Page 53 of Omega's Refuge

“In this temperature, my ass might get frostbite.”

He chuckled. “You think this is cold? Haven’t you ever heard about the ‘Great Die-Up’ of 1886?”

“The great what now?” I laughed. “That definitely sounds made up.”

He widened his eyes. “Oh, it’s not made up. It was a real historical event. The winter of 1886 was particularly harsh, with record low temperatures and heavy snowfall. There are stories of cattle being found frozen solid, still standing upright.”

“What the hell?” I squawked. “The cows were frozen solid where they stood?”

He grinned. “Well, that may be a slight exaggeration, but they definitely froze to death. It was a terrible time.Ranchers lost huge portions of their herds, and that winter had a profound impact on the ranching industry. It forced many ranchers to adopt more protective measures for their animals in the following years.”

“Well, thank goodness something good came out of that.” I glanced up at the clear sky, shivering. There were no clouds, but it was definitely chilly, and the temperature would drop once the sun went down. “Is it safe for us to be out here camping?”

“Oh, yeah. I brought a tent and warm wool blankets to go over our sleeping bags.”

I frowned. “I thought we were sleeping under the stars. How’s that work if we’re in a tent?”

“I brought a stargazing tent.” He laughed at my blank expression. “It has a large mesh panel on the ceiling that protects us from insects and light rain, but we’ll still be able to see the night sky clearly.”

“Ah, I’ve never heard of a tent like that.”

“Yep, they’re an amazing invention.” He grinned. “We can sleep under the stars without sacrificing comfort or protection.”

“You sound like an infomercial.”

“No, I don’t.” He smirked. “I never once said, ‘And that’s not all!’”

I laughed. “True.”

“Don’t you worry, Tanner. The cow freezing story happened in winter, and we’re only in early fall. Plus, I’ll take care of you and keep you safe, no matter what. Okay?”

“Okay.” My chest tightened at the protective look he gave me. “I trust you, Rex.”

He beamed. “Yeah?”

“Absolutely.”

He smiled. “That’s just about the nicest thing you could have said to me.”

“Well, you seem to be a very trustworthy fellow.” I bit my lip so I didn’t laugh. “Maybe I’lleven share my sleeping bag with you just to show you how much I trust you.”

His smile slowly faded and heat once more shifted through his blue eyes. “Oh, I plan on sharing your bag, Tanner.”

“Yeah?” I playfully blew him a kiss. “I like the sound of that a whole lot, cowboy.”

He blew out a breath. “We still have an hour and a half ride. We should probably stop flirting.”

Ignoring him, I teased, “I’ve never had sleeping-bag-sex. How’s that work? Should I be on my stomach? Can I spread my legs enough in a sleeping bag, or should I ride you on top like a bucking bronco?”

He pulled up his horse, giving me a dangerous look, and my horse stopped too. “I’m serious, Tanner. Stop flirting with me until we make our camp. You keep it up and I’m gonna need a taste of younow. But we don’t want to be traveling in the dark.”

I grinned at him. “Okay, okay. I didn’t know you had so little self-control.”

He kicked his horse gently and we started moving again. “I don’t seem to have any, where you’re concerned.”

I liked hearing that. I liked knowing Rex was as consumed with me as I was him. I was happy that we had an entire week to enjoy each other. Time would go quickly though, and soon I’d have to say goodbye to him. I didn’t look forward tothat day, but I didn’t want to think about saying goodbye to Rex right now.

I had a night under the stars with Rex to look forward to.

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