Page 10 of A Bear's Secret

The detective nodded and wrote something else down.

“Where was your backpack during this time?” he asked.

Sloane rubbed her eyes. She was starting to get the feeling that they were going to be in that hospital room for a while, as she tried to remember every single detail of her afternoon.

* * *

By the timethe detective was finished, Sloane was so hungry that she was fantasizing about freeze-dried backpacking food and granola bars. That morning, she’d been totally sick of both, but now they sound like a feast.

He’d made her go over every single detail of finding the kid, sometimes more than once, and Sloane just didn’t remember the event that exactly. Her mind had been elsewhere — in the shower, mostly — and once she’d seen him, she’d panicked, and things got a little out of order, jumbled together in her mind.

“Okay,” Detective Tripp said at last, flicking his little notebook closed. “Do us a favor and don’t leave town for a few days.”

Sloane frowned.

“I’m only at the ranch for two nights,” she said. “I have other places booked south of here, I’ve got food drops lined up; I can’t just stick around indefinitely.”

Detective Tripp gave her an inscrutable look.

“At best, we’ve got a missing person case,” he said. “At least until he wakes up. If he never wakes up, it’s a murder case, and you’re a major witness.”

Sloane slumped in her chair.

“Right,” she said.

Fuck, I’m going to have to reschedule so much stuff, she thought.

At the same time, she thought of Austin.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to be around him for a little while. Have some fun while she was in town — after all, he could sure help her get over her ex.

She blushed, just thinking about the first time she’d seen him, standing there in all his muscled, naked glory. In retrospect, of course he was a bear — after all, he was alone, and only grizzlies were built like that.

“Miss?” asked the detective, and Sloane snapped back to attention. She hadn’t even realized that he was talking.

“Sorry,” she said. “I’m really tired.”

“You’re free to go,” he said.

She stood from the chair and his eyes followed her as she walked out the door in her t-shirt, skirt, and hiking boots.

* * *

As soon asthey got back to the ranch, Barb reheated dinner for the three of them: meatloaf, green beans, and biscuits. Sloane didn’t think that she’d ever tasted something so good in her entire life, and no one said anything the entire time that they ate.

As soon as they were finished, Barb hustled Sloane into the shower, showing her where the bathroom was and also where the washing machine and dryer were.

“You’re welcome to use it,” she said. “Most backpackers who come through here leave something to be desired, aroma-wise.”

Sloane blushed a little.

“Sorry,” she said.

“It’s a fact of life, dear,” Barb said, then left to go finish cleaning the kitchen.

The shower was everything she’d dreamed about. It was hot and liquid and she could see the dirt rinsing off of her and down the drain. Sloane washed her hair twice, then spent a long time just combing through the thick black mass, reveling in the feeling of being so clean.

When she got out she shoved all of her clothes into the washing machine, turned it on, and realized that the only thing not in the washing machine and therefore dripping wet was the t-shirt and skirt that Barb had lent her earlier that day.

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