A Handful of Heaven

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Devon ignored the ill-mannered outburst. "That should! be enough to get me back to Seattle. I have enough money) for the train trip cross-country."

Cornstalk skidded into the tent. "All done, miss. Youj* things're in the log cabin Crazy Spike started to build afore he died o' bein' shot in the back. Anything else I can do for] you?"

Stone Man pinned a cold stare on the kid. "You can ca: her across the Chilkoot on your back."

Devon snorted derisively. "I'm not crossing the Chilkooi Trail, Mr. MacKenna, so you can just put that out of yoi mind. I'm returning the way I came. By water."

"Oh, miss," Cornstalk said in a rush, "there ain't no gettin' out of here this year, leastways not by water. The only way out of here this late in the year is to walk."

"Get out," Stone Man roared. Cornstalk jumped like a scared rabbit and hightailed it out of the tent. "Is he telling the truth?" Devon whispered. "There's a way out, but not by water." "Oh, my God," she groaned. "I'm stuck

. Really stuck.' "No, you're not. You're leaving here if I have to fling yoi like a rock."

Her head snapped up. "Enough is enough, Mr. M Kenna. This is all your fault. You placed the advertisemen and you accepted my application. You're the one who p tended to have a store and not some..." She glanced aroun in disgust. "Hovel with shelves. So don't you dare threatej me."

"No goddamn woman was supposed to answer. Yoi tricked me."

"Tricked you, Mr. MacKenna? Did you anywhere in ths advertisement specify that your partner had to be a man?" "Lady, I've had just about enough of you." "Oh, no, you haven't, Mr. MacKenna, not by a long shot If you didn't want a woman, you should've said so. But you didn't, and so here I am. Broke, stuck in the middle of godforsaken frozen moose pasture with a store that looks like it burned to the ground yesterday and a partner who look like he crawled from the rubble this morning." Her eye

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narrowed with resolve. "Well, Mr. MacKenna, you wanted a partner, and you've got one."

"I didn't want you."

She smiled, a ghost of a grin that curved her lips without touching her eyes. "You aren't exactly hero material yourself, Mr. MacKenna. But what we wanted doesn't matter a bit. What matters is what we got, and what we've got is each other. I'm here for the winter."

"Over my dead body."

The smile slipped up to her eyes. "That would be preferable, I'll admit, but as it's unlikely, let's not waste time hoping. Now," she said, clapping her hands, "the advertisement said the partnership included room and board. Could you please show me to my room?"

The shadows exploded with laughter.

"W-What's so funny about that?" She glanced nervously at the men huddled behind the canvas wall. "The advertisement did say room and board, didn't it?"

A slow grin slid across Stone Man's bearded face. "Oh, yeah," he said, "it did. Standard room and board for the gold fields. Follow me, Miss O'Shea."

He led her to a small wood-framed tent not more than a hundred feet from the post. Easing open the door, he said silkily, "Here it is. Home sweet home for me ... and my partner."

Devon's eyes snapped up to his. "You don't mean-"

His gaze flicked through the open door. "Take a look at your new home. Yours and mine, that is."

Cold dread killed Devon's retort. Something in his eyes, something painfully akin to glee, chilled her to the bone. He didn't want to live with her any more than she wanted to live with him. So why was he smiling?

"Come on . . ."he whispered in her ear.

Suddenly she was afraid; the last thing in the world she wanted to do was to look inside the tent.

Her hands curled into tight little balls. This tent was her nome, and ignoring that fact wouldn't change it. Squaring

her shoulders, she turned stiffly toward the door.