Normally she’d have thought of that from the get-go, but being this close to the guy rattled her senses. “That’d be great.” She didn’t have a card on her, hadn’t anticipated running into anyone when she headed into the woods after Cody. But she needn’t have worried about having a card.
He slid long fingers into his jeans pocket to withdraw his cell, then asked, “What’s your number?”
Alarms blared through her head, all initiated from years of warnings from her three older brothers, but even so, she recited her number and watched him key it into his phone. Probably the easiest set of digits the man had ever received.
She felt weird surrendering her contact information like that. But she didn’t give out her number to just any guy who asked. Besides, it wasn’t like he’d suggested they go out to dinner together. Or that he ever would.
“I’ll call you if I see him...” He let the word hang and then lifted the phone to show the empty contact field on the display. “But I still need your name.”
“Elise,” she said. “Elise Ramsey.”
He entered it into the appropriate box. “Got it.”
She took a step back and, bizarrely, found herself not quite ready to leave. But her patient was at Willow’s Haven, which meant she should get there too. “I’ve got to go see to Cody.” She walked away from the guy who’d taken her by complete surprise, both with his appearance in the forest and with the effect he had on her senses.
“I want to help him too.”
Elise tripped over a tree root, stumbled, but caught herself before falling completely, and then she pivoted to see the guy whose words had rocked her to the core.
He stood grounded to the spot, raising his brow as though waiting for her to tell him how he could help.
“That’s real nice of you.” She struggled to figure this man out. First he scared her to death, then he admitted that her patient had been to see him—twice. And now he asked to help said patient. “But I’m not sure what you could do.”
Oak leaves crunched beneath his feet as he took the few steps needed to lessen the gap between them. He stopped just shy of her three feet of personal space, which was good. The sky had darkened as late afternoon turned to early evening, and she still didn’t know a whole lot about the man. Except that he was big and rugged. Socially challenged. And even more attractive up close.
“He must be interested in my cabin, or in the furniture I’m building, or something. Maybe I can use that to break down his barrier and get him to talk.”
Elise homed in on the part he’d said that would potentially interest Cody. “I’d almost forgotten. His father was a carpenter. Is that your occupation too?”
“No. I worked in the film industry.” The slight shake of his head at the end of the sentence told Elise he wished he hadn’t told her that much. “You think he came around because he saw me building furniture?”
She decided to leave the film industry comment alone. She wasn’t here to get information about Jack; she needed to stay focused on her patient. “From what I’ve read about Cody’s history, his interests never aligned with his father’s occupation.” She would’ve left it at that, but he seemed to drink in every tidbit about the boy, so she explained, “Cody is an autistic savant.”
His head tilted. “Like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man?”
Elise sighed. As much as that movie didn’t portray the vast scope of the savant syndrome, it did do much in alerting the general public to the specialized care needed by those individuals diagnosed with the disorder. “Cody is similar to that,” she said, “but his area of expertise is rather unique. Dustin Hoffman’s character specialized in math. Cody specializes in cars.”
“Cars?”
“Specifically the muscle cars of the sixties.”
Awareness coated his features, and the right corner of his mouth crooked up at the edge. “He’s had on a classic car shirt both times I’ve seen him.”
“And he’ll have another one on if you see him again. That’s all he’ll wear.” She heard a branch crack behind her and jerked around so fast that she lost her balance.
A large palm caught her left bicep and steadied her before she fell.
“You okay?” His face hovered near to hers. So close that she could see genuine concern in those uniquely colored green eyes.
Her personal space was officially invaded, big-time, resulting in her heart traipsing into a nice gallop. “I’m...fine.” She eased away from the warmth of his hand. “I should get back to Willow’s Haven, and to Cody.”
“I meant what I said, about helping him,” Jack stated firmly. “If his dad was a carpenter, then he can help me out with the furniture I’m building. Maybe that’ll let him cope with the loss somehow.”
Anything that would get Cody to ease out of his shell would be progress, but Elise doubted carpentry would do the trick, based on his prior caseworker’s files. “I’m not sure...”
“If that doesn’t work, I have another idea.” He gave her a moment to respond. When she didn’t, he added, “You should let me try. I know what he’s going through.”
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she withdrew it to see another text from Savvy.
Pretty sure Cody is looking for you.
She wanted to ask Jack what he meant. How did he know what Cody was going through? He’d assumed Willow’s Haven was an orphanage. Had he been orphaned too? Was that why he’d decided to remove himself from society, remain holed up in middle-of-nowhere, Alabama?
“Bring him back tomorrow. Let me help.” His words were almost delivered as a command, and Elise wondered what kind of position of authority this guy held in the past that he believed people would do his bidding simply because he stated it.
Even so, she wanted to help Cody. Needed to. And the boy did seem drawn to this guy. Then again, she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t drawn to him too. There was something about him...
She cleared her head, thought about what was best for her patient. “It’d be better if Cody came back on his own, instead of me trying to force him to do anything.”
“Okay. But I think he will.”
Elise nodded. Cody had been here twice in two days. There was no reason to think he wouldn’t make an effort to return again tomorrow. “I do too.”
He gave her a slight smile, as though pleased she gave the right answer, and, again, she wondered what kind of power this man had held—or still held—in his world. Showing her his phone, he added, “I’ll call you when he does.” Then he indicated the path behind Elise. “You should probably go before the rain.”
“What rain?” she asked, as a loud boom of thunder in the distance made her jump, and then a heavy drop of water plopped on her nose.
“I’ve always sensed when storms are coming.” His voice rumbled almost as fiercely as the sounds echoing from the dark clouds overhead.
“Call me if you see him again.” More drops plopped on her head, and she became aware of the musty odor and heaviness permeating the air. Then she turned and darted down the trail but chanced one more look over her shoulder to see Jack, standing in the rain, watching her disappear into the woods as if he wanted to make sure she made it back safely.
Why did she have the impulse to turn around, run the opposite direction...and make sure he found his way home too?
Copyright © 2016 by Renee Andrews
ISBN-13: 9781488018046
Apple Orchard Bride
Copyright © 2016 by Jessica Koschnitzky
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