Vi Hart had seen a lot of odd things over her years as a deputy in the supposedly sleepy town of Bloo Moose Vermont, but she’d never been up close and snuggly with a pissed off bear before.

Most of the time, bears were more of a nuisance than a problem. They preferred living in the bush, but any sniff of easy pickings had them strolling near to people looking for snacks they’d left behind.

This poor guy had been caught up in some discarded wire fencing someone had tossed in the bush. He was big, annoyed, and willing to take down anyone who got close enough to help.

Jenna Wilkes, vet extraordinaire, was talking in soothing tones while her boyfriend and former Ranger Noah Washington worked beside her with a set of wire cutters. Vi was doing the same near the bear’s hind legs. Yogi must have been spinning furiously to get so tangled.

Old John, the farmer who’d called in the problem, had set up a floodlight so they could see what they were doing. Summer days were long, but they’d been working for hours and it was now well after midnight.

The bear continued to grumble, but Vi figured it was more for form than anything. He’d seemed to realize that Jenna was going to help him. Yogi appeared to appreciate her, while he barely tolerated Noah and Vi. There were several rips from claws in her uniform to prove it. She also had proof that bears did indeed shit in the woods on her shoe and her pant leg.

Finally, she snipped off the last piece of fencing she could see. Noah had finished up front and was standing ready with a tranquilizer gun. Jenna had rolled her eyes at his precaution, but he hadn’t taken his eyes off the bear long enough to notice. No one was going to hurt Jenna on his watch. The veterinarian was a very lucky woman.

Vi sat back on her heels and placed the last piece of wire on the tarp they’d been using to collect it so no other animals would get caught. Her body was stiff from being crouched up with the bear. And the fear, let’s not forget the fear. It was all well and good to know that bears rarely attacked people unless provoked, but it was a whole different situation when you were within easy reach of those claws and teeth.

Jenna patted the shoulder of the full-grown male. “Okay buddy, we’ve got you free now. You can get up.”

He grumbled and stretched out his back legs, nearly squashing Vi in the process. She scrambled back and tried to look nonchalant despite the paw prints on her leg.

Without a backward glance or a thank you, Yogi trudged off into the bush, away from John’s farm and his sheep. John produced a metal detector and they cleared the ground before finally packing it up.

When they reached the driveway, John headed into his farmhouse with a wave. Vi lifted the tarp full of wire into the trunk of the cruiser and turned to her friends. “Thanks for coming out tonight. John was worried about his sheep.”

Jenna smiled. “No problem. I’m glad we could help. And I’m glad the bear wasn’t injured beyond a few scrapes. At least the wire wasn’t rusty. What’s wrong with people who dump things like that fence into the bush? That’s why we have landfills.”

Noah threw his arm over Jenna’s shoulders. “Too many people are selfish idiots. But we’ve helped your buddy and now we need to head to bed. The Trekkies will want their breakfast in a couple of hours.”

Vi waved them off with more thanks. Noah’s alpacas and llama all carried Star Trek names and like every other farm animal in the world, they demanded breakfast bright and early.

With a sigh, Vi turned the cruiser back to town. She’d reached Boardwalk Avenue and was almost at the station when her work cell rang. In this small town, there was only one officer on duty during the night shift. All calls went to the work cell. If she needed more help, she could call in her boss Dave Belanger or any of the other deputies, but normally, nights were pretty quiet.

Apparently not tonight. “Bloo Moose Police Department.”

“Help. I need help.” The male voice sounded panicked.

“Tell me your situation. Where are you?”

“I’m in the lake. Help me.”

Damn. Bloo Moose Lake was huge. “Are you alone? Can you tell me where you are?”

It took a few minutes to get a coherent answer, but by the time she arrived at the police boat that was docked at LaChance Lodge at the north end of town, she’d learned he was close by. Because the jackass thought kayaking alone in the middle of the night was a brilliant idea. Even though he’d never kayaked before.

She’d fired up the boat when Gage LaChance appeared on the dock. As the owner and manager of the rental property, he lived above the large log cabin that served as a rental and convenience store. He’d probably heard her car arrive. “Need a hand?”

When she nodded, he jumped in and once she explained; he used the Maglite to search their surroundings. It wouldn’t help if she drove over the half-drowned man. It didn’t take more than five minutes to spot the overturned kayak and the man clinging to it.

She turned off the motor as they neared the scene. She and Gage moved to the side of the boat.

“I can’t lift my arms.” The man looked to be in his early twenties and he was terrified. How long had he been out there? Even during the height of summer, the enormous lake never reached balmy. Hypothermia was always an issue.

Vi grabbed the hooked pole that they kept on board and used it to pull the man closer. Then she and Gage worked together to reach over. Gage stood well over six feet while she barely topped five, so it was an uneven effort. The man in the water, Charlie, was clearly exhausted and wasn’t much help at all.

Vi kept her voice soft and soothing. “It’s going to be okay, Charlie. Just reach up and take our arms. We’ll do all the work to pull you in. You’ll be safe in no time.”

It took three attempts before he finally was able to clamp onto Vi’s hand. “Good job. Take a deep breath and reach for Gage too.” There was no way Vi could lift him in on her own. If Gage hadn’t come down to the boat, she would have had to jump in the water to help boost the man up.

Charlie squeezed Vi’s hand and released the kayak to reach for Gage. The boat bobbed and startled him. He screamed and grabbed onto Vi with his other hand as well.

She didn’t stand a chance against his heavier weight and before either she or Gage could react, she splashed into the lake. The frigid water soaked through her clothes instantly. Charlie continued to cling to her and it took her more than a minute to convince him he wasn’t drowning and that Gage, a dry and smiling Gage, would be able to hoist him into the boat on his own.

Once he was safely onboard, Vi grabbed the upturned kayak and passed it up to Gage. Then the big man hauled her up as well. It was another hour before Charlie was settled back in the cabin he’d rented. Warm and recovered, he’d promised to pay Gage back if the kayak was damaged. He’d also promised to try not to be an idiot again.

Vi took a blanket from the trunk of the cruiser and put it on the seat so her wet uniform wouldn’t soak it then headed back to the station. Before she got there, the phone rang.

Holding in the curse, she used the button on the steering wheel to answer. “Bloo Moose Police Department.”

“Vi? It’s Darlene.” Darlene and Connie ran the Boozy Moose, the town’s one and only bar.

“What’s up Darlene?” A glance at the clock showed it was four o’clock, well after closing time.

“We’ve got some drunk banging on the door and hollering at us to let him in. We’ve tried almost everything, but he won’t go away. Connie’s getting pissed.”

That wasn’t good. Connie was a woman of few words, but many skills. She ran the bar’s kitchen and was talented with her knives. She was also extremely protective of her partner Darlene and had the ability to use those knives on more than just fish.

“I’m already in the cruiser, only a minute out.” So much for a nice warm shower and a dry uniform.

“Maybe you should call in Dave or one of the guys.”

Vi rolled her eyes. “I’ll check it out first.” Calling in for help before she even assessed the situation wasn’t going to happen. The guys never gave her a hard time for being female or half their weight, and she wasn’t giving them a chance to start.

She pulled up in front of the bar seconds later and found the man banging on the front door. “Open the hell up. I just wanna drink.”

Vi turned on the cruiser lights and trained the headlights on the man. She didn’t recognize him, which meant he was a tourist. She exited the vehicle and called out. “Bloo Moose Police. The bar is closed and you need to head back to wherever you’re staying. I can give you a ride.”

The man turned his attention to her. “You gonna make them open up for me?”

“No. It’s after four in the morning and they’re closed.” Vi opened the back door of the cruiser. “Come on and I’ll give you a lift. Are you staying at the motel, the B&B, or do you have a rental?”

“None of your damn business, you runty little bastard. I want a drink.”

Vi rolled her eyes. “That’s runty little bitch, and I think you’ve had enough for one night.” Or a year.

The man stopped pounding on the bar’s door and turned to look at her. He swayed on his feet as his eyes trailed over her body. “Bitch, huh? Still runty, but you’ll do. Maybe you wanna have a drink with me?”

Not a chance. “Why don’t you have a seat in the car and we can figure out where you’re staying?”

“There’s not much to you, but I’ll let you warm up my bed. I bet you can give a blow job just fine.”

Not in this or any other lifetime. Vi clamped her teeth together to keep those thoughts internal. Instead she patted the open door of the cruiser and waited to see what Prince Not-So-Charming would do.

His lecherous, drunken eyes roved over her again and she shuddered with revulsion. If he tried to grope her, she’d be a professional and not kick his ass completely, but she’d angle just right so she could shove him into the backseat. If she could get him into the drunk tank without having his hands touch her, this shift might redeem itself after all.

The man stumbled toward her and Vi forced herself not to give way. Not yet. He needed to be a couple of feet closer to get him in the car.

The man reached out for the cruiser door, or maybe her, when his eyes bugged out. He pitched forward and she moved back, but she wasn’t fast enough. He spewed vomit all over her shoes before collapsing at her feet in a heap.

Great. Just great.

Vi blew out a deep breath and rubbed her face. Was this shift ever going to end?