“Tomorrow, nothing!” Stevie said. “The weather report has been updated. This isn’t going to let up for at least two days, and then we’ll have to dig out from under anywhere from ten to eighteen inches of snow. They’re expecting power to be down for a week. And who gives a damn about teasing? I’ve got a cria to save who needs others of her breed around her. You want to learn to hum like that baby’s mama?”

Cody had been around alpacas since he had gotten home a few months ago, so he knew exactly what she was talking about. They made a humming noise when they were happy, and although it was a little different, they also hummed when they were sad. If they were upset or angry, they made a high-pitched screeching sound that came close to breaking glass.

“I took an oath that I would try to save lives.” Cody warmed his hands over the top of the stove. “I guess it doesn’t matter if it’s an alpaca or a human, so I would be willing to give humming a try if I needed to, but I do believe we’ve got something better.” He stopped and pointed.

The cria had changed position and now had her head up as she sniffed the calico cat, who was rubbing herself all around the cria’s neck. The humming had gone from mournful to happy, and all three kittens were playing hide-and-seek under the blanket and romping all over the new baby.

“She’s bonding with the cats,” Stevie said as she went to the small bathroom and filled the bottle with water. “I’ve never seen anything like that before, but thank God for it. If she eats…where’s something to heat this bottle?”

“We’ve got a cast-iron skillet, but I haven’t found any pans, and is that plastic?” Cody asked as he started looking around for something that might work. “I’ve got an idea. Let’s open up a can of beans, put them in the skillet, and hey, would you look at this?”

He found a camping set in a box under the workbench. “One bowl and three metal plates. And here’s a couple of forks and a spoon.”

Stevie stooped down beside him and took the bowl from the box. “I can heat water in this, then transfer it to the bottle. I’d rather have a microwave or maybe a stove to sterilize things, but…”

“But we’ll take our miracles where we find them, right?” Cody set the box on the workbench. “Like you finding me here.”

She gave him another dirty look. Finding Cody Ryan was anything but a miracle, she thought. She hated rattlesnakes, but she would rather face off with one four feet long than spend days cooped up in a small room with Cody Ryan.

Chapter Two

Chapter Two