Page 36 of Rocky Ride

Sunday laughed. “That’s one advantage of having a bear for a pet.”

“You got a bear?” Virgie’s eyes were wide. “Don’t he try to bite you?”

“He tried a couple times at first and I smacked him down with a shovel. He got the message pretty quick and didn’t give me anymore trouble. He walks on a leash now.”

“No shit?” Virge was into the bear story, and I could picture him trying to tame a huge hulking grizzly for us pretty soon.

“None. I was walking Ted down the mountain on his leash when I came across the wolf pack on Dale trying to finish him.”

“I need to hear the details of that,” said Virge. “Dad ain’t telling me anything and he ain’t showing me the damage to his leg.”

“Hard to miss the howling,” Sunday moved along the row of stalls and stroked Bonnie Grace’s nose while she talked, “and I followed the sound and the tracks.”

“You have a gun?” asked Virge.

“Nope, just my bear. When I got down the mountain far enough to see Dale, one of the wolves was tearing his clothes and tugging on him, trying to drag him into the trees. The second one was at his throat trying to finish him off while the third one had fangs in Dale’s leg ripping that big chunk out of him.”

Virge made a face when Sunday said,big chunk.

“How bad is his leg, Sunday?” I asked. “He ain’t offered to show me yet.”

“Nothing you want to look at, Harlan. Make you heave up your breakfast. A lot of parts are missing and they won’t be coming back.”

“Why do you live way up the mountain all alone?” asked Virge.

“Like I told Dale, my husband wanted to try living off the grid. He bought the land and built our cabin, and we quit our jobs and moved up there in the spring. I think it was April twelfth. Right around the time the bears were coming out of the caves looking for food. We didn’t know a lot about bears, but it seems they were extra hungry and mean this year.”

“Yeah,” said Virge, “the fuckers are testy in the spring.”

“Ted was out getting wood for the stove, and he was gone a long time. Never came back and me and Butchie had to go looking for him. We found him not too far from the cabin. A bear got him. Killed him dead.”

“Aw shit. That’s a sad story. Sorry for your loss.”

“If you moved up there on April twelfth,” said Virge, “how long were you there before the bear got your man?”

“Three days. Ted was dead on the fifteenth. I buried him the same day. Ground was still partially frozen, and it was hard digging.”

“Aw, Jeeze,” I said. “Worst story I ever heard.”

“Then you just stayed up there?” Virge wanted all the details. He’d keep going until he squeezed it all out of Sunday.

“Where was I going to go? I had to think about it all summer.”

“You settled on what you want to do now?” I asked.

“I’m feeling more solid now, and I’m happy to be here with you boys and Dale and Billy. You are all good people and all lawmen. A houseful of lawmen. I feel safe.”

“Yep, we’ve gotta work today. Gotta catch us a killer.”

“I’d like to help you.”

“Got any skills, Sunday?” asked Virge. “I mean like besides bear taming and cooking.”

“Let’s see. Before I got married and moved up the mountain I was a tech for a big company in Missoula. I know a lot about computers.”

“That could be helpful for research,” said Virge. “Are you beyond skilled…like I mean… can you hack?”

“Could do.” Sunday smiled at Virge.

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