She was huddled at the top of the bed, her arms up over her head. Must be a nightmare from the storm, he thought. He approached the bed cautiously. "Natalie? Natalie?" He kept his voice soothing and calm. "Natalie? It's okay. It's okay."

He knelt on the bed and reached out a hand. He touched her arm. She flinched back from him.

"Natalie!" He said it louder, more firmly. "Stop screaming!" Amazingly, she did. She chose instead to wail. She flung her arms out to the side, hitting him in the chest. She started yelling, but he couldn't make out any of the words. It was gibberish.

He crawled up to her and put his arms around her. He held her tight, so that she couldn't flail with her arms. She began to kick instead. Howie flung one leg over hers and pressed down, holding her in place. He could see that she was completely out of it. He held her tight and murmured, "It's okay, it's okay..." over and over.

She stopped struggling, but he continued to hold her. Her body twitched for a long time. Her yelling turned to murmurs and then soft moans. Eventually, she was silent and still. He held her for a while longer and then he eased himself away from her. He covered her with the blankets. He stood in the doorway for awhile and watched her. He debated turning off the light but in the end decided to leave it on. It wasn't bothering her, and if she woke up again...

What do you mean, if she wakes up again, he asked himself turning away from her room. She wasn't awake. She might not even remember it. He looked at the clock on the microwave. 4:30. He headed back to bed and went to sleep. He didn't have any nightmares, but rather a pleasant dream about holding someone soft and sweet-smelling.

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

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. Why was the light on? 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. Imagine saying that to someone...if you were the last man on Earth. Suddenly, the nightmare washed over her. She ran into her bathroom and threw up. She sat on the tile floor for a long time, afraid to move...afraid to open the bedroom door and see what was on the other side.

Finally, she forced herself up. She looked in the mirror. God, she looked awful! She washed her face and brushed her teeth. She went to the closet to get clothes. She reached for the madras skirt, but then pulled her hand back. No, she didn't want that. This...this would be better. She pulled a denim jumper off the hanger. The hanger fell to the floor. Natalie reached for a pink blouse, then stopped. She turned back and picked up the hanger, replacing it on the rod. She finished dressing and 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.

Her stomach turned over. She looked around the room. The printer box was by the front door. "The box is still there. I didn't move it," she said. There was relief in her voice.

Howie wasn't sure where she was going with this. Was she trying to pick up the fight where they had left it? Had she expected him to move the damn box? He watched her cross the room. She picked up the box. "I'll just get this out of the way," she said with a big grin, disappearing into her bedroom. Okay, thought Howie, whatever. He picked up the teapot and poured her a mugful.

She came back a moment later and accepted the mug of tea from him with a smile. She reached to open the fridge for milk. A tiny whimper escaped her. Howie looked up. She was caressing a piece of paper under a magnet.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Ty's phone number," she said. "I thought I lost it." Her eyes went far away.

"Do you need to call him for something?" asked Howie. He didn't like the way that made him feel.

"You know who he is?" asked Natalie.

Howie stared at her. "I met him the other day, remember?"

"Yes, yes, I remember," she said triumphantly. Okay, thought Howie, this is pretty weird. But at least the sun is shining.

He set down his mug. "Come here," he said, 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.

"Watch out for your shoes," he warned. "It's muddy."

"It's muddy," she said, and turned her face to the sky. "It's muddy," she whispered. She thought she might cry. "I have to go to town," she said suddenly.

"But it's your time to work," he replied.

"Would you like to work now?" she offered. "You can take my time if you want."

"I'd rather go to town," he said. He looked back at the cabin. "I've kind of had enough of the place for awhile. And besides, we're out of cinnamon buns."

Natalie turned pale and started to sway. Howie thought she might fall over. But she snapped herself out of it. "I'll get my purse," she said.

They drove in silence for a few minutes. Natalie was afraid to turn on the radio. "Howie, about last night..."

At first, Howie thought she was referring to the nightmare. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Natalie felt awful. Here she had been so rude to him and he was asking if she was okay. "I didn't mean it...what I said..."

"Well, we both said some things, didn't we? I shouldn't have said you were a slob." Howie had not, in fact, called her a slob. But he had certainly thought it.

"I am a slob. I'll try to do better. It's just that when I get on a roll, I kind of close out the world. Of course, when I live by myself, I have that right, but not when I'm living with you."

...living with you... The words echoed around the car for a bit and then faded away.

Natalie got more and more nervous as they approached the town. She knew that everything would be alright. It was just a nightmare. It didn't really happen. There would be men.

Howie could feel her tensing up beside him. He didn't understand why, but wondered if she was still upset about the fight. He almost opened his mouth to apologize again, but turned on the radio instead.

"...gonna getcha if it takes all night..."

Natalie jumped and put her hands over her mouth. She thought she might scream. Howie was worried enough that he wondered if he should pull the car over to the side of the road.

"Shania Twain," Natalie managed to squeak out.

"Yes," said Howie. "We did a show with her once. She was very nice."

Natalie waited for the end of the song, holding her breath. Would the next one be by a woman? What about the DJ? Howie pulled into a parking space and turned off the car before she had a chance to find out. One man. That's all she needed to see or hear. Just one other man. Howie came around to her side of the car and opened the door. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She got out of the car. "I just need...I..." She looked up the street. Striding toward them was a pair of jeans and a blue denim shirt. "It's Ty," she said, and her body sagged against the car in relief.

Oh, thought Howie. So that's how it is.

"Natalie. Howie. How are you doing? Did you weather the storm okay?" asked Ty.

Natalie couldn't speak. Talk about lovestruck, thought Howie. He filled in the gap. "No leaks or damage or anything," he said. "We got a little sick of each other, though."

Ty nodded. Yep, he could understand that. He was an outdoor man himself, and he felt trapped when he couldn't go out. "Worst fog we've had in years. Thank goodness people had enough sense to stay off the roads."

"Ty!" A female voice came from behind them.

"'Lo, Mandy," muttered Ty, nodding over their shoulder.

Howie turned to see a young woman coming up to them. Wow! Was she built! She wasn't tall, but she was curvy. A red gingham blouse strained at the buttons and showed off her bust to perfection. A tiny waist led to a pair of tight blue jeans. She had long, blonde hair. It was curly, but Howie couldn't decide if it was natural or a product of a hair stylist.

The girl walked up to them. She patted Ty on the arm, possessively. "There you are. I've been looking for you. I called the ranch. Your mama said you were in town. We're supposed to be doing the decorations, remember?" She tucked her arm through his and pressed her ample bosom against his arm.

Ty looked embarrassed. Howie couldn't decide if this was because he had forgotten about the decorations, because he was overwhelmed by the soft body pressing up against his or because he really didn't want Mandy and Natalie breathing the same air.

"Mandy Higgins..." stammered Ty. "Um...this is Natalie Reardon and Howie...um..."

"Dorough," finished Howie, extending a hand.

"They're staying out to the McAllister place for a bit," finished Ty.

"Jessie's joint? Nate finally got someone?" She turned appraising eyes on Howie and then deadly ones on Natalie.

"Two someones, actually," said Howie. He got a firm handshake from Mandy.

The sister's name is Jessie, thought Natalie. I like it. It's strong. She realized that the other three were looking at her, waiting for her response. She smiled and nodded, but didn't say anything. She didn't extend her hand and neither did Mandy.

"Mm," Mandy nodded back, with an indecipherable response.

Whoa! thought Howie. This was going to be interesting. Mandy was a female of the species who could spot a rival at fifty paces. He looked over at Natalie and smiled to himself. Natalie had self-consciously crossed her arms over her somewhat smaller chest when Mandy had pressed up against Ty. Mandy had staked out her territory with just two fingers, running them down Ty's arm before tucking her arm in his. Get lost, City Woman, this one's mine.

Interesting, thought Howie. I don't exist for her. But Natalie sure lit up her radar.

Ty shifted his weight to his right leg. He took off his hat and wiped his forehead with his sleeve, effectively removing himself from Mandy's clutches. "I was on my way to the hall now," he said, "although why you women always think you need me to help, I don't know." It was pretty obvious to Howie.

"Because you're tall and strong," purred Mandy. "You can reach all the high places."

"It's the town hall," said Ty, by way of explanation to Howie and Natalie. "There's a dance on Saturday night. It's a Buck and Doe." He grinned at the confusion on their faces. "That's a party for a bride and groom. Well, a bride and groom-to-be."

Howie nodded at the explanation. Natalie still stood against the car, saying nothing. Howie wasn't really sure how much of this she was taking in.

"Steph Morris and Pete Trose," added Mandy.

"Pete Rose?" exclaimed Natalie, finding her voice at last.

Ty threw back his head and laughed. Howie didn't see what was so funny and neither did Mandy, who narrowed her eyes at Natalie.

"No...Trose," explained Ty. "T-r-o-s-e." He laughed again.

Natalie laughed along with him. "I was beginning to wonder about this town," she said.

Howie and Mandy exchanged glances. What the hell were they talking about?

"It's a baseball thing," Natalie said to Howie, waving her hand through the air. It's nothing, the gesture said.

She's nothing, was how Mandy chose to interpret it. She had been promising herself for two years that she was going to learn something about baseball, so she could impress Ty and she had finally learned all the names of the major leagues teams. But this...

"Well, we all know who Pete Trose is," she laughed.

"Rose," said Ty. "R-o-s-e..."

"I knew that," began Mandy, but Ty talked over her, ignoring both her and Howie and speaking directly to Natalie.

"Hall of Fame?"

"For sure," was her prompt reply. They held each other's gaze for a moment. Howie and Mandy interpreted it as a look of passion - and it was, but not for each other.

"Come to the dance," said Ty, after a moment. He turned to Howie. "Everyone's welcome and it's always nice to have an extra fella along to dance with the ladies."

"Sure," said Howie. "But...um...I didn't bring any...you know...dressy clothes...how fancy is it?"

"Well, it's a cut above 'wear your best overalls'," said Ty, "but it ain't fancy." He eyed Howie's khakis and buttoned shirt. "Pretty much what you're wearing now would do," he said.

"And you too," put in Mandy, indicating Natalie's jumper. It was an obvious lie but only Ty interpreted it as a mistake.

"Well, the gals get a little more dressed up, but just because they want to," he said.

Just because they want to beat each other to one of the men, thought Natalie and Howie.

Howie made noises about how they would try and make it. Ty gave the time and directions to the hall. Mandy glared at Natalie and Natalie said nothing. Howie wondered what was the matter with her. Was she so smitten by the blond sheep rancher that she had lost the power of speech? For someone who used such big words, it was odd to see her without any at all.