"I saw one of those wind-up alarm clocks in the bedroom. I'll bring it down here so we can use the alarm to be sure we wake up to do our checks." Marshall walked out of the kitchen at a fast pace.

When Marshall returned, he wound up the clock and set the time, They left it on the coffee table in the living room.

"Kenny, you go on to bed. One of us will wake you in about four hours for your turn." Kenny nodded and clomped up the stairs. Jeb winced at his heavy-footed tread.

"Set the alarm for an hour, and you can check on Drew. Then we'll go out and check the herd," Jeb said.

Marshall set the alarm then leaned back in the chair to doze until it went off. Jeb stretched out on the couch determined to get some rest while he could. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

The alarm clock went off after what seemed to Marshall mere minutes. He quickly cut it off and climbed the stairs to check on Drew. She lay on her side curled up in a little ball. He shook her by the shoulder.

"Wake up, Drew. It's time for your check-in."

She groaned and slapped at his hand with her free one. He smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

"Open those pretty blue eyes for me so I know you are okay, baby."

She squinted one open then immediately closed it back.

"Do you need more Tylenol for your headache?" he asked.

"Yes, please." She opened both eyes and started to nod but winced instead.

He shook out two pills from the bottle and refreshed her water for her to take them. She swallowed and sighed.

"Lean over a little and let me check your head to be sure it's not bleeding anymore." Marshall waited for her to turn her head for him.

She dutifully leaned forward, and he noted there was a nice size lump where the cut was, but it wasn't bleeding anymore.

"Looks good, Drew. You've got a goose egg, though."

"Tell me something I don't know," she complained, and closed her eyes once again.

Marshall kissed her cheek and made sure the covers were pulled up enough. Then he walked back downstairs to wake up his friend. The best way to wake Jeb up was from a distance. He stepped back from the couch and called his name.

"Jeb, time to get up."

Jeb woke, sitting straight up with his hands curled into fists. He blinked, then shook his head and reached for his boots.

"How is she doing?" he asked.

"She's fine. Gave her two more Tylenol. She complained, so she's fine."

"Good. Let's go see to the cattle and get that over with."

Marshall waited for Jeb to get his outer gear on before opening the door and walking out into the silence of the night. He loved a new snow. Everything was always so fresh and clean until the world began tramping through it. Right now, he estimated they had a good foot to a foot and a half of snow on the ground. The sounds of the cattle moving around and calling to each other could be heard as if from a distance, due to the blanketing effect of the snow on sound.

They kept the line close to them as they checked on the horses first and found them doing well. Then they crossed over to the water troughs to check them. The electric coils were doing their jobs keeping the ice from forming over the top of the water. Next they checked the hay, and found it sufficient for the next several hours.

Marshall watched Jeb check on a couple of the cows' legs and smooth his hands over their rumps and necks.

"What are you doing?" Marshall asked.

"Just checking to see if they are stepping on each other or biting each other. That would mean they are too close together, and we would need to move some of them out to make more room. Right now, they aren't doing any of that, so we don't need to move any of them. I would like to keep them together as much as possible to keep their body heat up. But we will have to keep a close watch on them."

Marshall helped him check the cows.

"How long have we been out here?" Jeb asked "About an hour and ten minutes," Marshall told him.

"Good, let's check over by the old barn for footprints just in case." Jeb led the way.

They circled the old barn but found nothing out of the ordinary. No footprints or tools lying around.

"Maybe Kenny will notice something when he comes out next," Marshall said. "I'll tell him what we're doing. You get the next four hours to sleep."

They peeled off their outer layers and walked into the living room. Jeb looked hesitantly at the couch, then up at the stairs.

"Don't hesitate to wake me if something is wrong, or you can't wake Drew up," he told Marshall.

"Don't worry, something happens, you're the first one I'll wake up."

Marshall watched Jeb make his way upstairs to their room for his four hours of sleep. His turn next. He checked on Drew and got her curses for waking her again, then reset the alarm for two hours and dozed on the couch until it went off again. He shut it off and groaned. It was five in the morning, and by the looks of things, still snowing some outside. He could see the snow flying around under the lights outside the window.

He got up and immediately went and woke up Drew again. She fussed big time this time, calling him a b.a.s.t.a.r.d twice in one sentence. He grinned and kissed her on the cheek, which earned him a pop on the head with her free hand. He pulled the cover back over her and eased down the hall to wake Kenny up. He knocked on the door and opened it.

"Kenny? Time to get up, man. We've got to check them cows."

Kenny rubbed his face with his hands and rolled out of the bed to his feet.

"I'll be right down," he said.

Marshall used the time to click on the radio station in the kitchen to see what they had to say about the weather. Kenny clomped into the room and looked morosely at the empty coffee pot.

"s.h.i.t, sorry, Kenny. I should have made coffee. We have time to fix some. We can catch a few sips in the cups, then have the rest when we get back." Marshall grabbed the pot and filled it with water. He set it up to brew then began layering the clothes on while it did its thing.

Marshall b.u.t.toned up his coat and settled his hat firmly on his head. They each slipped a few swallows of coffee from the pot then left their empty cups on the cabinet for when they got back in from the blistering cold outside. The next six hours went about the same. Around noon, Drew got up and dressed then came downstairs, much to everyone's ire.

"You shouldn't be out of bed yet. You had a bad knock on the head," Jeb told her.

"I have a ranch to run. I don't have time to be sick. Tell me what's been going on while I've been sleeping," she demanded.

"We divided up watching you and checking the cattle and horses every two hours. Everything is fine, with the exception of you, who should still be in bed. Twenty-four hours, Drew, and it's barely been twelve," Jeb fussed.

"I can't stay in that bed another minute. I'll sit on the couch once I cook us something to eat," she said.

"Lunch was sandwiches. You want one?" Marshall asked.

"Um, yeah. I'll fix it."

"No, you'll go sit on the couch, and I'll fix it for you," Marshall said in a no-nonsense voice.

Drew hadn't heard Marshall sound like a drill sergeant before. Jeb had it down pat, but Marshall always joked around with her. She frowned. Then she looked at Kenny and could tell the other man had been worried. He had shadows under eyes that appeared strained.

"Kenny, I'm fine. Have you talked to Robert? How is he doing?"

"He's fine. He tried to get out here to help us since he won't be doing any business for a few days but couldn't get past Ridge Road. It was too icy." Kenny leaned against the table.

"Don't you ever let him try and do something like that again, Kenny. It's too dangerous."

"Don't worry, I told him," Kenny said.

"What is the weather saying?" she asked.

Marshall returned carrying her sandwich on a paper plate and a canned Diet c.o.ke.

"Thanks," she said.

"Do you need more Tylenol?" he asked.

"No, I'm doing pretty good. It's only a dull ache right now."

"Weather says we have another day of light snow tomorrow. Then it will begin to clear up. The temps are going to stay in the lower teens and single digits for the rest of the week," Jeb told her.

"Not good. Everything will turn slick as owl s.h.i.t out there. No going anywhere in any of the vehicles. We're going to have to watch the cows closely. They can go down and not be able to get back up. Hopefully with them all so close together they've kept the ground warmer than it is out in the open, where the wind could get to it," she said.

"Hadn't thought about them going down," Jeb said.

"Just worry about it when it ices up really bad. Little normal ice isn't as much a danger, but if it's going to stay that cold for that long, we're going to have thick ice to deal with. How are the heater coils working in the water troughs?" she asked.

"Working great. Never lost electricity, either." Marshall walked over to take her empty plate. "We don't have phone service, though."

She handed it to him without thinking. "This was an easy first snow. It will get worse before it gets any better. This might even all thaw out so we have mush to deal with, but after this, there won't be any thawing 'til spring," she told them.

"Kenny, come on, it's our turn to check on the cows," Jeb called from the kitchen.

Kenny smiled and squeezed Drew's shoulder as he walked past her.

Drew was glad they were all getting along so well. She couldn't be happier with her new hands. Even if they'd been regular men without the convict part. Maybe they were even better because of having to go through what they did. She didn't know, but she knew she would miss them when they left. They'd eventually leave. Men tended to get wanderl.u.s.t and decide to see what was on the other side of the field or mountain.

Still, with their having the prison time behind them, they might not be able to find other work. They might actually stay long enough to save up money to buy their own place. She would be happy if they could do that, even though she would miss them. G.o.d, if they kept coming to her bed, she'd miss them a h.e.l.l of a lot more than she should.

Eventually they would tire of her. Men usually did when they had easy pickings. She had been easy to coax into their bed. In fact, she had basically attacked them. Now she was ashamed of herself, but there was nothing she could do about it now. What was done was done. All she could do was wait and see how long it lasted.

No matter what happened though, she wouldn't push them off the ranch. They were good, hardworking, trustworthy men, no matter what they'd done in the past. And she wasn't all that certain they should have gone to prison for what they'd done in the first place.

Chapter Eight.

Marshall couldn't help it. He needed to hold her. She could have died from a head wound. When he wrapped his arms around her, she frowned up at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Why are you holding me like that?"

"'Cause you could have died. Besides, it feels good to hold you," Marshall said.

"You really should be resting. If you've all been taking shifts, you haven't gotten much sleep lately."

"I've had four good hours. I'm fine for now. I have the next shift, anyway. Come on. Let's sit in the living room and watch TV."

Drew sighed but followed him into the living room. She sat on the couch. Marshall sat next to her and pulled her back against his chest. She stiffened at first but finally relaxed back against him. He loved the feel of her in his arms.

"Rest your eyes. You can listen to the weather."

"I'm not really all that sleepy. Tell me about the cows. How are they faring out there? Did we make the right decision to bring them up this close together, or should we have left them in the front pasture on their own?" Drew seemed worried she'd made the wrong decision.

"I think it was the right thing to do. They're all doing fine right now. The worst of the storm is over, and they are all alive so far." Marshall rubbed up and down her arms with his hands.

Drew finally let her head lean back against his shoulder. He wrapped one hand around her abdomen over her shirt. He could feel her abdomen quiver. Was it for him, or was she cold?

She burrowed into his body as they listened to the weather report and the news that followed. By the time Kenny and Jeb had returned, she was almost asleep. She rallied though to find out how the cattle were doing.

"The horses are all okay, and there's no evidence that anyone else has been around the place. There aren't any tracks in the snow anywhere," Jeb told her.

"Cows are still doing good, as well. They are a little more restless than earlier, but they're doing fine for now," Kenny added.

"I'm going up to get some rest," Jeb said.

"Take Drew with you. She's nodding off over here. She needs more rest, as well," Marshall told him.

"I'm just dozing. I've been in bed long enough," she complained.

"Come on, grouchy," Jeb said. He reached down and grabbed her hand to pull her upright.

"Can you manage the steps, or do you want me to carry you?" Jeb asked.

"I can walk just fine." Drew walked steadily toward the stairs, only to miss the first step when she started up them alone.

"Uh-uh." Jeb shook his head. "You need help." He wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her up the stairs.