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We took the stairs quickly, just in time for another load of firewood Boone and Shane were barely visible in the gathering twilight, their bodies heaving as they du

Even with the four of us, it took another twenty minutes to carry it all to the fireplace There was just that ht, and probably the next day and night too

The next day and night…

I couldn’t wrap er Yet here ere, stockpiling e should already be rescued Preparing for the long haul, e should all be back at thehot soup…

Boone and Shane sto caked with layers of snow Thick, heavy snow too The waterlogged type that aleighed a ton

“You look like the trench scene on Hoth!” cried Jere his friend out of his boots

“The what?”

“Neveret all this stuff off and go stand in front of the fire You both need to get warm!”

They stripped, and everything was soaking wet Head to toe, hat to socks, each layer they peeled off was cold and drenched

Eventually I was staring at Boone, who peeled off his shirt and stood wearing nothing but his boxers His broad, muscular back was all red with cold as he stepped away froh the archway

“Wait,” I said, ?”

He kept walking and I kept watching, every perfectly sculptedsmoothly beneath his skin

“Fire’s gonna take too long to war”

Forty-One

MORGAN