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

back to Washington, on her own terms. Maybe that way, she’d be able to reclaim everything she’d lost.
    Because of the shifting of the seasons, there was only a small window for trekking the trail end to end, and it had seemed like fate that the window was open at the exact time that she was free to do the hike. Even more so, that her friends were also free.
     
    Freya helped Eloise disentangle herself from her pack and struggle into an upright position again.
    “What can I take out though?” Eloise said, her voice a little shrill. Freya realized with dismay that she was close to tears.
    “Come on, I’ll help you,” she said in a softer tone. “Take everything out and lay it on the bed.”
    Several minutes later, Eloise’s possessions were spread all over the comforter, and Freya and Marin were listing everything that she had to leave behind – hairdryer, big shampoo bottle, extra socks, extra panties, blanket, electric shaver.
    “But all these things are so small,” Eloise protested.
    “And they all add up,” Freya said sternly. “Okay, let’s try the pack again,” she said at last. Eloise threw the pack over her shoulder and gasped.
    “Oh my gosh, that’s so much better,” she said. Freya smiled, relieved that she was starting to see the benefit. Then she turned to Marin.
    “Now your turn,” she said.
     
    Three hours later, the packs were ready, they’d gone to the post office and mailed all the excess items to Marin’s brother, who’d generously agreed to help them out throughout the hike, they’d bought a whole stack of blister band aids, and they were sitting in a diner, munching on three giant cheeseburgers and a heap of fries. Freya had spread a paper map across the table and she was frowning at it intently.
    “Can we not just figure it out as we go along?” Marin asked. “Like, let’s aim for 15 miles a day, but if we don’t make it, we can just stop early.” Freya bit back another burst of frustration. Stay calm. If we fall out before we even get started, this is going to be a disaster , she told herself.
    “No – as I was saying earlier – there aren’t so many places to get water, so if we get stuck someplace overnight that doesn’t have a supply, we’ll be screwed,” she said, in a gentler tone than she was feeling. Both Eloise and Marin gave her that wide-eyed look again.
    “We’re going to be far away from any stores aren’t we?” Marin said. “I know my grandma told me about how hard it was to get food etc, but I thought that was just because it was back in the 60s.” Freya laughed.
    “I believe things have improved a lot since then, but it’s still wilderness, you know. And there aren’t too many convenience stores half way up a mountain.” Marin bit her lip.
    “I’m being naïve aren’t I?” she said.
    “Look, I think we’re all being naïve to an extent. I think the PCT is something that you can’t appreciate until you actually do it. Like, I know my feet are going to hurt, and I’m probably going to feel thirsty some of the time, but I can’t imagine how hard that’s going to be.” Marin nodded. But Eloise had gone very pale.
    “What’s wrong, Eloise?” Freya said.
    “You look like you just remembered that you didn’t bring any bras with you, girl,” Marin added. Eloise was pointing at a photo of a bear occupying the bottom-left-hand corner of the map.
    “There are bears out there?” she said in a wobbly voice.
    “A couple. But they, like, never attack hikers. And we’ve just got to be sensible and keep our food up in trees or in special metal boxes. I’ve done a ton of research and it’s fine.”
    Eloise’s expression hadn’t changed one bit.
    “Guys. I don’t think I can do this. It’s too much. I’m scared shitless of bears. And I’m not good with dehydration. I need to drink water regularly. And coffee. Oh my god. What was I thinking? I need coffee before I do anything in the mornings. This is too much. I’m sorry, but