" He put a nightgown on and kissed her good night, saying, "Despiteeverything I still love you. Good night." She didn't know what to say to him. He ...as surprising her all thetime. She expected him to rebel more and she just couldn't placehow he was acting. She never thought he would react like that. The next morning he made oatmeal for both of them and she didn'tfind anything wrong with it. He felt pretty good about that. Shedidn't say anything about his make up either, or anything. The nervous posture of his team prompted James to call for them to stop."What do you smell, Apogee? I know that look, boy. You too, Addie — something's out there putting you on edge, girl. What is it?"The entire team stared off into the distance, their ears pricked to the wind. His lead dog, Apogee, and Addie glanced back at him when he called their names. He had a good team, with good feet, but Apogee and Addie were the best dogs he'd ever seen. They stood out from the rest of the five black. There was no conscious feeling of death, just the need to sleep. Her breathing slowed. Arms, warm and strong, wrapped around her body and lifted her easily from the frozen ground. Lost in her world of white, Brenna slept on, never feeling the jarring of her body as the arms carried her over the rough path as quickly as the long legs would allow. Brenna’s body ached in places she didn’t know existed. Everything tingled and twitched uncomfortably. She tried to find that peaceful white dream. ”“But if I’m supposed to ... you know ... have sex? How can I do that to you? How can I do that in front of all these people?”“Darling, don’t you love her?” Wayne stopped his response short. Did he love Rebecca Allen, the professor who nearly flunked him? Perhaps not. But the woman who saved his life? The woman he sat beside when she was injured? The woman who shared her tools with him? Yes. He loved her. He nodded.“Do what is necessary,” Judith whispered. “And you’d better be damned sure she.