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“I guess we can talk while this thing rages outside. Hopefully, it won’t continue for the whole time we’re here. I should call down to town and see if I can get an update.”
He shook his head. “I don’t have a signal on my phone.”
“Satellite phone.”
“Don’t you have to go outside for that?” he asked. He wasn’t wrong.
I sighed. “Yeah, and with this cloud cover, it probably won’t work. I should try, though.”
He held out his hand. “Let me. You stay here where it’s warm. No offense meant by this, but I have more bulk to combat a deep chill.”
Mikaly was already uncovering from the thermal blanket he had over his lap, peeling off one of the extra pairs of socks he’d put on after we’d settled, and reaching for his boots. I wanted to argue with him, but he wasn’t wrong.
I opened the phone and thumbed to the correct contact. “Hit the one for Jory. He’s with the fire department and is always my town contact when I head out on trips.” My chin lowered while I raised an eyebrow at Mikaly. “That’s one of the safety rules—always make sure someone knows where you are. Jory and Elvin both know exactly where we’re camping. They likely won’t try to come up here in a storm, but if they don’t hear from us, they’re going to start considering a rescue expedition.”
“Hopefully, I can get through then.” Taking the phone, he shoved it in his pocket, grabbed the folding shovel then unzipped the tent. A burst of cold gushed inside, but he moved quickly. He was out and the door rezipped in moments.
Raising my knees, I rested my arms on them dropped my head onto the cushioned sleeves. This was a thousand percent not okay. I knew weather happened, but now, I was all weak female while Mikaly took care of things. That wasn’t okay with my psyche and went against the grain of everything I’d fought for in this industry.
He wasn’t wrong, though. It was safer for him to venture out. At least for the moment. While he was out there, I rummaged for some high-fat energy bars, packets of dried berries and water. I could do that at least. We’d mostly be grabbing water from the stream, but I’d still brought canteens for initial backups. Prepping for tomorrow—or later today, if we were lucky—I opened the collapsible water collector.
We brought food for the trip, since I hadn’t planned for us to hunt this time, water and a water source, as well as a way to be relatively sheltered. I cuddled back under my blanket, still shivering as Mikaly came back in, bringing another gust of frigid air.
“No dice on the phone,” he said, handing it back to me after he’d closed us back into the semi-darkness and taken off his boots. Reaching for my pack, I pulled out a small lantern. After the fact, I realized it illuminated our space like the glow of candlelight—romantic candlelight, creating a surprising ambiance around us, while we faced each other and shared our meal.
“You’re being a good sport about this,” I commented, opening the wrapper for my bar.
“Call me crazy, but I like spending time with you. Even in the cold.”
My hands froze, and my gaze lifted to look into his dark eyes. They were somewhat shrouded in shadows, from the angle of illumination from the small lantern, but their intensity still burned into me. He felt this too, this connection I hadn’t thought could be real.
“Same,” I answered. I’d never been great with words, especially those that opened me up to intimacy. “I… It’s… It’s taken me by surprise, actually.”
“Me, too. I came into this job determined I wouldn’t have anything to do with a coworker, and here I am, wanting to have everything to do with you.”
My brow furrowed at that revelation that probably revealed more than he thought about his past. “Why did you decide that?”
He grimaced. “I guess it’s going to come out sooner or later, especially as we get closer.” He leaned toward me, his warm breath welcome against my chilly cheeks. “And we are going to get closer, Flower.”
A shiver went through me that had nothing to do with the cold.
“Okay,” I breathed. “Tell me your secrets.”
And maybe, I’ll tell you mine.
“I got fired from my last job for having an affair with the boss’ wife.” He held up his hand. “Which I didn’t do. That’s not me. If my parents taught me anything—and they taught me a lot—it’s about the sanctity of marriage, specifically that married ladies are off-limits, no matter how much they might come on to you.”
“So she wanted you and…”
“When I said no, she decided to tell her friends that there was something between us, that I’d slept with her when her husband was away. Of course, it got back to him. If socialites can do one thing, it’s gossip and backstab. So I was out a job for sticking to my morals—though, if I had slept with her, I’m pretty sure it would have had the same result—except I would have felt dirty for going against my principles.”
He shrugged, pursing his lips in visible annoyance. “So I went home and worked for the family business until I got hired by the Sanders.”
“What’s that? The business, I mean.”
Even in the dark, I saw the light dance in his eyes and he smiled. “My parents own a chain of Italian restaurants.”
I groaned and flopped back on my pallet.
