"Rummy!" Jax declares with a boastful smile that I stick my tongue out at.

"Again? I was saving up for a straight!" I whine as I toss my cards down on the table

"Give it up, baby. You might be brilliant, but no one can beat me at rummy."

I narrow my eyes as I pull the cards in towards me. "I never back down from a challenge, one more."

"You won't win," he taunts. "I've played a million games of this out here."

"By yourself?" I ask as I pull the cards all in towards me.

"Yup," he says with a small snicker. "I'd even move from chair to chair and taunt myself."

I giggle. "Well, at least you weren't making friends with the squirrels."

"You're going to have to get over that," he warns. "They are going to be a big part of our diet now."

"That reminds me. We still have to go look for the traps." A smile forms as an idea comes to me. "Let's make this more interesting and say the winner of the next hand gets to take on that task."

The Halloween blizzard continued for four days, not that we minded. We spent the days off making out, cuddling, and playing cards. Did I mention making out? It was almost like we were actual teenagers for a few days, but then the snow stopped, and reality set in quickly.

Jax said he'd seen blizzards out here, but never one that lasted for so many days so early into the season. We should have had another three to four weeks to prepare for winter. Mother Nature cheated us with this one.

Priotoires had to shift in the wake of so much snow. We think we got about two feet, but some drifts are much larger than that. We're really lucky Jax got the elk when he did. If not, we'd be four days behind on hunting, too.

The snow over our wood pile was the first thing we needed to focus on. The tarp Jax has been using is tattered and useless even more so now. We can't have all our wood wet and frozen all winter.

We dragged everything except a small stack to the bathhouse and then spent a day looking for more. Now that it's gotten colder, we burn through so much more. We'll have to keep looking for wood to add to our supply, and I imagine it'll be a lot harder now.

After the wood was handled we had to venture out west to the lowlands to salvage what we could of the kale. Sadly, it wasn't ready to harvest yet; it still needed a few weeks, but the snow crushed it, so we took what we could.

We did set a few new traps around the camp, but seeking out the old ones has to happen. No way do we want to lose all that wire, but digging for them is going to suck, big time.

"I'm going to win, Sam. This is a risky choice."

"Third time's the charm, I feel it," I declare.

****

"Ugh, so much snow," I whine as I dig through the mess.

Despite my best efforts, I could not beat Jax at rummy, and I really shouldn't have made that bet.

I've been looking for the traps all morning and have only found a small handful for all my efforts. This chore sucks. I wish I'd have left markers or something, maybe when I reset them I'll do that.

Luckily, it's not as cold as it has been. The sun is shining, making the snow look all glittery and pretty, and there is no wind today. I'm really glad I have such warm winter wear. It's almost too warm, but I don't dare take my coat off like Jax does when he gets sweaty.

Speaking of Jackson, that's exactly what he's doing as he comes back from what was the bathhouse and is now our wood house. He'd gone looking for more wood to top us off early this morning.

"Stop doing that. You're going to get frostbitten." I scold him as I see his coat draped over his arm.

"I have long sleeves on. Besides, this ain't even cold yet. Just wait—"

"I know how cold winters are, Jax," I say with an eye roll.

"You're going to be wishing winters were what you think they are after this one," he says in a warning tone, but his face relaxes as he looks at the wire traps in my hands. "Why don't you give that up for now? We can team up on it tomorrow. The creek won't be frozen yet. Let's spend the day fishing."

"Can we flour and fry them?" I ask, and my mouth begins to water at the idea.

"If we catch enough."

"Let's go!"

***

"If you get too cold, let me know. We can go to your old cabin and warm up. We left a few logs in there," Jax says as he looks over at me worriedly. He's always thinking about me like that. I think he cares more than anyone ever has, at least since my mom.  

"I'm okay. This coat is thick," I assure him.

We have a blanket on top of the sled and are sitting side by side as we fish the creek. Jax catches the first fish, and it's a good-sized one boosting our moods in an instant. The promise of food will always do that. 

"I can taste that fish fry already," I say happily as he resets his lure and casts back out.

"I bet you'll never eat stew again after this," Jax guesses.

"That is a sure bet," I agree with a soft laugh. "I've been dreaming about our lasagna date."

"Usually, couples go on a date before they move in together," he points out.

"We did! I think me making you dinner was our first date," I say thoughtfully as I watch my line. I get a tug and carefully pull in our second fish.

"You mean after we processed the deer? Wow, do I know how to impress a girl?"

I laugh as I pull the fish from my hook and reset it. "Well, You still thought I was a runway and wanted to scare me off back then. Also, I can admit now that I was trying to show off and impress you that day."

"You did. I was stunned to see you dragging that deer behind you. But I was always impressed with you, Sam, even when I thought you were a runaway or  someone after me."

I throw him a doubtful, sideways glance. "Sure you were."

"I was! When I first saw you, you were looking at this downed tree with this hopeless look on your face."

"You saw me that day?" I ask, feeling my face flush. I was all sweaty and annoyed at that damn tree. I probably looked ridiculous.

"I knelt to watch and wait. I assumed you'd get whoever came with you to help. Then I realized no one was coming, and you were alone. I was too paranoid to approach you. I watched as you swung that ax and saw how much you struggled. I wanted to help you, but I was freaked out."

"I'd have probably thrown the ax at you. It's a good thing you didn't," I say with a short chuckle, but it's true. I was so paranoid as hell in those early days.

"I'll never forget, though, you stood up, tied your hair back, and then looked at the tree like you were about to beat its ass. You looked so damned determined it was adorable and beautiful at the same time. But you did it. You swung it again and were able to cut into the tree. You looked so freaking proud of yourself, and I was so impressed."

"I was not about to let a tree take me down after everything," I recall, but still, he noticed way back then. I lean forward a bit as I narrow my eyes. "You were really impressed by me that early?"

"Yes, and I am more every day," he says, melting my heart all the more. "You should be proud of yourself, sweet Sam. Most could not have handled it like you did."

"I didn't have another option. I had to figure it out."

"You could've left and taken your chances out there," he points out. "Or just given up and let yourself starve."

A chill creeps up my neck -- and not from the cold.

"Have you ever thought about that? Giving up?" I ask carefully as I glance at him.

"It crossed my mind a few times," he admits. "But then I'd think about that day with the wolf. If I made it through that, there had to be some reason. So I would keep going, knowing that's what my mom would want."

"My mom motivates me, too," I say as I squeeze his arm.

"If they're both here watching out for us, do you think they're getting along?" Jax ponders. 

I smile at that as I nod. "I bet they're becoming great friends."

"Let's hope they go somewhere else at night," he jokes.

"Why did you even go there?" I cry out. "Now I'm picturing them sitting at the table looking at us."

"Don't put the image in my head too!" Jax exclaims. 

 We start cracking up, tears rolling down my cheeks as I say, "If I have to see it, so do you!"

He playfully nudges me with his shoulder, and we finally fall silent, and our laughter dies down.

"In all seriousness, Sam, my mom would love you. I know she would," he says, resting a palm against my cheek. I lean into it.

'You think so?" I murmur.

"I know so." He moves his thumb gently across my soft but chilled skin as he speaks. "She'd see how smart and sweet you are and understand instantly why I am so crazy about you."

I fear my heart might explode at those words, and I struggle to find the right response; my forest greens lock onto his smoky greys like a lifeline as I search aimlessly for the words... when what I feel is impossible to name. 

"My mom would've loved you too. I was just a little girl when she got sick, so we never talked about this kind of stuff, but I have always been able to imagine what she'd say and think," I look up at the sky momentarily as a soft smile crosses my lips. "I think she'd be so happy to know I found someone I am safe with. That also makes me feel so..."

"So?" He questions in a quiet voice.

"Happy," I whisper, although I don't think that comes close to describing this. 

"Come here, baby," he whispers, his voice was full of emotions that overwhelm me. 

I scoot closer, and he puts an arm around me, holding me close as I rest my head on his shoulder.

***

We fished well into the afternoon and caught more than enough for a fish fry, but we decided to head back before it got too cold.

The sun is still high in the sky as we walk back. I am so excited about the fish fry that I could skip again. Eating something different after days of the same old thing is everything out here.

I'm ahead of Jax by a few feet as he drags the sled behind me. As I reach the clearing of the camp, my eyes are drawn straight to the roof of the cabin, and my jaw drops.

"No.." I croak out loud a take in the scene—raccoons on the roof. At least five of them, and the box I carefully crafted is ripped open as they gorge on our hard-earned meat.  I gape at it, unsure what to do, as I watch our meat supply being demolished before me. 

"Sam, what's going on?" Jax comes up behind me but then swears when he sees it running past me towards the cabin. 

"You fuckers get out of here!"  He shoots his gun in the air, and they all go running.

"No, no, no," I mutter as I walk to the cabin. Jax is already climbing up to the roof to survey the damage, and I stand on the step watching him, feeling as helpless as I ever have.

"Fuuuck," he groans as he kicks the ripped-up box.

"How bad?" I'm scared even to ask.

"They ate almost all of it, Sam, and what they didn't eat, they mauled. We don't know if they had rabies or something worse. It's all contaminated now," he says grimly as he steps back down.

"We lost it all?" I manage to croak out without sobbing. 

His pained expression answers my question as I drop to my knees.