Page 17
“What?” I hiss.
“I heard it again.”
Oh. My. God. I am not doing this until sunup. I grab my palm-sized flashlight, slide my legs over the side of the cot, and slip my feet into the cheap plastic flip-flops I picked up at Ranch & Rustler.
“What are you doing?” he asks, his eyes widening when I flick on the flashlight to test the beam.
“I’m going to check it out. Coming?”
Caleb snorts. “Nope.”
“Fine. Whatever.” I slide between the front flaps of the tent and point the light toward the side where the mysterious sounds are coming from.
Six beady little eyes stare back at me.
Raccoons.
A mama and two kits, based on the size difference. Frozen in the light like masked bandits, they look almost guilty for waking me up. They should be, given how long it took for me to fall asleep in the first place.
Well, now that I know there’s no danger—
“What are you doing?”
The familiar voice startles me in the dark. I give a small yelp, whirling around to find Colton standing there, dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans. He’s not wearing his Stetson, and his medium-cropped dark hair is tousled like he just woke up. My flashlight hits him square in the face, and he winces, holding up an arm to shield his eyes. “Hey.”
“Oh, sorry.” I point the flashlight down toward the ground and look up to find the faint moonlight casting shadows on his stern scowl.
In the almost-dark, I’m keenly aware of my “This princess needs her beauty sleep” pajamas, which were cute in the store, before he’d dubbed me the Prairie Princess. Now it’s basically a gotcha. And judging by the smirk that tugs at the corner of his mouth, he doesn’t get that it’s supposed to be ironic.
“Moonlight pajama stroll?” he asks, his voice gruff and low.
Does he actually think I would just get up and decide to wander off in the middle of the night wearing this? My fingers tighten around the flashlight.
“Caleb heard a noise and I came out to check. Turns out, it was raccoons.” I slide the beam back to the little family, who are watching us warily. I’m kind of surprised they didn’t try to sneak away while we were distracted, but honestly, I can’t blame them for wanting front-row seats. Tall, Dark, and Irksome vs. the Prairie Princess. One night only. Get your tickets here.
“Do you have a weapon on you?” he whispers.
“A weapon? Like a stick or…?” I whisper back, slightly confused. What do I need a weapon for? I’m pretty sure the Great Plains is not a hotbed of dangerous activity, or Mom and Dad would never have forced us here. “I’m not packing heat, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Who says that?”
“Says what?”
“ ‘Packing heat.’ ”
“People say it,” I counter, irritation oozing over me. “I just said it and I’m people. A person.”
Colton just stares at me for a moment before giving a small grunt. “What were you planning on using to defend yourself on your moonlight pajama stroll?”
“Against some cute little raccoons?” I ask, trying to keep my voice down. “Please, they’re harmless. And this is not a moonlight pajama stroll. Yes, there is moonlight. Yes, I am wearing pajamas. But it’s more of a scouting mission than a stroll.”
He crosses his arms over his chest. “But you didn’t know it was only raccoons until you went outside. It could have been a cougar or a badger.”
“Fair point, but still…if the animal was dangerous, would it matter whether I was in the tent if the animal wanted to eat me?”
“Suppose not,” he concedes.
Aha, I got him there.
