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One

A fierce and unseasonably cold Septeainst the s Preacher wiped down the bar, and while it was only seven-thirty, it was already dark No one in Virgin River would be out on a night like this After the dinner hour was past, people tended to stay in on cold, wet nights The caainst the stor season, but it was unlikely any hunters would pass en route to or froes and blinds at this hour in such weather Jack, his partner and the owner of the bar and grill, knowing there would be little if any business, was tucked aith his neife at their cabin in the woods Preacher had also sent home their seventeen-year-old helper, Rick As soon as the fire burned down a little n and lock the door

He poured himself a shot of whiskey and took it over to the table nearest the fire, then turned a chair toward the hearth and propped up his feet Quiet nights like this were to his liking He was a solitary kind of guy

But the peace was not to be So hiht the door and it flew open with a bang, bringing hi to close the door was a young wo a child The wo over her shoulder Preacher went to get the door She turned, looked up at him and they both jumped back in surprise She was likely startled because Preacher looked inti—he was six foot four, bald with bushy black eyebrows, a dia and shoulders about as broad as an ax handle was long

Under the bill of the baseball cap, Preacher saw a pretty young wo a bruise on her cheek and a split lower lip

“I’n…”

“Yeah, coht”

“Are you closing?” she asked, hoisting up her burden, a little boy, not more than three or four years old He was asleep on her shoulder, his long legs dangling li?”

“Co back for her to pass “It’s okay I don’t have anyplace better to go” He extended an arm toward a table “Sit by the fire there Warm up Dry off”

“Thanks,” she said meekly She went to the table by the fire, and when she saw the drink, said, “Is this where you’re sitting?”

“Go ahead Take it,” he said “I was having a shot before calling it a night But there’s no hurry We don’t usually close this early, anyway, but with the rain…”

“Did you want to get home?” she asked him

He smiled at her “I live here Makes me real flexible on the hours”

“If you’re sure…”

“I’m sure,” he said “If the weather’s decent, we usually stay open till at least nine”

She took the chair facing the fire, the boy’s gangly legs straddling her lap She let her quilted shoulder bag drop to the floor and pulled the child closer, hugging hi his back

Preacher disappeared into the back, leaving her to warm herself for a minute He came back with a couple of pillows from his bed and the throw from his couch He put the pillows on the table next to her and said, “Here Lay the kid down He’s probably heavy”

She looked up at him with eyes that seemed to want to cry Oh, he hoped she wouldn’t do that He hated omen cried He had no idea what to do Jack could handle it He was chivalrous; he knew exactly what to do with a woman under any circuot to know theh it wasn’t intentional, he tended to scare women and children simply because of how he looked But they didn’t know that underneath his sorim countenance he was shy

“Thanks,” she said again She transferred the child to the pillows on the table He immediately curled into a ball and put a thu the throw She didn’t take it from him so he put it over the boy and tucked it around hiht pink

When she reclai’s head over the front door and flinched She turned full circle, noting the bear skin on the wall, the sturgeon over the bar “Is this so place?” she asked

“Not really, but a lot of hunters and fishermen pass this way,” he said “My partner shot the bear in self-defense, but he caught the fish on purpose One of the biggest sturgeons in the river I got the buck, but I’d rather fish than hunt I like the quiet” He shrugged “I’m the cook here If I kill it, we eat it”

“You can eat deer,” she said

“And we did We had a great winter of venison Maybe you should have a drink,” he said, trying to keep his voice soft and nonthreatening

“I have to find a place to stay Where am I, anyway?”

“Virgin River Kind of out of the way How’d you find us?”

“I…” She shook her head and a s for a toith a hotel…”

“You got off the highway a while ago”

“There aren’t h to turn around,” she said “Then I saw this place, your sign My son…I think he has a fever We shouldn’t drive anymore”

Preacher knew there wasn’t anyplace to get a rooenius to figure that out “I’ll fix you up with so to drink? Eat? I’ve got a good soup tonight Bean and ham And bread I made the bread today I like to do that when it’s cold and rainy How about a brandy to warm you up first?”

“Brandy?”

“Or whatever you feel like…”

“That would be good Soup would be good, too I haven’t eaten in hours Thanks”

“Sit tight”

He went to the bar and poured a Remy into a snifter—fancy stuff for this place He hardly ever used the snifters on the usual crowd—but he wanted to do soirl For sure she was down on her luck He took her the brandy and then went back to the kitchen

The soup was put away for the night, but he took it out of the refrigerator, ladled out a scoop and put it in the microwave While it warot back to the kitchen, the soup was ready and he got out the bread—some of his best: soft, sweet and hearty—and nuked it for a few seconds He put that and some butter on a plate When he ca out of her jacket, like ht of it stopped him briefly and made him frown She threw a look over her shoulder, as if she was caught doing so bad