A Fatal Thaw by Dana Stabenow

Author:Dana Stabenow
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Mysteries & Thrillers
Publisher: Gere Donovan Press
Published: 2011-03-31T04:00:00+00:00

Seven

Her eyes opened the next morning promptly at six. She stared up at the steeply pitched roof of a cedar A-frame that after some thought she recognized as Bobby’s. Her head ached, but at a distance, as if the pain was happening to someone else. Her arms and legs felt heavy, and when she brought up one hand to push the covers down it was like she was pushing her way through very deep water.

The sheets on the bed felt soft on her bare skin. Someone had undressed her. Shifting against the pillow, she felt something bulky on the right side of her head. Reaching up, she discovered a bandage taped to her temple. It throbbed when she touched it, and she dropped her hand. She became aware of a solid warmth lying next to her. Cautiously, she investigated. It was a body, not her own. She turned her head and met Bobby’s eyes, and managed to summon up what felt like a very weak smile. “Some guys’ll do anything to get laid.”

He waggled his bushy black eyebrows. “If the woman is you, it’s worth the effort.”

“I bet you say that to all the girls.” Her head gave a vicious throb, and she winced, her face paling.

His smile faded. He raised one hand and smoothed her hair back from her face. “How you feeling, woman? Head hurt?”

She closed her eyes and thought. “Not much more than if a guy was whanging away at the inside of my skull with a sledgehammer.”

“Oh well, then you’re definitely recovering.”

“What happened?”

“You don’t remember?”

She started to shake her head and thought better of it. “I don’t even remember how I got here.”

Bobby rose up on one elbow. “I don’t know how you got here, either. About six last night I heard this thump out on the porch, which was you falling on your face, and I heard Mutt bark. When I opened the door, I thought you were dead. I think Mutt thought so, too; she didn’t want to let me touch you. You were a mess, woman, blood all over your face and in your hair and down the front of your jacket and shirt. Looked like you’d been the whole month at Hue, and you smelled that way, too.”

“What happened then?”

“I managed to get the goddam wolf quieted down and hauled you inside. I stripped you and washed you off—you tie that bandanna around your head?”

Kate’s brow puckered. After a moment she gave a slow, careful nod. “On the boat. When I woke up. I think.”

“You must have done it after it stopped bleeding. It didn’t stick when I took it off, and it was a lot less bloody than the rest of you.”

Kate frowned. “I remember now. Mutt was licking me when I woke up.”

“Oh. Good for her. Anyway, I got you cleaned up and into bed. I kept waking you up every hour or so, talking to you, feeding you sweet tea. At first all you could get down was a sip or two, you were cold and clammy, I was an inch away from calling for a medivac.

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