***
Acouple of hours later, the campground quieted and every nighttime rustling could be heard.
After cleaning the dishes, Krista had called Shane to the edge of the campground, away from the few lamps that lit the walkways, and they’d sat on a log to look at the stars. Moonlight shone off the ice on the mountain peaks as they’d talked—casual chitchat that had been comfortable and easy—and then they’d grabbed their washbags to get ready for bed.
“See you in the morning, Krista,” Shane said as he unzipped his tent.
“Thanks again for everything. Despite the drama of this morning, today has been fun.” She smiled at him. “Good night, Shane.”
Krista crawled into her tent.
She’d already set up the thin inflatable mattress and the sleeping bag that belonged to Michael Adams. It was strange using his stuff, but no stranger than anything else that had happened to her today.
Placing her flashlight down, Krista dressed into her pajamas—the cozy kind, just like her. The lace underwear Lisa had bought her was firmly at the bottom of her bag, never to see the light of day again.
Dress to undress.
Huh.
Cozy pajamas it is, then.
And Krista was fine with that. It was the first step to accepting who she was, of doing only the things that pleased her, not others.
She pulled her T-shirt over her head, grabbed her flashlight—and yelped.
A frog! On her sleeping bag!
She shot away from it, clambering against the side of the tent. The canvas walls shook and...the creature flipped on its side, its stiff legs in the air. She shined her flashlight on it and saw it was a toy.
“Damn you, McDermit!”
Shane’s soft chuckles drifted to her on the nighttime air. That wink he’d given her at dinner made sense now.
But as her pulse steadied, a smile twitched her lips. She snuggled down into her sleeping bag, holding the little wooden frog in the dark, then quickly drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 10
