One Night with her Bachelor Read Online Free PDF Page B

campground.”
    Her fear was palpable. “Yes. Now. We need to go now.”
    “I’ll be right back.” He went back into the cabin, something scratching at him. Instinct, maybe. Or habit, after a decade of heading out with all his gear. He still kept emergency equipment in a rucksack significantly lighter than the one he’d carried for combat search and rescue in Afghanistan. No body armor. No night vision goggles or portable Jaws of Life. No M4—though he did carry a sidearm. Just a bunch of rope, canvas, knives, some basic medications, and hiking and climbing equipment. He grabbed the bag.
    He was ready to serve again.
    *
    Molly tightened her grip around Gabriel’s waist as trees whizzed past. She’d never been on a motorcycle before, and the fact they weren’t even on a path but zigzagging around fir trees should’ve filled her with terror.
    Her terror levels were already overflowing.
    Stupid. So stupid. How could she have gone somewhere out of reach? It had never occurred to her that Gabriel’s cabin would be so cut-off. She should’ve been reachable. She should’ve been at home.
    The dirt bike tilted to the side, and she held him harder. He only had one helmet and he’d given it to her, so she couldn’t bury her face in his broad back and ignore reality the way she wanted to. Where was Josh? Where was he?
    Not knowing made her throat spasm. She fought back the sickness that threatened to come up.
    He’s okay. He’s probably just hiding. Playing a practical joke on his scout leader.
    But what if he wasn’t? What if he’d had an accident? What if he’d been snatched by a predator—either the four-legged or two-legged kind?
    Every frustrated word she’d ever snapped at him rushed back to haunt her. Every time she’d lost her patience or been too tired to play. Every guilty feeling she’d tried to talk herself out of feeling returned with a vengeance.
    Your son needed you, and you were making out with a guy in a cabin with no cell coverage. You horrible, horrible mother.
    As soon as Gabriel had told her about the lack of network, she should’ve turned around and hiked back to her truck.
    Her fingers clenched, digging into his hard abs. Before they’d climbed onto the bike, he’d slung a camouflage rucksack onto his chest, presumably carrying it on his front so she could fit behind him on the saddle. Her hands were between the sack and his stomach. The bag rubbed against her knuckles with every bump in the dirt.
    They reached a path, and the bike slowed before stopping. It rumbled gently beneath her as Gabriel let it idle. He leaned to the side so he could look over his shoulder. “Campground’s down this path to the right.”
    “Why are we stopped?”
    His jaw worked from side to side. “Up to the left, there are old copper mine shafts. My half brothers were scouts, and they used to come home from camping trips full of ghost stories about the mines. If I were a kid, I’d want to explore them.”
    Oh God. Josh exploring mine shafts? Her son—her beautiful, rambunctious son—lived for excitement. If he’d heard about the mine shafts, he’d probably given in to the impulse to discover them.
    Her breath came hard and fast. Gabriel watched her silently, his steady gaze leaving the decision up to her.
    “Go to the mine shafts,” she ordered.
    Gabriel’s right leg twitched as it kicked the bike back into gear. The bike jerked hard, and Molly gasped as she tightened her embrace to stay on. They wove their way up the rocky path that looked like it had hardly been used. Gabriel barely slowed as they crested a peak and rode around a perilous ridge. A river cut a path through the forest about a hundred feet below, and the mountain on their other side left no room for mistakes. Molly’s palms sweat and ached.
    Finally the path veered onto safer ground, and they skidded to a stop. Gabriel patted her leg, as if to say Get off the bike so I can, too . She slung her leg over, but her muscles jellified as