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"Couldn’t scare any brains into you, though," he interrupted

"Well, that’s et , it’s hard to move me in any direction But when I went to my car to eat the packed lunch I had, while the sun was setting and the snow started to fall, I thought I’d never in my life seen a more beautiful place There was a rainbow in the snow! And I wasn’t afraid, because it was just pristine and glorious You can have all the extras in the world in the city, but this is so you just can’t buy"

He was quiet for a minute Then he said, "You knohat Bobby said about you? He said you were a real pistol"

She watched his eyes "That’s al about it," she said

"Then pretend I didn’t say anything You should be in bed"

"When was the last time you slept?" she asked hiain," he said "Besides, this isthan I’ht," she said She stood from her chair and looked down at the book "Thomas Jefferson?" she asked "Did you ever read John Adams?"

He nodded

"Me too I loved that book What I loved was Abigail--she was a Old John left her with a farm, children, very little money in a country in revolution and she did it all She was ail Adams"

"Because she did it all?" he asked

"Because she was glad to do it all and never co I know--as a woman, a feminist, I’m not supposed to ad it for herself As if that was the contribution she couldof America And they wrote each other letters--not just ro each other for advice They were first good friends, two people who respected each other’s brains, and then obviously lovers, since they had a slew of kids True partners, long before true partners were fashionable And she--"

"I like biographies," he said, cutting her off as though he’d heard enough about Abigail "Don’t ask me why, I couldn’t tell you"

She went to her couch and pulled off her boots "Maybe you like figuring out why peoples’ lives turn out the way they do It’s always a mystery, isn’t it?"

He pus and spoons Then he covered the pot of soup, not responding

"Hey--you don’t have a refrigerator…"

"I have a shed," he said "It’ll keep sos or milk--they’ll freeze But if the soup freezes, we’ll thaw it and cook it again"

"A shed for a refrigerator," she said, lying back on the sofa "Is the truck loaded for one when you wake up, you think you’ll be okay to walk out back on your own? Because there’s always the blue pot…"

"If I’e of the blue pot--but really, I’ very much better Just a little tired"

"Besides bread, peanut butter, honey and juice in here, there’s also lots of stuff in cans you can open Beans and soup," he said "I’ll probably be back and forth so" Then he headed out the door with his big pot of chicken soup

"Thank you, Ian For taking such good care of me I know I’, but he did stop in the doorway for aout

She settled back on the couch It wasn’t much, this little cabin It was less than not much--it was stark and only the s were supplied But considering she’d finally found him, it was extremely comfortable for her If it was her cabin, she’d have soup bowls and plates, better furniture, an indoor biffy She remembered Mel’s words, "I have to ask hi about that Oh, he seemed to have very little money, but who kne much of this mountain had been left to hi? It could be it was a little patch of worthless land Or maybe it was vast and he had no idea the value He didn’t seeet by like this--and that he’d be willing to let her stay when she was so dependent And there was also the fact she represented the very thing he was deter from

When he came back, he fed the fire, rolled out his pallet, turned off the light and laid down After several minutes of quiet darkness, she heard his voice "Sorry if I scared you I don’t roar that often"

A slow sled in under the old quilt,when she woke, Ian and the truck were gone She pulled on her jeans and boots and headed for the loo Halfway there, she heard a cry and looked up to see the soaring beauty of an Aot lots of sleep Not only was she fighting off that flu, but there was absolutely nothing to do Ian would come home in early afternoon and be busy with his chores, his work He’d always bring a little food with hi, like kidney beans and a ham shank or canned tomatoes thickened with paste for a kind of red sauce to pour over noodles