Page 5 of Cabin Fever

And what did I do? In my infinite wisdom, I picked the runt. He never warned me against runts . . .. I'd since learned.

I moved back to the woman and crouched down to the floor. As I studied our new guest, I noticed her coat was ripped and dirty. Reaching over, I picked a tiny branch caught on a tear by her shoulder. The white skirt she wore was frayed and just as dirty as the coat.

Perhaps she came here out of desperation. To get away from someone who wanted to hurt her. There wasn't a whole lot of people on Fire Mountain, so it could easily attract shady types. I'd witnessed my fair share of characters hiding from the law. Was she running from someone wanted by the police, or was she wanted herself?

Those answers would come in time. What I needed to do was see if she required medical attention.

I brushed some golden hair from her face, surprised to see a woman so delicate and adorable lying there. Despite the smear of dried beans around her mouth, her skin was soft and as I rested my hand on her forehead, a spark of electricity shot up my arm.

I ignored the growing awareness of my body's reaction to her beauty as I realized she was burning up.

"She has a fever," I said to Kitty, not that my dog could understand or would care.

My hands massaged different parts of her body to see if she had any broken bones. Everything appeared fine, and she was able to throw that can though she won't be trying out for professional baseball anytime soon.

I didn't want to move her. Growing up, most of my life with just me and my father isolated in the mountains, he made sure I knew basic medical care in case something happened to either of us.

The closest hospital was forty-five minutes away. If something was life-threatening, I had to know how to help him until the ambulance arrived. He would still be alive if I had been here when he needed me most. Not off being young, stupid, and utterly selfish.

I stood and walked to the back door, pushing the mat aside. Lifting two loose planks from the wooden floor, I reached down and removed the things I had hid there this morning. I grabbed a blue blanket and my first aid kit.

Bringing what I needed back, I sat down beside the mysterious and fascinating woman. I sighed. She was striking. It's too bad she was an unconscious lump on my kitchen floor. I had seen many pretty women in my life. There were several in the town nearby at Fire Lake, and The Lodge on the other side of the mountain was always packed full of the beautiful elite visiting from afar.

But the woman with bean-stained lips was prettier than most.

My big fingers made the process of unfastening the tiny buttons that formed a line down her back almost impossible. Clenching my jaw, I gave up after the tenth attempt at the third button. I curled my fingers into the lace and ripped it in half.

My mouth watered as I stared at her creamy back, tracing my fingers over her skin.

Kitty barked, snapping me out of my lonely need to fondle the unconscious woman's back. My head whipped around to find my dog wagging his tail and nudging his nose at the can.

"You'll get dinner in a bit. I have more important matters to take care of . . . like the intruder you did nothing about."

Kitty barked again and walked over to help.

"It's about time you took an interest in this person. Hey, Kitty, stop that!"

She sniffed the woman's face and began to lick, focusing solely on the intruder's lips. I got to my feet, puffing up my body and slapped my hands together. Kitty stopped licking and came to sit at my feet.

"That's better. I need to check her for cuts or worse, then I can feed you. Stay." I held my palm up.

I got back to work on the woman and removed her boots and socks. Her feet were fine. They weren't broken and no signs of frostbite. I hesitated before lifting her skirt. I grabbed the edge of the white hem and realized there were layers. Gathering all the material, I was about to lift when I caught Kitty's scrutinizing tilt of her head.

"I'm not a pervert, Kitty. I have to see if she's hurt," I said causing Kitty's brow to wrinkle. "Stop looking at me."

Groaning, I ignored my overly judgmental dog and pushed the fabric far enough that the woman's legs were on display. The sheer covering she wore had mostly been ripped to shreds. Her silky skin looked clean, smooth, and good enough to lick.

Gah, stop, Carter.If Dad were alive, he would be ashamed that I was thinking of unmentionable things while trying to help an unconscious woman.

My palm was sweaty as I gripped her calf to rotate her leg. If it was broken, she would have made a sound, even in her comatose state. I did it to the other leg and noticed a cut on her upper thigh.

It was deep and the area around it was swollen. Grabbing my kit, I found the hydrogen peroxide and poured a hefty amount over the gash. After I bandaged her up, I threw the blanket over her and went to find the phone to plug back into the wall by the kitchen counter.

I needed to call an ambulance. When I lifted the receiver to the phone, I heard no tone. I tried removing the plug and put it back into the wall, but it was still dead. The phone lines must be down due to the snowstorm that started earlier today.

"Looks like we will have a guest for a while. Since you like her so much, why don't you move her into the bedroom?" I glared at my dog and couldn't help but notice a few tail flicks. I guess the only way to my dog's heart was through beans.

"I'd better make the bed," I mumbled at Kitty.

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