Chapter 2

BethAnn stood in shock, unable to understand how something so beautiful as this albino stag she was staring at could ever kill anything, let alone a man. Colin saw that confusion in her eyes through the gray light of early morning and was about to explain. But he remembered why they'd come in the first place, and if the two didn't get to the prone figure laying in the middle of the meadow, their trip would be for nothing.

Now having a confirmed direction in their search, Colin crept over the distance between them and Brianna, careful not to spook the albino stag. In her eagerness to get to her friend, BethAnn began to push forward, crowding her guide in the process.

"Easy!" Colin hissed, as the stag began to get antsy. "If she's dead, we're in no hurry."

"Are you talking to me, or to him?" BethAnn whispered back.

"Both," was all he answered.

The stag remained where he was, his body mere inches from the unconscious woman, yet Colin could see the evidence of tensed muscles in the animal. He kept a slow but steady pace as they got closer to the pair. Only when they were almost within five yards from him did the stag suddenly jump up and run to the cover of the woodland. Colin froze until the buck was far enough from Brianna to no longer pose a threat. If the animal was spooked, he could inadvertently trample the woman, and Colin knew that.

As soon as the way was clear, he rushed to Brianna with BethAnn right behind him. As soon as he got to her, Colin checked for breath and a pulse, and found both. She was soaking wet from the snow, and the cold had rendered her unconscious, but the stag's body heat had been enough to keep her from freezing.

"Wrap her in that parka," he commanded BethAnn.

"Is she... ?" the blond asked, not having the courage to finish her question.

"She's alive, but if we don't get her back to the cabin pretty quick, she might not stay that way. Hurry up and get her wrapped, then I'll carry her back. Oh, by the way? I think you're getting that silent stepping thing figured out. If you hadn't, Whitey would have been gone by the time we got to the meadow, and she'd have frozen, for sure."

Now with Brianna's unconscious body wrapped in the spare green parka, Colin hoisted her effortlessly onto his shoulder, then passed his rifle to BethAnn. She accepted it with reluctance at having to handle a firearm, and her reticence, borne of big-city attitudes, sent a chuckle to Colin's lips. But he kept any comments that crossed his mind to himself.

They made their way back to the cabin slowly, hampered by the accumulated snow, now almost two feet deep. He broke trail, with her following in his track as best she could. Once they'd made it to the thick stand of trees, he stopped to give her a chance to catch her breath.

"Warm enough?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you. This coat weighs a ton, but it sure is warm."

"And your feet?" he went on.

"Roasty toastie. There's a secret to these boots, isn't there? And the coat, too?"

"Yeah, there is. Cold air goes in the bottom of the parka, gets warmed by your body, and vents out the hood. By the time it gets to your thighs, that air is about 50 degrees, and by the time it gets to the hood, it's somewhere around 75 or 80. As for the mukluks, they work on a similar principle. If your feet get cold, it's usually from having them too tight."

"Where did you learn all these tricks?" she kept the explanation going.

"Most of them I was taught by my Dad. He spent some time in the High Arctic and learned from the Inuit up there. When we moved out here, he taught them to me."

"What happened to him? Your Dad, I mean?" her curiosity drove her on.

"He was killed," was Colin's curt answer, followed by a silent demand to end the conversation.

Now rested, the two continued their return journey, with Colin stopping at the woodshed so that BethAnn could load up with more firewood. While she couldn't carry a lot, they'd need all she could manage, along with another load for each of them before the day was out.

Once back in the cabin, Colin dropped Brianna on the cot, then instructed BethAnn to strip all the unconscious woman's wet clothing off, while he got another blaze going in the fireplace. There were just enough embers to light the fresh wood that he put on the fire. With the fireplace restoked, he started a fire in the wood stove, intent on raising the temperature in the small cabin as high as possible. Then he returned to the bed, and checked Brianna for frostbite.

"Her underwear," he pointed out. "They're soaked. Get them off."

"What?!" BethAnn exclaimed in shock.

"You heard me," he told her. "Get them off. I don't need a wet bed, and the moisture will sap heat out of her body."

"But ... but then she'll be naked!" the confused blond went on.

"Umm, yeah. But it won't matter, because you and I are going to be naked, too. So get her underclothes off, go hang them beside the fireplace, then get undressed. If you've got anything that needs drying, hang it up, too."

"And if I refuse?" she challenged.

"Look, your friend got herself one hell of a chill and her body temperature's dropped low enough that she's in real danger of succumbing to hypothermia. I'm going to lay in front of her, and you're going to curl up against her back. With a little luck, our bodies will warm her enough to get that temperature back up. Anything wet against her skin makes the job that much harder. Now, are you going to let some prudish bullshit get in the way, or are you going to help me try to save this stupid cow's life?"

BethAnn didn't understand his methods, but did as she was told. As soon as she'd removed Brianna's remaining clothing, Colin pulled back the quilt, laid the unconscious girl in the middle of the bed, covered her up, then began to undress. By the time BethAnn was back from the fireplace, he was as naked as her friend, and she stopped long enough to appreciate his physique.

"Did you get a good look?" he chuckled, repeating her question of the previous day. She blushed in response, turning to hide her embarrassment and began to disrobe.

"Do I really have to take off my bra and panties?" she tried to stall.

"No, you don't have to, but you'll transfer more heat if you do," he educated her.

Still loathe to present her naked body to a stranger, BethAnn complied with his suggestion for the sake of her friend. Once she was completely undressed, she quickly scurried under the cover. It took both of them to arrange bodies so that Brianna was, essentially, the filling of a sandwich.

Colin lay facing the unconscious woman, holding her cool body to his chest, while BethAnn pressed against her friend's back. At first, the lowered body temperature of the young woman's skin was uncomfortable, but the longer they laid against her, the more worried BethAnn became. She began to shiver in autonomous reaction to the cold, and Colin could hear teeth chattering.

"I know it's uncomfortable," he told her, "but if we don't get her warm, her body will start to shut down. You going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. It's a little strange to be laying against someone else when I'm naked like this, though. In fact, it's embarrassing."

"With a pretty face like yours, and that body you've got, what's to be embarrassed about?" Colin softly commented.

"You did peek, didn't you?" she accused him.

"Well, like you said yesterday, I'm not dead," he confessed, a light snicker in his tone.

The two held themselves tightly to Brianna, and Colin could feel a slow rise of skin temperature over the next hour. In the process, he'd reached over to keep the unconscious body close to his, and had found BethAnn's arms also pulling against that same body. To him, her skin was as soft as the velvet underfur of a new-born fawn, and as smooth as properly tanned deer hide. He began to unconsciously rub the length of her arm, straying down the curves that led to her waist and hip before returning to her shoulder once more.

"That feels nice," BethAnn cooed. "Does it help warm Brianna, though?"

"No, but your skin is so soft and smooth," Colin commented.

"Mmm," she hummed. "Don't stop? It feels good, and you have a light and gentle touch. I'm enjoying this."

BethAnn felt herself drifting off to sleep under his fingers and let slumber take her to a land of warm dreams. Only when Brianna stirred, a few hours later, did either of them move. Colin was the first to wake, but BethAnn was only a few minutes behind her.

"What ... what happened?" Brianna moaned in her disorientation. "Where am I?"

"You're safe now," Colin assured her. "You got lost outside and caught a chill. Your friend and I have been trying to get you warm again. How're you feeling?"

It was a few more moments before the girl came around enough to answer, and the realization that she was naked took a little longer to register. When it did, however, she became as hostile as ever.

"Who took my clothes off? You? You pervert!" she growled at Colin.

"If it matters, your friend got you undressed. Your clothes were soaking wet, and it works better to have bare skin when you're trying to warm somebody up again," he let her know.

"Get away from me, you ... you perverted sex fiend!" she snapped at him.

The commotion had now fully woken BethAnn, who felt embarrassed by Brianna's attitude. Propping herself up on an elbow, she started to lecture her companion.

"Brianna, I don't believe you! The man saved your life, carried you in here from a meadow out back where you fell down, and has spent the last couple of hours trying to save your sorry ass! So instead of reaming him out, you might want to think about saying thank you!"

"I'd have been alright," Brianna made an excuse.

"Lady," Colin tried to keep his voice calm, "there's an albino stag out there that's the only reason you're alive! He protected you with the heat from his body. As far as the rest of it goes, you might want to thank BethAnn for letting me know that you'd left the cabin in the first place. If we'd been another ten minutes, you'd be dead right now. Next time you have to go to the outhouse, would you please use the flashlight? I don't get too thrilled about rescuing stupid women first thing in the morning."

Still feeling outraged for the treatment he'd received, Colin threw back the cover, then went to the stove and threw in a couple more pieces of wood. As soon as they caught, he did the same at the fireplace, stoking the embers to create another roaring blaze.

BethAnn lay beside her friend, but she found her eyes following the naked form of their benefactor as he made his way around the one-room cabin. He was a handsome specimen, she decided, and once a person got used to his mannerisms, he was someone that she felt safe around. After several minutes of introspective thought, she flipped back the quilt and got up, but pulled the cover back over her companion again.

Once up, BethAnn wondered if she should get dressed or if she should remain naked. If this man that had saved both their lives enjoyed the sight of her that much, it was the least she could do to let him look. Besides, he'd granted her the same privilege, and she had to admit that she liked what she saw.

Walking over to where Colin stood by the fireplace, BethAnn stood beside him and gave him her heart-felt thanks. He looked up from the fire he was tending, and unabashedly took in the features of the beautiful woman beside him, finding that he couldn't help but smile. There was an air of growing closeness that began to manifest itself between the two, and not just because they were both naked and fully exposed to each other.

"Would you mind if I made some coffee?" she sought his permission. "I think I remember where everything is, and I'd really like to do something for you after all you've done for us."

"That'd be nice," he agreed. "I think I need one. If you do that, I'll see if I can get this place warm enough to get your friend out of danger. Her temperature's still too low. How are you feeling? Still warm enough?"

"You've got it nice in here," she grinned back to him. "Is there enough firewood to last for a few hours?"

"Yeah, we've brought in plenty, and if we grab another load each, it should last most of the day. Maybe after coffee, we should get dressed, though. It's a little cold to be running around outside like this," he acknowledged their state of undress.

BethAnn puttered around in the kitchen, still naked, trying to remember everything that Colin had done to make coffee. As she moved about the small room, she could feel Colin's eyes following her and found that she enjoyed his attention. On those occasions when she had the chance, she took a good look at him, too, and found him even more attractive than she'd thought earlier.

Once the coffee finished perking, he showed her the trick of pouring a little cold water into the pot, then setting it on the edge of the stove while the stray grounds settled to the bottom. Careful not to disturb those dregs, he poured two cups, then took them to the table. BethAnn had retrieved the cream from the cooler cabinet, but dispensed with sugar. Neither one of them used sweetener, she'd observed. They sat across from one another, and for BethAnn, it was like sharing time with a trusted friend.

"You said that white stag killed your father?" she opened the topic that was foremost in her mind. "What happened?"

"Dad was out hunting one day," he began to answer her, "and came across Whitey cornered by some wolves. From the little he said, I think he figured that damned stag was a goner, but he shot three of the wolves. But one of them turned on him and chewed him up pretty bad before he got a shot off. Anyway, Whitey managed to scare the rest of the pack off, but I think his skull was crushed a bit on one side. If you look, his left antler sticks out further from his head than the right. Maybe he suffered brain damage. I don't know. But to pay Dad back for saving his useless life, Whitey drove that antler into Dad's stomach and did more damage than a man can survive.

"I guess I was about ten minutes away when I heard Dad scream. When I got to him, he told me what had happened, then made me promise to let that albino live out his life on the homestead. Gawd, I hated that animal for what he did! Still do, if the truth be known. If I hadn't promised Dad, that son-of-a-bitch would be dead and hanging off the wall."

"When we were out in that field, you said that you were going to do that anyway," BethAnn reminded him. "Are you going to break your promise to your father?"

"No, I'll wait until it's his time, then retrieve the head. He and I have managed to get along since Dad died, six years ago, so that makes him eight or nine now. Another year or two isn't going to make a whole hell of a lot of difference."

"So how long have you lived out here?" she tried to delve into his background.

"Since I was about ten," he started his story. "My mother left us about then, and Dad kind of gave up. He homesteaded 500 acres, then acquired 500 more through a government surplus auction.

"We logged a bunch of trees that were growing too close together anyway. That's what we used to build the cabin, and Dad hauled all the river rock up for the fireplace. I think building this place was all that kept him sane.

"Once we'd finished the cabin, Dad sold our house in town, and we moved out here. At first, I thought I wouldn't have to worry about going to school, but he got all the books and lessons from town, and that's how I got my education. I'd go in with him every four or five months and take exams at the local school office. It's funny, because I always thought their tests were so easy, but I found out, after they gave me my graduation diploma, that it was because Dad made me work a lot harder than the kids in town had to. At first, I was a little pissed, but looking back, it taught me the value of hard work and thoroughness.

"I thought about moving back into town after I got my diploma and finding some kind of work, then heading off on my own. But for some reason, I just couldn't do it. Dad was my best friend, I guess, and the thought of not being around him didn't sit well with me. So I stayed, helped with the chores, and learned how to fend for myself with the stuff he taught me. Some people wonder how a guy can live out here, all by himself. But the animals and the critters are my friends, too. We get along well enough, and the land's always changing."

"So you don't get lonely for other people?" she tried to extend the question and answer period.

"Not usually. The McMullen's are a couple miles back down the road, and I drop in to see them once or twice a week, or they come over to make sure I haven't turned into some kind of wild maniac. And every once in a while, one of the guys that I know in town needs an extra hand, so I'll go in for four or five days and work for him. But that's about as long as I can stay away from this place. After that, I miss Rocky, Pepé, and Frontenac. If I left those three little brats to their own devices, they'd have this place chewed up and spat out in a couple of weeks."

"Who are Rocky, Pepé, and Frontenac?" BethAnn wanted to find out.

"They're the caretakers around here. Maybe before you leave, you'll have a chance to meet them."

Colin decided that he could use another cup of coffee, but was reluctant to leave BethAnn's company. In reality, she was the first female that he'd talked to, other than his neighbour's wife, for a very long time, and he found it exciting to be able to sit, talk, and share some time together, especially as she made him feel comfortable around her. Retrieving the pot, he refilled his cup, then offered her some as well.

Like Colin, BethAnn found their time together to be relaxing, warm, and something that filled her with emotions that she hadn't exercised for a long time. Sure, she'd had her share of boyfriends, but they'd mostly been interested in one thing, and one thing only. After they'd got what they wanted, they struck her as being shallow and selfish. As a result, there hadn't been anyone special in her life since she'd finished high school.

"So what brought you out here?" Colin redirected the conversation. "You don't strike me as the kind of person that would go out of their way to explore the wilderness, and you sure weren't prepared for this kind of weather."

"When I started university," BethAnn started to explain, "Brianna and I were roommates, and we've been friends ever since. Last year, she got into one of those Animal Rights groups, and I kind of tagged along. She really believes in a lot of what they preach, although I'm not so sure I do. Anyway, they had a big rally a couple of weeks ago, and several of them decided that they'd raise hell in the more popular hunting areas. She was assigned to this one and wanted me to come along. So I did."

"You mean you were stupid enough to put your life in the hands of someone that had no idea what you two were taking on?" he asked incredulously. "Do you realize that you girls came this close to getting yourselves killed?"

"We would have been fine, if she hadn't driven off the road," she defended her companion.

"That road ends about four miles further on, and there's nowhere to turn around in a small car like that. You were damned lucky that she picked here to screw up, because there's no one up there to rescue you. And that performance of hers in the meadow was pure stupidity! If Whitey hadn't laid down beside her, she would have frozen by the time we got to her. Hell, another ten or fifteen minutes and she would have frozen anyway," he told her, with no holds barred. "Can't quite figure that one out," he added, "because Whitey's a real loner – like me, I guess."

BethAnn took time to digest his declaration, beginning to see that he was not only right, but that the two women had put themselves in more jeopardy than she'd let herself understand until now. There was nothing she could add, and she remained silent, somewhat embarrassed, and grateful that Fate had given them another chance.

"I've got to go out and get some more meat. You two are going to need to eat, and I don't care if she's a vegetarian or not. It's venison or nothing. You can either stay here, or come with me," he invited her. "Your choice."

She looked into his eyes expecting to see his anger over the intrusion they represented, and was pleasantly surprised to find a look of welcome and acceptance. His honesty and simple ways sent a thrill through her, and she decided that while hunting wasn't something that she knew a lot about, being with this frontiersman held more appeal for her than sitting in a log cabin.

"How long do you think you'll be gone?" she asked, trying to make him re-think his invitation.

"Couple of hours, maybe. Think your friend will be okay for that long?"

"I'm quite capable of looking after myself!" Brianna spat out from the safety of the cot where she lay.

"Whatever you say, Lady," Colin muttered quietly.

"Brie? Would you mind if I went with him? I'd like to see what this place looks like," BethAnn sought her friend's permission, but received no definitive answer. The silence made that decision for her.

Colin dressed quickly, then watched as BethAnn put on her mukluks, properly this time, helped her adjust the parka he'd lent her, and found a pair of moose-hide gauntlets to protect her hands. Heading out the door after she was properly bundled, he suggested that they take a couple of armloads of wood in before they left, adding that he hoped Brianna didn't burn the cabin down while they were gone.

BethAnn headed for the outside wood pile they'd visited before, but Colin redirected her towards the shed door, then opened it and stepped aside to let her go in first. Once her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she saw an extensive pile of split cordwood along one wall. As she walked towards the stacked wood, a small animal scurried out of the pile and over to the corner behind her. It was all she could do to stifle a scream, but she managed. Colin broke into an unchecked gale of laughter.

"That's Frontenac," he introduced her to the small creature, once his laughter was under control. "This is his shed, actually. He keeps the field mice away from any venison that I have hanging."

"Gawd, I thought it was a rat or something!" she fought to get her heart out of her throat.

"Don't say that in front of him," he chuckled. "You'll hurt his feelings, and then I'll be screwed for vermin control.'

"What is it? He, I mean?" she calmed down and let her curiosity take over.

"Frontenac? He's our resident pest-controlling ferret. Sometimes I wish he'd find himself a girlfriend, so that there'd be a family of them to keep this place rodent free. But like a lot of animals around here, me included, he's a loner."

Colin walked over to the remains of a hanging piece of meat, and using a skinning knife from the sheath on his belt, cut a small piece of the frozen meat off, then threw it in the general direction of the ferret. The animal ran to the offering, completely unafraid of the humans, sunk his teeth into the free meal and scurried off with it.

"How long have you had him?" BethAnn asked as she loaded her arms with as much wood as she could carry.

"I think it's the other way around," Colin's tone was light and amiable. "This'll be the second winter he's babysat me, although I'm not sure if he was born around here, or migrated when he found out how much food there is under this shed. He was full-grown when I first saw him. He has a nest underneath the building somewhere, but I haven't seen any more of his kind around. Between him and Pepé, they keep the mice population down, and they're good company."

"Umm, should I ask? Who, or what, is Pepé?" her curiosity grew as the fascination with the symbiotic existence became more evident.

"Pepé? He's our resident stinker. It wasn't until he had kits that I realized 'he' was a 'she'. Unfortunately, I think the hawks got most of her litter, but I'm hoping that she'll breed at the end of Winter and have more in the Spring."

"You still didn't answer my question," she softly reminded him. "Who is Pepé?"

"She's a skunk. Cute little thing, too. She's got a hollow somewhere over behind the outhouse, but she likes her privacy, so I don't get too snoopy. In the Summer, the flies attract frogs, who then try to get into the house. Pepé keeps the frogs down, and if there's extra eggs around, I feed her those in the Winter. Don McMullen down the road has chickens, and he or Betty are always dropping off several dozen every week or two. There's more than one person can eat, so I share with Pepé, and sometimes Frontenac, if he behaves."

By now, Colin had a large armload of firewood and he led the way back to the cabin, then wiping his feet on a mat outside the door, opened it for BethAnn and followed her to the wood-box beside the fireplace. She was about to drop her load of logs there, too, when he suggested she take them over to the stove instead.

Once they'd organized the cabin, Colin checked Brianna's skin temperature, feeling relieved that she'd warmed up enough to be out of danger. Despite the excess heat in the room, she was still shivering, and he mentioned to her that keeping the fire tended would be a good idea. He expected to be growled at again, but when she acted a lot more civil than she had previously, it was a pleasant surprise.

Going over to the wall cabinet, Colin retrieved his rifle, loaded ten cartridges into a homemade ammunition belt, pushed four more into the rifle's magazine, and set the safety. Once it was loaded, he ushered BethAnn out the door, around the building and past the shed, then took the lead as they made their way through the thick stand of trees that eventually opened onto the meadow where they'd found Brianna earlier that morning. The imprint she'd left was almost completely obscured as a result of falling snow. By now, it had accumulated to a depth of over two-and-a-half feet.

BethAnn remembered the "silent stepping" lesson she'd received and practised her new-found skill to the best of her abilities. While there were a few twigs that crackled under her weight, by the time they'd left the dense stands she was walking almost as silently as her guide, and Colin found himself grinning at the results of her efforts.

They skirted around the edge of the meadow, then entered another dense piece of forest. While only about 50 yards long, it took several minutes to cover the barely discernable trail to another, much larger meadow beyond. Colin quietly counted the number of times his student broke a branch or twig, and only counted six or seven incidents. He had been concentrating on her efforts so much that he, too stepped on three branches. While he chastised himself for being that sloppy, BethAnn felt relieved that she wasn't the only noisy one in the forest that morning.

Leaving the stand of spruce and pine, Colin quickly scanned the meadow beyond, spotting a small herd of deer just in the trees, about 150 yards away, and another, larger herd on the far south side. Still hugging the tree-line, he slowly circled the meadow, with BethAnn following as close as she dared while they made their way towards the larger herd.

When they were a little less than a 100 yards from the larger herd, Colin signalled BethAnn to stop and stand still, then took several steps forward before sinking to one knee. She watched, feeling fearful of what would come next, yet fascinated with his selection process as he raised the rifle, looked through the scope, then lowered it again. Shifting his weight, Colin would once more raise the rifle, look through the scope, then lower it.

This process went on eight or nine times before he finally picked out an animal as his target. Taking his time, he aimed, checked over top of the scope, then went back to looking through it. The crack of a bullet firing was almost anti-climactic, but as BethAnn watched, one of the deer suddenly dropped to the ground, while the rest of the herd took off in flight. When he signalled for her to follow, it took her a moment to break out of the intensity of observation, but she was right behind him in a few short steps.

"How come you picked that one, and none of the others?" she asked in a subdued tone.

"Because she's the only doe in that herd that isn't carrying. She's about nine years old, I think. Her fawn last Spring was stillborn, and this Fall she's still barren. The herd only moves as fast as the slowest member, as they protect the old and the weak. She's probably been holding all of them back. It was either me or the wolves that would get her, but this would have been her last Winter, one way or the other. Now the herd will move a little faster, and the wolves will have to work harder to get to any of the fawns. It makes for a stronger herd. Why?" he wondered.

"Because I couldn't figure out why you were aiming but not shooting any of the others. Are you always that fussy?"

"Usually. There's no sense taking down the healthy ones, because they're the future of the herd. That herd's been around since I moved back from town, so that's about 10 years," he explained.