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remembering how his lips had felt against hers and how she'd wondered where his inquisitive hands would light next, when she'd suddenly realized that the face rubbing against hers wasn't soft and smooth like Henry's, but more like kissing a bramble bush. By the time she opened her eyes, her memory had returned and she knew exactly where she was and who was assaulting her.
    Daniel grumbled a little, but grudgingly accepted her apology. "I didn't mean to scare you. I figured a woman like you'd be used to waking up with a strange man in her bed."
    Even though Josie had yet to explain that she was not a prostitute, the statement startled her. How could she be so easily mistaken for such a woman? The thought was unsettling. Worse, it titillated her somehow, made her feel sexy and desirable. A little shudder of pleasure coursed through her at the wicked thought.
    "l, ah, have to... relieve myself." She thought of the odoriferous stop jar, praying to God there was some other way. "Do you have a privy?"
    "It's out back," Daniel said. "Turn right at the door and head straight down the incline. You can't miss it."
    As Josie climbed to her feet, arms still hugged tightly to her waist, he added, "I think you'll find it's plenty nippy out there. You'd better take my coat. It's the light buckskin one hanging by the door."
    The last thing she wanted was to be in this man's debt, but as Josie skittered across the room and reached for the heavy, wool-lined garment, she could have kissed Daniel for the offer, stubbly cheeks and all. After slipping on the huge jacket, staggering under its weight, she headed to the door.
    "Oh, one other thing," said Daniel, stopping her in her tracks. "If winter's coming on us as fast as Long Belly says it is, I'd be on the lookout for bears."
    Josie turned to look at him. "Bears?"
    Daniel nodded. "They'll be getting ready to dig in now, gorging themselves with anything and everything that gets in their way. That includes a tasty little morsel like you."
    For a brief moment, Josie considered using the slop jar. Then her senses returned. "What do I do if a bear comes after me?"
    "Just make a lot of noise as you walk. Bears are usually more afraid of us than we are of them." He paused to consider this, and then narrowed his eyes and offered another suggestion. "Then again, that might not be true of a grizzly about ready to go into hibernation. Do you know how to use a gun?"
    Although she'd never actually fired a pistol before, Josie had watched her brothers at target practice on several occasions, always with great envy. Figuring this was qualification enough, she nodded. "Of course."
    Eyes still narrow, as if doubting her answer or even pondering the wisdom of arming her, Daniel finally said, "I keep a Peacemaker up on the shelf by the whiskey. Be careful getting it down—it's loaded."
    After Josie reached the stove and the shelf above it, she slid her fingers along the edge of the sooty plank until she felt the cold steel barrel of the gun. Gingerly taking the weapon by the grip, she removed it and once again started for the door.
    "Don't shoot right at a bear if you see one," Daniel warned as she headed outside. "There's nothing meaner than a wounded grizzly. Fire over its head if you need to use the gun. The noise alone ought to scare it off."
    For some reason, this advice didn't make Josie feel any safer as she headed out into the gray, frigid morning. Holding the Colt between both hands, she waved it continually in front of herself yelling, "Shoo! Shoo!" as she hurried down the small incline to the squat log outhouse,
    After Josie finished in the privy, a tiny building that was surprisingly clean and in some ways smelled a whole lot better than the cabin, she paused to lean against the trunk of a ponderosa pine that was located between the outhouse, the barn, and the house. Although she'd seen no sign of bears, she kept a tight grip on the gun as she drew in a long, frigid breath. Less afraid and more