The sunshine was a sight for sore eyes—one of Sonny’s favorite sayings—but it did little to warm the bitter cold wind blowing in Cody’s face. Tex, the ranch dog, met him halfway to the bunkhouse and followed him the rest of the way. When Cody opened the bunkhouse door, Tex ran in ahead of him, jumped up on the sofa, and curled up with his paw over his nose.

“Who’s that?” Stevie asked from the kitchen table.

“Tex, meet Stevie.” Cody dropped her go bag and his doctor bag on the coffee table. “Stevie, meet Tex. He’s part ranch dog, part spoiled pet. He’s a big baby, so you’ve got nothing to fear. Tex, Stevie is all redheaded fire, so be afraid. Be very, very afraid.”

“That’s not funny,” Stevie told him. “I’ve set the table and there’s a breakfast omelet in the oven, along with biscuits and a pan of gravy heating on top of the stove.”

Cody went straight to the kitchen sink and washed his hands in warm water. “I will never take hot water for granted again.”

“Me either. Or jelly, or salt or…” She nodded toward the coffeepot that had just gurgled and finished dripping.

Cody filled two mugs, handed one to her, and held his up. “A toast to surviving the business of being stranded.”

She touched her mug with his. “To hoping we make it through the next week.”

“We’ve already made it through the worst of it.” He took a sip and held it in his mouth for a few seconds.

“Heavenly,” Stevie whispered.

“Amen,” Cody agreed. “The gravy is bubbling, and I’m about hungry enough to drink it like a warm milkshake.”

“Me too,” Stevie agreed as she set the pan on a trivet in the middle of the table, and then brought out the biscuits and the omelet. “This right here is better than what we could get at a five-star restaurant.”

“And this old bunkhouse is better than a five-star hotel.” Cody sat down at the table and bowed his head. “I can’t eat this food without giving thanks. We could have frozen to death or been killed out there. Let’s have a moment of silence.”

Stevie bowed her head. “I agree.”

Cody said a short prayer of gratitude and then raised his head. He didn’t know if Stevie was giving thanks or if she was asking God to help her make it through the next week, but it was a full minute before she opened her eyes. She picked up a biscuit, split it open, covered it with sausage gravy, and moaned when she put the first bite in her mouth.

“Hey, I thought my steak and potatoes were pretty good,” he said as he followed her example and then dipped out a big helping of the omelet.