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here.”
    “She says she’s not ready to retire and be surrounded by a bunch of smelly men. And she doesn’t want to give up her insurance. Can’t blame her for that these days.”
    No, he couldn’t, but if he was going to have to continue transporting Zeke’s guests and temporarily be their guide on excursions and perform the maintenance duties on the lodge and equipment, Dylan needed help keeping an eye on Colt. The amiable Lucille, the grandmotherly woman his father had been dating for years, would be perfect.
    Zeke flipped another piece of bread overtop the jelly and sliced off the crust. “I can tell you’re working up a good one,” he said. “I know you want no part of the lodge but I’m in a pinch right now since some body went and told the doc not to sign off on my clearance. I’ll hire Sam to fly ’em in and out from now on. I’ll handle things around here, and Ms. Johnson can do the housework and cooking. That leaves you off the hook, so stop your whining.”
    Dylan moved until he could see Colt. Ignoring his father’s grumbling and totally unrealistic view of his capabilities under the circumstances, Dylan squatted down in front of his son. “Hey, buddy. Miss me?” he asked softly. “Look what I have,” he said, showing Colt the book he’d ordered for them. “It’s the next Toad story. See?”
    Colt hesitated for a split second before he continued playing with his horse.
    “We’ll read it tonight, okay? Sound good?”
    No verbal response, not that he expected one. But Colt didn’t give him a physical response, either, other than the brief pause.
    The pain of Colt completely shutting Dylan out hitas it always did. Helplessness and anger came next, followed by grief. How long before he heard Colt’s voice again? Wasn’t two years long enough?
    Dylan set the book beside Colt in case he wanted to look at the pictures and stood. “You’re going to have to revise your plan,” he informed Zeke. “Ms. Johnson didn’t show.”
    “What do you mean, didn’t show?” Zeke’s frown deepened to crater proportions. “Who was that woman with you and the boys when you pulled up?”
    “One of your guests, Alexandra Tulane.”
    “But…” Zeke’s words trailed off and a confused expression flickered over his features. “Well, huh.”
    That’s all he had to say? Well, huh?
    “Where’d you put her?”
    “In the room you made up for Ms. Johnson.”
    “Good. I worked hard to make it more girly and comfortable than the others. Might as well get some use out of it. Only caught a glimpse of the woman but she’s a looker, ain’t she?”
    Alexandra was a looker and trouble because of it. The last thing Dylan needed was to watch over her when he had his hands full keeping track of the things Zeke wasn’t able to handle yet. There weren’t enough hours in the day. If Sam hadn’t agreed to take the hunters to the spike camp, Dylan didn’t know what he would have done.
    “She’s the one who got sick? Poor thing. You never could land smoothly when there’s a bit of a breeze blowing.”
    He pulled his knitted cap out of his coat pocket and yanked it on his head. “I’ve got work to do—and it was a perfect landing.”

CHAPTER FOUR
    A LEXANDRA TURNED IN EARLY , slept through dinner and the night and didn’t awaken until the next morning. She should probably be embarrassed that she’d been out so long but after six months straight on the road and nearly eighteen hours of travel time yesterday, sleep was the only thing she wanted and something about the cold air, overcast sky and soft, comfortable bed let her sleep like a baby.
    She took a hot shower, put on her long underwear and clothes and went back to her room to dry her hair to keep from hogging the bathroom. And since she didn’t want anyone thinking she was trying to impress them—or that she was high maintenance—she strayed from her usual makeup routine and went minimalistic before she grabbed her camera and ventured into the