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The fire casts a warm golden glow that highlights the sharp planes of his face. My fingers itch for a set of oil pastels and my sketch pad. I want to capture Colton in this moment, where he’s the perfect mixture of rugged and soft, strong and tender.

“What?” he asks, his forehead creasing.

“I was just thinking about the colors I’d use to sketch you.” I reach up and trace over his cheek. “Vermilion, bright yellow, and golden ochre with a hint of scarlet lake.” Down the bridge of his nose. “Indigo, brown, and cobalt blue.” Along the side of his face where it’s cast in shadow. “Ivory black and intense blue.”

He reaches up and wraps his hand over mine, pressing my palm into his cheek. “What about my lips?”

I pretend to think for a moment. “I’m not sure,” I say. “I’ll have to study them a bit more to make sure I get it right.”

Burnt madder.

Orange lead.

Venetian red.

The colors flash behind my eyes the moment our lips meet. This kiss is less tentative. The pressure builds and my hands rise to cradle his face. We twist onto our sides on the saddle blanket. Colton’s arm cushions my head while his free hand tangles in my hair. I flex my toes and they brush against the tops of his boots.

“How much studying do you think you’ll need?” Colton mumbles as his lips move to my jawline. He makes his way up to my earlobe, then dusts my cheek with light kisses before returning to my mouth.

“I’m not sure,” I say. “I’m a pretty slow learner. It could take a while.”

Colton leans back and grins. “It’s a good thing we’ve got all night.”

CHAPTER 38

Colton

I SHIFT AND tuck Riley closer to my side. She settles her head on my shoulder and sighs. “Can we just stay here forever and never go back?”

Her voice is teasing, but there’s a hint of seriousness in her eyes.

“You can’t avoid your problems forever.”

“I know,” she says, linking our fingers together. My thumb traces circles on the back of her hand. “But I like this part of the excursion best.”

“Me too.”

“Don’t tell my parents, but I’m glad they made us go on this Oregon Trail adventure.”

I kiss the top of her head and whisper, “My lips are sealed.”

Riley shivers and I wish I’d been more prepared for a night in the prairie. Back at Fort Bellows, my sleeping bag and foam pad are wrapped in a tight roll, completely useless to us now. It would have made for a more comfortable evening, especially now that the dampness is seeping up through the ground and settling over us from the air.

In the distance, a coyote howls. Riley tenses. “That sounds a bit too close for comfort.”

“Sound travels pretty far out here at night. But I don’t think the coyote will mess with us, not this time of year. There are plenty of smaller animals out here for them to eat.”

A chorus of yips and barks echoes across the prairie. “It sounds like there’s a whole pack of them,” she says.

“It’s probably just two or three. They don’t form large packs like wolves or anything.”

Riley presses her hand on my chest and leans over me, her hair cascading down to brush over my cheek. “Wait…do we have to worry about wolves, too?”

“We should always worry about wolves,” I say, reaching up to brush the hair out of her face.

Her eyes go wide. “How worried?”

“Well, even though they’re not endangered anymore, I don’t think we should stop conservation efforts. Wolves are an important predator in the food chain.”