation is coming any time now and you’ll be left alone until the spring.”
“I have to move out before they wake up,” he says anxiously. “You don’t think they’ll try to break into my cabin, do you?”
“I think you should lock your windows and doors, just in case.” Then I tell him, “Depending on how many there are, we may still have to call for reinforcements.”
“I know. I just didn’t want to come off as hysterical and I thought you might be a better judge of things. But only if you’re okay with that.”
“I’m good,” I tell him while picking up my purse. “I’ll bring supper and bear food. We can assess the situation once I get there.”
“Ashlyn …” Jamie starts to speak but he doesn’t finish his sentence.
“Yes?”
