Page 102 of My UnTrue Love
And ran right into the grizzly security guard.
Uh oh.
Clem tilted her headallllllthe way back, so she could see the immense man looming directly behind her. Real live bears were not nearly as cute as her stuffed toy Mr. Pandy.
“Hi.” She said, automatically trying to be friendly.
The bear didn’t smile back. He had an unkempt brown beard that blended in perfectly with his unkempt brown fur and unkempt brown ponytail. A battered trapper hat was pulled down close to the bear’s skull. Bill had a point about the impracticality of the wintery-style, when Red River Valley was blistering hot every day of the year.
“What magic are you using to fix the races?” Wearing a flannel shirt and denim overalls, the bear reminded her of the surly prospectors who had worked with her dad at his mine. They hadn’t liked her much either.
“No magic. Honest. I’m a muse. Our powers don’t work like that. We just sense creative possibilities and inspire artists to…” Her words ended in a surprised squeak, as he spun her around to face him.
“What magic are you using to fix the races?” He asked again, this time in a more threatening voice. His thick fingers bit into her shoulder.
By that point, everyone else in the apron had hurried off to collect their winnings. Even Mamie had fled, leaving Clementine to face the fallout alone.
She swallowed. “I can sense which horses are going to perform well. That’s all. Athletics are a type of art. Don’t you think so?”
He didn’t think so. She could tell by his thunderous expression. He leaned in closer to her, like he was ready to escalate his interrogation. His breath smelled like liquor and salmon. “What magic are you using to fix the…?”
This time he was the one interrupted.
“Get away from my wife.” Bill’s voice commanded. “Now.”
The bear didn’t get away from her, but he did take his hand off of her arm. “This girl belongs to you.” He glanced at Clementine. “You belong to a coyote?”
“You’re goddamn right she does.” Bill snapped before she could answer.
Clem looked over her shoulder and saw Bill striding right towards her, a furious expression on his face. “Honey, I can explain this.” She promised, before he got the wrong idea and thought she was talking to a stranger. Which shewas, but only because the bear had talked to her first.
“Oh, I’m sure you can, darlin’.”
The bear ignored her entirely. He towered over Bill, but he seemed braced for a fight. “Your wife is cheating these races.”
“I don’t give a shit.” Bill decided without slowing down.
“Of course you don’t care about her fraud.” The bear jeered. “You’re thieving kind onlyhaswomen because you steal them.”
Bill got right between the security guard and Clem. “Back the fuckup, teddy.”
Oh, he probably shouldn’t have called him “teddy.” It wasn’t a slur, of course. It just sounded socute. The nicknameinevitably led to tantrums, because bears didn’t like being thought of as cute. But then coyotes surely didn’t like being called thieves and Clem didn’t much like being called a cheater.
Obviously, things were getting heated.
“Why don’t we all just take a breath and…”
The bear swung at Bill with a half-transformed paw. Ginormous claws sliced at his face, trying to rip off skin and bone. See? Tantrum.
Bill was already moving out of his way. He didn’t bother to shift into a coyote. His fist snaked out, slamming into the bear’s crotch. Hard. Likereallyhard. Hard enough to break something that shouldnotbe broken. Hard enough to drop the other man to the ground, screaming in agonizing pain.
Clementine winced. “Oh Bill! Please be careful of your fingers!”
Bill leaned over the bear, looking pissed. “You’re stressing out my wife on our first date, you ignorant ass.”
The bear didn’t answer. He was too busy rolling in the dirt, hugging his privates and crying.
Bill’s eyes swung back to Clem, scanning her for injuries. “You okay?”
