Free Take Only Pictures by Laina Villeneuve Page B

her brother who was gossiping with Dozer.
    “Would you quit and at least pretend to listen?” Kristine hissed.
    “Dozer says that hottie bear lady made the moves on Ocean last night.”
    Kristine scowled at her brother, trying to shut him up.
    “Good for her.”
    “Aren’t you mad about it?” he asked.
    “Why would I be mad?”
    “Because you’ve got the hots for the bear expert.”
    “How about you stick to who you’ve got the hots for. Talked to Takeisha yet?” she asked pointedly.
    Gabe’s shoulders sank. “Dozer said she’s all over Brian. Bear lady’s looking your way again, though.”
    Kristine frowned as she felt stern eyes on her. She didn’t feel it fair for Gloria to be the one disappointed. She was the one disappointed. She shouldn’t be, she knew. It’s not like she expected Gloria to pine away after her all summer after she turned her down, and Ocean was an attractive and fun woman. Still, Ocean just seemed so young. Fun to chat with, sure, but she found it difficult to imagine spending more time with her than it took to ring up an ice cream.
    Kristine saw Gloria set her shoulders just as she had during her presentation in the diner. Back to business. “Bears are very intelligent,” she said, emphasizing the very, “and persistent. This area has had a jump in reports of human/bear encounters, as illustrated by last night’s visit from a mama and her two cubs. We want to shut that down before the little ones learn to associate humans with food. I’ll walk you through some of the scare tactics, and we’ll wrap up by practicing with the rubber bullets I brought. You can practice with a rifle or a handgun, whichever is more comfortable for you.”
    While Gloria talked, Kristine watched Ocean. She was full of smiles, but wasn’t she always? She tried to discern whether Ocean was watching Gloria any more intently than any of the other employees were. “How do you know they hooked up?” she whispered to Gabe.
    “They went up to the corrals last night to borrow a truck. Dozer drove down and helped Gloria drop a ladder into the Dumpster, so the cubs who’d got stuck could get out. He said Ocean made a big deal about how good it was that Gloria’d been right there when it happened, and when he left, he said they were going back into her room.”
    Suddenly, Gabe’s eyes grew wide, and he stood stock straight, looking away from Kristine. She found Gloria’s eyes on her yet again.
    “I realize you all feel you have experience with bears, but believe me, you have a problem in this valley. It may not seem like that big a deal to you, but a fed bear is a dead bear. If they get food-conditioned, they are destroyed. You might not care about that. I do.”
    Kristine blushed deeply, regretting her juvenile susceptibility to the barn gossip.
    “Busted,” Gabe whispered.
    Kristine elbowed her brother and tried to concentrate on Gloria’s talk.
    “I’ve covered these bales of hay with newspaper,” Gloria explained. “Remember that we’re shooting to scare, not harm, these animals. We’re using bullets that are widely used for riot control. Your store manager will have a gun and ammunition here, and folks who run overnight trips will be equipped as well. Let’s start with a backcountry scenario. Sandy? Dozer? A bear is in your kitchen. What’s your plan of action?”
    “Throw on some jeans and boots, I figure. Them backcountry bears come snooping around our camps when we’re still in bed. Should I practice that?” Dozer said.
    “That’s not necessary.” Gloria deflected Dozer’s flirtation with ease.
    “We prop plates on our tarps, so the clatter of those usually startles the bears off a bit,” Sandy said, more helpfully. Her eyes held a warning that Dozer either didn’t see or ignored. She ticked off some of Gloria’s methods she might try before the rubber bullets. “And if all that fails, we reach for the gun.”
    “Only if you’ve got light to see. We’re talking dusk and