page14 (2/2)

He grabbed the phone, started to dial the nu was dead

“Damn it!”

Of course the h winds, for all he knew a grizzly rubbing its ass against one of the telephone poles was h to take down the phone lines It happened with regularity

Besides, what good would a call have done? The doc couldn’t make it out this far any more than he could do the trip in reverse Trees would be down, roads buried under sheets of water The creek that ran between the ranch and the highouldout of the canyon look like a puddle

There was an eency chopper in Bozeman but it couldn’t fly in this stuff

“Okay,” he muttered

Forget the ain, and he got started It was a short list, but a vital one

He turned up the thero The burner kicked in with a throaty roar Start a fire in the fireplace Fire sucked war where she was, she’d get the best of the heat coisters and from the hearth

Now he needed towels And blankets Tea Honey A kettle of boiling water

Keeping busy was good He felt purposeful, less aware of the woman as an unwanted intrusion and ood at handling problems

Handling people was different

Linda had thrown that at him, toward the end, and he hadn’t even tried to refute it

He checked the wo a bunch of oversized bath sheets, an armload of blankets A fast stop in the kitchen to put the water on to boil

Back to Sienna Cus

Already, si up and the fire going, she looked a little better More color in her face Less labored breathing She was still shivering, though Not a good sign He knew it could indicate that her te

He had to warm her, and fast

“Miss Cus Can you hear me?” He squatted beside the couch, took her wrist, checked her pulse A little thready but nothing too bad “Come on,” he said briskly “Open your eyes” He leaned closer, spoke louder “Look at me,” he ordered

And she did

Her eyes opened Her gaze ht on by