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And if cleaning the terminals didn t work, he and Jill
would be worse off than now. He d be frozen, with no
way to warm himself and hypothermia a distinct
threat. The battery was the same age as the SUV, which
meant it was also getting long in the tooth. Maybe the
culprit was the starter, or a bad cable, or& Any number
of things could have gone wrong. He d done enough
work around cars and trucks during his early years at
the construction yard to know that he couldn t gamble
everything on one possibility.
His mind must have churned out the array of
thoughts on overdrive, because Jill continued to watch
him expectantly.
I ll& try it again later, he said. This could just be
a fluke. But I doubt it.
How will we keep ourselves warm?
184 ALL THAT LOVE IS
He looked around. Well, we ll move out of these
bucket seats, for one. Make the best nest we can on the
bench seat and draw on each other s body heat for
warmth. Up here in front, we re wasting energy. Or
soon will be.
This is bad, isn t it? she asked soberly.
I won t lie to you.
It is, she said for him. And then she must have
faced her own set of lightning-fast thoughts. A moment
later, she said, I have another pair of pants like these,
and another shirt and sweater.
I have my dress slacks and suit jacket, he said.
And my other pair of jeans, if they re dry.
I ll check, she said and slipped into the back with
the flashlight. No, they re still damp. So are my gloves.
Your other shirt s dry, though. The pullover might be,
too.
Could you separate all the clothes out in back where
I dumped them?
Sure thing, she said, and, kneeling on the bench
seat, set to work in the rear compartment.
He gathered some things they were likely to require,
and followed her into the back.
Once we get ourselves set up, we probably shouldn t
move around any more than we have to, he said from
his hunched position.
She flashed the light beam toward him. You re not
really expecting us to wear all this, are you?
No, he said. Hand me the flashlight.
What?
Hand me the flashlight. I have an idea.
She complied, and within seconds, a pale light
brightened the whole interior.
GINGER CHAMBERS 185
What did you do? she asked, surprised.
Squeezed it into a spot on the seat where it can
stand up.
That certainly helps.
We shouldn t leave it on for long, but&
She broke the small silence that ensued. So& how
should we do this?
We layer, like we have been. But keep everything
loose. If we pack the layers too tight, we lose our insu-
lation lose the dead air space. And we need dead air
space to stay warm.
Where did you learn all this?
In school. Building Construction 101.
You re kidding me. She gazed at him incredu-
lously, then realized he was joking. You are kidding
me. Then, as doubt crept in, she added, Aren t you?
He smiled slightly. Same principles apply.
She pulled her extra slacks over the pair she was
wearing; he pulled his dress slacks over his jeans.
Don t do up the clasp or zipper, he said.
She slipped a white button-up blouse over her
cashmere sweater, leaving it unbuttoned. He did the
same with the dress shirt he d worn to the party. Both
added another pair of socks, with the loosest pair on the
outside.
There s no way I m going to get my shoes back on,
she murmured.
Me, either. But it s probably better not to wear
shoes if they re tight.
They then used most of the remaining clothing to
make as comfortable a resting space as they could on
the bench seat one that stanched as many cold air
currents as they could detect.
186 ALL THAT LOVE IS
Finally, it came time to settle in. Brad, lifting the
hood of his coat, sat down first, and Jill, covering her
head and neck with one of her scarves, settled in next
to him, drawing her legs up onto the seat.
It was fully dark now. Brad had switched off the
flashlight and set it close to him, while she braced the
water bottle at the back of her knees to keep it from
freezing. Then Brad covered her with her long wool
coat.
Comfortable? he asked.
Mostly, she said.
Get as comfortable as you can. We re going to be
like this for a while.
She wiggled, and wiggled some more, unable to find
the right position.
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