Page 68 of Tattered and Torn

“Yeah.”

“One sleeping bag or two?”

“I brought two, but we can zip them together and make one big one, if you like.”

“Oh, I like,” she says. “I’ve never had sex in a tent before.”

“There’s a first time for everything.” I don’t think I’ve ever looked forward to sleeping on the ground as much as I am right now. I brush my lips close to her ear. “You’ll have to be on top this time so I don’t grind you into the ground. Our sleeping arrangements will be comfortable enough, but it won’t be like having a real mattress beneath you.”

Gunshot reverberates through the air, cracking like thunder.

Gabrielle jumps, and her startled gaze locks with mine. “Was that gunshot?”

I nod. “Probably someone’s hunting.”

“I thought we were on McIntyre property.”

“We are. But in these parts, folks hike all through these mountains. There aren’t any property lines or borders.”

“Will we be alone at the lake?” she asks.

“Most likely. It’s a bit off the beaten path. There’s no other way to get up there other than to hike or come on horseback. We don’t see a lot of folks up there, which suits me just fine. I don’t like people.”

She laughs. “Don’t be such a grump.”

“I was born grumpy. Just ask my parents.”

We mount our horses and resume our journey. Right on time, we reach the lake around lunch time. I unload the gear from the horses, remove their saddles, and tie them to a highline stretched between two trees. Each horse gets a bell around its neck, just in case one gets loose, and I have to go searching for it in the woods.

While the horses rest, I begin setting up a dark green nylon tent in a grassy area out in the sun. It’s a small, two-person tent. Nothing fancy. But setting it in the sun will help heat up the interior and keep us warmer at night. At this elevation, the temperature dips down at night. Once the tent is up, I roll out a sleeping pad, and then I combine the two sleeping bags into one and inflate two pillows.

Gabrielle slips her jacket on. “It’s chilly,” she says as she rubs her arms.

I nod. “At this elevation, you’ll feel the temperature difference.”

“What can I do to help?”

“Do you know how to start a fire?”

“With what?” she asks. “Did you bring a lighter? I have no experience rubbing two sticks together.”

I laugh. “Yes, I brought a lighter. The goal here is not to reenact stone age living conditions. I’ll collect some kindling and firewood. Once we get a fire going, we can make coffee and have lunch.”

“I brought some burgers to cook on the grill,” she says.

After a lunch of burgers, chips, and soft drinks, I collect the bag of nonperishable food and the soft-sided cooler and hoist them both until they’re hanging from a high tree limb.

Gabrielle watches me. “That seems a bit inconvenient, don’t you think?”

“You have a lot to learn about the wilderness, young lady. One word—bears.”

“Oh. Are you serious? They’d come right into our camp?”

I nod. “Yep.”

“What about the horses? Are they safe from the bears?”

“The bells help with that. The bears will hear them and hopefully move on to avoid a confrontation. And the horses will let us know if any predators are nearby. But honestly, I’ve never had a problem with predators here at the lake. If one shows up, I’ll handle it.”

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