Page 63 of Rookie Season
“Yeah, I guess I am.”
Her face brightens with delight before she loops an arm through mine. “We’re going to have the best time. I love the ugly holiday sweaters they give out. You probably have a bunch of them.”
“Actually, I don’t have any.”
“You don’t have one?” Ryan overhears and swoops in. He shakes his head. “We’re going to fix that today.”
A banging outside has us looking over.
“That must be the car!” Jay’s already heading for the door, Ryan on his heels.
Jay jams his feet into his boots and is outside the next second. We rush to follow, all of us in a pile that spills out onto the porch.
Jay stops at once, lifting his arms. “Oh shit.”
There’s a new addition to the clearing in front of the house, paused and watchful.
It’s not an SUV.
It’s a bear.
17
SIERRA
The bear studies us for a breath, two. It’s not even ten feet away, its dark fur shiny.
Then it lets out a roar.
I jump. There’s no avoiding the reaction, because if there’s a way to respond to a wild animal with claws and teeth surprising you, I don’t know what it is.
“Aren’t they supposed to be hibernating?” Ryan murmurs.
“Tell that to the bear,” I whisper.
That’s when I realize the bear isn’t as big as others I’ve seen from a distance, or on TV. It’s probably young—a year or two old.
Our crew inches closer together, either by design or instinct.
“What kind is it?” Atlas asks.
Clay leans in. “Black bear.”
“Obviously,” Jay weighs in.
After a moment, it drops down to all fours and watches us.
It’s come here for food, and it isn’t ready to leave, but maybe it’s decided that it’s overmatched by this cluster of mostly-oversized humans.
“We should make a lot of noise. Scare it off,” Brooke whispers.
We all look at Atlas, who lifts his arms in the air and growls.
The bear sniffs but doesn’t move away. I’d say its expression is more expectant than aggressive.
“Does it think…?” Ryan starts.
“What?” Jay asks.
