Page 66 of After We Fall

On the heels of another scream, I came around the corner on the road. It was dusk, but I could see two bear cubs perched on a small rise and the mama bear standing over a man curled up on the ground on the side of the road.

“Shit,” I muttered to myself.

Shifting, I pulled my sidearm out of its harness. I glanced around to make sure no one was nearby before firing it straight up into the air. The mama bear turned her attention to me, approaching quickly. Bears were big and lumbering, but damn, they could cover some fucking ground.

I let loose with the bear spray, preferring not to shoot her because she had two cubs, and they needed her. She stopped at a distance, but then she started toward me again. I got a shot off, but it missed her. She sideswiped me in the leg with her claws, the bear’s equivalent of a cat batting at a toy. To my relief, she bolted after that with her cubs right behind her.

My thigh burned like hell. I limped over to the man, keeping my eyes on the bear’s path. She and her cubs beat feet into the trees.

“You okay?” I asked when I reached the man.

He slowly uncurled and sat on the ground. I saw the blood running down his shoulder.

“She just came out of the trees,” he muttered, appearing disoriented and in pain.

I yanked my phone out. Thank God we were within cell range here. I'd been contemplating calling Harley ever since we landed. Instead, I was calling the emergency services and waiting with this guy on the side of the road.

An hour or so later, I was at the reception desk in the emergency room. “Now, can you remind me of your insurance number again?”

I glanced at the woman behind the desk. “Look, I don't fucking know, and I don't have my card on me. Hang on, let me call my office.”

A moment later, I was holding my cell phone to my ear as I listened to the phone ring. I started to think perhaps Daphne wasn't there, but she answered, “Hello?”

Relief whooshed through me. “Hey, Daphne. It's Grant.”

“Hey, why are you calling?”

“Well, I'm in Kodiak, which is a damn good thing because I'm at the hospital.”

“What?!” she yelped.

“I'm fine. I got swiped by a bear on my leg. I'm all stitched up, but I can't find my insurance card.”

“Are you sure you're okay?” she demanded.

“It hurts like hell, but yeah, I'm fine.” The receptionist’s eyes widened. I shrugged. “I'm gonna hand the phone over to this nice woman who's trying to give me my discharge paperwork.”

“Grant, I have lots more questions,” Daphne warned.

“I know, but first things first.” I glanced at the woman's name tag. “This is Linda. Here you go.” I smiled at Linda, adding, “Linda, this is Daphne on the other end of the phone.” I handed it over.

Linda asked Daphne a few questions while she rapidly typed away on her computer.

“I'm back,” I said into the phone a few moments later.

“Grant! You scared me,” Daphne announced.

“I'm fine.”

“Are you in a hospital bed?”

“No, I’m checking out. I'm just limping.”

“What the hell happened?”

“Fortunately, Nana at the B&B where I am staying, gave me a heads-up that there have been a few bear sightings in town, so I had my bear spray and my gun. I didn't get the worst of it. A guy was walking ahead of me before I saw him and startled a mama brown bear with two cubs. She tore open his shoulder, and he’ll be dealing with that for a long time. I got some bear spray off and one shot. She swiped me on the leg when she ran by, and then she took off.”

“Grant!”

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