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           tohunt?Charliesaiditwasn’tagoodplacetohike,becauseofbears."

           HestaredatmeasifIwasmissingsomethingveryobvious.

           "Bears?"Igasped,andhesmirked."Youknow,bearsarenotinseason,"Iaddedsternly,tohidemyshock.

           "Ifyoureadcarefully,thelawsonlycoverhuntingwithweapons,"heinformedme.

           Hewatchedmyfacewithenjoymentasthatslowlysankin.

           "Bears?"Irepeatedwithdifficulty.

           "GrizzlyisEmmett’sfavorite."Hisvoicewasstilloffhand,buthiseyeswerescrutinizingmyreaction.Itriedtopullmyselftogether.

           "Hmmm,"Isaid,takinganotherbiteofpizzaasanexcusetolookdown.Ichewedslowly,andthentookalongdrinkofCokewithoutlookingup.

           "So,"Isaidafteramoment,finallymeetinghisnow-anxiousgaze."What’syourfavorite?"

           Heraisedaneyebrowandthecornersofhismouthturneddownindisapproval."Mountainlion."

           "Ah,"Isaidinapolitelydisinterestedtone,lookingformysodaagain.

           "Ofcourse,"hesaid,andhistonemirroredmine,"wehavetobecarefulnottoimpacttheenvironmentwithinjudicioushunting.Wetrytofocusonareaswithanoverpopulationofpredators-rangingasfarawayasweneed.There’salwaysplentyofdeerandelkhere,andthey’lldo,butwhere’sthefuninthat?"Hesmiledteasingly.

           "Whereindeed,"Imurmuredaroundanotherbiteofpizza.

           "EarlyspringisEmmett’sfavoritebearseason-they’rejustcomingoutofhibernation,sothey’remoreirritable."Hesmiledatsomerememberedjoke.

           "Nothingmorefunthananirritatedgrizzlybear,"Iagreed,nodding.