Meeting Her Match

by Debra Clopton

  His alarm grew as Pace watched her crawl forward, head down and eyes shut.

  “Whoa, there,” he called. She was inching sideways! She looked like a crab. “What are you doing?” he demanded, now openly alarmed as she stalled in her slow crawl. She shook her head but didn’t say anything. Just stayed there on all fours as stiff as a board. “Wait a minute. Are you afraid of heights?” he demanded incredulously, immediately moving down the roof toward her. The fool woman was going to break her neck.

  “I’m fine.”

  The words were almost inaudible. “No, you’re not.”

  “Sheri,” Esther Mae yelled from down below. “You ain’t moving. You sure you can do that? Have you realized how high it is up there?”

  At Esther Mae’s warning, Pace saw Sheri open her eyes and glance over her shoulder. “Ohhh, mercy,” she gasped, then glued her gaze to a spot between her hands.

  He reached her just as she swayed.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Whoa, there. I’ve gotcha.” Pace grasped Sheri’s wrist, his heart in his throat. “Look at me,” he demanded, hunkering down beside her on the steep roof.

  She shook her head. “Can’t.”

  He wanted to wring her neck and protect her at the same time. What had the woman been thinking? “I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he promised gently. He knew he needed to get her calm before he could help her. Her breathing was shallow, and he was worried she might faint. He decided he’d save the neck wringing for after they got off the roof safely. “You’re not going to fall on my watch, Sheri.”

  “Promise?”

  Pace had to smile. He heard the spunk in that one-word sentence even in the state she was in.

  “I promise, but you’re going to have to trust me. Can you move?”

  She shook her head vigorously. Pace had to wonder what in thunder had possessed the woman to climb up here. Especially if she was afraid of heights? After all, he had seen her climbing that tree.

  Sheri focused on the steadiness of Pace’s hand securely wrapped around her wrist and the warmth of his breath near her ear as she struggled not to pass out. She would have no credibility with the man after this. Still on her hands and knees she forced her eyes open and met his gaze. What had she been thinking?

  “I’ve got you,” he repeated as if to reassure her.

  He’d seen the terror in her eyes. She knew it…but there wasn’t a thing she could do about it at the moment. At least he wasn’t laughing at her. No, his voice was gentle and his eyes were steady. Though she was frozen to the roof, she’d begun to feel calmer at his touch and the security of his voice. She knew instinctively that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. Still, that didn’t mean she could move.

  “I can’t move.” How she hated to admit such a weakness. She didn’t have a shred of dignity left. This was a fine fix her silly pride had gotten her into.

  Pace’s eyes crinkled at the edges when she glared up at him, but he didn’t smile. “Yes, you can move.”

  “No,” she said, wagging her head from side to side. The movement made her dizzy so she stopped. “I’m pretty certain I can’t.”

  “Sheri, I have your wrist and I know you’re stubborn enough that you can force your mind to do what you tell it to do. Turn around and sit here beside me.” His tone was gentle, the same tone he had used with the wild mare. It was Dr. Dolittle to the rescue.

  “I can’t.”

  “Yes, you can. Stop saying you can’t and put your mind to it. You are the most hardheaded woman I’ve ever met. You can do anything you set your mind to. Now come on.”

  Sheri met his gaze again. He smiled. “Come on. Show me what you’ve got.”

  “A headache,” she growled and he chuckled, his grasp tightening around her wrist. Sick to her stomach and terrified, she forced herself to ease around. The instant she was seated she slammed her eyes shut. He scooted close to her, their shoulders touching as he lifted her hand and securely linked his fingers with hers. If she hadn’t been so scared it might have felt pretty nice.

  “I knew you could do it. Now open your eyes.”

  She shook her head. “Can’t.”

  “I didn’t know you knew that word.”

  She nodded. “Not proud of it, but for me when it comes to heights it’s ahead of ‘aardvark’ in the dictionary.” Her voice squeaked. She hated this. She’d let herself get in over her head, and now he was going to see that she wasn’t as strong as everyone thought she was. He was going to see that she was a fraud. “It’s ridiculous, isn’t it?”

  “But it’s real to you. That’s something that’s hard to overcome.”

  “Is everything okay up there?” Lacy called. Sheri recognized her voice, but there was no way she was looking down to see her friend.

  “Everything’s fine, Lacy,” Pace called calmly.

  “You sure? Sheri, are you okay?”

  “She’s fine, Lacy.”

  Sheri opened her eyes and looked at him. “Thank you.” He nodded. The last thing she needed was the entire town knowing she’d just freaked out.

  “We’re just taking a moment to enjoy this great view,” he reassured Lacy.

  Ha! He was enjoying the view. Sheri was looking only at him.

  “Can you tell me how you could climb around in that tree but not be able to get up on this roof?”

  She gave a weak smile and shrugged. “It’s just different. I don’t know how to explain it. For one, the tree was only about ten feet off the ground. Plus, I had the other limbs to hold on to. There’s a sense of security in those limbs, I guess. But a roof is wide-open space going upward. There’s just the edge and nothing to break my fall. I just have a phobia about it. Always have. Yet I’ve been climbing trees since I was about four. Nearly scared my mother to death the first time she found me up in one. I can’t explain it, but I’m scared of those elevators with the glass, too. I have to stand by the door. And airplanes…I tried to fly once. They had to stop the plane and escort me off.”

  “And you knew all of this before coming up here?”

  He was looking at her as though she was nuts, which she deserved. She was nuts to follow him up here for the sake of her childish pride.

  “Like I said, you are the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met. You probably did it because I asked you if you were scared, and you didn’t want to admit it.”

  Reluctantly, she nodded. “I know. It was stupid of me.” It just about killed her to admit it to him. He would probably pick on her about it for the rest of her life. Then she thought about that and realized he wouldn’t do such a thing. And why would she think Pace would be around for the rest of her life?

  “So now we just have to get you down without everyone noticing how scared you are.”

  She hated admitting to him that she didn’t think she could turn around, back up and put her foot on that ladder. She hated herself for not being able to do it.

  “Don’t move. I’m just going to let go of your wrist. Okay?”

  She nodded, watching him. He smiled. He was so beautiful. The thought made her giggle, and she was not a giggler. It was proof of her nerves. His grip tightened.

  “You’re not fixin’ to go into hysterics on me, are you?”

  “No,” she managed and tried not to think about what he’d say if she told him that she thought he was beautiful.

  When he suddenly stood, turned around and stepped onto the ladder, Sheri had a near-hysteric outburst. Her heart went wild in her chest, and she started breathing shallow and swift again. Then his eyes were back on her and she locked into that gaze like a life preserver.

  He held her hand, and now he tugged gently. “Scoot over here. Don’t look at anything but me.”

  She shook her head. “Sheri, I want to pray for you.”

  Her eyelids flew up. “Pray?”

  “Sure. Sheri, the Lord can help you with this. He might take away the fear and He might not, but I know He will help you get down this ladder.”

&
nbsp; Sheri didn’t want to tell him that she couldn’t really remember the last time the Lord had actually done anything for her, but he was already closing his eyes and squeezing her hand. It was a way to put off having to climb over that edge for a few more moments. Pace prayed, his voice low and full of confidence. Sheri listened with mixed feelings, not really expecting the Lord to think this was important. When he was done she felt as though her day of reckoning had come as he tugged on her hand again and smiled.

  Suddenly feeling a surge of determination, she scooted to the edge, not daring to let her gaze falter from his. She was a chicken and a half, and the man could see straight through her as he grasped her wrist so her fingers were free.

  “Grab the ladder, put your foot on the rung and come on. I’m holding you, and I’m holding the roof. You’re not going anywhere but down this ladder with me.”

  She felt like one of his horses. The man could say things like that and she believed him. Sucking in a shaky breath she did as he asked. The instant her foot met the rung she felt calmer. One minute she was on the roof, the next instant she was on the ladder with Pace securely at her back.

  She knew she was safe.

  “Okay,” he said softly. She felt his warm breath against her ear. “Better?”

  She nodded, turning her head to look into his eyes. She felt secure, and suddenly she wanted to kiss this cowboy. But she didn’t. Something about kissing Pace Gentry scared her. Her emotions were wound tighter than a ball of rubber bands as she seemed to sway toward him against her will.

  “Take hold of the ladder,” he whispered, his voice bringing her back to the moment like a splash of cold water. What had she been thinking? His expression was unreadable as he wrapped one hand around her waist and the other just above her hand on the ladder. “Now, move downward as I do. I’ll shield you like the tree branches.”

  Sheri knew that he would. She started down the ladder. Her legs felt weak and her hands felt shaky, but suddenly it had nothing to do with her fear of heights and everything to do with the mountain of a man ever so carefully shielding her from harm.

  Pace hammered the last loose shingle down then applied the tar to stabilize it. His thoughts kept going back to Sheri. The woman had been terrified, yet because of her stubbornness, she’d followed him up that ladder. She’d made it down the ladder, and though he’d tried to protect her from everyone realizing that something was wrong, he should have known it would be impossible.

  He’d figured out that he’d walked into a setup when Norma Sue had put him and Sheri together as working partners, so why had he been surprised that they were watching them like hawks from down below? The posse and a small group of others were hovering at the bottom of the ladder as they reached the ground. Immediately, Sheri had been bombarded with questions. Reluctantly, she admitted that she’d frozen up there on the roof. He could tell it bothered her to admit a weakness to the group, but she covered it up with her flippant humor. Telling them she’d had to find some way to get Pace to put his arms around her.

  That had shifted the attention to him, and he’d decided it was time for him to get back to work.

  On his way up the ladder he heard her tell them to stop fussing over her. Just like that she was all tough and brassy again as she strode away.

  He had to wonder if what he’d seen up on that roof had been real. Had she really been afraid, or had she been manipulating him? The thought wouldn’t go away as he worked.

  He stayed on the roof all afternoon, not even going down for lunch. His thoughts were tied up with Sheri. If what he’d witnessed was real, and in his heart he felt it had been, then Sheri Marsh was wearing a mask for the world to see. He’d been privy to seeing beneath that tough exterior for the few moments on the edge of the roof. The woman was not all what she made others believe she was. She’d been vulnerable, and there had been something else, something that ran deeper. He’d seen it in her eyes.

  Beneath that brash facade there was a scared woman. But what was she scared of? Why did she think she had to put on an act? These were her friends. He had to admit he was drawn to finding out why.

  His gaze sought her out, entirely aware of where she sat beneath a tree working in a flower bed. The woman had as much talent with flower beds as she did with hiding her feelings from the world.

  There was a mystery about Sheri Marsh. Watching her pulling weeds, he realized she’d chosen a job that was removed from the crowd, too. A job that isolated her. He couldn’t help wondering who the real Sheri Marsh was.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Spill the beans, Sheri,” Esther Mae said the second she stepped through the door of Heavenly Inspirations on Tuesday morning. Sheri hadn’t seen any of them since Saturday at the church work day. She’d pretty much kept to herself most of that day after making an all-out fool of herself in front of Pace and everyone. She was amazed that they hadn’t bombarded her with questions the minute she’d gotten off that ladder. Amazingly, the posse had shown some restraint, but she could read them like yesterday’s news and she’d known they’d be waiting at the salon for her today.

  Esther Mae was holding open the door for her, ushering her inside as she plied her with questions. Lacy was cleaning brushes by the sink; Norma Sue and Adela were sitting in the styling chairs.

  “I don’t believe I know what you mean?” Sheri said, strolling past her, dropping her purse on her manicure table. She couldn’t help thinking how perfectly everything was working out despite her embarrassing blunder. She’d tried not to think too much about how Pace had rescued her and how sweetly he’d done it. But it was almost impossible. Still, she refused to let herself get caught up in wondering about how much different he was from her initial impressions. She had to focus on what was important, and that was getting the posse to leave her be.

  Esther Mae harrumphed. “You know who we’re talking about.”

  “Oh yeah, you mean me and Simon Putts?” Sheri teased.

  “Who?” Esther Mae snapped, rolling her eyes. “You don’t think we were serious about that?”

  “Of course you were serious,” she said, knowing they had been.

  “We’re talking about you and Pace,” Norma Sue said. “Y’all looked cozy up on that ladder Saturday. I even thought for a minute there you might get a kiss in.”

  “Did he kiss you after y’all left?” Esther Mae asked, beaming.

  Sheri thought about how much she’d wanted to kiss Pace. “Maybe he did, and maybe he didn’t. I don’t think it would be right to talk about it.” She looked nonchalantly at her fingernails.

  Lacy coughed. “You never had any problem talking about what a good kisser J.P. was.”

  “Believe me, Pace can run circles around J.P. Pace makes my heart do the oddest things.” That was certainly the truth.

  Esther Mae’s squeal was so high-pitched that it threatened to break the glass. “This is sooo romantic. Just think of it, girls. The poor man came here to be a witness of the Lord’s ability to change a person, and God has blessed him already.”

  Sheri thought of their conversation the morning he’d mangled his apology to her and she’d been so mad. He was an honorable guy. There were many layers to him, and she was enjoying each new layer revealed to her. With Pace, she was nowhere near the moving-on stage. Of course they hadn’t really known each other long and they weren’t really dating.

  “Sheri, we have some concerns about you dating Pace.”

  Concerns? Sheri eyed Norma Sue. When had the posse ever had any concerns? “What’s wrong?”

  She didn’t miss the looks that passed around the room. “We don’t mean to rain on your parade, but we’ve started to have some doubts. Pace, well, Pace is special. I don’t mean for you to take this wrong, but the boy doesn’t need to get hurt right now.”

  “Get hurt? Y’all girls have wanted nothing more than for me to find someone new, and suddenly you’re worried that I’m going to hurt Pace?” Sheri was stunned. This had come out of left field.

&nb
sp; Adela lifted a hand. “Now, Sheri, don’t get upset. Our concerns have more to do with Pace’s delicate situation. Sunday we were watching him at church, and the way he was soaking up everything the pastor was saying we realized we may have been hasty.”

  Sheri quirked an eyebrow. “His delicate situation?”

  “You know,” Norma Sue said. “He’s a baby.”

  “A what?” She shot Lacy a puzzled glance. Pace Gentry was not a baby.

  Lacy looked surprised, too. “Sheri, this is the first I’m hearing about this. But come to think of it, it is a valid point. Pace is a very new Christian. A baby Christian who has turned his entire world upside down to seek God’s will for his life. It did cross my mind the day we watched the mustangs being unloaded that maybe this wasn’t a good time for him to meet someone. Then I decided to leave that in God’s hands.” Lacy glanced at Norma Sue and Adela. “Are y’all disagreeing with that?”

  Norma Sue frowned and Adela looked from Sheri to Lacy. “He’s on a journey and whether he looks vulnerable or not, he is. We should be helping him grow and find his way in this new life he’s pursuing.”

  Adela smiled sympathetically. “We love you dearly, Sheri, but we just feel this isn’t the time. It is simply that at this time in Pace’s life, romance may not be the wisest thing.”

  Esther Mae didn’t seem to echo their concerns. Then again, she was the most enthusiastic matchmaker of the group, never seeming to worry too much about how it happened, just that it did.

  Sheri’s heart was pounding as she looked around the room at the women she thought she knew so well. Hadn’t they just been in an uproar to match her up? Weren’t they the posse? They matched up anything that didn’t move fast enough to get out of their way. Now they were telling her to back off, to leave Pace alone?

  Sheri looked at her friends in disbelief. Once again they were trying to direct her life. It wasn’t happening. No way.

  They thought they could simply snap their fingers, and everyone would do what they wanted them to do. Date this guy. Don’t date that guy. Well, that just wasn’t happening.