Barrett, Julia Rachel - Pushing Her Boundaries (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Julia Rachel Barrett

  He gave Jeff a quick call, waking him. “Jeff, sorry to call so early, but I’ll be driving Lynn’s car over there. Can she drive it back? Yeah? I need to talk to you about something, a small change in plans. All right, wait for me. I’ll be there in forty minutes or so.” He clicked off and set his coffee cup in the sink.

  Mace tossed the towels in the hamper and remade the bed. He searched the apartment for the rest of his clothes, got dressed, and found the keys to Lynn’s car—Maggie had taken the apartment key off the key ring. Thinks of everything, doesn’t she? Mace smiled. Well, not everything.

  * * * *

  Maggie watched from a park bench as Lynn’s car drove by, Mace behind the wheel. I am such a fucking coward. She didn’t think he’d seen her, but if he had, he’d obviously decided to ignore her.

  Great, we can ignore each other until the wedding. I’m the maid of honor, he’s the best man. We’re going to have to walk up and down the aisle together. Make a toast. Dance together. And I’m going to try to pretend this night never happened. Maggie snorted. Yeah, right. And the sky is lime green. There’s no way in hell I’m going to be able to forget this.

  Her stomach clenched as she thought about what they’d done to each other. Mace Williams had rocked her world. Too bad her world no longer included commitment because he was the kind of man she’d always dreamed… Stop it! You know how this ends. You fall in love, you give your trust to a man, and what does he do? He cheats, he lies, and he treats you like gum stuck to his shoe. He asks you to marry him and then you find out the son of a bitch is already married. No, you are not falling into the same old trap all over again. For all you know, Mace has a girlfriend back home and he just cheated on her with you. Deep in her heart, Maggie didn’t believe that was the case, but she told her heart to shut up.

  With a sigh, Maggie rose from the bench and jogged to the door of the apartment building. She let herself into the main door with her key and ran up the stairs. Unlocking the door to Lynn’s apartment, she inhaled. The room still smelled like him. Like sex.

  Wishful thinking?

  Maggie picked up the coffee mug he’d left in the sink. It was two-thirds full. She saw the note. He’d probably been drinking the coffee when he read the note. Mace must think I’m the biggest bitch, like the ice queen or something. He’s probably so pissed off. No, he has no reason to be pissed. You offered him one night and one night only. He accepted.

  Oh my god, what a night it was. Maggie looked down and saw that her fingers caressed the edge of the coffee mug, the edge where Mace’s mouth might have been, and she set the cup down. Forget it, girl. It’s done, finished. Take another shower… Her knees just about buckled when she pictured what they’d done in the shower. She swore she could feel Mace inside, making her come, all over again. Um, over and over again, is more like it. Maggie drew in a ragged breath and blew it out. Get a grip. Take another shower, sort your stuff, and pack for the canoe trip. Do it.

  Chapter Six

  “Are you sure you know how to get to this marina? It sounds like it’s in the middle of nowhere.” Maggie glanced at Lynn in time to see her sister roll her eyes.

  “Yes. Jeff gave me excellent directions. Quit stressing about every single thing.”

  It was Maggie’s turn to roll her eyes. “I don’t understand why we have to drive up alone. Jeff should be with us, to help with your stuff. And I’m still not certain about all this.”

  “I told you, Jeff and I get five days alone in a cabin with no phone, no internet, no television. I can’t wait. Nobody from his office will be able to reach him.” Lynn patted Maggie’s thigh. “Seriously, sis, you worry too much. I’ll be fine.”

  Maggie snorted. “It’s not so much you I’m worried about. I’m the one who’ll be stuck out in the wilderness with complete strangers and, by the way, who the hell is going to be canoeing with me? I can’t handle a canoe by myself and the last thing I want to do is sit in the middle of a canoe like a little kid. Talk about a fifth wheel.”

  When Lynn mumbled an answer, Maggie ventured a quick glance at her sister’s face. Lynn stared down at her hands. “What was that? What did you say?” Maggie asked.

  “I said, Jeff’s friend says he has somebody coming along to canoe with you.”

  Maggie raised her eyebrows. “Oh my god, please tell me this is not a secret plan to fix me up with some dickhead.”

  Lynn looked at her and grinned. “Maggie, I swear on my life this is not a plan to fix you up with some dickhead.”

  “Good, because I’m going to have to use the woods as a toilet and that’s bad enough without having to do it in the company of complete strangers, let alone a man my sister wants me to impress.”

  “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that. Besides, everyone knows you get grungy when you’re camping.” Lynn’s cell phone rang. She looked at Maggie. “It’s Jeff.”

  “Well, answer it. Maybe he’s calling to tell you he’s on his way.” Or even better, maybe he’s calling to tell us to turn around, that the whole trip’s been canceled. I really don’t feel like depending upon strangers for five days, even if they are Jeff’s friends and gourmet cooks and wine experts. I’m not so sure I even like people who fancy themselves wine experts. Well, at least they’ll bring some good food and maybe some of their favorite wines and I can do a little fishing… Lynn had finished her phone conversation and she was talking to her. “Huh?”

  “Jeff says he’ll be there before sunset. His friend, Robert, will have to make a couple trips in the motorboat to pick us all up at the marina.”

  Maggie nodded. “I forgot to ask, do cell phones work up there?”

  “I don’t think so. I think the last time you can reliably get cell service is at Cloquet.”

  “Cloquet?”

  “Yeah, it’s this little town maybe an hour south of the marina.”

  “And how far is the cabin from the marina?”

  “I’m not entirely sure, thirty, forty minutes by speedboat.”

  “Do you know if they have indoor plumbing at the cabin?”

  Lynn laughed. “Oh yeah, Jeff says the cabin is gorgeous. They have indoor plumbing, great views, a guest house…really, sis, you need to chill. We’re just going to a private island, not Siberia. You’ll have fun despite yourself. You know, Maggie, you don’t have to play mom every minute we’re together.” Maggie opened her mouth to protest, but Lynn stuck up a hand. “No, I mean it. Yeah, I broke my ankle and I’m bruised up, but I’ll be fine and I have Jeff to take care of me. I’m not trying to make you feel bad, but look at it this way, your little bird is leaving the nest. It’s what I’m supposed to do; you should be happy about it.”

  Maggie sighed. “I am happy for you, Lynn, really. I guess I’ve been your mom for so many years, I forget I’m just your sister.”

  “Christ, Maggie, we’re only five years apart.” Lynn laughed. “I can just see me introducing you at the wedding—Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Fine, this is my mother, Maggie Anderson. Yes, I know she looks young, but then she had me when she was five. Geez, can you imagine?”

  Maggie giggled. “Yes, you can tell them I was five in dog years.”

  “See?” Lynn smiled. “You can laugh when you drop the attitude. Once in a while, let yourself enjoy life. You don’t always have to be so responsible.”

  Maggie suddenly remembered exactly how much she had enjoyed herself all night, with Mace.

  “Hey! Maggie, the car is drifting onto the shoulder.”

  Maggie blinked her eyes and shook her head. “Sorry, sis, lost concentration for a second.”

  “Well, don’t do it again.” Lynn folded her arms and reclined her seat. “Jeff kept me up most of the night,” she said, shooting Maggie a lopsided grin. “I’m going to take a little nap. Wake me when we hit that turnoff to the two-lane highway and I’ll pull out Jeff’s directions.”

  Maggie looked over and watched Lynn close her eyes. What I wouldn’t give for a little nap right about now. I think I’ve had maybe
thirty minutes of sleep in over twenty-four hours. She smiled despite her fatigue. It was worth it. Mace was worth every single second.

  * * * *

  Waking up in the car, Mace stretched, his back cramped from sleeping hunched over.

  “What’s the matter, didn’t you get much sleep last night?” His brother was driving to the marina.

  “On Lynn’s couch? No, I didn’t get much sleep.” Mace yawned. “How much farther?”

  “Another thirty minutes. We’ll beat them there by at least two hours. Is that what you had in mind?”

  Mace looked over at Jeff. “If Maggie Anderson knew I was coming on this canoe trip, she’d be back in California by now.”

  Jeff chuckled. “She hates you that much, huh? Is it some kind of nurse-doctor thing?”

  “No, it’s a fear of men thing. What’s her story? I really didn’t pay much attention when you were telling me about Lynn’s family a few months back.”

  Jeff glanced in his direction. “Why the sudden interest? I know Maggie’s cute and all, but she doesn’t really seem your type.”

  “Oh, really? What do you see as my type, Jeff?”

  His brother shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know, big tits, big money, you know, arm candy.”

  Mace rolled his eyes. “Is that what you think of me? That all I’m looking for in a woman is a Barbie doll I can play dress-up with?”

  Jeff laughed. “I was thinking more a Barbie doll you can play dress off with. Yeah, I mean Maggie’s more the intellectual type. From what Lynn tells me, she’s not all that much fun. She’s pretty serious.”

  “Little boy, when you’re as old as I am, you’ll come to realize that there’s more to a woman than what’s between her legs.”

  “Hey, never discount what’s between a woman’s legs. Besides, you’re only two years older than me. I suspect you don’t need Viagra yet. Your last girlfriend…” Mace cleared his throat, interrupting his brother. “Excuse me,” continued Jeff, “last woman friend, was pretty much all tits and ass. I don’t recall her having a great deal going on upstairs.”

  “Do you see Alana here? She lasted a month. I haven’t been with a woman since.”

  Jeff whistled. “No fuckin’ way. Doctor Don Juan hasn’t been with a woman for six months? How’s your fist holding up? Your palm all blistered?”

  Mace crossed his arms and stared straight ahead. “Asshole.”

  “No wonder you want to get with Maggie; you’re desperate for the real thing.”

  “Shut up, Jeff.”

  “Listen, Mace, you screw things up for me with Lynn, and I will never forgive you. I’m not going to let you use her sister because you’re horny. Got it? Maggie’s already been burned enough.”

  “Who burned her?” Mace needed to know.

  “Who hasn’t burned her is a better question.” Jeff put on his signal and pulled off the highway onto a two-lane road. “Do you remember I told you she keeps hooking up with losers?”

  “Vaguely.”

  “She does. This last one was a French neurosurgeon. They were engaged. He bought her a ring, the whole nine yards. They go house hunting together in Sacramento. Maggie’s talking about setting the date. And then one night, after a nice dinner, they come back to his apartment, and who should be sitting on the couch holding two glasses of champagne, but his wife.”

  “Christ. What a fucking ass.”

  “Yeah, no shit. Before that it was this bad-tempered chef who, I’m told, always wanted to do it in his restaurant. When she got sick of his attitude, he knocked her around. The neighbors had to call the cops on him when he smacked her in front of her apartment house.”

  Mace felt his fists clench.

  “Before that, it was some guy who was into cars and motorcycles and drank like a fish. From what Lynn says, he happened during Maggie’s rescue phase. She’s always trying to fix what’s broken. I guess it’s pretty typical when you have a parent who’s an alcoholic.”

  “Lynn and Maggie’s father is an alcoholic?”

  “No.” Jeff guided the car onto a dirt lane. “Their mother. Their father walked out on them when their mom was pregnant with Lynn. I guess the minute she brought Lynn home from the hospital, she handed her to Maggie. Maggie pretty much raised her. I think Lynn turned out all right for someone raised by a five-year-old, don’t you?” Jeff looked at him.

  Mace was floored. A five-year-old child raising an infant? He cleared his throat. “I think it’s pretty remarkable that a five-year-old did a damn good job of raising herself, let alone caring for her sister. I see enough patients from homes like this to know that both Maggie and Lynn could have easily become alcoholics themselves, or drug addicts, or worse. Where’s their mother now?”

  “I don’t know exactly, some nursing home. Do you think I should park in that lot over there, or park along the road?”

  Still rocked by what he’d just heard, Mace barely glanced at the lot. “The road. Seems like most cars are parked along the road.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I think too. Let’s get the car unpacked. Robert should be waiting for us at the dock.” Jeff turned to open the car door.

  Mace put a hand on his brother’s arm. “Jeff, I swear I won’t mess anything up for you and Lynn, but I want to get to know Maggie, so I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t do anything to mess that up for me.”

  Jeff sat back. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’ve never taken women seriously, I mean, not in the sense that you want to get to know them.”

  “Yeah, well, things change. I’ve changed over the past year.”

  “I’ll talk to Lynn. She already figured out you were interested, but I told her that with you, it was all about the sex.”

  Mace snorted. “Thanks loads. I’m sure that went over well.”

  “I have to give Lynn credit. She seemed to think your interest went a little deeper than that, no matter how I tried to spin it. Well, you have five days out in the wilderness to impress her.” Jeff patted his brother on the shoulder, and he said with a grin, “If shitting in the woods together doesn’t do it, then I don’t know what will.”

  Chapter Seven

  When Jeff’s friend Robert greeted them at the dock, Maggie took one look at him and nearly choked in her attempts to smother her laughter. She immediately flashed on Pee-Wee Herman, except instead of the crazy suit, Robert was wearing safari shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, and a floppy hat along with his sneakers.

  “He’s harmless,” Lynn whispered as Maggie unpacked the car. “This is kind of how people dress up here.”

  “What does he do?” Maggie whispered back.

  “He was one of Jeff’s law school professors. He inherited this island from an uncle and retired early. He and his wife, well, his new wife, remodeled the original cabin and expanded. It’s a great getaway.”

  “I got a bad feeling about this,” Maggie muttered, and Lynn poked her with one of her crutches.

  “It’ll be okay,” she hissed. “Be nice.”

  Maggie slung her backpack over one shoulder, her purse over the other, and grabbed Lynn’s rolling bag. “Can you manage down this hill on those?”

  Lynn nodded.

  “Then let’s get going. We wouldn’t want to keep nature boy waiting.”

  “Maggie…”

  “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be nice.”

  Lynn stopped. “Maggie, these are Jeff’s friends. He’s known them a long time, so please, please be nice.”

  Maggie looked at her sister. “Lynn, I will be on my best behavior, I promise.”

  “That’s all I ask.”

  * * * *

  Sitting in the front of the speedboat, Maggie pushed the hair out of her eyes. It didn’t do any good. The hair blew back in front on her face the instant she moved her hands away. Oh well, doesn’t matter. Robert’s a major whack job and I’m headed off into the la-la land wilderness with him and who knows who. Do I care what my hair looks like?

  Robert s
pent the entire ride trying to carry on a conversation with her, not seeming to realize that the wind was right in her face, and she couldn’t hear a single word he said. He didn’t seem to notice that either; he just kept right on blabbing. Maggie decided her best option was to face straight ahead and ignore him. It was better than getting a mouthful of hair.

  Away from the marina, the boat picked up speed and soon they were cruising along a heavily wooded shoreline. During the thirty-five-minute ride to the cabin, they passed only one other boat. Robert slowed down and waved.

  “How many cabins on this lake?” Maggie shouted, her voice blowing back with the wind.

  “Fifteen, mostly closer to the marina. Our cabin is on an island on the far side of the lake. My cousin has a cabin on the other side of the island, but that’s it.”

  “How do you get electricity, if you’re so far from the marina?”

  “They dropped cable under the lake a few years back,” Robert said, right before he sped up.

  Maggie had been about to ask how they managed the indoor plumbing, but she shut her mouth, deciding she didn’t want to shriek, nor did she care to risk swallowing a bug. She’d find out soon enough. Maybe his cousin would be her canoe-buddy. Whoopee. Just shut up, sit back, and enjoy the view. And remember, be nice.

  After what seemed like an endless wind tunnel, Robert steered the boat around a bend in the lake and Maggie saw a dock, actually two docks, one old, and one new, built right over heavy granite boulders. The new dock was covered with a wide canvas awning. Robert angled the boat toward the new dock and pulled beneath the awning. Maggie noticed that this dock sat much higher than the old dock, and the boat ramp was set at least three feet from the edge. She wondered how she and Pee-Wee Robert were going to lift Lynn five feet into the air and maneuver her across the three-foot gap over open water. Lynn’s suitcase and her own backpack were going to be bad enough.