JV was going crazy. She'd spent the last week going between the main house and Steve's cabin, seeing only Steve, Bobby, and clan leaders. She hadn't been able to walk outside more than that, because she didn't have anything warm enough to be outside in for very long. She'd never, in all her twenty-eight years, experienced anything like it. She felt trapped and found herself pacing through the house, then bundling up in what little warm clothing she had, to go outside and pace back and forth on the porch, returning only when her face and hands started to ache from the cold. 

She'd tried to shift and run through the snow, but she'd soon discovered that even as a cat, moving around in foot-deep snow wasn't an easy prospect. When the ice had caked on her paws she'd given up, going in and taking a hot shower to warm up. 

Today was no different. She came in from the back porch, taking off the coat and the scarf Rebecca had loaned her upon discovering she didn't have either. There really hadn't been much call for cold weather gear in east Texas, it might snow occasionally, but it never lasted more than a few days and she'd never seen snow this deep. 

"Come on, let's go to town." Rebecca said, as soon as JV stepped into the living room where she had been sitting. 

"Town?" JV was instantly interested. "What about the snow?"

"Bobby will take us," Rebecca answered. "The truck has four-wheel drive and good tires. The snow’s no problem." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yep, I've been working on a list of things that I need and I've watched you pace about all I can take. Let's get out of here for a while." 

"Normally I'd say don't do it just for me, but I'm just grateful for the opportunity to get out." 

Rebecca laughed. "It's only November, get used to it." 

JV shook her head and muttered something under her breath as she went to change clothes.

* * *

"Wow, how often do you go shopping?" JV was trying not to be rude, but the volume of food Rebecca was adding to the cart awed her. 

"Every couple of weeks or so. It means big trips, but not this big." Rebecca laughed, not at all offended. "Most of this is for Thanksgiving." 

"Thanksgiving?" JV repeated, "that's still weeks away."

"It's next week." 

JV blinked at the other woman, having a hard time believing it. She stopped, took out her cell phone, and pulled up the calendar. "Well I'll be damned. I totally spaced it."

"I'm not trying to run you off, you're more than welcome to stay. But doesn't your family expect you home?" Rebecca asked gently. 

JV gave her a wry smile. "My family's never made a big deal about Thanksgiving." 

"That's too bad. It's my favorite holiday," Rebecca kept moving through the aisle. "Nick had a habit of doing a big meal every year, the hands are all invited. Most of the hands generally spend it with their families, they're all somewhat local, but we also invite any kin without family in the area. I took over cooking the year before last. I'm not really sure how it worked before that. Last year we had twenty-five show up for dinner, with more turning up later for dessert." 

"You cook for them all yourself?" JV was horrified and knew it showed. 

"It's not that bad. I enjoy it."

"Don't get me wrong," JV laughed, holding her hands up in front of her, "I don't mind cooking, but wouldn’t know where to start, cooking for that many."

"It's not that difficult, you just make a lot of food." Rebecca laughed. "Most of the ones who show up are men. Men aren't known for being picky about their food, as long as there's plenty of it." 

"Hey, I take exception to that." Bobby said from where he'd been trailing behind the two women. 

"You are the epitome of that," Rebecca rolled her eyes. "It might be from living in the bunkhouse and eating your own cooking most of the time." 

"I'll have you know, I'm not a bad cook."

"You're not a good one either." Rebecca quipped, moving through the aisle. She pulled items from the shelves and dropped them into the cart she pulled along behind her, marking the list she carried as she went along.

"Yeah, well," he was silent a moment, then grinned, "I got nothing." 

"That's because you know I'm right," she said in a singsong voice, cracking up as she finished.  

Bobby shook his head and went back to following the women in silence, watching for anything or anyone who might be a threat. Before they'd left, Rebecca had told JV that her family hadn't been in favor of her leaving her clan, or picking her own husband. They’d started trouble in the past. It had been a while since anyone had tried anything though. Nick was still worried. While he didn't insist on it, he asked that she take one of the enforcers with her whenever she left the ranch. Since he’d never tried to stop her from going wherever she wanted, she felt it was a minor thing to take someone he trusted with her, in case someone showed up, or she had problems. That was why they had an escort. 

"Anyway," JV tried to steer the conversation back on topic, "I'd like to help cook, for Thanksgiving that is, if you don't mind." 

"That would be great." Rebecca was a little distracted as she looked for something, "making that much food is a lot of work, but it's worth it." She found what she was looking for, grabbed two bottles and dropped them in the cart, then started down the aisle again.

By the time Rebecca finished with her list they had filled three shopping carts. 

"We’re gonna cook all of this?" JV was awed by the sheer amount of food they'd gathered.

"No. This is Thanksgiving plus the next couple of weeks, too." Rebecca said as the two women worked together, loading the groceries onto the belt. 

It took more than thirty minutes to get through the register, get everything bagged and head out to the truck. Together they loaded the groceries into the back of the pickup so they could get out of the wind and cold. 

"Anywhere else you need to stop?" Bobby asked, climbing behind the wheel while the women got in from the other side. 

“Stop at the drug store, please,” Rebecca said, “I have a few things I need.” 

Less than five minutes later, Bobby parked the pickup in front of the store. Inside, they separated. It wasn't a large store, more of an old fashioned variety store than a modern drug store. Rebecca and Bobby both knew if anything happened, he could hear them, even from the far end of the store. Besides, he had a few things he needed, too. 

Rebecca grabbed a cart on her way in and pushed it through the store. She knew exactly where to find everything and quickly gathered what she was after. 

"Is there anything you need while we're here?" Rebecca turned to JV. 

"A couple of things," JV said, her face heating, "I need to find some warm clothes." 

"I'm sure you can find something here. If they don't have what you’re after, they'll probably order it. Or, if you want, we can look online and have anything you need delivered to the house." 

"Okay," JV said, looking for the few things she knew she needed. She realized she should have put together a list, because she knew she was forgetting something but had no clue what. 

After the drug store they headed back out to the ranch, the sun hanging low in the sky. 

"It's going to be nearly dark by the time we get back," JV said.

"Nearly? We'll have to hurry to get everything in before it's completely dark," Bobby said. "Once the sun sets the temperature’s gonna drop fast and there's another storm on the way. We'll have fresh snow before we get up tomorrow." 

JV groaned. 

"Are you sick of the snow already?" Rebecca laughed.

"Not really. I was just hoping for a break before we got more." JV watched out her window as the trees flew by. "I don't think I've ever seen more than six inches at a time, until this week."

"You spend the whole winter here and you'll see more," Bobby said. "Give us a few more inches and you might even convince Steve to take you out on one of the snow mobiles." 

"Snowmobiles?" JV brightened, "That sounds like fun." She watched the white dusted trees sweep by for a few seconds. "Why do you have snowmobiles?" She was suddenly curious.

"For winter work on the ranch, four-wheelers for the summer, snowmobiles for the winter. It makes checking on and finding lost cattle easier and faster," Bobby said. 

JV didn't know what to say. She spent the rest of the trip back wondering what Steve was up to, if he’d noticed she was gone and if he’d want to watch another movie tonight.