“Don’t know.”
“Can we leave?”
“Yes.”
“Should we?”
The Mountain Man studied the snow outside.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Pass is unstable.”
“You’ll fall.”
“Horse could break a leg.”
The Young Woman looked toward the cabin.
“So we wait.”
“Yes.”
She hugged herself.
The Mountain Man watched.
Then:
“You can stay after the pass opens.”
She looked at him.
He seemed almost uncomfortable saying it.
“You said this cabin wasn’t forever.”
“For me.”
“What does that mean?”
“I go south in spring.”
“Trap north in fall.”
“Trade.”
“Come back.”
The Young Woman looked around.
The cabin suddenly felt less permanent.
That hurt more than expected.
“And if I stay?”
He looked at her carefully.
“You stay.”
“Alone?”
The Mountain Man frowned.
“If I’m gone.”
Her chest tightened.
She hated the answer because it was honest.
“Would you come back?”
“Yes.”
“Because of the cabin?”
He did not answer.
The Young Woman looked away.
That night, wind returned.
Not a storm.
Just enough to make the cabin walls creak.
The Young Woman woke from a nightmare.
The Rancher’s bedroom.
The locked door.
Leather against wood.
She sat upright.
Breathing hard.
The Mountain Man woke instantly.
He sat beside the fire.
Not approaching.
“You’re here.”
She looked around.
Cabin.
Snow.
Fire.
Not the ranch.
The Mountain Man remained across the room.
“Need water?”
She shook her head.
His silhouette blurred through tears.
The Young Woman whispered:
“Can you come closer?”
He moved.
Stopped beside the bed.
Not sitting.
“Closer.”
He sat on the floor.
She looked down.
“You can sit here.”
She touched the edge of the mattress.
The Mountain Man hesitated.
Then sat.
Weight pulling the rope bed slightly.
The Young Woman stared at his hand.
Large.
Scarred.
Resting on his knee.
“Can I…”
She stopped.
He waited.
The Young Woman placed her hand in his.
His fingers remained open until hers curled.
Then he closed them gently.
She breathed.
“Thank you.”
“For?”
“Waiting.”
The Mountain Man looked confused.
“For what?”
She looked toward their joined hands.
“For me to decide.”
He understood.
His thumb moved once across her knuckles.
No more.
The Young Woman fell asleep still holding him.