“Y-yes, thank you.” She burrows against me.

  “I’m gonna get her dry and warm,” I tell him, and he lifts his chin before I duck inside the tent and set Cybil on the ground.

  “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” Her hands tremble and her teeth chatter as I remove her wet clothing before helping her into a dry shirt and tucking her into her sleeping bag.

  “You’re crashing, sunshine. It’s normal after going through a high-stress situation. It will pass; you just need a few minutes.”

  “I’m so cold.”

  “I know.” I lie down next to her and then drag my sleeping bag over the two of us, turning her into my chest, curling myself around her, and resting my lips against her forehead. “You did good today.”

  Her body starts to shake harder; then I hear her laugh before she tips her head back to look at me. “I did so good that I ended up lost and shot at.”

  My entire body tightens at the mention of a gun being fired in her direction, and her fingers come up to touch the space between my brows. “I’m guessing from the look on your face it’s too soon to joke about it.”

  “Yeah, it’s too soon,” I agree. “Then again, I don’t know that I’ll ever think it’s funny.”

  The truth is that seeing the look on her face as she ran into my arms when I finally found her caused me to feel fear like I’ve never felt in my fucking life. I wasn’t worried about myself; I was worried I wouldn’t be able to protect her from whatever it was that had scared her.

  “Well, thank you for finding me. I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t show up.”

  “You would have been okay.” I curve my fingers around the back of her head and tuck her face against my neck. This woman in my arms is stronger than she thinks she is; she just needs to be reminded of what she’s capable of.

  “I’m not so sure about that. I used ‘eeny, meeny, miny, moe’ to choose which direction to go, and it obviously didn’t work.”

  Groaning, I close my eyes. “You didn’t.”

  “I did. It was cloudy, so I couldn’t make a compass with a twig like you taught us, and honestly I didn’t know what direction the river was, so it wouldn’t have mattered anyway.”

  “Right. Well, tomorrow, I’ll get you a compass, and from here on out, I’ll make sure you know which way you should go if you get lost again.”

  “So we’re staying here?” I hear the worry in her voice. “I thought we would be leaving tonight, after what happened.”

  “After we talk to the warden and the cops, Blake, Maverick, and I will have to discuss what we should do,” I tell her gently while kissing the top of her head. “Whatever happens, I promise you’ll be safe.”

  “Okay, I trust you,” she whispers, and my gut tightens, because fuck it feels good to hear the truth in her voice, and it means more than I even thought it would to get that from her.

  “Tanner,” Maverick calls, breaking into the moment. “Blake’s on the way up, and the warden and sheriff are right behind him.”

  “Be out in a minute,” I call back as Cybil burrows into her sleeping bag.

  Placing my fingers under her chin, I tip her head back and search her gaze before touching my mouth to hers, unable to help myself. “I’m sorry, sunshine, but you’re going to have to get dressed. They’re going to want to speak to you.”

  “I knew I wouldn’t be lucky enough to get out of that.” She sighs, and I smile before I roll away and get up.

  Giving her one last look, I leave to give her some privacy to change, and I head to where the group is talking.

  Maverick turns to meet my gaze as I approach. “Is she okay?”

  “She’s good. She’ll be out in a minute,” I assure him, and he lifts his chin. Really, I’m proud as fuck at how she handled everything. I know grown men who wouldn’t have been able to handle a situation like that, and she did it, stayed calm, used her head, and then warned me before I could walk into something that might have cost me my life.

  “Should I go see if she needs anything?” Avery asks, turning to look at the tent, and I start to tell her she can if she wants, but at that moment, Cybil emerges looking no worse for wear and as beautiful as always. Before she has a chance to make it even three steps, the entire group swarms her, asking questions and taking turns hugging her. Even Lauren steps forward to give her a hug, which surprises me—and Cybil, judging by the look on her face.

  Turning back to Maverick, I cross my arms over my chest and drop my voice. “We need to figure out a plan for tonight when Blake gets here.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that. It’s going to be pitch black soon, so that’s going to make getting off the mountain tonight almost impossible without making multiple trips with the four-wheelers. I don’t like it, but I think we’d be better off if we all stay here, and you, Blake, and I can sweep the area with the cops when they arrive. If anyone’s in the vicinity, hopefully that puts them off from approaching.”

  “I doubt they’re still out there.” I look into the woods. “My guess is the shot they fired at us was meant to scare us away from where they were so they could finish what they were doing. They’re probably long gone by now. That said, I don’t know how comfortable Cybil is going to feel staying here, considering what happened.”

  “Then I’ll take her down to the lodge and stay with her there,” he says, and my hands ball into fists, the reaction as involuntary as the “Fuck no” I growl.

  “Figured you wouldn’t be down with that.” He shakes his head. “Blake’s not going to be happy about you and Cybil hooking up.”

  “Blake’s going to have to get the fuck over it,” I state clearly as the roar of multiple engines fills the night air. I turn to look for Cybil, finding her heading my way, and as soon as she’s within touching distance, I reach for her hand and keep hold of her as the sheriff and the warden arrive with Blake.

  “We’re close. This is the tree they hit when they shot in Cybil’s and my direction,” I say, shining my flashlight on the trunk of the large fir, which has a chunk missing.

  “This is fresh.” Sheriff Montero bends to pick up one of the splinters from the base of the tree. “How far away did you say you were when they fired?”

  “Maybe fifteen feet.” I walk away with my light to the ground, looking for the place where I took Cybil down when the shot was fired. When I come across it, I look back to where the sheriff is still standing, and anger curls around my insides. I knew it was close, but now seeing the distance, which is less than I thought it was, I know that if they had been trying to kill either Cybil or me, they easily could have in that moment.

  “Gotta say, son, I agree with you. They weren’t trying to kill you; they were trying to scare you off.”

  “That doesn’t make me feel any better,” I tell him honestly.

  “Wouldn’t make me feel any better either,” the warden says as he adjusts his hat.

  “What direction did you come from?” Blake asks, and I glance over at him. He’s been quiet ever since Cybil and I gave our accounts of what went down to the warden and the sheriff.

  The only time he’s spoken was to agree that it would be too much of a risk to take the group to the lodge tonight and to say he was going to ride with me to show the sheriff and the warden where everything happened, leaving Maverick at camp. I know he wants to ask about Cybil and me but is pissed about it and doesn’t want to say something that will cause a rift between us, which means he’ll wait until he’s cooled down to bring it up. As for me, I’m giving him his time, because I’m still trying to wrap my mind around things myself. The only thing I know is I want a hell of a lot more time with Cybil, so I’m going to have to figure out how to make that happen, and I hope she wants the same thing.

  “This way.” I head in the direction Cybil ran from, and we all fan out and walk in a straight line without a word, everyone knowing that if they cleaned up after themselves, that’s going to be the best way to find anything with almost zero visibility.

  “Unless a bear took down a large elk, I’d say this is where they were when they field dressed the elk,” Warden Stemson says, shining his flashlight on what’s left of the entrails the hunters left behind. “Your girl said she didn’t hear any four-wheelers, so my guess is they walked out.” He shakes his head. “It’s not going to be easy to find out who’s responsible.”

  “I’ve gotta agree with Stemson on this one. It’s not going to be easy to find out who did this, but we’ve got a few cameras on the road leading up the mountain. I’ll see if I can find anything.” Sheriff Montero sighs, looking around one last time before heading back toward the river.

  When we reach the four-wheelers, Warden Stemson sticks his hand out in my direction. “I’ll let you know if I find out anything, and if they took down the elk as a trophy, they’ll want to take it to a taxidermist. I’ll call around tomorrow so the ones who are local know to phone in if anyone approaches them with a job.”

  “Thanks.” I let his hand go.

  Sheriff Montero pats my shoulder. “We’ll be in touch.”

  “Do we need to be concerned about having guests out here?” Blake asks, and Warden Stemson stops halfway to his ride and turns to face us.

  “I don’t think you guys have anything to worry about, but it’d be smart to move your guests to the other side of the river. I doubt the men responsible for this mess will be back, but you just never know what some of these idiots will do or what they’re thinking.”

  “Thanks,” Blake says, and I lift my chin, then wait for them to drive off before turning to get on our four-wheeler.

  “What are you thinking?”

  “Tomorrow, you would have moved anyway. Now you’ll just set up camp in a different location than what was planned.” He hops on the seat behind me. “I’m also going to ask my dad to put some feelers out. Men around here can’t help but to brag when they get a bull elk, and I have no doubt that someone will slip up. For all we know, they’ve already posted a picture on Facebook to show off their kill.”

  “I doubt they’d be that stupid,” I mutter as I start the engine.

  “They were stupid enough to hunt out of season without a tag and to shoot at you. I wouldn’t put anything past them right now,” he shouts over the noise as I pull back on the throttle, anxious to get back to Cybil.

  Chapter 11

  CYBIL

  “I can’t believe you!” Lauren’s high-pitched cry wakes me suddenly, and I blink my eyes open, finding the tent barely lit with early-morning light and a very grumpy-looking Tanner up on an elbow, glaring at the door.

  “You can’t believe me? I can’t believe you,” Oliver hisses back, sounding outraged.

  “You haven’t wanted to have sex once since we’ve been here!” Lauren yells, and my eyes widen.

  “We’re in a tent, not in a hotel, and neither of us has showered in four days. Of course I don’t want to have sex.”

  “Are you saying you think I smell?” she shrieks, and I cringe, because right now, we all kind of stink, so I can’t really blame Oliver for not wanting to be intimate. That doesn’t mean I don’t feel bad for her.

  “For the love of God, shut the hell up and go to sleep!” Parker roars, and I quickly cover my mouth with my hand while I wait for Lauren or Oliver to respond, but neither of them does. In fact, the silence that follows is almost deafening.

  When Tanner lies down facing me, the humor I see in his gaze makes me giggle. I know I shouldn’t laugh, but it’s hard not to, especially when it’s like neither Lauren nor Oliver remember that people outside their tent can hear them anytime they’re in there.

  “Morning,” he mouths, touching his fingers to my cheek, and my eyes slide to half mast as my heart starts to dance inside my chest.

  “Morning,” I whisper back, staring into his eyes while his thumb moves to trace my bottom lip.

  “Did you sleep okay?”

  “Yes,” I say, while leaving out that I wasn’t able to fall asleep until after I heard him come back with Blake. Even knowing he was safe, I was worried about him returning to the same location we had been shot at earlier. Honestly, I didn’t want him to go back at all, but I knew there would be no changing his mind, so I didn’t even bother trying to stop him. “Did you?”

  “I would have slept better with a whole lot less fabric between us, but yeah, I slept all right.” His grin and words cause heat to spread up my neck as his eyes roam my face. “It’s cute when you blush.” He reaches up and touches the bridge of my nose and down my cheek.

  “I’m not blushing. I’m cold.”

  “You can come into my sleeping bag. I’ll warm you up.”

  “You just can’t help yourself, can you?” I laugh, rolling to my back, then turn my head to look at him. “What torture do you have planned for us today?”

  “Hiking, kayaking, and more hiking.” He smiles when I groan. “I thought you said you’ve been enjoying yourself.”

  “I have been, but hiking is not something I’ve fallen in love with, especially when we seem to be going uphill all the time.”

  “Today, the hike will be pretty light, and you’ll have cell service where we’ll be stopping for lunch, so you can make a couple of phone calls.”

  “Really?” I smile, excited about the idea of talking to Jade. I feel like I have so much to tell her about these last few days—not that I’m going to tell her about yesterday. I don’t want her worrying about me, and I know she will.

  “Really.” He gets up on his elbow and smiles down at me before leaning in and brushing his mouth over mine. “I’m going to check the fire and start coffee.”

  “I’ll get up and start packing.” I wrap my arms around his neck, wanting another kiss, and he grins, giving me what I want, so I let my arms fall away.

  “Do you want coffee?”

  “Yes, please.” I sit up as he unzips his sleeping bag.

  As he stands, I watch his muscles move under his smooth skin as he grabs his cargo pants to pull them on, then bends to grab a fresh shirt and put it on over his head. Once he’s dressed, he puts on his boots, gives me a smile that makes me feel tingles in a few different places, and ducks out of the tent. When he zips the door closed, I imagine a scenario just like this, only with him leaving me in a big comfy bed while going to a kitchen to make coffee; then I remember that won’t be happening, and my heart sinks into my stomach.

  Tomorrow will be my last morning waking up with him, since the final day of our trip will be spent at the lodge, where we’ll be celebrating making it through the week with dinner, a night of relaxing, and sleeping in rooms there. Dropping my face into my hands, I close my eyes. I don’t know how or when, but somewhere along the way, I forgot this situation is temporary. In just a few short days, I’ll be going home, and when I do, things between Tanner and me will end just as quickly as they started.

  “Darn.” I sigh, feeling beyond disappointed as I crawl out of my sleeping bag. I really need to be careful over the next couple of days, unless I want to go home with my heart more of a mess than it was when I got here. I just hope I’m not too late, because the truth is I’ve already started falling for Tanner. I like spending time with him, I like the way he makes me feel safe while pushing me to try new things, and in the very short time we’ve known each other, I’ve grown accustomed to the easy affection between us. But if I let things continue on, I won’t know up from down.

  Sitting in a kayak, with Oliver in the seat in front of me, I try to ignore the heat I feel coming from my left, where I know Tanner and Lauren are. I decided not to waste any time putting my plan to keep my heart safe into effect this morning. I thought that it would be almost impossible to stay away from Tanner, since he’s my partner, but Oliver and Lauren’s constant fighting gave me the excuse I needed.

  Instead of listening to them argue, like I’ve done every day, I suggested that Lauren and I switch partners. Oliver agreed immediately, while Tanner, on the other hand, was less than pleased with the idea, and Lauren looked about ready to scratch my eyes out.

  “I was going to guess that, since you asked to switch with Lauren today, things were not working out between you and Tanner. But the contemplative looks he keeps sending your way tell me that’s not the case,” Oliver says quietly, dragging me from my thoughts, and my paddle skips over the top of the water before I adjust my hold so it glides through the surface once more.

  “Umm.” I chew my lower lip, not sure how to respond.

  “What happened? Did you two have a fight?” he asks, looking at me over his shoulder.

  “No, we didn’t fight. Nothing happened. I just thought—”

  “Is it your ex?” he says, cutting me off, and I shake my head.

  “No, it has nothing to do with my ex.” I rub my lips together, then admit, “I just realized that I don’t live here. I don’t even live close. This whole thing . . .”

  “You realized that you could get hurt,” he fills in, and I nod, then realize he can’t see me.

  “Yes,” I whisper, my stomach rolling at the reminder.

  “When my ex and I met, she lived in Oklahoma, and I lived in Seattle. We spent our first year together in a long-distance relationship; then I proposed, and she moved in with me. If it’s meant to be, you can make it work.”

  “I guess you’re right, but I’ve only known him a couple of days,” I say softly, not sure that he’s the best person to accept advice from. I’ve overheard Lauren talking, and from what I understand, Oliver and his ex are not even divorced, and yet he’s here with Lauren, trying to work on their relationship, which seems a little backward to me.

  He turns to look at me over his shoulder once more, his gaze locking with mine. “I know I’m not the best person to give advice,” he says, obviously reading my mind. “But trust me: you should talk to Tanner about how you’re feeling. I think you might be surprised by what his response is, and you shouldn’t worry about how long you’ve known each other; there’s lots of time for that, and no one stays the same forever, so you’ll be learning new things about him all the time.”