It had taken her a long time to fall asleep. She had tossed and turned, her stomach churning and her emotions threatening to get the better of her. She tried to be angry with Howie, but it kept coming back to Brent...and herself. She was sorry for the things she had said and knew an apology was due. She would take care of that in the morning, first thing.

Another crack of thunder ripped through the night, followed by a sheet of lightning. Natalie backed away from the window. She huddled in the middle of the bed with her knees drawn up and watched the forces of nature. The thunder rolled and cracked, sounding like ripping canvas; the lightning flashed. It was like the universe was tearing open. It was powerful and awesome. And it was scary.

She watched and listened for what seemed like forever and then suddenly, it stopped. An eerie silence replaced the percussion of the thunder. The sky became black. Natalie waited for the rain to begin again, but it didn't. She pulled the covers up over her and tried to go back to sleep. The inky silence was almost as scary as the storm, but eventually she fell asleep.

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

The sun was streaming through the window when she woke up. She looked at the clock. 8:45. My God! She hadn't slept this late in years. She sat up in bed, blinking. She felt groggy. She stretched and got out of bed. She stood and looked out the window for a long moment, enjoying the view, thankful that there wasn't a raindrop in sight. She could get outside...get some space...

Howie. Last night came back to her. She had been so rude. She was ashamed of herself. She wondered how the pioneers had made it through long winters of being cabin-bound. She and Howie hadn't managed to make it through two days without sniping at each other. It was a good thing there were no weapons in the cabin. They had done enough damage to each other with a highlighter and a guitar.

Well, girl, you've got apologizing to do. You'd better get out there. She washed her face and brushed her teeth. She bypassed the jeans and t-shirts she'd been wearing the past couple of days and selected a cotton skirt in a madras pattern. A plain green t-shirt finished the ensemble, picking up one of the colors in the skirt pattern. She slipped on a pair of canvas espadrilles.

She opened the bedroom door cautiously. Howie was standing at the kitchen counter, a mug of tea in his hand. He looked over at her, but he didn't say a word. She couldn't read his expression.

"Howie, I'm sorr..." she began. He shook his head slowly.

"No more sorry's," he said.

"Well, you used up your quota, but I still have a few to say," she tried again.

"Come here," he said, setting down his mug and heading for the front door. She followed him out onto the porch. The air was warm and the sun was shining. She could hear birds singing.

"Wonderful," she said. She stepped down off the porch onto the dirt roadway. She twirled around, her arms outstretched, little eddies of dust whirling up from her dancing feet. "Wonderful," she shouted. She stopped spinning and looked at Howie, who was grinning at her from the porch.

"Do you want to get to work now?" he asked.

"No, I want to get the hell away from this cabin for awhile. Let's go to town!" She paused. "Or maybe you'd rather that I just went to town and gave you some peace and quiet for awhile."

"No," he said, "I've had enough of this cabin for a bit. And we're out of cinnamon buns."

"I'll get my purse," said Natalie. She brushed the dust off her shoes and went back into the cabin. She looked around. Howie was right. She was a slob. She picked up the printer box and took it into her bedroom. She'd put it in the closet later. She grabbed her purse and went back outside. Howie was already in the car.

They drove down the hill to the paved road. As they were turning out, Natalie looked back over her shoulder, a quizzical expression on her face. Dust. Why was there dust? It had just rained for two days. Why wasn't there mud? Surely, it couldn't have dried that fast. Oh well, she was not about to quibble with good weather, that was for damned sure!

Howie was very quiet on the drive into town. Natalie wasn't sure what to do. Was he still angry with her? He had a right to be. Should she try to apologize again? She opened her mouth to take back her angry words of the night before, but before she could, he reached out and turned on the radio. "...real estate and I'm gonna get me some land..."

"That's her. That's the song. Who is that?" she asked.

Howie looked at her. "Shania Twain," he said.

"I've had that line running through my head for a couple of days and I couldn't get the rest of it." Natalie sang along with the song. "So, don't try to run - honey, love can be fun...There's no need to be alone - when you find that someone..."

Howie joined in with the chorus. "I'm gonna getcha while I gotcha in sight. I'm gonna getcha if it takes all night." Natalie added some hand choreography and they finished the song in laughter.

"Good song," said Howie. "I like her stuff."

They drove the last few miles in silence, listening to the radio. "It must be Woman's Day or something," said Howie finally. "That's all they've played...female singers."

"Maybe it's some kind of theme show," said Natalie. "The DJ is a woman too."

Howie pulled the car into the space in front of the Big Tiga. "Here we are!"

They got out of the car. Natalie looked around. Something hovered at the edge of her consciousness. Something was different. She couldn't figure out what it was, though. She gave a mental shrug and followed Howie into the grocery store. They were the only customers again. They picked up a few items and put them in the cart. They were giddy with the freedom of being out of the cabin. They laughed and joked. Howie turned the corner sharply with the cart and almost ran down someone crouched in an aisle restocking shelves. "Excuse me," he said.

"It's okay," said a girl in a green apron. She gave them a strange look. She stood up and followed them up the aisle.

"Okay," said Natalie. "That's everything. This time I pay."

At the checkout, Jackie just stood and stared. First at Howie, then at Natalie, then back at Howie.

"Um" began Natalie. "Could I pay for these groceries, please?"

"Where'd you get him?" asked Jackie.

Natalie didn't have a clue how to answer this question. "He came with the cabin," was her feeble response. She looked at Howie but he didn't seem to notice anything wrong. Over her shoulder, Natalie caught a glimpse of the stock girl. She was standing at the end of an aisle, staring at them, open-mouthed.

Jackie ran the groceries through and Natalie paid for them. Howie picked up the bags and they walked out together. "Now for the cinnamon buns," he said. They put the groceries in the car and headed into Crazy Jane's. There was no one in the place. The smell of cinnamon was powerful and inviting, however. Howie stepped up to the counter and rang the small bell that was sitting there.

"Hold your horses, I'll be right th..." A woman in a white shirt and pants came through the swinging doors from the kitchen. She froze in the act of wiping her hands on her apron.

"Do you have any cinnamon buns?" asked Natalie. The woman disappeared through the swinging doors. She returned with a tray of warm buns. The smell was intoxicating.

The woman held the tray out to Howie. "Try one," she said.

"I've had them before. They're wonderful," said Howie. But she pushed the tray at him until he picked one up and bit into it. She watched his response carefully.

"Mmmm...it's good," he answered. "Could we buy some?"

"Take as many as you like," she said.

"We'll take six," said Howie, pulling out his wallet.

The woman seemed reluctant to take his money, but he insisted. Natalie looked around. "Where are the men?" she asked.

"Gone," said the woman. Natalie looked at her watch. She guessed that made sense. They would have done their early chores, come into town for coffee and headed back to their farms. They left the café and put the box of buns in the car. Natalie noticed that Jackie and the girl in the green apron were standing in the doorway of the grocery watching them. Natalie felt like she had a piece of spinach in her teeth...or maybe her skirt was rucked up in the back and her underwear was showing. She smoothed the skirt down with her hands and ran her tongue over her teeth.

She looked over at the park. No one was playing checkers today. Natalie found that strange. After all the rain in the past two days, you would think people would want to get out...maybe do some chores. Some of these places were starting to look a little shabby.

"Natalie?" Howie was staring at her. She hadn't moved in several seconds.

Slowly, she looked around. "The hardware store," she said, suddenly. "I have to go to the hardware store."

"What for?" asked Howie.

She paused. "Hardware," she said finally. She noticed that the woman, presumably Jane, had come out of the café and had joined Jackie in the doorway of the grocery. "Come on," she said to Howie.

They walked over to McLeod Street. There were very few people on the street, Natalie noticed and no men. She started to shiver.

"Are you cold?" asked Howie.

"No, no, I'm good," she answered, hugging her arms around herself. She stepped into the hardware store and looked around. If there were any men around anywhere, they would be in the hardware store. But she didn't see one.

"Can I help you?" A woman appeared through a door in the back. She looked at Natalie and then past her. She gasped and put a hand over her mouth. Natalie looked at Howie but he was checking out a display of caulking guns and didn't seem to have noticed the woman's reaction.

"I'm looking for...for..." Natalie glanced around desperately. "gardening gloves!" She spied a rack of them.

"Well, now, we have these different brands. This here set has a soft lining, very comfortable." The woman began to extol the virtues of the gloves to Natalie, but she never took her eyes off Howie.

"Great! I'll take those," said Natalie.

"Well, these others here now, they have a suede palm...non-slip...that's a good feature."

"Okay, I'll take those instead," said Natalie. She just wanted to get out of the store. The woman seemed reluctant to let them go. She held up the third set. Natalie grabbed the ones with the suede palms. "I'll take these." She looked around for Howie. He was over in the tool section, hefting the hammers. And through the window, she could see three women watching him.

She took her change from the woman. "Where are the men?" she asked softly.

"Gone," said the woman. There was sadness in her voice. "All gone." Then she looked over at Howie. "'Cept him."

"Let's go, Howie," said Natalie, grabbing him by the hand and dragging him out of the store. She tried not to break into a run. There were women standing in the doorway of every store. "Come on," she said, pulling on his hand. "Hurry!"

"What's the rush?" asked Howie, smiling and nodding at the women as he went past them.

"Just get in the car and drive," said Natalie, firmly.

As they drove out of town, Natalie tried to push down the panic that threatened to swamp her. Be logical, she told herself. Think rationally. It's not possible. She turned on the radio, flipping from station to station. Every DJ was a woman. Every song was by a female. Where were the men?

Ty! She would phone Ty! He was real. She knew him. Okay, that would work. She leaned forward in her seat, willing Howie to drive faster. He had barely stopped the car before she leapt out and ran to the house. She fumbled with the key, cursing her fingers that were shaking so much, she couldn't open the door. Finally, the lock turned over. She raced to the fridge to get Ty's number.

"Noooooooooo," she wailed. The Montana magnet was on the fridge, but there was no longer a paper under it. Where was it? She dropped to her knees and scrabbled her hands over the floor looking for it.

"What are you doing?" asked Howie.

"I'm looking for Ty's number," she said. And then her blood ran cold at his next words.

"Who's Ty?"

Natalie got slowly to her feet and looked at Howie. "Ty Harper," she said. Howie shrugged. Never heard of him. Natalie opened the drawer in the counter and pulled out the phone book. She flipped to the 'H' page and ran her finger down the list. No Harper, T. No Harper Farms.

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. What had she done?

She heard the sound of a car. More than one. She walked slowly out onto the porch. Howie followed her and leaned against the door frame with his arms folded. Four cars pulled up in front of the cabin. The doors opened and out stepped women...angry looking women...women with clubs in their hands.

"What do you want?" Natalie asked Jackie, who was in the front, a baseball bat in her hands.

"Him," she replied, nodding in Howie's direction. Howie nodded back. "We want him."

"You can't have him," Natalie said, trying to keep her voice calm, but not succeeding.

"It's not fair," piped up Jane. "All our men are gone. Why should you get to have one?" She took a step toward the porch, slapping her rolling pin in her palm.

Natalie took a step back toward Howie. How could she protect him?

"She doesn't want me," said Howie matter-of-factly. He moved from his position in the doorway. He walked past Natalie and down the steps.

"Howie?" Natalie couldn't believe he was going to go with them. There were so many of them and only one of him.

He turned to look at her. "You said it yourself, Natalie. You said you wouldn't want me if I was the last man on Earth."

The women turned from him to her. Their eyes were cold. "You did this?" Jane demanded.

Natalie took a step backward. "I didn't mean it. It was just a saying. I didn't mean for anything to happen."

The women moved toward her. She looked at Howie, her eyes begging him for help. He just shrugged.