Free Deep Freeze by Lisa Jackson Page B

town.
    Well, fine! She didn’t look over her shoulder, just in case he could see her in his rearview mirror. No matter what her mother thought, Cassie didn’t always do what Josh wanted. God, it wasn’t as if she was under his spell or he was her Svengali or anything dumb like that. Sometimes her mom bugged the hell out of her.
    She ran up the steps to the school.
    Get a clue, Mom, she thought disgustedly. And while you’re at it, get a life!

CHAPTER 7

    “I know a helluva lot more about horses than I do about machines,” Hans admitted as he wiped his hands and stared at the pump in the tiny pump house between the barn and garage. Hans Dvorak was a short, wiry man with silvery stubble on his chin and a flat nose that looked as if someone had punched it in years before. He’d worked outdoors with horses all his life and had the ruddy complexion to prove it. He’d managed to replace the taillight in the truck, but this pump was another story. “It’s froze up solid.” Red-faced, ski cap pulled over his ears, he’d bent onto one knee. “And here’s the reason, I think. Check out this wire.”
    Using the beam of a flashlight, he pointed to the electrical connection in question. The wire had become loose, the ends ragged, as if they’d been chewed by an animal. “I can probably patch this up, but look around.” He swept the beam across the interior of the old building, which was little more than a shed. It was dirty, dusty, lacked proper insulation, and was freezing inside. The single lightbulb in the ceiling was dim.
    The pump house was one of the areas pointed out by the inspector who’d checked out the place before she’d bought it. Even though he’d suggested new wiring, updated plumbing, a new roof, improved security system, and countless other updates to the buildings, she’d had her heart set on moving to this remote spot and had promised herself to take care of all the needed repairs. She’d made a good start, but some of the old equipment—this pump, the electronic gates, the security system—seemed to have minds of their own. No matter how many times they were fixed, they continued to break down.
    “You know, I told the McReedys for years that the place needed new wiring. Would Asa listen? Hell, no! And when he put it on the market, I was sure he’d fix things up, but you came along before he had to do anything.”
    “I should have taken care of everything the minute I moved in, but there was too much.” She’d spent a lot of time and money replacing windows and doors, refinishing the wood floors, and attending to the wiring inside the house. She’d figured the outbuildings could wait. Apparently she’d been wrong. “I planned to do some more updating this coming spring. I guess I waited too long,” Jenna said, her breath fogging. God, it was cold. And getting colder by the minute.
    “Well, we’ll figure something out,” he said, rubbing his chin. “I’ve got enough water for the horses in the troughs, but that’s gonna freeze tonight.” Hans squinted and shook his head. “I should have come over last night and started a drip to keep the water flowing through the pipes. If I had, I might have noticed the wiring and we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
    “It’s not your fault, okay? I think I’d better get a plumber out here pronto.”
    “And an electrician.”
    “And a mechanic.” They’d already looked at the Jeep and tried to jump it. The damned engine didn’t so much as turn over.
    “Isn’t there anyone I can hire that can fix everything?”
    “Maybe. Jim Klondike’s a good all-around handyman but he’s probably pretty busy.” Hans lifted his hat and rubbed his near-bald head. “Then there’s Seth Whitaker and…oh, what’s his name, the guy that lives up the river—” He snapped his fingers. “Don Ramsby. Owns his own garage. They all could be pretty busy. Other folks are probably in the same spot as you today.”
    “I imagine.” As Hans turned to the stable