Huh?" she said. "What's this?" "I think you have a fever. Might be from damn near freezing to death, might be from something else. First we try aspirin." "Yeah," she said, taking them in her small hand. "Thanks." While Marcie took the aspirin with water, he fixed up the tea. They traded, water cup for mug of tea. He stayed across the room at his table while she sipped the tea. When she was almost done, he said, "Okay, here's the deal. I have to work this morning. I'll be gone till noon or so-depends how long it takes. When I get back, you're going to be here. After we're sure you're not sick, then you'll go. But not till I tell you it's time to go. I want you to sleep. Rest. Use the pot, don't go outside. I don't want to stretch this out. And I don't want to have to go looking for you to make sure you're all right. You understand?" She smiled, though weakly. "Aw, Ian, you care." He snarled at her, baring his teeth like an animal. She laughed a little, which turned into a cough. "You get a lot of mileage out of that? The roars and growls, like you're about to tear a person to pieces with your teeth?" He looked away. "Must keep people back pretty good. Your old neighbor said you were crazy. You howl at the moon and everything?" "How about you don't press your luck," he said as meanly as he could. "You need more tea?" "If it's all the same to you, I think I'll nap. I don't want to be any trouble, but I'm awful tired." He went to her and took the cup out of her hand. "If you didn't want to be any trouble, why didn't you just leave me the hell alone?" "Gee, I just had this wild urge to find an old friend…" She lay back on the couch, pulling that soft quilt around her. "What kind of work do you do?" "I sell firewood out of the back of my truck." He went to his metal box, which was nailed to the floor from the inside so it couldn't be stolen if someone happened by his cabin, which was unlikely. He unlocked it and took out a roll of bills he kept in there and put it in his pocket, then relocked it. "First snowfall of winter-should be a good day. Maybe I'll get back early, but no matter what, I want you here until I say you go. You get that?" "Listen, if I'm here, it's because it's where I want to be, and you better get that. I'm the one who came looking for you, so don't get the idea you're going to bully me around and scare me. If I wasn't so damn tired, I might leave-just to piss you off. But I get the idea you like being pissed off." He stood and got into his jacket, pulled gloves out of the pockets. "I guess we understand each other as well as we can." "Wait-it's
( Robyn Carr )
[ A Virgin River Christmas ]
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