“Yes.”
“-in general.” She paused. “Yes?”
“Yes.”
That was it? No explanation? And he hadn’t even hesitated, either. “Attractive in general, you mean.”
His arm rubbed against hers. “I mean just what I said. You’re attractive. Now, could you move your hand a little? I may be making progress.”
She wanted to ask him if he thought the dress made the difference, but there really hadn’t been much opportunity for him to admire the gown. And she certainly didn’t want to sound like she was asking for reassurance…which she wasn’t. She’d just wanted an opinion, and since he was the only man to see her in the Worth gown—except for Chuck, who didn’t count—she’d thought he might—
“Are you still back there?”
His curt question interrupted her thoughts, and she moved her hand…probably a whole sixteenth of an inch, but she let her fingertips dust the slope of his hips in the process. Tight end, she thought, and then hastily curled her fingers into her palms. What was she doing? He was married, for heaven’s sake. Well, not married, but only by a quirk of fate. And even if he’d missed the ceremony, he still belonged to another woman. The beautiful Leanne.
“How long have you known her?” Eliza hunched her shoulders to stretch the stiff muscles in her neck and back.
“Known who?”
“Your fiancee.”
“Oh. Leanne. Mmm, a long time. Since she was born, I suppose.”
“And how long is that?”
“What?”
Eliza hadn’t thought it took such total concentration to wiggle one’s hands. “How old is Leanne?”
“Mmm. Twenty-six, maybe? I’m not sure.”
“You’re going to marry her and you don’t know how old she is? Do you remember her birthday?”
“She makes sure of it.”
“You sound like you’ve been married for years.”
“Sometimes it feels that way.”
Eliza dropped her head back again and looked through the roof at the stars. “I hope I never feel that way. When I’m a hundred and eight and have been married for a thousand years, I want to be as much in love as the day I fall into it.”
“Fall into what?”
She frowned. “Love, Mack. The day I fall in love. And if it requires so much effort to keep from touching me, then please grope. It’s important to have a little conversation, too, I think. I mean, we’ve been tied together for more than a half hour. Aren’t you the least bit curious about me?”
“That’s a trick question if I ever heard one.”
“All right, we can talk about you. Or Leanne. Or old barns. I don’t care, as long as I don’t have to sit here and think about Mrs. Pageatt and the wedding dress and how much trouble I’m going to be in when she finds out I don’t have it anymore.”
Mack cleared his throat. “Excuse the pun, but isn’t that like shutting the barn door after the horse is out?”
“If you don’t mind, let’s not talk about horses, either.”
“Why not? Did you get thrown off one once or something?”
“I’m not crazy enough to ride one of them.” Eliza shivered slightly at the thought. “They’re big and they snort and snuffle, and I’ve just never liked them, that’s all.”
He stopped fumbling with the cables. “You mean you gave away our one chance to take Chuck by surprise because you ‘just never liked’ horses?”
She decided she owed him at least a partial confession. “Maybe I’m a little frightened by them.”
“I think I’d feel better if you admitted you were downright terrified of them.”
“How can you be so sure you would have hit Chuck, anyway? You might have missed even if you’d had the element of surprise.”
His fingers grazed her hip as he moved his hands again. “I am curious about one thing. Why did you steal the dress in the first place?”
“In the first and every other place, I did not steal the Worth gown.” She scooted irritably as far away as the cables would allow, which was hardly any distance at all. “I can’t believe you even asked me that.”
“Considering you were wearing the damn dress, it seemed like a fair question. How would anyone know you were only borrowing it?”
“I just tried it on,” she said in self-defense. “And then the sleeve button got snagged and Mrs. Pageatt came in and it started to rain and there you were in the limousine. It was all completely innocent.”
He didn’t say anything for a few minutes. “Does this kind of ‘completely innocent’ chain of events happen to you very often?”
She was suddenly sorry she’d encouraged him to talk. “Once in a while,” she hedged. “Not every day.”
“Good, then we have something to look forward to tomorrow.”
“You know, Mack, it isn’t kind to keep reminding me that if I hadn’t gotten into your limo we wouldn’t be tied up in this barn now. I have said I was sorry and I am. I’ve offered to explain everything to Leanne and I will. But in the meantime, I’d appreciate a little consideration for my feelings.”
At her words, he went still…and then he twisted his wrist inside the cable knot until he could clasp her hand in his. “You’re right. It isn’t fair to blame you for everything. I’m sure, over the course of this long evening, I made some contribution to this melodrama.”
Wrapped around hers, his hand felt warm and comforting and very nice. “You did eat my hamburger,” she said.
“You didn’t want it.”
“I didn’t then, but I sure wish I had it now.”
He squeezed her fingers. “Hungry, huh?”
“Yes. You know what would be really good right now?”
“A pair of cable cutters.”
“A hot dog slathered with catsup and mustard and covered with onions, relish and sauerkraut.” She ran her tongue over her lips. “Oh, and a sprinkling of cheese. Not a whole lot. Just enough to add color.”
“Any more ‘color’ on that bun and your veins would collapse in self-defense. Don’t you know hot dogs are one of the worst things you can put into your body?”
“Oh, like Buddy’s Burgers are high on the nutrition chart.” She moved her shoulders up and down to loosen her stiff muscles. “And you had a milk shake, too.”
“Guilty. On the other hand, you’re starving and I’m not.”
“Thanks for pointing that out. I feel better already.”
He squeezed her hand and she squeezed back. “When we get out of this barn, I’ll buy you a hot dog,” he said. “How’s that?”
“Considering Chuck took your wallet, that’s a bit unrealistic.”
“Right. No wallet. Well, we’ll figure some way around that. Maybe we’re close to a Western Union office and someone can wire us emergency cash.”
“And who do you think is going to do that?”
He stopped, then stroked his thumb across the top of her hand, sending a ripple of response up her arm. “Someone will,” he said vaguely. “The main thing is to get out of…this…blasted tangle.”
Tangle. He wasn’t offering or asking for solace with all his hand squeezing and thumb stroking. Oh, no. All he was worried about was getting their hands through the knotted cable. She jerked her hand the half inch it took to get away from his.
He grabbed it back.
“You’re compulsive, Mack. Did you know that? Completely compulsive.”
“I have my moments. Now would you mind turning your wrist just a little?”
“I would mind, so don’t ask.”
He exhaled, sighing heavily. “Do you want to be tied to me for the rest of your life?”
“Arrogant, too.” She stiffened and leaned away from him. “Compulsive and arrogant.”
“I am trying to save your life here. I don’t think a little cooperation from you is too much to ask.”
He was right. She was behaving like a complete imbecile, wanting to hold hands with him instead of working with him for the perfectly reasonab
le goal of freedom. “I’m sorry. I don’t normally act like a spoiled child. What do you want me to do?”
All was quiet for a moment, as if he had to consider her request, and then he dropped his head back and looked up. “I want you to tell me again what you see up there.”
Puzzled, she tossed her head back and looked at the sky. “Stars, sky, a couple of stray clouds.”
“But no hole in the roof.”
She frowned. “Well, sure. If there wasn’t a hole, I wouldn’t be able to see anything except the roof.”
He threaded his fingers through hers and squeezed…and this time she knew he meant it. “You’re a strange woman, Eliza.”
“You’re a little peculiar yourself, Mack.”
He laughed. “Under the circumstances, I’ll take that as a compliment. Are you ready to give the knot another go?”
“Ready to wiggle when you are.”
“Save the wiggle for a minute and see if you can get hold of one of the clamps. If we could just get those off…”
“I can touch one with my right hand.” She groped for the handle. “But I can’t get my fingers around it.”
“Okay. What happens if I move like this?” He turned one shoulder toward her.
“No, that pulls it farther away. Try the other direction.”
He scooted and maneuvered, pressing hard against her side. “Now?” he asked.
“Almost.”
The cable drew painfully tight across her waist as he strained into the turn. She could tell by his quickened breathing that it hurt him as well, but he held the position. “Now try,” he said.
She grappled with the clamp, straining to get a solid grip. “Come on, baby,” she murmured. “Come on…. Come…got it!” She squeezed hard once and then again. On the third try, the clamp came free in her hand. “I got it!”
“Good,” he said, sighing. “We should have thought of this before. Grope around and see if you can get hold of another one.”
She groped. “Nope, nothing. You try.”
“Scoot toward me. That’s right. Turn your shoulder in and…Good. I can almost…Turn a little more. A little more. More. There. Got it.”
Mack smiled with relief as the clamp came loose in his hand. They weren’t free by any means, but at least they were making progress. With steady pressure, he tugged at the knots and felt the cable give just a little. “Pull, Eliza. And keep turning toward me.”
“I’m trying, but…It slipped.” Her voice rose with excitement. “The knot slipped. I felt it.” She scooted farther into the turn and her shoulder dipped behind his. “It slipped again.”
“Keep going. Keep—” His breath caught the instant he felt her breast brush his arm.
“I can almost reach the other clamp,” she said eagerly. “If I can turn just a little more…”
He felt the tug as she gripped the third clamp and gave it a yank. Two more tugs and it, too, was free. With another twist, she was sitting at a skewed right angle to him, and her breast was pressing into the back of his shoulder. Like a thief caught in the act, awareness ran for cover all across his body.
“Mack?”
Her soft query snapped him from the moment of fantasy to the problem at hand. “I’ve almost got the last one,” he said as he belatedly fished for the remaining terminal clamp. In another moment he had it, and in the next, it dangled loose.
“You did it!” She laughed with relief. “Now, if I shake my hand like this—” she wiggled her hand, and her breast rubbed up and down against him “—and if you’ll just move your hand like that…”
He hardly noticed when the cable slid across his wrist.
“I’m out!” She pulled one hand free and shook it vigorously. “Boy, does it tingle, too. How are you doing with yours?”
His was preoccupied with the tantalizing touch of her breast against his skin, and the tingling he felt at the moment was highly inappropriate. Eliza’s movements were completely innocent, he knew. Even with one hand free, she was still bound to him at the waist, and there simply wasn’t any other position available to her. But he had absolutely no business noticing how soft, full and delightfully contoured she was. And his body had even less business responding to that information.
Frustrated, he jerked futilely against the loop at his wrist, again and again.
“Slow down,” she said. “Take your time and twist your hand, easy-like.”
He closed his eyes, took a deep, focusing breath and concentrated on the back-and-forth, twisting movement of his hand. The cable scraped over his knuckles, fell away, and the whole system of loops and knots went slack. Extricating his other hand was relatively easy after that. In tandem with Eliza, he worked the knots, pulling and pushing the clamps through the loops, passing the cable ends to her and taking them back again as they unraveled the confining bonds.
“Hooray!” Eliza jumped up and did a little war dance, stomping her feet and waving her arms, apparently oblivious to the dilemma that now faced them.
Keeping his back to her, Mack pushed himself to his feet and focused his energy on the achy, throbbing awakening of his stiff muscles as he tried mightily to ignore the inclination—no, make that persistent impulse—to turn around and take a good, long look at her, which was all too possible with the brightness of the moonlight streaming through a hold in the roof.
“Mack?”
He cleared his throat and looked steadfastly at the barn wall. “Yes?”
“Do you see a horse blanket anywhere on your side of the barn?”
“A horse blanket?”
“Or a fig leaf. You know. Anything I might be able to cover up with.”
A rush of empathy for all the indignities she had suffered this evening rose above his own self-consciousness. “Sorry,” he said in an intentionally light, conversational tone. “Nothing over here but a handful of moldy hay.”
Her sigh was audible and forlorn. “Same here. A whole barn full of nothing.”
“You’d think Tamra and Jake would have left a quilt or a blanket lying around, wouldn’t you?” he said to ease the tension.
“Jake keeps it in his truck.”
“His truck.” He nodded as if they were talking about real people. “That makes sense, I guess.”
“Well, yes, it does. Especially when you realize that she drives a hatchback.”
He smiled, wondering if it was the stress that brought out this imaginative streak in her. “Just as a matter of interest, is it a quilt or a blanket?”
“It’s a red-checked tablecloth. Fabric, not plastic coated.”
He acknowledged that bit of information with a nod he knew she wouldn’t see, and continued to stare at the shabby barn wall as he stretched his stiff muscles. A minute ticked past and then another. She coughed. He cleared his throat and did a couple of side-to-side twists, which gave him an intriguing, sideways glimpse of moonlit skin and supple curves.
Not that he was looking, although he wanted to. But he wouldn’t, of course. Or if he did, it would be just a casual look. Maybe a glance while they discussed how to handle…no, no handling. They would discuss how to get help just as they would if they were wearing clothes. Being naked was immaterial, completely irrelevant.
“I should probably step outside and take a look around,” he said.
“I’ll come with you,” she said immediately. “We need to stay together.”
“No. No, we don’t.” His response was every bit as quick on the trigger as hers had been. “You’ll be safer staying inside the barn.” From the corner of his eye, he saw her turn her head and look at him over her shoulder.
“Safer than what?”
“Than wandering around outside.”
“But you’ll be wandering around out there, Mack. And I’ll be with you.”
He rubbed his thumb across his jaw. “Eliza, a naked man wandering around will attract less attention than a naked woman. Or a naked couple.”
“Oh.”
“So you can see why you need to stay
in here while I go for help.”
“I can see that we’re going to have to get past being naked, that’s for sure. So let’s just turn around and get it over with.”
Her suggestion tossed his thoughts like a Caesar salad. “Get what over with?” he asked cautiously.
“Being self-conscious about not having any clothes on. We can’t keep standing here with our backs turned, pretending we’re not aware of each other. Well, maybe you can. But I can’t. And we’re never going to figure out a plan of action if we have to keep talking to the walls.”
He straightened his shoulders. “I’m trying to preserve some dignity for you, Eliza.”
“That’s sweet, Mack, especially since this is all my fault. But I’m turning around…and I suggest you do likewise.”
Amazing, he thought. He had actually believed this clumsy situation couldn’t get any worse.
Chapter 6
“There, now,” Eliza said with conspicuous bravado as they faced each other across a few feet of barn floor. “This isn’t so bad, is it?”
No. Bad was not a word Mack would use to describe what he was feeling at the moment. Admiring came to mind. Awake, too…his whole body was now definitely awake—and aroused. Unfortunately, there was that, too. Draping his hands casually over the rising evidence, he began silently reciting every phone number he had ever memorized.
“See? All we needed was to get over the initial shock.” Eliza chattered on, as if a naked stranger crossed her line of vision at least once a day. He noted, however, in a mental pause between counting off the numbers of his office phone and his cellular, that she kept her gaze pinned somewhere near his right ear. “So now,” she continued, “we’re past the self-consciousness phase and we can get on with…well, with whatever comes next.”
“Getting out of here,” he suggested in the same edgy tone. “We should get out of here.”
“Right. There’s probably a farmhouse nearby. That makes sense, don’t you think? I mean, if there’s a barn here, there’s bound to be a farmer somewhere in the area.”
Mack reached Leanne’s number on his phone list and his mind went blank. Frowning, he tried to remember it…and failed completely. Not even the first digit surfaced in his thoughts. Another effect of the day’s stress, he supposed. At least he was feeling more in control of his body, even if his life had taken a startling detour.
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