“What?” He was to myright.
Turning my head made the headache worse, so I moved it slowly. A man sat in a chair against the wall. The room, lit by firelight, was too dim to see hisface.
“Hi. I assume you saved me?” Thank God for that man. I would’ve been dead in no time outthere.
“We did.” His voice was unnaturally deep, like he was intentionally lowering it to seem intimidating. His body overflowed the chair. In the shadows, I couldn't tell if he was fat orbig.
“Thank you.” We? I didn't know what else to say to someone who’d saved my life and was being hateful about it. “How’d you know I was out there? How’d you find me?” Who else is here withyou?
“You set off all my alarms. I watched you on camera until you collapsed. I actually thought you'd make it. The house was another hundred yards or so, around the curve.” He adjusted his position in the chair, throwing his face even more inshadow.
I turned on the cot, facing the man. Pain shot through my torso, reminding me I’d hurt myself in the crash. “You knew I was coming? How’d you get me to thehouse?”
“Snowmobile.” He wascurt.
He’d seen me coming, had a snowmobile. He could’ve saved me the pain of the trek up his driveway. He could’ve kept me from a lot of pain. “How long was I out there? When did you pick meup?”
“Saw your truck go off the road. You never drove in snow before.” It was a statement, not aquestion.
“No, nothing like this. I'm from Atlanta.” How was I supposed to be prepared for a freaking moose? I sat up slowly, feeling my ribs. He’d wrapped them. “So you knew I was out there, struggling. Dying. And you waited until I collapsed to save me?” My temper flared and combated the appreciation I felt for the shadowedman.
“I didn’t know you weren’t bundled well enough, or hurt. I didn’t know if you were armed or dangerous. I saw someone coming toward my house, despite all theKeep Outsigns.”
What signs? “I didn’t see anysigns.”
“Course not.” He wasn’t an orator, forsure.
“I collapsed, giving you ample reason to think I wouldn’t be a threat to you, so you finally came and picked me up.” My temper cooled. Maybe he’d had trouble with thieves and vandals in the past. “Thankyou.”
He shifted in his chair, ignoring my thanks. “You feel up to leavingyet?”
My eyes widened then I narrowed them. “I’ll be out of your hair as soon as I can arrange a ride to my patient’shouse.”
“You adoctor?”
“Nurse.” I didn’t have to be generous with my wordseither.
“We don’t have a taxi service around here. I’ll give you a lift back to your vehicle as soon as our nurse clears you. Get you out ofhere.”
Great. I’d get to spend some time with Mr. Personality. “Thank you.” He had anurse?
“Fine.”
I jumped and nearly slid off of the cot as another voice joined us in the dark. “Are you hungry? I’d be happy to get you something toeat.”
A door creaked open to my left, and another shadowy figure came into the room, backlit from a brighthallway.
“Why are you both sitting here in the dark?” his voice was lyrical,happy.
With a click, the room was flooded withlight.
I blinked owlishly, blinded. “You scared the crap out of me. I assumed we were alone here.” I turned to mystery man number one, eyes squinty. “I’m sorry, if you gave your name, I missedit.”
“I didn’t,” he said. His features came intofocus.
The bright light did no favors to my splittingheadache.
“I’m Linda. Linda Beaumont.” I turned back to the man in the doorway and was finally able to open my eyes all the way. Instantly, I became thankful that I’d crashed in front of this particularhouse.
