Under the weight of dejection and depressingly unanswerable questions, she curled into the corner of the couch where she had slept the previous night and dropped into a fitful doze. Dusty found her there when he finally came in, closer to four o’clock than three. She awoke groggy and confused, drenched with sweat while the place felt like a sauna.
“Oh hell,” Dusty growled. “I forgot to turn on the cooler or tell you about it. Ye gods, it must be a hundred degrees in here. Come on. Let me show you where the switch is.”
She stumbled to her feet and hurried after him. He opened a small panel in the hallway which covered the thermostat and controls for the heating and cooling. He was brusque as he demonstrated how the two systems worked.
“I’m sorry,” she said finally, in a small voice. “I d
