When they finally had the tent erected, they had to install the wood floor, which consisted of wooden pallets with sheets of plywood nailed down on top of them. Erin helped as best she could, but recalling her penchant for outdoing men, Wyatt refrained from lifting the long, rectangular pieces of plywood by himself and pretended he needed her to assist him.

By sundown, they had the floor in and the propane stove set up, but they had none of their food or utensils unpacked, and they had no table yet. Wyatt could have kept working, but Erin’s shoulders were sagging, and he knew she was done in. They could rifle through the packs again for any flatware they needed.

“You mind roasting hot dogs again tonight?” he asked.

“No, not as long as you do all the marshmallows. All mine caught fire.”

He laughed in spite of himself, then handed her a pocketknife. “Go cut us some more roasting sticks while I build us another fire ring and get a good blaze going.”

He had decided to move the highline in closer to where he wanted the main camp, a choice he believed Slade would applaud. With wolves in the area, he’d want all the horses near them at night. Normally, they put the horses farther away because of the smell of fresh manure, which drew flies. But Wyatt figured they could clean the highline area each morning.

When Erin returned with their roasting sticks, the dusky gray of twilight had settled over the lake, and it was beautiful beyond measure. A breeze kicked up ripples on the water, and the setting sun, still peeking over the Cascades, sprinkled diamonds on the wavelets. He wanted to sit on the lakeshore and just absorb the grandeur of nature for a while, but he knew Erin was probably starving, so he resisted the urge.

“Let’s have a drink first,” she suggested. “We can sit by the water and watch to see if the fawns come back tonight.”

It went through Wyatt’s mind that she was the perfect woman for him. He hadn’t voiced his yearning to just sit for a while. It was if she’d read his mind. Only he didn’t think that was the case. She seemed to appreciate the beauty around them as much as he did.

When they reached the water, drinks in hand, they sat side by side on the shore with their legs curled partly under them, one arm braced on the earth. He expected Erin to press him for conversation, but instead she just stared across the lake as if mesmerized by everything she saw. He knew how that felt, and he was content to enjoy the moment, too.

Erin elbowed him and pointed. He followed her gaze and saw the fawns that they’d seen the day before. The babies stood together, one a little larger than the other and on slightly higher ground. Their spots gleamed like white polka dots against their reddish-blond fur.