I woke the next morning to bright sunshine and the smell of fresh coffee. I followed the scent and found that my ankle felt considerably better. "So far, so good, I murmured to myself as I carefully limped down the stairs.

As I passed by the side porch, I heard the sound of the washer and dryer running. Someone Brian, most likely-had already attended to the laundry. In the kitchen Brian stood at the gas cooker, cooking scrambled eggs. His hair was damp from his shower and he was dressed in clean clothes--his own clothes apparently, a pair of faded, well-fittng jeans hat hung from his slim hips like a...