My eye trailed the dark-haired man in jeans and a cowboy hat pointing something out on the overlook to Tom and Carter.
Or maybe it was Jake.
We had a very authentic cowboy meal of hot dogs roasted by the fire and s’mores, before listening to Jake tell cowboy stories around the campfire. He started with some caves we could spot in the distance that had drawn Carter’s full imagination, completely sparked by Jake. The excitement in Carter’s face at each cockamamie story Jake spun was enough to know that thiswould be a trip he would remember for a lifetime. After some time studying the constellations, Carter had yawned one too many times, so he and his dad bid us goodnight before settling into their small tent a little ways from the fire.
And then it was just Jake and me, watching the flames and letting the crackle of the fire do the conversing. The muffled sound of Carter’s excited chatter and his dad’s low voice responding to him lulled me into a contemplative haze.
But when that haze led to thoughts of Jake, I began to wish that I had a tent to hide in. Maybe it was the way he confidently and capably led our group into the mountains. Maybe it was the way he became Cowboy Jake with Carter. Or maybe it was the lingering feel of his hands at my waist, helping me down from his horse. My tumultuous thoughts could be from a lot of things, really. All I knew was that a private tent now seemed like a good idea. But these kinds of thoughts would only hurt me, so I attempted to get myself back on track.
“So what kind of bad guys live in those caves?” I asked him, channeling Carter.
He smiled, using a stick to stoke the fire. “Probably a badger or two. Maybe a coyote if we’re lucky.”
I shivered slightly as the evening breeze picked up, lifting the locks of hair off my shoulders.
“Toss your bedroll over here by me. It’s getting cold,” Jake said, standing up and pulling out his things from his pack.
“Bedroll, John Wayne?”
“Yup.” A grin peeped out across his mouth.
“You mean these sleeping bags that came from the sporting goods store in Salmon?”
“No imagination, Tuck.”
“Should I use my saddle as a pillow? Stash my six-shooter under it for the night?”
“If you had a six-shooter on you right now, then I’d actually be impressed.”
We brushed our teeth, threw on some warmer layers, and placed our blue sleeping bags on top of two sleeping pads near each other by the fire.
“You still got your gun strapped to your stomach?” he asked.
“No. It’s right next to me.”
“Between us?”
“No. I don’t want you getting mixed up in the middle of the night and grabbing for my gun.”
“I wouldn’t want that either. Carter would be embarrassed on my behalf.”
I settled into my sleeping bag with a sigh. The more the fire waned, the brighter the stars shone above us. My mouth split into a grin for twenty solid seconds before I realized how crazy I must look. I bit my lip to tamp down my energy, but I couldn’t help it. There was nowhere else I’d rather be, and for a girl who had been wondering where on earth Ishouldbe the past few years, it felt good to know my place. Even if it was just for a night.
“So…why couldn’t we have a tent again? These stars are pretty, but it’s getting cold. Are you going to keep the fire going all night?”
“Logan would have stolen a tent out of my pack so fast it wasn’t worth grabbing. I hated to give him the satisfaction.”
“So now, he gets the satisfaction of us sleeping next to each other withoutanyprotection?”
I slammed a hand over my mouth as soon as it was out. Jake’s ears perked up as he looked over at me with great interest.
“Well, it sounds like we won’t be getting much sleep either way.”
He shot me a grin as he resettled himself down in his sleeping bag. Was he a little closer to me now? I couldn’t tell.
“Are you warm enough?” he asked a moment later.
“Yeah,” I said, though I could feel the tips of my fingers and toes growing colder. I moved my hands underneath me to warm them.