The Panther's Rival

by Emilia Hartley

  She’d tried to argue for a bit of leniency from Brian time and time again, only to be met with the usual placating words of, “We’ll get right on it!” and, “We’re doing everything we can!” Still, nothing had changed, and here she was yet again, driving insane distances in her tired car to the next big thing in art, hoping that maybe this time her hard work will warrant the tiniest bit of luxury in future travels. Fat chance.

  “I could just leave. Strike out on my own.” She nodded like it was a good idea, but knew she’d never make good on it. As Brian never ceased to remind her, her job was to ‘liaise,’ and as much as she wanted to oppose him, she was inclined to agree. Being a liaison was what she was good at. She didn’t know anything about the ins and outs of the Art Galley business as a whole, nor did she have the skill-set necessary to start the business and keep it running. She couldn’t risk walking away from a good job doing what she loved on the very off chance that she’d be okay on her own. Tolerating Brian was preferable to being homeless.

  On that depressing note, Jo decided it was best to move her thoughts elsewhere. As if on cue, something shot out of the tree line in a blur of brown, heading straight for her car. With a shriek, she slammed the brakes hard, swerving roughly towards the shoulder of the road. The brown blur slid to a stop in front of her car, narrowly missing direct impact with the hood.

  “What the hell.” Her fingers gripped painfully at ten and two. She peered warily over her dashboard into the road beyond, fearing that she might have hit… whatever the heck that thing was.

  Just as she found where it lay, the thing rose to its large, furred paws, wobbling slightly from the shock of its fall. Jo saw it give one full-bodied shake of its coarse brown coat before it turned.

  In more shock than fear, Jo met the clear dark eyes of a great brown bear as it took its first terrifying step towards her car.

  Chapter Two

  Jo’s eyes never left the massive beast, watching unblinkingly as it rose onto two paws. It was tall—taller than what Jo would have expected from even a bear, and it made her stomach churn. The bear turned its head, tipping it to the side as if it were contemplating her.

  Making sure to move slowly and inconspicuously, Jo peeled her fingers from the steering wheel, moving her hand to lock the doors. Absently she realized that if a bear truly wanted her for a snack, it could probably tear off the entire door easily enough, but the motion made her feel better nonetheless.

  Despite her slow movements, the bear seemed to track her. She couldn’t be too sure, but it looked like the bear’s eyes had followed her hand as it slowly pressed down on the ‘door lock’ button. The two shared a lingering guarded glare, as if neither knew what to do about the other. It gave Jo time to take in the dark, thick coat of the bear’s brown fur, highlighted with a singular long stripe of gray that made it stand out. It rippled over the bear’s mighty muscles with every move it made, hinting at the strength that lay beneath. Jo felt something like awe before the road rumbled and the trees rustled with a ruckus the likes of which she had never experienced before.

  In a rush of fur and flesh, another bear launched from the forestry on the roadside. Jo didn’t have momentum on her side this time, and it looked like the second bear was definitely going to make contact. She could only stare in horror as the second bear skidded across the road, holding out its paws as it closed in on the side of her car. At the last moment, a blur of brown tackled the second bear off course, and they both connected with the rear of her car.

  The car spun violently with the impact and Jo screamed, the trunk of her car dangling lazily over a steep decline at the road’s edge. She tried not to move, fearing that rocking the car would send it sailing over the precipice and down the steep hill, when a roar rattled the windows. It was deep, loud, and painfully close.

  Jo turned slowly to the left, petrified as she watched the two bears launch themselves at one another yet again. Giant paws swiped and fangs snapped in a fearsome display, and for one frightful moment, Jo was sure she’d see the two beasts tear each other apart. She thought maybe she should call Animal Control or something before it was too late, when one of the bears flopped onto its back in the road, paws batting lightheartedly at the other bear. The standing bear roared, bouncing toward the other and pushing it back onto its feet. It almost looked like they were… playing?

  They tumbled and leapt at one another, bouncing and wrestling around Jo’s wrecked car. It was like they’d completely forgotten that she was there! Any hope she had of possibly getting herself out of this situation was slim, and two playing bears only made her odds worse. The road rumbled and vibrated as they landed on heavy paws, and she feared that any moment her car would go sailing into the wooded abyss, taking her with it.

  In a moment of panicked resolve, Jo leaned heavily on her horn.

  The noise was long and loud, stilling the bears’ jousting almost immediately. In unison, they both turned to look directly at her, and the shock of what she’d done sank in all at once. Her heart fell into her stomach as they both rose onto their hind legs, and she thought she might begin to hyperventilate as the solid brown bear took a step towards her teetering car.

  The grey striped bear nudged the other before it made it too far. Jo could hear a few grunts and snuffs through the muffled panes of window glass; they almost looked like they were having a conversation. Then finally with one last glance at Jo, the grey striped bear dropped onto four paws and loped back into the trees. The full-brown bear eyed her a bit more closely, lingering behind for a breath longer before following the other bear. The trees rustled with their departure, and then they were gone the way they came.

  Jo could barely collect herself. Everything had happened so fast, and now in the renewed still of the rural roadside, she could hardly believe that she was truly alone once more. She knew at some point she’d have to step out and assess the damage to her car, but try as she might, her body wouldn’t move. She didn’t know what she was more afraid of, the thought of bears barreling out of the darkness at a moment’s notice, or the precarious teeter-tottering of her car, still hovering dangerously above a steep drop off behind her.

  It took a few deep breaths, but she was eventually able to move. She flexed her fingers first, and then her arms, pulling them close to shiver off the fear of what she’d just been through. She slid her hand over the ‘door lock’ button, listening as the locks all shot up in unison. Then slowly and fearfully, she opened her car door.

  The car seemed to tilt dangerously under her shifting weight, and she snapped her eyes shut tightly, already fearing the worse. Fortunately, the care stabled itself, and she used that moment to slide out quickly before gravity changed its mind.

  Almost immediately, Jo felt ridiculous. The car was dangling, but not nearly as much as she’d thought. It was barely past the drop of the hill, and hardly in any danger of plummeting her to her death. The worst of the damage was to the back left tire itself; it appeared to be buckled completely, the tire barely holding on. If she pushed up a bit of mud under the back wheels, she’d easily be able to roll the car back onto the road. She just hoped the wrecked tire would drive well enough to make it to the nearest town.

  She noticed that the car must’ve stalled in the collision, and so she fumbled in the dim shade of the car to start the engine back up. Her heart sank as the engine stuttered to life, only to die a few moments later. She turned the key again. It didn’t turn over at all. She closed her eyes tightly, letting out her breath in a stressed sigh. “This can’t be happening,” she moaned. She leaned her head against the steering wheel, praying silently to some holy car deity to grant her a miracle. She had GPS, but she hadn’t seen a single car since she got on the road hours ago. She’d be hard pressed to find a tow or even hitchhiker. Walking was out of the question. She looked at her phone. One bar, no internet, so no chance to find a nearby mechanics and call for help. She cursed under her breath.

  With one final centering breath, she decided to give the
ignition one last try before crying, “Please work.” She turned the key with a hopeful vigor. The engine sparked and wavered, but sprang back to life. Jo held her breath, hands hovering over the steering wheel for a few moments to make sure the spark would hold. When she was sure it would, she exhaled a relieved sigh. Sliding out of the driver’s seat, she made quick work of pushing dirt up under the back tires so she could hobble her broken car to the nearest town.

  Back behind the wheel, she gripped the steering wheel tightly and tapped the gas with the softest of pressure. With a lurch, the car slid forward. It landed heavily on the bum tire, making Jo flinch, but it held. She let out one more sigh of relief before making the tough ride to the nearest town.

  It wasn’t long before she began seeing signs for Rawlins, Wyoming, only a few miles off. The drive was lumpy and stressful, the broken wheel threatening to bounce away from her with every rotation. Lights were flashing on the dashboard, alerting her to problems that she didn’t have the knowledge to even think about. All she could do was pray she’d make it to the nearest mechanics. As she cleared the town limits, the car began to make a funny sound, and she swore she could smell smoke. Seeing a few passersby giving her strange glances, she rolled down her window next to the nearest one.

  “Hello! I was wondering where the nearest mechanics is?” she asked the older lady.

  The lady peered into the widow with concern. “Have you had an accident? Are you hurt?”

  “Oh no, not at all,” Jo assured. “There was just an incident with some bears.” The lady gasped. “It’s no big deal. Everything is fine. The car’s just a bit banged up,” she finished, trying to get the conversation back on track.

  “Bears!” the lady exclaimed. “We hear ‘em out and about all the time, but hardly ever see ‘em.” She tutted. “What bad luck!”

  Jo grimaced. “Yes, it is. The mechanics?” she asked again, hoping she didn’t sound too rude.

  “Oh, yes. Just down the road, take a left and then it’s on your right. Right on the edge of the woods. Run by a Nick and Tom Brewer. Big burly pair, you can’t miss ‘em.” She gave her an open smile. “They’re friendly enough, and fair despite their dashing looks. You won’t have to worry about ‘em ripping you off.”

  Jo nodded. “Thank you,” she said, grateful. With a wave, she drove off, following the direction the lady had given her. The road tapered off from asphalt to dirt the closer she got to the wooded tree line, making the car drive even worse. She’d left the small town behind, the noises of the everyday hustle and bustle giving way to nature once more. As her poor car hobbled painfully onward, Jo began to wonder worriedly if the senile old lady had given her the wrong directions.

  As if on cue, a bright red sign came into view, labeled ‘Brewer Mechanics’. It stood in front of a slightly run-down shop, but everything looked to be in working order. There were cars littered here and there and in various stages of repair, but no sign of anyone working. Jo hoped that maybe this meant their workload wasn’t to full and they’d be able to get to her car as soon as possible. She coasted jerkily to a stop in front of the shop and shut the car off before leaning back in her seat with a sigh of relief. She’d made it.

  Now for the hard part.

  Chapter Three

  Nick stifled a yawn as his brother nudged him in the ribs. “Looks like we got a customer.”

  Lifting his head from the notebook he was writing in, Nick peered lazily out the front-facing windows at the approaching woman. He could already sense her frustration. “Mmm, she’s mad.”

  “Easy study for you, eh?” Tom asked with a knowing glance. Nick shot him an annoyed look. His brother only grinned in return before training a wary leer back on the woman. “Car looked a bit funny coming in.”

  “You thinking wheels?” Nick grunted. He hadn’t paid much attention to the car as it arrived, so he couldn’t be too sure of anything until he took a look.

  Tom shrugged. “Only one way to find out,” he said, pasting a fake, professional smile on as the short, auburn-haired woman walked through the door of the shop’s small office. He was around the counter, hand outstretched and smile as bright as the sun didn’t shine in their part of the world before the woman even had a chance to introduce herself.

  Nick noticed her before Tom did, something registering immediately in his memory bank. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to confirm things with Tom before his brother started on his usual sales pitch.

  “Hello,” Tom greeted cheerily. “I couldn’t help but notice you rode in kinda rough. Everything alright?”

  The woman smiled. “Oh, yes. I mean, no, it’s not alright. Are you the mechanics?”

  Tom nodded. “Yep. Like the sign says, I’m Tom Brewer and this here’s Nick Brewer, of ‘Brewer Mechanics’.” Nick grumbled a hello as a greeting, still unsure of how to proceed. He was never much of a people person, leaving that sort of thing to his brother whenever possible.

  The woman didn’t seem to mind, turning back to Tom with a small smile. “Glad to meet you.” She flit another glance to Nick, and he couldn’t help but be put on edge. Did she have that same feeling of familiarity that he did? Before he could muse more, she turned back to Tom. “I’m here about my car…?” Another glance at Nick before she snapped back to attention. “I mean, obviously it’s about my car,” she repeated, sounding flustered.

  Tom beamed at her, his signature move for gathering the customer’s full attention. So he noticed that she’s distracted, too, Nick thought as Tom spoke. “That’s fine we can totally help you with that. Do you have any idea what’s wrong with it?”

  She shrugged. “Everything, I think? I’m not entirely sure. That’s why I brought it here.” Her gaze was slightly agitated, and Nick found himself smirking at her masked frustration. Not many women could look past Tom’s salesman charms and placating smiles to show annoyance.

  She gazed back at her broken vehicle. “The back wheel is at a bad angle, nearly falling off, it looks like. Dents everywhere. The dashboard is lighting up like Christmas Day. And I think one of my headlights is busted.” She shrugged again. “I’m just happy I got it here before dark.”

  Tom let out a low whistle. “That doesn’t sound good at all.” Nick could tell something was beginning to click in his brother’s mind as he worked to get the full story from the woman. “This all happened at once? An accident, perhaps? Is there another vehicle that needs assistance somewhere?”

  The woman shook her head and Nick followed the happy bounce her hair gave. “No, nothing like that. It was just me, a bit further up the road—”

  “About fifteen miles outside town limits?” Tom asked, and nick noticed that an air of realization had overcome him.

  Nick could tell she disliked being cut off, that agitation filling her eyes again as she shook her head. “I didn’t really have time to measure. I guess that sounds about right. Anyway, there were two bears. Well, I mean there was one bear with a stripe, then another one showed up and then—” she gestured hopelessly towards her car. “That happened.”

  “I see,” Tom muttered, shooting Nick an inscrutable look. “Bears, you say! It’s a wonder you got here at all!” Nick stopped himself from rolling his eyes at his brother’s mock concern.

  “Yeah,” the woman replied. “I’m sure.” She looked weary, and with a pang of guilt, Nick realized he couldn’t blame her.

  Nick stood, the most movement he’d made since the woman entered the shop. “I’ll—we’ll take a look, alright? See what we can do.” She looked hopefully at him and he tried for a smile.

  Apparently whatever showed was enough, because she nodded once in reply. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

  Nick and Tom exchanged a look as they left the office, not bothering to slide into their winter jackets before stepping outside. Even after the door closed, Nick felt like he could still feel the sensation of her eyes on his skin, he was so highly aware of her presence back in the office. His senses were going haywire. He could tell she was frustr
ated and worried and overwhelmingly stressed, but what he didn’t expect was the sudden urge to help will those emotions away. And yes she was attractive, striking even, but he felt that he’d stared too long, too intensely, so much so that even Tom felt the need to step in and pull her attention away. She was definitely the same woman, there was no doubt about it, he’d remember that auburn hair anywhere, but Nick couldn’t help thinking something more clicked between them from the moment she’d walked through that office door.

  As Nick mused, Tom eyed the damage done to the woman’s car. “We sure did a lot of damage,” he muttered running his hand over the dents and scrapes.

  Nick scoffed. “You mean, you did.”

  “Hey, you could have warned a guy that there was a car stalled out at the bottom of the hill!”

  Nick shrugged, a smug grin coloring his face. “If you can’t use your senses to be more aware, it’s not my problem.” Tom snorted, checking the major damage on the tire in lieu of responding to Nick’s jab.

  Nick peered over his brother’s shoulder. “What’s the damage?”

  “Not good,” Tom replied, standing. “Looks like the entire wheel needs replacing, plus control arms and bearings. Then an alignment before it’s road ready.” He glanced at the front of the car. “The left headlight is busted, too. How did we manage that?” Nick shrugged.

  “We got everything in stock to do the job?” Nick asked, guiltily eyeing all the damage they’d caused over some senseless rough housing.

  Tom grimaced, mentally cataloging all of the shop’s spare parts. “Don’t reckon so. We’ll more than likely need to send off for the control arms, if I’m not mistaken.”

  “Can we put a rush on the order? Maybe get this repair done today?” Nick asked, dutifully ignoring the suspicious glance his brother shot him.

  “We can order it today, but it’ll take two days minimum to get here.”

  Nick bit back a curse. “Fine.” He sighed. “I guess we can get to work fixing the light and buffing out the cuts and bruises while we wait for the part to arrive.”