Robbie slowly sat up, clutching his throbbing side with his hand. “I tripped and fell on my sword,” he said, shaking his head in disgust.

“What were you doing up here, dressed like that and carrying a sword?”

“I was practicing for the festival this summer,” he told her, breathing tightly against the pain. He glanced up and caught her staring at his bare chest. “The competition can get fierce, and I usually start training months ahead. I… ah… I must have rolled quite a ways, to be banged up like I am.”

Her face nearly crimson, she finally lifted her gaze from his chest. “You’re lucky you didn’t slice your head off.”

“Aye, I suppose I am. What are you doing here, Catherine?”

She looked away and picked up the MacBain plaid. “My car broke down on the other side of the mountain.”

Robbie took hold of the cloth to stop her from wrapping it over his shoulders. “There’s nothing but wilderness on the other side of this mountain. Why were you over there?”

“I was lost. I thought the dirt road was a shortcut to Caribou.” She shrugged and tried covering his chest with the plaid again, but this time Robbie stopped her by grabbing her wrist.

Catherine Daniels exploded. She jerked free and punched him on the shoulder, putting all of her weight behind it. Robbie let himself fall back with a gasp of pain, and lay perfectly still, watching her. She was backed up against the wall.

“I’m sorry,” he said, not moving. “I wasn’t thinking.”

Nathan burst into the cabin, his stick raised to strike. Catherine rushed around the bed to stop him. “It’s okay, honey,” she said calmly. “Mr. MacBain just hurt himself trying to get up.”

Nora ran into the cabin with a blood-curdling scream. “Something’s out there!” she shouted. “Coming up the hill!”

Catherine took the stick from Nathan and headed outside, only to stop when she realized she was leaving her children with a stranger who was no longer tied up.

“Come stand by the door,” she told them, pulling them outside behind her.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Robbie rolled off the bed and stood up. He quickly wrapped the plaid around himself, found his belt hanging over a chair, and cinched it around his waist. He headed out the door behind them, grabbing his sword on the way.

Four mounted shadows moved into the clearing and stopped just inside the circle of light coming from the cabin. Robbie immediately relaxed, set his sword against the log wall, and leaned on the door casing to ease the throbbing in his side.

“Is that you, boss?” Cody asked, grinning at Robbie. “I almost didn’t recognize you in that skirt.”

“It’s okay, Catherine,” Robbie assured her. “These fine young gentlemen are here to rescue us.”

Catherine slowly lowered her stick but raised it again when Gunter moved his horse closer. She backed up, herding her children behind her until they were nearly around the corner of the cabin.

Gunter stopped and looked from Robbie to the three frightened Danielses, then back at Robbie. “Do you need rescuing?”

“How did you know where to look for me?” Robbie asked.

“That crazy old priest was sitting on the porch when we got home from school,” Gunter explained, dismounting and walking forward. “Your horse was tied to the rail. He said we should try looking for you on West Shoulder Ridge, since he’d already searched the entire summit.”

Gunter stepped closer and lowered his voice. “He wouldn’t let us tell anyone you were missing. Not even your father. But he wouldn’t say why.”

Robbie nodded. “It’s just as well you didn’t. There’s no need to worry them. I—ah—I had a little accident.”

Gunter let his gaze scan down Robbie’s body, then looked back up at him. “Nice duds,”

he drawled. “Who’s the lady with the kids? Our egg thief?”

Robbie nodded. “And if we play our cards right,” he said quietly, so Catherine wouldn’t hear him, “she could be our new housekeeper.”

Gunter turned to Catherine, and Robbie watched in amazement as the young man shot her a smile warm enough to toast bread. “Ma’am?” he said, stepping toward her, his hands tucked behind his back in an unthreatening gesture. “It’s mighty cold outside.

Why don’t you bring your children out of this wind while we decide what to do?”

Robbie couldn’t quit gawking. Was that really Gunter? Hell, the kid was all but oozing charm. Robbie looked at the other boys. They were as dumbfounded as he was.

“We have about three hours before the storm hits,” Gunter continued, stepping aside for her to pass. “Just long enough to get you and your children off this mountain.”

Robbie hobbled out of the way so she could enter the cabin, and made his way to one of the chairs and gingerly sat down.

The other three boys quickly dismounted and crowded into the doorway. Catherine took her two children to the woodstove, placing it and herself between them and the men. Robbie noticed she was still holding her stick.

“Catherine,” he said, drawing her attention. “You can’t stay up here. They were predicting over a foot of snow when I left yesterday.”

Her large, worried brown eyes scanned the five of them, then returned to his. “Can… can you take us to town?” she asked. “To a motel or something?”

“We can do better than that,” Gunter interjected. “We have a ton of room at home, a well-stocked pantry, and a fireplace to curl up in front of.”

She shook her head. “I think we should go to a motel.”

“Will you trust your children with the boys so I can talk to you alone?” Robbie asked.

“They’ll take them outside, and we’ll leave the door open so you can see them.”

She tightened her grip on her stick.

“I found the papers in your backpack,” Robbie quietly said.

Stiffly, her face pale with trepidation, Catherine slowly led her children outside. Cody and Peter and Rick moved out of her way.

“Try to make friends with the kids,” Robbie whispered to Gunter as he walked by.

“They’re a big part of the solution to our problem.”

Gunter nodded, smiled at Catherine as she came back in, and immediately squatted down to Nora’s level once he was outside.

“Are you running from your ex-husband?” Robbie asked.

She stood by the woodstove, facing him, and nodded.

“What was he in jail for?”

“Domestic abuse,” she said succinctly.

But it was enough for Robbie to get a much clearer picture. And it also explained why she’d exploded when he had gripped her wrist. “Are you sure he’s after you, or did you run when you got the letter because you only thought he might be?”

“He nearly caught us in Iowa,” she said softly.

Robbie nodded. “Okay,” he said just as softly. “What if I can help you? You have no transportation, not much money, and no place to live. I have a large house, four hungry boys, and a pressing need for a housekeeper.”

Her eyes widened. “You’re offering me a job?”

“I am. That is, if you can cook.”

She nodded, then fell silent, watching her children out the door. Robbie followed her gaze and saw Gunter, now sitting on the ground, showing Nora the small, shiny rock he always carried in his pocket. Rick was showing his jackknife to Nathan.

“It’s an all-male household, Catherine,” Robbie continued. “Will that be a problem for you?”

“They’re too old to be your sons,” she said, still watching out the door. She turned her gaze to his. “Who are they?”

“The state of Maine considers them foster kids,” he told her, shrugging. “But I prefer to think of them as young men who only need a nudge in the right direction. Where were you headed when your car broke down? Do you have family in Maine?”

“No. I was headed to the last place I thought Ron would look for me.”

“Would he look for you in Pine Creek?”

“No. He’d think I’d go to a large city. I’m hoping he’s looking in Chicago right now.”

Robbie nodded. “Would you be comfortable living and working in an all-male household?” he asked again. “The boys can be a handful sometimes, but they’re basically good kids.”