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Rhett got out, slammed the door shut, and trudged back to the porch through the snow. Thankfully, the porch wrapped around the entire house and was covered. But the wind was also blowing snow and ice onto the porch. He had to hold on to the porch railing to stay upright. He got to the back door and knocked, but again, no answer. He turned the knob, and the door opened.
He entered the kitchen and called out to her, but the house was silent.
“Where in the hell are you, Cin? You sure can’t be out in this.” Rhett peered out the window in the door and didn’t see her vehicle. It must be in the garage, since there were no tire tracks in the snow.
After removing his hat and coat, he put them on the bench and headed for the living room. When he found it empty, he returned to the kitchen.
****
Lucinda used a set of crutches from years ago to get back to the house from the kennels. No matter how she felt, the dogs had to be fed and watered. With a sigh, she entered the house but stopped when she saw a tall, shadowy figure of a man. Why hadn’t she locked the door when she went to the kennels? Because no one ever comes around here, especially on a night like this.
Keeping her eyes on the man, she stood in the shadows. When he moved closer to her, she lifted one of her crutches and slammed him on the head with it, and he dropped like a hole opened under him.
“That’ll teach you,” she muttered as she pulled her cellphone from her coat pocket and was about to dial 9-1-1 when he moaned. She stepped back, holding the crutch up, and flipped on the light. What was she supposed to do with him now? He rolled over onto his back, and Lucinda gasped.Rhett!Oh, dear God! She leaned the crutches against the wall, dropped to her knees, and ran her hand over his head. It was bleeding. She got up and hopped to the sink to dampen a cloth. She got on the floor, crawled over to him, and put the rag on his head. He opened his eyes. They were glassy.
“I’m so sorry, Rhett. Why were you sneaking around?”
“I wasn’t sneaking around. I knocked on the front door, then the back. You never answered, so I tried the knob. It was open. I called out for you, but you didn’t answer. Then you knock me on the head.” His speech was slurring.
“Well, pardon the hell out of me. I was protecting myself.”
Rhett tried to sit up. “Who the hell’s going to protectme?”
Lucinda chewed on her bottom lip. “Does it hurt?”
Rhett looked at her like she had two heads. “Of course, it fucking hurts!”
Lucinda put her hand over her mouth, but the laughter bubbled out. She couldn’t help it. She sat on the floor and laughed until tears ran down her face. Rhett continued to glare at her.
Finally, she got herself under control and stood. She put a hand out to him. He looked at her hand and shook his head.
“I’ll get up on my own. You might have a knife behind your back.”
Lucinda laughed again. Rhett slowly got to his feet and gingerly went to the living room.
She got him a glass of water and a couple of aspirins, then used one crutch to get to the room and handed them to him. He thanked her and took them. He kept the cloth against his head, watching her hobble to the couch.
“Why are you on crutches?”
“I hurt my toe. The big one. I dropped a log on it.”
Rhett snorted. “Even disabled, you’re deadly.” He rubbed his head. “I’m going to have a killer of a headache.”
“I can give you one of my pain pills,” Lucinda offered.
“No, you need those. Do you have any whiskey?”
She told him yes and headed for the kitchen. When she returned, she handed him a glass, then sat in the chair. He put the glass to his lips and tossed it back.
“Why are you here?”
“I was in town earlier today, then stopped at Landry’s for a while. The roads are terrible. Snow, freezing rain, and wind. I thought I’d stop here and maybe sleep on your sofa. For some ungodly known reason, I thought I’d be safe here.”
Lucinda lost it again. She put her hand over her mouth, but tears rolled down her cheeks. Rhett’s mouth twitched, then he laughed too.
“Damn, Cin. You could’ve killed me.”
She sobered instantly. “I didn’t hit you that hard.”
