"You're not a doctor."
"No, but I've treated enough hypothermia to know what I'm talking about." His expression softens slightly. "Just stay. Rest. Recover. You can leave in the morning."
The fight goes out of me. He's right. I'm exhausted. Every part of my body aches. The thought of trying to hike anywhere right now is overwhelming.
"Okay," I concede. "But you're not sleeping on the floor. This is your cabin, your bed. I can take the floor."
"No."
"Then we'll both take the floor."
"No."
"Then—" I take a breath, can't believe I'm suggesting this. "Then we share. The bed is big enough. And you've already… I mean, we already—" I gesture vaguely. "It's not like it would be weird."
It would absolutely be weird.
His jaw works. "That's not appropriate."
"Neither is you sleeping on the floor in your own cabin because I was an idiot."
We stare at each other, locked in a battle of wills.
Finally, he sighs. "Fine. But I'm staying on top of the blankets. And you're staying buried in them. Clear?"
"Clear."
He turns away, busying himself with banking the fire for the night. I finish the bread and cheese, sipping the water, trying not to think about the fact that I'm about to spend the night in bed with this man.
This massive, mysterious, mountain hermit who saved my life and saw me in my underwear and is lying about at least two things I can identify.
My clothes are still damp. There's no way around this.
I settle back into the blankets, arranging them to maximum coverage, and watch him move through his nighttime routine. It's oddly normal: checking the fire, the door, the windows. Making sure everything is secure.
When he finally approaches the bed, he hesitates.
"I don't bite," I say, then immediately regret it because what if he thinks I meant something suggestive?
But he just grunts and climbs in on the other side, staying on top of the blankets like he promised. The bed dips under his weight, and suddenly we're sharing space again.
He smells good. Really good. Like pine trees and woodsmoke and something wild, something I can't name but that makes my brain sit up and pay attention.
"Thank you," I whisper into the darkness. "Really. You saved my life."
"Get some sleep, Autumn."
It's the first time he's said my name. It sounds different in his voice. Rougher, deeper, like stones rolling in a river.
I close my eyes and try to sleep, but can’t help but notice every breath he takes, every small movement. The heat radiating from his body even through the layers of blankets. The solid, reassuring presence of him.
Tomorrow I'll go back to town. Back to my normal life. Edit footage, post content, pretend this never happened. But tonight, just for tonight, I let myself feel safe in the darkness with a stranger who's not quite as much of a stranger anymore.
Even if he is keeping secrets.
Even if I'm keeping some too, like the fact that my heart is racing, and it has nothing to do with hypothermia recovery.
Chapter 6 - Rhett
