The cabin was their favorite place to retreat for some alone time. It was his grandfather’s fishing cabin for years and now that he couldn’t come out here anymore, he’d given it to Jake. He’d been the only one who ever liked the wilderness as much as his grandfather.

Brenda had grown up in a small town in the mountains and loved it as much as he did. The fact that there was no cell coverage just made it that much better. They could really unplug.

His grandfather hadn’t been opposed to some creature comforts though and made sure there was a furnace for the cold winters. And last night had been really cold.

Jake realized as soon as he got out of their warm bed to start the coffee that the heat was out. She was still sleeping so he closed the bedroom door and tried the light switch. Nothing. It wasn’t that uncommon to lose power with ice so his grandfather had thought ahead. There was a wood-burning stove in the main room for just such times.

He tried the stove. The gas was still working so he set the kettle on to make instant coffee. Not quite the same, but he’d need it to go grab some wood from the shed. He was now regretting the decision to put it off the last time they left. He usually made sure it was stocked before they left so it would be ready for the next trip but they’d been in a hurry.

He went back to the bedroom. She groaned, “It’s cold.” He nodded.

“Electricity is out. I’m heading out to grab some wood and then it’ll warm up out there.”

She giggled when he said wood. “My nose is cold.” Burrowing into the covers more she looked like a mummy. He grabbed her scarf on the chair and handed it to her.

“This will help for a bit. It shouldn’t take long.”

He brought in enough wood to keep them for a couple of days and started the fire. The room was small and would heat up quickly. He went to get her and all he could see was her eyes peeking out of the scarf. “Is there a fire?”

“Yup. Come warm up,” he said as he helped her up. She grabbed the blankets from the bed and went into the living room with them trailing behind. They snuggled together on the couch until they both were toasty warm.

She cautiously opened the blanket to check the temperature. Warm enough. She pulled off her scarf and smiled at him. “Don’t think you are getting out of your promise,” she said. “No excuses. I believe the bet entitled me to 10 O’s. Get to it, mister.”

He moved to the end of the couch so she could fully recline. “Yes, ma’am. Right away.” He peeled her sweats down and grinned. “What a terrible price to pay…”