Page 27 of Knot Her Mountain Men

“Get comfortable,” Bear signed, a cheeky-as-hell grin on his face.

With a grumble I settled in, Pumpkin’s warm weight sending me to sleep.

* * *

I woke to the soft brush of fingertips on my cheek and opened my eyes to see Morgan looking down at me.

“I’m sorry I stole your bed.”

I stretched and Pumpkin let out a groan of protest, whacking the underside of my chin with her head. “It’s fine. You needed it more than I did.”

Her cheeks were beautifully pink in the soft glow of dawn, her red curls pulled into a tidy braid. “Kit told me all the photos on the walls are ones that you took?”

“Yeah.” I wriggled myself free, letting Pumpkin take over the couch so I could stand. “It took a few years to get all of them.”

“They’reamazing.”

My chest puffed up with pride. “Thanks.”

She stared awkwardly at me for a few moments before Kit piped up from the kitchen. “Morgan does wildlife photography too but lost her camera in the storm.”

“No kidding?”

“I have a whole gallery of them online, and a blog and videos from all my trips into the woods. If we had Internet I could show you.”

“Bear has a blog too,” I told her. “You wouldn’t think it to look at him, but he’s pretty damn poetic and updates that thing religiously.”

Morgan’s eyes widened. “Wait. Is his last name Mackenzie?”

As if on cue, Bear emerged from our cold room—an extension to the lodge that worked as a refrigerator in cooler temperatures or when we lost power—with an armful of things for breakfast.

“Bear!” Morgan trotted over to him. “Do you writeDoes a Bear Shoot in the Woods?”

He nodded, eyes wide.

Morgan let out a squeak of excitement, bouncing on her toes. “Ilovethat blog! I have notifications set up so I can read every new post when it comes out.”

She launched into telling Bear about her favorite posts, following him into the kitchen, where he set the meal supplies on the counter. Apparently I had inadvertently revealed another connection to our pack. Honestly, the more the better. If we could find something for each of us, that might show Morgan she belonged with us, above and beyond the scent match. What were the odds she and I had the same hobby, or that she read Bear’s blog?

Kit slid up next to me, a bowl of pancake batter in his hands. “Offer to take her out to take pictures. She lost all the footage and photos from her trip.”

Right. Fuck. I should’ve thought of that.

“Hey, Morgan.”

She turned, gray eyes snapping to mine.

“Do you want to borrow one of my cameras? I could take you out if you want.” The tiny flicker of fear in her eyes was a stark reminder of what had happened the last time she had gone out into the woods with someone, so I quickly amended, “Not far. Plenty of stuff comes by within eyesight of the lodge.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

Shit. What did I do?

I took a chance and crossed the short distance between us, and when she leaned in, I wrapped my arms around her. She slammed against me, arms locking tightly around my waist, and I lost my breath.

I looked desperately to Kit for some explanation, but he only shrugged.

“What’s wrong?”

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