Page 22 of Tangled Passion

“Do you have any questions?” he asked.

She shook her head. “None I can think of.”

He smiled and handed her a bottle of water. “Get in your tent.”

She scrambled in and took off her shoes, setting them to the side.

“Good night.”

“Good night,” she said before zipping the tent flap closed. Within a minute, a downpour soaked the area. They had the tents set up so water couldn’t get into them. They were thick and sturdy, and she felt perfectly safe in them, even though it sounded like the world was exploding outside.

The minimal light they’d had quickly left, leaving the inside of the tent in darkness. There was just enough light for her to find the battery-powered lantern Johnathon had given her. After lighting it, she grabbed her backpack and rummaged through it for the shorts and tank she would sleep in and changed into them.

A gust of wind hit the side of the tent, startling her. The temperature had lowered even more, and she regretted not bringing sweatpants and another warmer shirt.

The sleeping bag was thick and soft, and she sighed whenshe crawled in, zipping up the side and tucking it under her chin. She turned to her side and wasn’t surprised when she could already feel herself getting sleepy after the day they’d had.

Madelyn had no idea what woke her, and she froze to see if she could hear anything. She heard the horses nicker, but it sounded normal, not like they were in distress. She heard men’s voices but didn’t think anything of it.

She was just starting to doze again when she heard someone outside of her tent.

“Maddy.”

Her heart started pounding out of control when she heard Garrett’s voice.

“Garrett? What are you doing?” she asked.

“Trey and I rode up to help.”

“Your brother is here, too?”

“Yeah. He’s taking care of the horses. Can I unzip the tent?”

Madelyn sat up and brought the sleeping bag and tucked it under her arms. The temperature had fallen even more, and it made a shiver race down her spine.

She cleared her throat. “Okay.”

Garrett’s head popped in, he wiped the rain from his face and smiled. “I know this will be a lot to ask, but could my brother and I sleep here with you tonight?”

Her pulse shot up another notch. “There’s nowhere else? What about Johnathon’s tent?”

Garrett snorted. “No, there’s nowhere. We didn’t realize it was going to storm until we were halfway up here. We usually sleep outside near the fire and as far as Johnathon’s tent goes, it’s a one-person tent, and this one can hold several people.”

One thought after another raced through her mind, but she couldn’t grab onto just one.

“Come on, Maddy. You’re not going to make us sleep inthe storm, are you?”

She sighed. “Fine.”

He grinned, turned, and whistled over his shoulder before coming all the way in and sitting off to the side. She watched him pull off his boots and set them by her shoes. The tent flap opened again, and Trey crawled in with two backpacks.

“Hey, Sweetheart. Thank you for letting us share,” Trey said as he closed the zipper and then started working on his boots.

The tent had been roomy a few minutes ago, but now, with these two large men taking up the space, it felt almost claustrophobic.

Her breath caught in her throat when they pulled off their shirts.

“Hey, wait, what are you doing?” she asked.

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