“He brushed the hair back from her brow. “Were you scared, baby?”“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I knew you were coming.”“You did?”She touched her chest. “Your heart beats in here. If it had stopped, I would have known. It did beat a little fast sometimes.”

“He reached out and lightly touched her hair. There’s no way, he thought. I’m sunk. And my heart hasn’t beat the same since she walked into town.”

“The door jerked open and he glowered at her. "What do you want?""Hey! Why are you mad at me? I just want to talk to you.""I don't want to talk," he said, pushing the door closed. With inexplicable courage, she put her booted food in it's path. "Then maybe you can listen.""No!" he bellowed."You're not going to scare me!" she shouted at him.Then he roared like a wild animal. He bared his teeth, his eyes lit like there were gold flames in them, and the sound that came out of him was otherworldly. She jumped back, her eyes as wide as hubcaps. "Okay," she said, putting up her hands, palms toward him. "Maybe you do scare me. A little."-Ian and Marcie”

“Don't worry, Ian. I totally protected your anonymity. I told her you were my brother.""Great," he pouted."Now she's going to ask me about you. And I told you--I'm friendly and pleasant and then I move on.""You can do that. She'll find you perfectly understandable.""Oh? And why's that?""Well, she wondered about you. Said you ask for some heavy reading sometimes, but that you didn't make much conversation.""Oh, really?""Yes," Marcie explained. "I said you were brilliant, but not a very social animal. I said she shouldn't expect a lot of chitchat from you, but you were perfectly nice and there was no reason to be shy around you--you're safer than you look.""Is that so? And how did you convince her of that?""Easy. I said you were an idiot savant--brilliant in literature and many other things, but socially you weren't on your game.""Oh, Jesus Christ!"-Ian and Marcie”

“Did you miss me?’“A little bit,” she said with a shrug.“You have tears running down your cheeks,” he said with a grin. “I think you missed me more than a little.”

“I crashed," she said."It was a helluva crash. If you're going to go down, go down big. You should be proud." And then he smiled.He held her hand as it lay on her lap while she lifted her brandy to her lips with the other hand, trembling a bit. When it was gone, he said, "Come on. I'm putting you to bed.""What if I cry all night?""I'll be right here," he said.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do?""Well, you can take a nap, read a little of my book, or close your eyes. Or you could stare--get the thrill of your life.""She put her hands on her hips. "You really wouldn't care, would you?""Not really. A bath is a serious business when it's that much trouble. And it's pretty quick in winter." He started to chuckle. "What's so funny?" she asked, a little irritated."I was just thinking. It's cold enough in here, you might not see that much."Her cheeks went hot, so she pretended not to understand. "But in summer, you can lay in the tub all afternoon?""In summer, I wash in the creek." He grinned at her. "Why don't you comb the snarls out of your hair? You look like a wild banshee."She stared at him a minute, then said, "Don't flirt with me. It won't do you any good."-Marcie and Ian”