Page 16 of A Bear's Journey

I can’t blame her for going feral, really,he thought. It does make a lot of things a little easier.

I mean, look at Ninety. All she wants in life is a walk and some kibble. Maybe some treats for being a good dog.

A couple years ago, they’d been traveling back from California on a highway, right behind a flatbed truck. On the truck was a tiny black puppy, and before either Craig or Jasper realized that the wiggly black patch was a dog, the truck went around a corner and the puppy flew off, into the fields to the side of the road.

Craig had practically crashed the car pulling over the side of the road, and then the two of them had frantically followed the poor thing’s cries until they found her.

An emergency vet had pronounced her seriously bruised and scratched but mostly unharmed. By then they were already calling her by the name of the highway they’d found her on — Ninety Nine — and she wagged her tail when she heard the number, so it became hers.

Craig stood at the counter, and the dog finished eating and came over to lie down in the kitchen, tongue lolling as she watched Craig shuffle around in his robe.

“I think we found her, Ninety,” he told the dog. He leaned against the counter and drank his coffee.

Thump.

“Jasper has no game,” he went on. “None whatsoever. I gotta think of a better way to do this.”

Ninety Nine yawned, and Craig bent down to scratch her ears.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “We’ll run her by you first. Make sure she passes the sniff test.”

Thump.

* * *

A couple hours later,Craig and Jasper were in their car, parking behind the library.

“I don’t see why you’re against this plan,” Jasper said. “We go in, we give her the book, we ask her to dinner. What could go wrong?”

“Everything!” said Craig. “Do we also tell her that we made eye contact once, when we were all bears, and that we’ve been trying to find her ever since that moment?”

Jasper frowned.

“Okay,” Craig said. “Imagine that this is for your dad’s campaign. Would you ever tell him to do something like that to a donor?”

Jasper sighed and looked out the window, considering.

“Probably not,” he admitted. “There’s more of a courtship phase before you really go for it.”

“Exactly!” said Craig. “We’ve gotta court.”

Jasper sighed and cast a look at the library. “I spent a lot more time studying and playing video games than I did getting laid when I was younger,” he admitted.

“That’s why we’re a great team,” Craig said, grinning. “You’ve got the brains, and I’ve got the good looks and charm.”

Jasper rolled his eyes.

“Come on,” said Craig. He leaned toward his mate.

Jasper gave him a kiss, only a little grudgingly.

“Just follow my lead,” Craig said.

“What’s your plan?”

“I’m gonna wing it,” Craig said, opening the door of the SUV.

“No,” said Jasper. “We need an outline of a plan at least. Something.”

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