Page 283 of The Cowbears of Curvy Bear Ranch

“Good thing there’s no car traffic. Can you imagine?” Drewasked.

“Why do you think we limit access in the winter? Every idiot with an SUV would be up here mowing them down. It’s bad enough that we have to deal with speeders in the summer. And you know what gets me? They have the nerve to bitch about their insurance rates going up when they hit one of the animals. People,” hehuffed.

“I hear ya,”Drewsaid.

“Anyway, enough of my ranting. You folks have a nice trip. You’re not planning on staying past dark,right?”

“We should be back by mid-afternoon.”

“Sounds good.” The ranger stepped back into the guardhouse and closedthedoor.

“We’ll stop at the warming hut when we get to the first junction,” Drew said. “Normally I’d stop a few times, but we have a fairly long trip and I definitely want to be back well beforesundown.”

“Lead the way,”shesaid.

“Face mask,”hesaid.

“Ohright.”

She closed her visor and then latched onto his waist. When he took off, she shrieked and clung to him. In town, they hadn’t gone very fast, but now he was driving like a crazy person. It took a few minutes to get used to it, but when she did, she actually liked the rumble of the rugged machine between her legs. What womanwouldn’t?

Off to the left, something shimmered. She turned her head and watched sunlight sparkle across a river. Rippling water reflected and bent the light until it glittered like a rush of tinydiamonds.

To her right, snow clung to every pine tree along the side of the road. Clumps fell off as they rode past. Everywhere she looked, pristine wilderness spread out as far as she could see. Thank God Congress had set aside the land to preserve it. She couldn’t imagine the destruction it would have undergone had people been allowed to build housing developmentsinit.

As they rushed passed the sign for a campground, she let out a wistful sigh. She’d always wanted to go camping, but her ex hated the outdoors. He’d told her countless times that only poor people went camping. He couldn’t have been morewrong.

Plenty of other doctors and nurses at the hospital went on camping trips, sometimes together. She envied their stories of all-day hikes and eating s’mores by the campfire. Her mouth watered. Oh, to smoosh a gooey marshmallow between two graham crackers and a layer of chocolate. It was a fairly simple fantasy, but one she’d never lived. If she ever cleaned up the mess she’d made of her life, she’d take her daughter on acampingtrip.

The engine’s roar downshifted to a purr as they reached Madison Junction. He turned right and then made another right and pulled into a near-empty parking lot. After he’d turned off the snowmobile, she stood and stretched. He unstrapped his helmet and set it on thesnowmobile.

“This is the only chance we have for a bathroom break and a warm drink for a while,” he said. “Even if you don’t think you have to go, try. You don’t want to have to squat in the woods in ten-degreeweather.”

“I’d have to agree with that,”shesaid.

“I’ll meet you over there.” He pointed to atrailer.

“Okay.”

She followed him into the building that housed the bathrooms. It was much warmer than she’dexpected.

After she’d finished, she found Drew. He stood inside the trailer in front of the counter. She arched a brow when she spotted the menu. They had quite a variety of options considering they were running such a smalloperation.

Drew ordered coffee while she ordered orange pekoe tea. As they waited, she studied the maps and photos on thewalls.

“We’re here,” Drew said as he pointed at a large map. “We need to gouphere.”

“That looks like alongtrip.”

“It’s not bad, but there is a pretty big elevation change. So it’s going to get colder. How are you doing so far? Are you warm enough?” heasked.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine after I drinkthetea.”

“Order number twenty-three,” called thecashier.

“That’s us.” Drew retrieved the steaming cups and handed her one. “Be careful. It looks pretty hot. You don’t want to burnthoselips.”

He froze. With the cup halfway to her mouth, she paused. He looked like he wanted to melt into the floor. When she cracked a smile, hemirroredit.