Page 6 of A Bear's Secret

For most of the drive,Austin didn’t say much. The three of them were sandwiched into the wide cab of the truck. Barb took care of most of the talking, doing about ninety down the highway, simultaneously changing the radio from one country western station to another, and asking Sloane her life story. Meanwhile, the truck shook and rattled like it might blow apart at any second.

Sloane looked just a little nervous. Austin nearly reached out his hand to pat her knee, then stopped himself.

Don’t get too friendly,he thought.

“Bill’s the best mechanic in Ponderosa County,” he said. “I’m sure the truck’ll hold.”

“This thing is a tank,” Barb volunteered. “You’re hiking the whole Pacific Crest by yourself?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Yup,” Sloane said. She tucked one strand of hair behind her ear, and Austin just watched her. He wanted to touch that perfect, smooth curve of her ear himself, bite it gently between his teeth, listen to her gasp.

“Dangerous,” said Barb.

“It’s pretty crowded as trails go,” said Sloane. Austin could tell from the tone of her voice that she’d had this conversation a million times before. “And I’m no more likely to fall to my death alone than with a buddy.”

True, thought Austin.

From the side of his eye, he checked her out again. The rodeo shirt and floral skirt didn’t do her figure any favors, but Austin could still tell perfectly well what was underneath all that ugly fabric. She had thigh muscles for days, and her perfect, plump, round ass had probably already climbed thousands of feet of elevation — and with a forty-pound pack on her back.

All that, and a girl with the balls to hike from Canada to Mexico by herself.

If she’s the one who put the dart in that guy, I bet he deserved it, Austin thought, looking at Sloane appreciatively.

His bear growled, the feeling raising the hairs on the back of his neck, and Austin looked out the window, hiding a small smile.

“Are you hiking the whole thing?” Barb went on.

“Yes ma’am,” Sloane said. “I started at the Canadian border and I’m ending it by Mexico.”

“Now, I hope you don’t mind my asking,” said Barb, “but I’ve always got to ask, what on earth possesses people to hike this whole thing?”

She pushed the truck’s gas pedal to the floor and maneuvered around a car in the right lane that was only going eighty.

Sloane exhaled hard, her lips pursing.

“It’s kind of a long story,” she said, clearly not wanting to go into it, “but pretty much, I got laid off, broke up with my boyfriend, and always wanted to do it, so now seemed like the best time.”

Barb nodded once.

“That’s fair,” she said.

She’s single,Austin thought, his skin prickling.

“Austin here talks about hiking the PCT sometimes,” Barb said.

“I’m not serious about it,” Austin said.

“Well, you always say that you want someone to do it with,” Barb said.

Even though the truck was pushing ninety-five, Barb gave Austin a sideways half-smile.

Austin sighed inwardly. He was over thirty and Barb thought he was unmated, which made him fair game in her eyes. It wasn’t the first time she’d tried to unsubtly hook him up with someone else.

It was the first time Austin had wanted to take her up on it, though.

He didn’t answer her, as Barb swerved around another car and exited the highway from the left lane, crossing both lanes without putting her turn signal on. From the corner of his eye, Austin saw Sloane swallow hard and look ahead, her face totally stony.

“Surprisingly, Barb’s never crashed a car,” Austin told her. “She’s gotten about a thousand tickets, but no one’s ever gotten hurt.”

---