Read Bear in the Rough: Bear Shifter Romance (Broken Hill Bears Book 1) for Free Online Page B

You’ve brought condoms?” Marin gave a shriek of laughter and, even in the dark, Freya saw a blush spreading all over her freckly face.
    “There will be men doing the hike as well. Some of them might be attractive,” she said. Eloise shook her head.
    “I’m so off men. Even if I met the hottest guy in the universe right now, and he said that he loved my curves, I’d tell him, no. Call me up in a year’s time.” They all giggled.
    “I hear you,” Freya said. “My last relationship sucked. In fact, all my relationships suck.”
    “Might that be because you never give the guys a chance?” Marin said. “I remember what you were like at high school. Every time a guy was interested in you, you’d run away.” Freya stared into the fire.
    “And I haven’t changed. I think it’s because of my dad leaving us. I feel like if I let myself get close to someone, they’ll probably leave too.”
    “So you have to make sure that you run away first?” Eloise said gently, and with the empathy that she was well know for. Freya nodded.
    “That seems to be the strategy that my brain has worked out for me.”
    “Hopefully this trek will give you the peace you need to put all of that behind you,” Eloise said.
    “Let’s hope so.” Freya glanced at Eloise, feeling a rush of affection for her.
    “And I hope that this trek will help you prove to yourself that you are a strong person who deserves to be with a great guy.”
    “Thanks, Freya.”
    “And, Marin, I hope this trek proves to you that you’re the equal of anyone in your family,” Freya said, aware that Marin always felt inferior to her superstar family. They were all senators, high court judges and scientists, and they made her feel like a loser because she worked as a park ranger, despite the fact that she really loved her job. Marin nodded.
    “I’ve been thinking about my grandmother on and off all day, imagining her feet treading this exact path, so many years ago, when it was way more unusual for a woman to trek alone, and there was no technology and fewer places to refuel. I want to do this as a tribute to her, but also to show myself that I’m not wasting my legacy. Anyway, back to the condoms. I brought them as a last minute thing, but I say, no men while we’re on the trail. This is a girls’ trip.” She brought out the hand she’d been hiding behind her back, and showed them what she was holding. It was a small bottle of spiced rum, only enough for a shot or two each. The other two gasped.
    “Nice work, Carter,” Freya said. Marin unscrewed the top.
    “No men on the trail!” she announced and took a sip, before passing it to the others. They repeated the words, and as Eloise drained the final drops, they let out a whoop.
    The rum warmed Freya’s stomach and made her very sleepy.
    “Off to bed for me,” she said, yawning. They all got up, cleaned their teeth and climbed into their tents. Freya slid into her sleeping bag and zipped the door closed. She wriggled until she was comfortable and lay on her back, listening to the wind whistling against the canvas of the tent. It was kind of comforting and she soon drifted off to sleep.
     
    Some time later, she awoke abruptly. There had been a noise invading her dreams. What was it? She listened hard. It came again. A long, pitiful wail.
    “Girls! I’m scared!” it said. Freya sat up fast.
    “Eloise? What is it?”
    “I don’t know.” Eloise’s voice was trembling. “I keep hearing noises and they’re scaring the crap out of me.” Freya sighed out a long breath, thinking.
    “Eloise, there’s nothing that can get us out here. There’s not even bears in this part of the trail.”
    “I know, I guess. But I keep imagining all kinds of things, and I can’t take it any more.”
    Freya wriggled over to the tent opening and unzipped it.
    “Eloise, c’mere. You can sleep here in my tent.”
    “Really?”
    “Yup. But hurry up. I’m real sleepy.” There was a sigh of relief and the