Where was she from? What made her heart sing? What was she looking for in life?
But I did what I do best—stayed quiet and observed.
The three older men were passing a whiskey flask between them. Not getting too deep in their drinks, just taking the edge off the cold.
The family was gearing up for bed. Pappa Bear had a competitive spirit in him, and I knew he wanted to show that he was just as fast and strong as Jameson and me.
And that meant he’d need some beauty rest because he was favoring his left leg. I guessed there was some heel pain happening, because his boots looked too new. They weren’t broken in yet. Any seasoned outdoorsman would know youneverhike with new boots. You’ve got to break them in slowly.
Gabe and Lauren had already retired to their tent a while ago, lighting up the night with their “quiet” version of lovemaking.
I’m sure theythoughtthey were being subtle. But we’d all been polite and ignored it, even when Lauren went off like a banshee there at the end.
The fire was dying down, and it was time for bed, so Jameson piled snow on top of it.
Katie looked horrified. “But won’t we need that? It’s the only warm thing out here.”
“Can’t leave it on overnight, hon,” I told her matter-of-factly.
You only needed to wake up once with a campfire that had escaped its bounds to know how important fire safety is. I’d almost burned my boots off one night when I’d gotten reckless and left it going.
She was gripping my wool camp blanket tightly around her, and I could see the tiny shivers she’d been trying to hold back all night.
She was cold, and all I wanted to do was warm her up.
“Come on,” I rumbled. “Let me get you settled in.”
Katie looked up at me with relief in her eyes as I led her to her tent.
I’d pitched it right next to mine so I could hear if she had any problems in the middle of the night.
As I unzipped the flap for her I rumbled, “I’m in the tent right next to yours. If you need anything tonight, let me know.”
After she crawled inside, I shoved the things I’d bought earlier today into her hands.
“These are for you. Everything’s wool. You’ll be warmer tonight if you wear it all. You should wear them tomorrow too during the hike.”
“Thank you.” Katie looked up at me with wide, scared eyes, and I could see how hard this trip had been, but also how much it meant to her.
Quietly, so no one else could hear, I told her, “And I’m going to wake you up two hours earlier than departure time. That way we can get a head start and make it to Coyote Canyon around the same time as everyone.”
“Coyote Canyon?”
“Yeah. We just call it Snowflake Canyon for the marketing, because it sounds a lot more Christmasy.”
“Are there real coyotes there?”
Oh, my girl wassooout of her league she didn’t even know it.
“Hon, there are coyotes all over the Ozarks. But don’t worry about them. It’s just bears that we need to keep an eye open for.”
“Bears?”
Fuck. Why had I said that?
I squeezed her hand. “You’re going to be fine. I promise. Have you ever slept in a tent before?”
She shook her head.
