After the craziness of the sugaring off festivities, I was excited to finally get away for three weeks of long-awaited vacation time in my buddy’s cabin up in the woods overlooking the Rat River. I’d been here before with my friend, Mike, but it had been several years. I’d forgotten what a peaceful spot this was.

I looked around the nearly one-room cabin, satisfied that I would truly be able to relax in this perfect little haven. I poked around a little bit after I’d unpacked and was pleased to find that the water and power were both working.

After I’d made the double-sized bed up with fresh sheets and an old quilt that I found in the cedar chest that stood against the wall, I looked around with a smile. Yeah, this place was already starting to feel like a home away from home where I could just be at peace for awhile.

Just because I wanted to get away from it all, didn’t mean that I wanted to completely rough it. And on that note, I remembered to check for toilet paper in the bathroom. I was relieved when I found the bathroom cabinet was filled with toilet paper and fresh towels. Yeah, this was going to be just the vacation I needed.

After I put all the groceries I’d brought with me away in the small kitchen corner of the cabin, I realized that the only meat on hand was frozen—a perfect excuse to go fishing. It took me a few minutes to locate Mike’s fishing supplies, but once I had them I was good to go.

Following the trail that threaded through the trees down to the river, I felt the stress from my daily life melting away with every step. With each deep breath I took in, I savored the heady scent of pine mixing with the fresh snow.

Yeah, I really needed to do this kind of thing more often.

I skirted around an old log as I walked into the clearing where Mike’s favorite fishing hole was, if I’d remembered correctly. The sound of rushing water wasn’t quite loud enough to drown out the sound of the birds overhead and I knew I’d found it. I took another deep whiff of the fresh air and looked around the area.

When I saw a man wearing a heavy backpack as he walked over a pretty good-sized beaver dam to cross the river, I saw red. Not just because another human had intruded on my little oasis, but because the man was completely oblivious to the fragile ecology under his feet as he held his phone up and appeared to be filming himself talking.

“Hey! Get off there! Are you crazy?” I yelled without thinking, dropping my gear and lurching forward with concern when the man jumped at the sound of my voice and began teetering sideways.

His arms windmilled as he tried and failed to catch himself before tumbling over into the shallow, frigid water on the other side of the dam with one arm sticking as though to protect his phone.

“I’m so sorry I startled you,” I said, stepping carefully from rock to rock as I went to help him.

The poor guy was trying to get up, but every time he tried, he slid on the slippery rocks. He was groaning in pain yet still holding his phone up in the air as though to protect it above his own life.

When the rocks weren’t getting me there fast enough, I waded right into the shallows, wincing as the cold-ass water seeped into the tops of my hiking boots as I held out a hand to help the man up

“It’s no use, I think I’ve hurt my ankle,” the guy said after he gripped my hand and tried but failed to stand. The heavy backpack hanging from his shoulder probably wasn’t helping his balance either.

“Oh, hell,” I grumbled as I quickly lifted the man out of the water before he froze to death. My breath hitched when I made eye contact with him for the first time. Shit, of all the men that had to interrupt my vacation, did it have to be an omega with the most beautiful pair of mossy-green eyes I’d ever seen?

I stood there in the icy water for a long moment—completely lost in those eyes—until I realized with a start that the omega was shivering violently and I really needed to get him warmed up.

As I made my way back to shore, the guy’s teeth chattered hard as he talked into his screen and held it up as though taking a selfie of the two of us while the backpack dangling from his shoulder bumped against my hip with every step. I glanced down and saw both of our faces staring back at me and a green light that showed that he was filming. What the fuck?

“So as you can all see, I’ve been rescued by the same hot alpha mountie that I mentioned in my last post. Apparently, our neighbors to the north are every bit as courteous and friendly as we’ve been led to believe. This is Scott Foxx—The Outdoor Omega—signing off. I’ll see you all on my next adventure. Until then, why don’t you get outside and find some adventures of your own? Tell me about them in the comments; I just love to hear your stories too! Toodles!”

Once he was done, the omega—Scott—shoved the phone into his pocket while clinging to my neck with his other arm as I stepped back onto shore. He shifted his backpack around so that he was hugging it against his chest while I carried him. I didn’t bother trying to set him down, instead I headed back toward the path that would lead us to the cabin.

“Listen, I’m all for adventures and I know that you are a member of the RCMP, but since we’re all alone in the middle of nowhere I suppose I should probably ask one important question—where exactly are you taking me?”

His voice rolled over me like the hot syrup I’d seen poured over the snow this weekend. Ah, this weekend! I remembered now. I’d seen him in town, hadn’t I? Yeah, he was the cutie I’d bumped into at the water fountain but Mike had interrupted and killed my chances of chatting him up. I hazarded a glance in his direction after ducking to go under a low hanging branch.

“Saw me at the festival, did you? That’s how you know that I’m with the RCMP? I started my vacation today, and I’m staying at my buddy’s cabin just up the hill here. I figured I’d take you up there and let you get warm while I look at your ankle. I feel like shit for startling you and making you get hurt in the first place. I can’t tell you how sorry I am for that, by the way.”

I’m not sure how long I talked, but I walked a little faster when I realized that I was rambling after I’d apologized for probably the thirty-seventh time. As soon as I fell silent, I heard Scott gasp as we walked into the clearing and he saw the cabin.

“Sorry about the accommodations, I’m sure it’s probably a little on the rough side for you—“

Scott slapped my shoulder playfully as he interrupted me. “Will you please quit apologizing? No, it doesn’t look rough to me at all—it looks like a dream. I was planning to sleep on the riverbank tonight in my sub-zero sleeping bag. This is way more than a step-up from that.”

“Are you kidding me? You were actually going to camp on that riverbank tonight? You do know how cold it gets up here, right? We don’t call our lovely area Winterpeg for nothing,” I said as I carried him up the steps to the cabin and opened the door.

“Winterpeg? That’s funny,” he said as I lowered him into a chair. When I knelt to pull off his boots, I found myself apologizing again when Scott cried out in pain. He gritted his teeth and looked up at me with watery eyes.

“Since you’re seeing me at my worst, I’m going to need just one thing,” he ground out.

“What’s that?” I asked, hoping I had whatever it was he needed.

“Tell me your name? I can’t keep thinking of you as the hot alpha mountie.”

I huffed out an amused breath. “I’m Justin. Justin Gagnon.”

“Oh, hell. Are all Canadians named Justin required to be hot as sin?” He squirmed in his seat, taking a deep breath as I peeled the wet, woolen sock from his rapidly swelling foot.

“Eh, I don’t know about how hot I am. Actually, I’m a bit cold after wading into that icy water.”

Scott’s grin warmed my heart and made the cabin suddenly feel a lot homier.