"No," said Ty and explained the situation out at the McAllister place.

"And they just moved in together?" said Mandy, dumbfounded.

"Yeah," said Ty. "It's kind of weird, isn't it? But I guess it was the easiest way...they're both there to work" he finished lamely.

Mandy hadn't seen any evidence of attraction between the two. "I guess," she said, doubt in her voice. "There's two bedrooms..." Mandy was determined to keep an eye on Natalie. She wondered if someone who had moved in with a stranger on a moment's notice would have any qualms at all about going after the local talent. She draped her hand over Ty's arm possessively. "Well, speaking of work..."

In the store, Natalie began to relax. The stock boy was there in his green apron. Jackie checked out the groceries and she wasn't brandishing a baseball bat. She nodded to Natalie and then to Howie, but didn't seem to have any particular interest in either of them.

"That was some storm last night," she said conversationally.

Natalie's head snapped up. "Yes," she stammered.

"Sun's out today, though," replied Jackie.

"Yes," said Howie, picking up the bags. "It's a lovely day."

The weather was the main topic of conversation in Crazy Jane's too. Crazy weather for this time of year...How about that thunder and lightning?...Sounded like the world was ending. There were four men there. That made six, thought Natalie. Ty and the stock boy and these four. It was okay. It was just a nightmare.

Jane came out with the cinnamon buns. She grinned at them. "Figured you two would be back for more." They didn't stay for tea this time, but paid for half a dozen buns.

"I have to go to the hardware store," said Natalie.

"What for?" asked Howie.

"Gardening gloves," she replied.

Howie looked at her oddly. Gardening gloves? He shrugged. "I have an errand to run as well. Why don't we meet back at the car in...ten minutes?"

Natalie nodded. "Yes, that will be fine." She wondered what his errand was, but didn't want to be nosey.

At the hardware store, there were three men...two who worked there and one who was buying a new wheelbarrow. Natalie surveyed the rack of gardening gloves and picked out the ones with the soft lining. She was strangely proud of herself for not getting the ones with the suede palms. She paid for them and made her way back to the car. Howie was leaning on the bumper.

"This is a nice town," he said, waving his hand at the scenery. In the park, two old men were playing checkers on a bench.

"Could you live here?" asked Natalie, thinking that all this bucolic charm would wear her down quickly.

"Not for five minutes!" said Howie. The two city slickers grinned at each other and got into the car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, what do you think...shall we tear up Big Timber on Saturday night?" Howie asked as they were nearing the turn-off to the cabin.

"Oh, you go ahead. I'm sure they'd be happy to have an extra man there without a woman," Natalie answered.

Howie pondered that statement. Why didn't she want to go? It would be a chance for her to take a run at Ty. Was she afraid of Mandy? He didn't think so, but who could say? Yesterday, she hadn't seemed afraid of anything, but today she seemed nervous and everything made her startle. Or maybe she just doesn't want to go with you, said a little voice in the back of his head.

"We could take separate cars," he said out loud, thinking that he sounded pathetic for some reason.

"Why ever would we want to do that?" she asked, genuine confusion on her face. "Oh," she said, realization dawning, "in case you...with someone..."

"No, no, not me," he insisted. "You! In case you..." He stopped the car in front of the cabin.

"Me?" she retorted. "Are you kidding? Have you forgotten the man/woman ratio in this county? I wouldn't get near one of the men." She stepped up onto the porch and unlocked the door.

Howie slammed the trunk shut. He laughed, "Yeah, if you got too close to one of them, the women might come after you with sticks."

Natalie threw the door open and raced into the house. She dropped her purse on the sofa as she ran to her bedroom. Howie came through the front door and stopped. He could hear the sound of her retching. He put the groceries away with one ear tuned to her, ready to go in if she called him.

She appeared in the doorway of the bedroom a few minutes later. She was pale and shaking. Her hands were twisted together, her fingers twining and untwining. Howie was concerned.

"You okay?"

"It was...I had a...the storm..." She looked over her shoulder into the bedroom. "...a nightmare...I was...I made all the..."

Howie moved to her. She was trembling so much, he thought she might faint or fall. He put his arm around her and led her gently to the sofa, trying to make sense of the bursts of words.

"women...last man...cinnamon..."

"Stop," he said gently, sitting her down on the sofa. He perched on the edge of the armchair and took her hands in his. "Breathe."

Natalie stopped talking and took two deep breaths. That was calming, so she took another one.

"You had a nightmare last night," he said, "during the storm."

She nodded. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes. "The women were trying to kill me...with sticks," she whispered. "Because I made all the men disappear." She became silent, tipping her head up and staring at a spot far, far away. Howie held her hands and waited. After a moment, she lowered her head and started again. "Because of what I said...about you...to you...if you were the last man on Earth..."

Howie's lips twitched, but he held back the smile. And he didn't let go of her hands.

"Sometimes when I dream, I don't remember. But I can remember every detail of this." She looked up at him. "It's why I had to go to town. I had to be sure..." Her voice trailed off.

"Tell me," he said.

So she did. He sat there, mesmerized. Damn, she was a good storyteller!

"...and you wouldn't help me," she finished. "You just shrugged...like I was getting what I deserved. And I was."

Howie didn't like that part. He would have liked to be more chivalrous...more heroic. Natalie turned and looked at the bedroom doorway. A puzzled expression crossed her face. "And for some reason, I got up and put on the light. I don't know why I did that. It wasn't in the dream."

"I did that," said Howie.

"What? When?"

"You were screaming and thrashing around. I kind of...calmed you down...and then when you were sleeping okay, I left. But I didn't turn off the light in case...I don't know, in case I had to come back."

Natalie nodded. That explained the end of the dream, in which she had run away from the women and was trying to fight her way through the trees to escape. But she couldn't seem to move her arms and legs and so she burrowed down under some leaves and hid.

"I was holding you down," he said, listening to her description. "I was afraid you would hurt yourself."

Natalie squeezed his hands and let them go. She ran her fingers down the side of his face and stood up. "You're a sweet man, Howie Dorough," she said, "and I'm going to make you lunch and then let you get to work."

Natalie went to the kitchen and made sandwiches. Howie got out his guitar and papers. He looked them over and started picking out tunes. He was into it in seconds and didn't even notice when Natalie glided up and placed a plate and a glass of lemonade on the corner of the coffee table. He wasn't aware of her as she softly closed the front door a few minutes later. And he barely registered her presence when she came back in an hour later and tiptoed to her bedroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Natalie woke up and looked at the clock. Four o'clock. That was a long nap! She guessed she needed it after the restless night she'd had. She cocked an ear toward the living room. She could hear soft guitar music...and he was singing. She got carefully off the bed and crept to the door. She opened it a crack and looked out. She didn't want to disturb him. He stopped playing immediately. He had turned the chair so that he was facing her door.

"There you are," he said, with a smile. "I was starting to worry."

Natalie stretched her arms up over her head and swiveled her neck in a gesture that made Howie glad he had a guitar covering his lap. "I guess I was tired after last night's escapade." She moved over to the kitchen counter. "What do you say we barbecue something for dinner?"

Howie agreed. That was a great idea. Use the outdoors while they could. Who knew what the weather fairy would bring them next? He made a move to come and help her but she told him to keep going with his work.

Natalie moved around the kitchen, taking things out of the fridge and cupboards. She tried to keep as quiet as she could. A soft smile crossed her lips as he started working with the song he had struggled with the day before...the one that had almost cost him his life, she thought to herself. It was such a pretty song here in the sunshine and warm air, but had been screeching and discordant in the damp, grey mist of yesterday.

"Go down on that," she said, then stopped and pressed her lips together. She hadn't meant to say that out loud. Howie lifted his hand from the guitar strings and looked at her. They stared at each other for a moment. Aw hell, she thought, I've done it again. Why can't I keep my big mouth shut?!

"What do you mean?" asked Howie.

"Well, that line in the song" she stammered. "You always go up at the end of it." She waved her hand upward and then brought it self-consciously down to her side. The guy knows what 'up' is, you fool. "It's just...I don't know...I don't know anything about music...but every time you get to that part..." She sighed. He hadn't moved, just kept staring at her. "I always expect it to go down. It surprises me every time when your voice goes up." Her hand moved to make the upward gesture again, but she grabbed it with her other hand just in time. "Sorry," she whispered.

Howie strummed the guitar. He played the line again, going up at the end of it. Well, that shows me, doesn't it? thought Natalie. But he wasn't done. He played it again, dropping the note at the end. And then again, and then again, each time with a slight variation. And then finally, perfection. They both knew it when he found it. He looked up at her and grinned, singing the line to her.

Her stomach flipped over. "You're beautiful," she whispered, without thinking. Howie looked up at her. Pardon? "The song...it's beautiful," she said, and started ripping lettuce into pieces. She put her head down to hide her blush.

Howie made some notations and then stacked the papers neatly into his briefcase. He was done for the day. He laced his fingers together and stretched out the kinks. This had been a good day. He had got a lot done. He looked over at Natalie. He smiled to himself, remembering their fight of the day before. The last man on Earth. In the dream, he had gone with the women, she said. Howie watched her move around the kitchen. No, he didn't think so. He thought that given the choice, he would stay right here with her.