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his
    throat. Then he began to complain of the cold.
    At three in the morning chills were shaking his body and he clutched at
    her when she came near. The tawny eyes opened briefly, pleading with her.
    "So cold," he growled. "Keep me warm, ghost lady. I need your warmth.
    So cold."
    "Oh, Julian," she whispered, allowing herself to be dragged down beside
    him. There she gathered him to her, holding him beneath the covers until
    the chills stopped racking his body. Again he slept. When she was certain
    he was resting quietly she disengaged herself and went back to her chair.
    At times during the early morning hours she dozed, but every shift in
    Julian's position, every change in his breathing pattern brought her back
    to full wakefulness. At dawn she finally abandoned any attempt at sleep for
    herself and, after checking her patient once more, went out into the
    kitchen to see about some tea or coffee.
    The blanket of snow outside the window startled her. She had been so
    busy tending to Julian that she had forgotten the approaching storm. Her
    unwilling host had been right about one thing; she didn't have any chains
    in the car she had rented at the Denver airport. Until the roads were
    cleared she was trapped with her patient.
    "As if I could leave him in his condition, anyway," she muttered
    resignedly, as she set a kettle on the stove. "Oh, Julian, what have they
    done to you?"
    She didn't even know who "they" were. Just as she didn't know what
    had happened to the man who had captivated her so from the start of
    their short, stormy relationship. But she knew she would take great
    pleasure in seeking revenge for her lover of one night.
    One night. Wryly she shook her head, wondering if Julian would even
    remember the passion that had reverberated between them. The fever had
    raged so swiftly that it was possible he wouldn't have any clear memory of
    the hour or two before it had seized him completely. The thought of how
    brilliantly his eyes had burned when he had opened the front door of the
    cabin made Anne wonder how ill he had been even then.
    She had been so wrapped up in her anxiety and anticipation that she
    hadn't read the signs of illness in him until after he had made love to her.
    The realization made her wince. On the other hand what could she have
    done to halt the inevitable flow of the lovemaking once Julian had begun
    it? Nothing she could have said or done would have stopped him. Not
    then.
    Carrying the pot of tea and a cup back into the bedroom, Anne sat
    down in the chair by the window and pulled the faded cotton drapes.
    Julian didn't stir as she poured herself a cup of tea and sipped
    thoughtfully.
    The thick layer of snow outside gave the mountains a deceptively serene
    appearance this morning. Stately fir and pine, heavily weighted with the
    white stuff made her think of postcard Christmases. She wondered where
    Julian had planned to spend the holidays this year. Never in the short
    while she had known him had he mentioned any family or close friends.
    But then she knew so little about him. There had been no time to get to
    know each other before he and Michael had left for that island. What she
    had learned of him and his background had made it painfully clear that
    there was no real hope for any kind of lasting relationship, even if the
    hostility between them could be appeased.
    She wished there was a phone in the cabin. She could have called the
    pharmacy that had handled Julian's prescription, and made certain she
    was using the tablets for the right symptoms. Uncertain and no longer
    desperate now that the fever had been drastically reduced, she decided to
    hold off giving him any more medication until he was awake and coherent
    enough to tell her the pills were meant for this particular purpose.
    He slept throughout the morning and Anne decided the rest was more
    beneficial than waking him for some food. As soon as he was awake she
    would try to at least get some liquid down him.
    Her own