Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 30148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
I held out my hand. “I think we flee the crime scene and forget about our healthy foraging and firewood.”
She reached for me but stared behind me at the hornets’ nest as rustling sounded behind her. “Oh, crap.”
I tugged her next to me, and we started running back around the campsite and onto the beach, only to see the bear blocking the path we needed to take.
“Yup, that is definitely a bear,” she shrieked while the small brown bear looked at us, then continued rummaging through our tent. “Back away. Slowly.”
“The Jeep,” I said through clenched teeth. “Back slowly away and get in the Jeep.”
“Keys?”
“Unlocked,” I whispered. “In three, two, one.” We both scrambled into the back seat while I threw my body over and locked the doors.
The bear didn’t even seem to care.
“He’s so tame,” Hazel whispered, only to have the bear stand up on his legs and roar into the sky. “Kidding. I offended him. Sorry, bear. He’s terrifying. He’s going to kill us. We’re going to die in here, aren’t we?”
I pulled her against me. “No, he’ll get tired. Smell more food. We just have to hold out longer than the bear.”
Her stomach rumbled.
Mine followed suit.
I let out a sigh and nodded toward the blue ice chest still in the back. “At least we have some food and water. We just can’t go to our holes.”
“Holes?” she repeated. “Ohhhh, the holes.”
“Hey, maybe we’ll get lucky, and he’ll find your giant mound of sand and get distracted enough for us to gather our things, find a hotel, lie to our dads, and tell them camping went great.”
Her laughter was all I needed. It filled the Jeep in a big way—a way that had me genuinely smiling.
And then she frowned. “You have your phone? Keys and wallet?”
Where was she going with that? “I have my phone and my wallet, but the keys are at the campsite in my jeans.”
She nodded slowly, her eyes taking in the tent. “How much does a tent like that cost?”
“Huh?”
“How much?” She smacked me on the shoulder. “Just answer the question.”
“Ouch!” I rubbed the spot and then shoved her head down while the bear looked over at us. “I don’t know. Like maybe eighty bucks?”
“And your clothes in that duffel bag over there?” She pointed. “The chairs?”
I threw up a hand. “I mean, not a lot. I didn’t bring a ton, and the chairs are old. Why are you asking about how much shit costs?”
“My purse is in here,” she said. “We basically have everything we need and can come back tomorrow, pack up the campsite, and make the dads think we stayed one more night. If the campsite gets semi-destroyed, then we’ll just be honest. A bear attacked us because of our musk.”
“Musk? Because of our musk?”
“Yeah.” She was adorable with her dirty blond hair pulled back into a sad, traumatized ponytail. “We must have attracted it. You know, through hormones or something.”
“First musk and now hormones? I’m sorry, but are you having a moment? Why would a bear be attracted to our musk? Now, the little hole you dug? Possibly. But musk? Nah, it probably wanted our food, and we’re in its territory.”
“Hormones, then.” She nodded with such finality that even I was almost convinced. “It could smell the estrogen.”
“Not the testosterone?”
“Meh.” She waved me off. “Probably not strong enough. You’d have to be super horny, and I doubt bears do it for you.”
Immediately uncomfortable in my jeans, I cleared my throat. “Yeah, solid scientific point, because…science. And bears.” Why was I laughing like a maniac? I nervously tugged at my sweatshirt. “Anyway, let’s just find a way to grab the keys. We’ll drive to a nearby hotel, then come back and rescue what we can before going home. Nobody has to know.”
“Nobody has to know.” She nodded. “Okay. So you said the keys are in your jeans from last night?”
I nodded. “Yup. Back pocket.”
Hazel looked down at the jeans I was wearing, then back up at me. “You changed in the tent last night?”
Goose bumps erupted down my arms. “They were uncomfortable, so I just wiggled”—poor choice of words—“into a new pair. So, yes, I changed in the tent. It’s not like you saw anything, peeping Tom. You were snoring mid-change.”
“You were naked. And I do not snore.”
“You probably attracted the bear even more,” I pointed out. “Now, let’s focus on what’s important: grabbing the keys and escaping. I say you provide a distraction. You know, make your body really big, get his attention. I’ll sprint to the tent, grab the jeans, and run back. By then, he’ll only be semi-hostile, and we can start the Jeep.”
Hazel frowned over at me and crossed her arms. “So I’m bait?”
“But…” I leaned in and patted her on the knee. “Very nice bait. Attractive bait. Do you think the bear’s attracted to a person like me?” I made a face. “Gross, no, never. But you? Tall, beautiful, bold, and strong, almost like you were born to play the Disney princess from Brave. That will throw him for a loop.”