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expected of a woman? Submission and silence?  A laughed escaped her at the prospect but she tried to stifle it.
    “What is funny?” he demanded.
    “You,” she laughed, letting it out in a glorious release. “Me? I must look like a filthy mess. And you? You look like you’d rather be anywhere but here!” Frustration waned for the instant as she rocked back and laughed so hard tears squeezed from her eyes. His eyebrows rose and his eyes gleamed cobalt in the light as he watched her laugh. For a moment she feared he would be angry, but she was relieved to see his shoulders relax and his arms slowly fall to his sides.  The corner of his lip twitched and then turned upward in a lopsided grin.
    “You may be right. You do need a bath,” he agreed as he laughed with her.  Her laughter slowed when he held a hand out to her. His grin remained but tightened somewhat as he waited for her to respond.
    She knew this was an offering of peace and she would be foolish to refuse him. Maggie placed her palm in his and he clasped his larger one around it. He pulled her gently to her feet, the skin of his fingers calloused but warm against her own hand. She tried not to grimace at the burning pain the movement elicited in her shoulder, but the limb was stiff and Winn was not a man easily fooled.
    “I would show you my village, but perhaps you need rest.”
    The trauma of the last few hours had wreaked a fatigue on her body she had never experienced, as she certainly was unaccustomed to blunt force blows wielded by a bear. The truth of his observation gave her weary body permission to accept it for now.  Maggie felt her shoulders sag and her back relax as she nodded in agreement.
    Winn led her toward the back of the yehakin, where a thick pile of furs lay over a mat woven from coffee colored reeds. His intent was clear so she started to sit, surprised to feel his arms latch around her waist and firmly lower her to the ground. She murmured a word of thanks which he did not acknowledge, but instead he turned away to rummage through a covered basket along the wall.
    Maggie watched him, mystified by his presence yet still fighting twinges of irritation. She knew she was too tired to fight anymore, she would have to regroup and save it for another time. Besides, the way her shoulder burned, she feared more damage than could be treated without modern medicine and with one less functional shoulder, she was as good as useless.
    Winn found what he was looking for and returned to kneel at her side. He held out a smooth wooden bowl to her, which he placed in her hands. Her stomach rumbled at the sight of the ripe red berries and strips of dried meat that looked like jerky. Past caring what the food was, she was grateful for anything and quickly dug in.  Winn sat down facing her with his legs crossed, watching her devour the meal. He smiled as she shoved berries into her mouth, and when she realized he was laughing at her she stopped eating, mortified.
    “I’m sorry. Here, have some, you must be hungry, too,” she said as her cheeks filled with crimson. He waved her off.
    “No, little one,” he laughed. “You eat. I am a good hunter. I will need to hunt every day to feed you.”
    She thought about dumping the bowl in his lap, but she was too hungry to waste any food so she tried to take his teasing gracefully. She went back to eating with a scowl, shaking her head and biting back a smile. He reached over and plucked a few berries from the bowl then tossed them in his mouth as he continued to watch her. When the bowl was empty, he passed a cup brimming with sweet apple juice to her, which she found delightful as it ran down her throat thick and warm. She finished in one long swallow, then quickly wiped the back of her hand across her dripping mouth and handed the cup back to him. Winn refilled it and took his own taste, downing the entire cup as she had, but with much more control and finesse. 
    “Thank you…Winn,” she said when he put