Roz looked at her trashed house. How had to gone from nice and neat and calm to dangerous and trashed in less than an hour?

She looked at the big man standing in her kitchen and a shiver of anxiety went through her. "Uh, there's a wine fridge there by your legs. Why don't you pick out a bottle while I stoke the fire?"

He moved to do as she asked and as she broke up kindling she could hear him rummaging in the drawers looking for an opener. "It's hanging on the wall by the sink," she called.

"Found it. Thank you."

Roz got a steady flame going, then stood by the mantle wondering what she should do. There was no way she was walking back in there to talk to the man. What had Andromeda been thinking leaving him here for her to entertain?

No, Andromeda wouldn't have brought someone into her home that wasn't okay. If she left him here he had to be a trustworthy guy, right? She could go in and get the wine then come right back out here. There was an exit on each end of the room, as well as plenty of things she could use as a weapon.

"You can do this," she whispered to herself.

Marching into the kitchen she grabbed the wine glass from the counter and then the bottle he'd chosen. The man had moved to the window to look outside, giving her several feet of space. Pouring the deep red into the glass she moved to leave, but he turned to her.

"I'm sorry we've put you out."

Roz shook her head. "I'm not put out. A little freaked by all the people invading my space, but I can deal with it."

The big man ran his hand over his reddish beard. "I understand completely, and I will try to keep my footprint small."

Roz frowned, realizing how cold her voice had sounded to him. "I don't mean to sound bitchy. I just... don't prefer to be around m...people."

His expression eased into a polite smile, like he hadn't even noticed her slip. "I know exactly what you mean. I don't either. I might scout around outside if you don't mind."

She waved her free hand. "Have fun. The entire mountain is mine to the power line clearing."

He doffed his hat to her and moved for the door. She had an attack of conscience and cringed. "Don't be gone too long. Andromeda will freak."

"Agreed," he said softly, and moved out the door.

Roz watched the big man go. He hadn't made a sound, even though it looked like he had ten pounds of junk in that pocketed vest thing. He needed a pipe in his mouth or something to chew on. Hopefully he had a compass because she really didn't want to go find his ass late at night.

The pipes rattled as Andromeda turned her shower off. Crossing the room to her dining room table she checked on her patient, but he was sleeping deeply, as she'd expected. The light sedative she'd given him would help him sleep easier. The wound wasn't life threatening now, though he had lost a lot of blood. And he had a bit of a fever, but the antibiotics would beat that off.

She could see why Andy had been so gone on him. The guy was a hunk. There were scars on his body, though, that you didn't get from sitting at a desk. This man got out and did the hard work that the country needed. She'd counted three other gunshot wounds on him, as well as several other apparent knife wounds. She'd seen her fair share of both when she'd been in Columbus. For a moment when she'd been treating him it had been like she'd never left. She kept her certifications up, but that was it. She lived comfortably off the settlement money the hospital had been ordered to pay, so she certainly didn't need a job.

As she glanced down the man's body, she had to admit it had gotten her blood pumping a bit.

Roz took a sip of her wine as she walked into the living room and settled onto the couch. In a way this was going to work out for her. For some reason she'd been craving human interaction recently. Her twenty-year old son was going to college in Atlanta and she'd always stuck close for him, in case he needed her. But recently, he'd been relying more on his friends and acquaintances than her.

Was this just an empty-nest issue? She looked through the window and out at the vista before her. That view was precious to her. And she couldn't imagine giving it up just because she missed talking with someone about the weather. That view had saved her sanity over the years.

Now, there were two men on her mountain, when there never had been before. That put her on edge.

Andy came through the hallway, her eyes going immediately to the man still laying on the table. She glanced at Roz. "Is he doing okay?"

Roz nodded. "He'll be fine with some rest and medications. You don't need to worry about him."

Andromeda crossed the room and went down on her knees in front of the couch, then she wrapped Roz in a huge, bony hug. Roz returned the hug gratefully, her eyes filling with tears. "You need to gain some weight, woman," she groused, prodding at Andromeda's bicep as she pulled away.

Andy laughed and gripped her hands in her own. "Whatever. You always tell me that."

"It's always true. What's the last thing you ate today?"

Andy screwed up her face in thought. "Gummy bears?"

Roz could have gagged. "That is so wrong. You need actual food."

Andy shrugged her shoulders. "Had other things on my mind," she admitted. "Oh, can you bandage this for me? It's in such an awkward spot."

She turned her arm and showed her a long gash. Roz felt terrible for not even noticing it. "Oh, damn. Yes, let's get this cleaned up."

Pushing off the couch she headed over to the med kit on the floor. She disinfected the cut and looked at it in the light of the window. It wasn't deep enough to require stitches, but it would definitely be irritating to heal up. "I'm going to superglue this one."

She applied the fast setting glue and held it until it sealed. "That will keep out debris and stuff. If you feel it split, let me know and we'll do it again."

Andromeda didn't know what she'd do without Roz in her life. She turned and gave the woman another hug, seriously happy to see her in the flesh. Texts and emails were fine but seeing a person in person was so much better. "How have you been? How's Tyler?"

Roz rolled her eyes. "He's too good to answer his mom's texts and calls. That was part of why I came up here. I was tired of being ignored and discounted."

Andromeda laughed. "Well, he's a big college student now. He doesn't have time to be coddled by his mother."

"I don't coddle him, but I do keep tabs on him. Or I try to."

Tyler had been one of those kids that had barely scraped through high school, but he was suddenly loving college. He had no goal in mind other than to try everything. Andromeda would have been frustrated too. "Well, I can't tell you how happy I am you were here. Eventually I probably would have had to take Parker in to the hospital and we all would have been in danger. Thank you for patching him up here."

Her friend smiled, the creases around her eyes deepening. "No problem. Although I will admit to being a little on edge that you brought two strange men to my mountain."

Andromeda cringed. "I know. I'm very sorry. This would never have been an option if I thought the men were even the slightest bit dangerous." She paused. "Let me say that differently. If I thought they were the slightest danger to you, this would not have even been an option."

And it wouldn't have been. They'd have found somewhere else to chill and allow Parker to recuperate.

"Parker is a good guy. A little too devoted to a different lifestyle for my taste, but his heart was always solid gold. And Mac, well, he's former military as well but he has the most calming personality. I can't imagine him ever fighting in a war, now. He'd rather just get lost in his books and research. He has a liberal studies doctorate as well as a biology degree. This situation isn't anything he chose for himself, but he had vital information and he stepped up to volunteer it. Even as we were running for our lives he kept his cool. He's a practical, useful bookworm. He might want to raid your book shelves."

Roz sighed. "I might let him, I guess. Wine?"

"Hell, yes!"