Noah anticipated her question—he seemed to have a knack for it. “I think he’s okay. At least he’s breathing.”
The blanket was solidly tucked around the dog’s body, and her insides warmed as she imagined Noah tending to the poor mutt.
“Hungry?” Noah blew on his hands and rubbed them together.
“Not really.”
“Some nuts, half a protein bar?” He tore open one of his Lärabars and dangled it, as if the motion might make the pressed cardboard look appetizing.
“No, thanks.”
“Wrong answer, grumpy.” Wiggling his thick eyebrows, he singsonged, “I have trail mix with M&Ms.”
Fighting a smile, she snatched the bar from his fingers and pointed it at him. “All right, pushy. But I expect blue M&Ms when I’m done with this.”
A smirk tipped his lips. “Why blue?”
“They taste better.”
“Whatever you say.” With an amused headshake, he cranked on the engine.
They listened to more of the podcast, sharing beef sticks and trail mix. Without a word, he picked out each blue candy and placed it on the center console for her. She gobbled up every single one.
When he turned off the engine, she peeked out her window into a world shadowed in shades of deep blue. The snow had gathered in tall drifts, reminding her of a monster wave curling above her. It cast an eerie glow inside the cab. A chill invaded her bones, and her teeth clattered. God, it was cold!
“Are we going to be okay?” she whispered.
“The temperature may drop a little more, but yeah, we’ll be okay.” His voice was like velvet, caressing her nerves that twitched like live wires. Then he released a billowing breath.
She swiveled her head toward him. “What?”
“You’re not going to like this, but I was thinking we could climb under a blanket together in the backseat. That’s about the best way I can think of to generate more heat.”
The idea didn’t sound as awful as it should have. Good looks aside, the guy could probably produce a ton of BTUs on his own, and right now she didn’t care if hewasTed Bundy.
She craned her neck to put eyes on Rover. “What about the dog?”
“I’ve been thinking about that. There’s not enough room for all three of us on the backseat, so I planned to move him up front. I’ll swap his cover for the space blanket you’ve been using so your heat passes to him. Between that and the map, he should stay warm enough. Then you and I can cover ourselves with the rest of the blankets.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Is this the part where you tell me we’re supposed to get naked for maximum heat? ’Cause I’ve got to draw a line there.”
He seemed to short-circuit, his green eyes blinking wide. “Wow, you say whatever’s on your mind, don’t you? And no! Why would I do that?”
Oops. Guess he didn’t get the memo it was another lame attempt at a joke.A modicum of disappointment curled inside her. It wasn’t that shetrulywantedto get naked with him, but did he have to sound so appalled? With any luck, the dim light hid the flush of crimson spreading across her cheeks.
“I thought I read somewhere that heat production between people worked better with skin-to-skin contact,” she faltered. “Under extreme conditions, of course.”
He seemed to swallow a chuckle. “You’d have to ask Reece about that. But no, I’m not angling to get naked. Now would be a good time to go to the bathroom, though, and you’ll want to hustle outside and get it over with.”
Thankful to tumble out of the truck and cool off her overheated face, she crouched awkwardly in the snow, freezing her tuchus.
When she re-entered the cab’s back, blankets had been arranged over the seat and Noah’s coat was bunched into a makeshift pillow. The dog was now in the front passenger seat under a double layer of covers.
Noah proffered a silver flask. “Whiskey.”
She took a grateful nip, shuddered as its bite worked its way to her belly, and handed it back.
He lifted the piled blankets. “Climb in.”
