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“What? I'm fine. I swear.” I still had some residual adrenaline from the altercation. My leg throbbed, though. “They cleaned me up and stitched up the deeper gash,” I explained.
“Jesus,” Daphne muttered. “I know there are bears here, and I've seen some from a distance, but I don't like thinking about this.” She sniffled.
“Are you crying?”
“Yes. I care about you. You're family to me,” she replied, her voice watery.
I stopped joking about it. “Hey, Daphne, I'm really okay. I was going to call as soon as I was done with the hospital, but I couldn't find my insurance card, so I had to call sooner. Where's Flynn?”
“I don't know.” She sniffled. “He's having dinner with the guys in town.”
“Okay. Have him give me a call when he gets there. I promise I’m okay. I can have the doctor call you.”
“No, I believe you. Y’all aren't allowed to scare me like this.”
“Hey, I wasn't trying to scare you.”
“Well, you did,” she said stoutly. “Do I have your permission to tell everyone?”
“Tell everyone you want. Make it sound worse than it was, so people will think I'm a total badass. I chased the bear off, saved the other guy, and just got a little scratch for all my trouble. It’s a souvenir, you know,” I teased.
“Oh my God, you are ridiculous. I can't believe you're making light of this.”
“This reminds me. You carry bear spray when you're on your own, right?”
“Of course, I do. Flynn won't let me go anywhere without it.”
“I think we need to plan some shooting lessons.”
“What?” she squeaked.
“Yes, it's time for Cat to learn more about handling a gun, so you might as well learn too. It’ll be helpful if we ever end up with a bear that lingers nearby. You don’t have to carry the gun everywhere you go, but you need it nearby.”
“Grant, this isn’t making me feel better,” she warned.
“We'll talk about it when I get back. Can you do me a favor?”
“Of course, you know I'll do anything you ask.”
“Give Harley or Diego a call. Let them know what's going on.”
“Harley’s out of town.”
My stomach flipped. “What?”
Daphne let out a soft sigh. “Their aunt died. She and Diego went down for the funeral, but he's already back.”
“Do you know when she'll be back?”
“No. Diego just said she decided to stay a little longer. I know you’re in love with her, but why do you care?” she asked pointedly.
Daphne had opinions about her friends’ relationships. I could practically see her lifting her chin and narrowing her eyes at me. “What do you mean why do I care? Of course, I care.”
I ignored the part where she said I was in love with Harley. Iwasin love with Harley, but I wasn't ready to talk about it.
“Because you left for weeks without letting her know you were going to be gone.”
I gritted my teeth, my breath hissing through them. “You know I meant to tell her.”
