She scooted around on her seat, but her damn leg was going to be a problem, as it pinched and burned and hurt every time she moved. But if Neil could do it, so could she. She slid her fingers around the handle and pulled, but she wasn’t prepared for the wind ripping the door right out and away from her hand. Somehow, she fell and felt herself being yanked and pulled from the wind, going down on her hands and knees, the bag underneath her, and she tried to grab hold of Neil’s Tahoe, her fingers wrapping around the silver bar of the running board. Her hair was whipping around, she couldn’t see, and then there were hands under her arms, pulling her against his solid chest and dragging her toward the door. She crawled inside and lay on the wet tiled floor as Neil somehow shut the door.
Chapter 10
“What the hell were you doing? I told you very clearly to stay in the SUV. You almost got yourself killed. If I hadn’t gotten to you, you would have been gone, blown across that yard. You scared the hell out of me, Candy!” he shouted at her as she sat on the floor, looking so much like a child, and then she burst into tears. “Candy, ah, shit. Look, I’m sorry.” He was down beside her, pulling off his wet jacket before lifting her in his arms and carrying her through the darkened house to the living room. She reeked, just like that ridiculous donkey he’d shut in the closet, but at least the thing was quiet now, for the moment, until he found a better spot, away from his shoes and coats.
She slid her arms around his neck and held on as he set her on the sofa. Then she started to get up. “Neil, I’m going to ruin this sofa. Ambrose peed on me, and there’s dung ground into my skirt.”
Neil stood her up and slid her skirt down, pulling off her wet jacket. “Take it off. I’ll get you cleaned up in a minute. I want to check that wound, too. How’s it feeling right now?”
He sat her back down in her sheer underwear and tank top, and she felt as if she were butt naked. She was blushing furiously, so he grabbed a blanket on the back of the sofa pulled it over her. She was trembling, and he thought this was because she was so upset, but then he realized she was chilled because everything she wore was soaking wet. Her light tank top clung to her, and her hair dripped just like his.
“Let me get a towel. I’ll be right back.”
He left her shivering, perched on the side of the leather sofa, in a room that wasn’t the safest place to be. He stopped for a second to get his head together. He knew he needed a plan B, whatever that hell that would be, because right now he was making everything up as he went along, and that wasn’t a good thing. Right now was nowhere near as bad as things could get. They would need to ride out a storm that wasn’t going to miss them, skirt them, or be another close call. It was coming right for them.
He grabbed an armful of towels from the laundry room and spotted a load of clothes folded on the side counter: his t-shirts, a sweatshirt. He dropped his wet coat on the floor and yanked off his wet shirt, buttons flying. He didn’t have time to try to finger the buttons through the wet holes. He pulled on a t-shirt and grabbed one for Candy, as well as the sweatshirt, and hurried back. He dumped the bundle beside her on the sofa and took one look at her pasty face. She was shivering and didn’t look good.
“I need to get you dry, Candy. I need to take off your wet shirt.”
She jerked her head, and her teeth chattered. “Just don’t look, please, Neil.”
At any other time, he would have burst out laughing at her modesty, but then it dawned on him, with the way she blushed, the way she tried to cover herself, that she was damn uncomfortable with her body, almost as if she were innocent. He wondered for a minute if it was possible. Why had he not realized until now?
“I won’t look. Come on.” He pushed the blanket she’d wrapped around her shoulders off and slid his fingers under the hem of her tank top. “Lift your arms.”
She obeyed just like a child as he lifted it over her head and tossed the wet, sopping cloth, which splattered on the floor. Her lacy bra was the same sheer fabric as her underwear, and dark nipples puckered against him.
“This too, honey. I’m sorry, but it’s wet.” Neil had never had trouble taking off a woman’s bra until now. His fingers shook as he reached around and unhooked it. The latch was stuck, and he had to pull a couple times until he freed it and shoved the straps from her shoulders, tossing the bra to the floor with her wet top. She crossed her arms over the most perfect, round, creamy breasts he’d ever seen. He wondered why she wore a bra, as she didn’t need it.
He grabbed a towel and dried her and then her hair, then shoved one of his shirts over her head, lifting her heaps of wet tangled hair with his hand. Candy pulled the shirt over her breasts and down. Neil ran the towel again over her wet hair, squeezing out as much water as he could, and Candy lifted the blanket around her waist as she shivered back around her shoulders, her teeth chattering as she trembled.
“I need some light. I need to get a look at your leg. Does it hurt?”
“Just a bit,” she said in a way that was awfully quick.
He glanced at the shadows under her eyes. By how tight her face was, he knew it hurt a lot more than she said. He lifted the blanket covering the ripped towel he had tied around the puncture, but he realized it had shifted and now smelled of urine. He tried to untie it, but it was impossible. “Candy, I need to clean it again. I’ll be right back.”
He wasn’t sure if she was shivering or nodding as she clutched the blanket across her chest and hunched forward. Neil hurried down the darkened hallway and didn’t take long to gather what he needed: scissors, a flashlight, a first aid kid, and bottled water from the kitchen cupboard. Candy was lying down on the stiff leather, shivering, when he returned.
He dragged the sofa table over and set everything on it, kneeling beside her on the floor. “Candy, talk to me.”
“Neil, I’m not feeling so good.”
“Are you going to be sick again?”
He watched her dark eyes reach out to him, and she appeared to think about it and then shook her head. “I’ll be okay, I’m just aching,” she said.
Neil moved the blanket that covered her leg and cut off the sopping towel. He sniffed the ammonia from the animal and worried that it had gotten into the wound. Along with the dirty nail, he worried that rust could have gotten into her bloodstream. He wasn’t a doctor, but he knew enough about infections like this to know that it could escalate quickly into something serious. “Tetanus shots up to date?” he asked her.
Her eyes, which hadn’t left his face, widened, and she shook her head.
“Of course they wouldn’t be,” he said. “I mean, living way out here, having your shots up to date would make you reasonable, a problem solver, someone who avoided risk, and you’d have made sure you were a long way away from here before this storm came close. So no surprise.” He knew he was venting, but he couldn’t help it. This woman, in the last few hours, had caused him more worry than he had felt in his entire lifetime, and Neil was not a man who worried.
“I’m sorry.” Her teeth chattered as she apologized again. This time, tears popped into eyes that were so filled with remorse and loss that he wanted to kick himself for being such a prick.
“Candy, I’m getting really tired of you apologizing every time you turn around. We’ve got other things to worry about.” This time, as he glimpsed her pasty face, he didn’t say how concerned he was about infection setting in and the fact that he had no antibiotics, nothing, if she took a turn for the worse.
He shone the light over the ugly-looking wound, which was now red around the edges and looked as if something oozed from it. He pressed around the edge.
“Oh, that hurts!” She grabbed his wrist.
“Candy, it looks infected. I’m going to have to clean it out again.” He rummaged in the first aid kit and found some ibuprofen. “Here, swallow these.” He dumped three in his hand and put them in her mouth. He grabbed a bottle of water from behind him, unscrewed the top, and held her head up while she swallowed.
Neil slipped
a towel under her leg and butt and poured the rest of the water over the puncture, grabbing a towel and wiping away the grit. He poured more water over the wound and squeezed the puncture as he poured until it looked cleaner. Candy groaned and cried out and held his wrist, his arm, but she didn’t move, and he was sure it had to hurt like hell.
“How are you doing, Candy?”
“Just hurry up. Do what you have to.” Her voice cracked, and she sounded tired.
Neil wiped the puncture dry and then squeezed a layer of antibiotic cream over it, covering it with a square bandage. “All done. You did good. I’ll check it again in a little while.”
Something banged the side of the house with enough force that he felt the floor shake.
“Neil, how bad is it out there? Will the house hold? Is this the worst of it?”
“No, this is a taste of what’s coming. The eye of this thing isn’t even close yet. We need to worry about the storm surge, and if it stays on course, coming right for us, we have tornadoes and flooding to worry about.” He realized then she didn’t have a clue about storms, but then, the last one had skirted them while her father was still alive. Maybe he’d taken care of everything. He couldn’t remember much, because with Randy around, Candy had been at quite a distance from him. He patted her leg. “Sit tight. I need to find us a safe place to hunker down and ride this thing out.”
Neil walked out into the large front foyer, looking up at the high ceiling, and shone the light over the orange adobe walls. The house was solid; he, along with his father, had made sure this estate was structurally stable enough to withstand all the hurricanes that ripped through this region. The chandelier with the iron base was a breathtaking piece that hung from the center of the ceiling, but right now, it swayed back and forth, and he had no intention of being anywhere close to it when it came down. It would do some serious damage, cracking rocks or body parts. He walked around the main floor of the house, looking for the best spot to hunker down. It was looking more and more like the laundry room was the best place, as the stairs were above it. Neil grabbed the duvet and pillows from the guest room, making a bed on the floor against the cupboards in back. He grabbed water bottles from the kitchen and pulled out a bag, filling it with some crackers, granola bars, a bag of nuts, some fruit from the fridge, and he set it on the counter at the back of the laundry room. He pulled out towels and emergency supplies, another flashlight from the cupboard, and left them sitting there. He was ready to move Candy, and he hurried back to where she was lying in the same spot on the sofa.
“Okay. I made us a cozy spot in the laundry room.” He scooped her up, blanket and all, while keeping hold of the flashlight. The wind was pulling at the roof—it sounded like metal being ripped away.
“Neil, what about Ambrose? His bottles were in the bag. I dropped them at the door when we came in. He’s got to come in here. I’m going to need to feed him. He’s going to be so scared.”
The donkey, how could he forget? The poor thing was terrified, and he hadn’t heard a peep since shoving him into the closet. “I’ll get him after I get you settled.” Neil set Candy on the duvet, and she lay down, shivering still. “I’ll get more blankets, too. We need to warm you up.”
Neil went back to the living room and grabbed the first aid kit, the second flashlight, and towels. He pulled out blankets from the hall closet and set them on the floor beside Candy, then tossed a blanket over her before going back for the donkey. When he opened the closet door and found Ambrose curled up, asleep, he realized the animal felt secure in that small space.
Neil carried him back to the laundry room. “Candy, open that cupboard door beside you. Set a towel on the floor there; it’s big enough for him to curl up, and I think he’ll feel a hell of a lot more secure.” Neil leaned over her with the donkey and helped lay the plush bath towel on the floor of the cupboard. It had no shelves and had already been emptied of the gear, tents, jugs of water, and sleeping bags, which he’d sent with Carlos and Ana. The donkey crawled right in and curled up.
“Neil, do you have the bottles?”
“Back door, right?”
“I think so. No, I know it is. The bag ripped when I fell, I think.” She frowned and seemed confused, and Neil couldn’t help but be concerned.
He spotted the bottles—one broken, three rolling on the floor. He scooped up the three and returned to the laundry room, this time shutting the door behind him. He shone the flashlight over Candy, who was struggling to sit up.
She was still shivering, and she reached out her hand. “Give me one of those. I’ll feed him now.”
Neil set the bottles on the floor and started to hand one to her. “You’re not looking too good, Candy. Let me feed him.” He slid beside her on the duvet and lifted the bottle toward the donkey, and Candy slid her hand around his. “Never gave a donkey a bottle before. This is a new one for me.”
The donkey lifted his head and started sucking on the bottle, and Neil watched Candy, her dark hair a tangled, wet mess, her sexy eyes. She was clutching a blanket, and her bare legs, still wearing her rubber boots, were pressed against him.
Neil leaned down and pulled them off her feet, setting his hand on her bare leg. “Well, better get comfortable. We’re in for a long night.”
Chapter 11
Candy was curled up on her side. She could hear Neil rustling behind her, then a clunk as his boots hit the floor. Even though the room was warm, she felt chilled from having been wet for so long. She shivered again, and the cold pulled and pinched in her back, hips, and shoulders, everywhere, every time her body trembled. Another blanket covered her, and she felt Neil’s hands brush her shoulders. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so taken care of. “Neil, I’m cold. Will you hold me, just to help me warm up?”
He hesitated long enough that Candy realized he was probably trying to find a way to let her down, to tell her, “No way. That’s way too personal,” that he wasn’t interested in her that way. He had to be furious at her for getting him into this mess. She shut her eyes and said, “Never mind. I’m sorry....”
“Stop it, would you?” He moved behind her, sliding his arm under her and pulling her, blanket and all, against him. “I’m just wet, my jeans, and I don’t want to make you colder.”
“Neil, I’m sorry.” She rested her hand on his leg, touching wet jeans. “You could change. You’ve been running around looking after me. You could have gotten a dry pair, looked after yourself.”
“Candy, stop apologizing with every second word.” He nuzzled his cheek in her hair, and she could have sworn he was breathing her in, then pressed his cheek against her ear, his breath feathering her hair. “I’m fine. Besides, I considered taking them off, but I figured you wouldn’t appreciate it.”
She felt her face burn at the thought. It was such a distraction, thinking of him that way, that she almost wished he would.
“Candy?” He must have sensed her distress, and the last thing she wanted him knowing was how attracted she was to him. She wasn’t quite ready to admit it even to herself.
“Neil, why did you come for me? You could have been long gone from here, someplace safe.”
“I wouldn’t leave anyone behind, ever. That’s just not who I am.”
She could feel his warm breath, but she could also feel how tightly he held himself, as if putting a brick wall between them. Something inside her stiffened as she felt a tiny bit of hurt from what he said. Oh, he was saying all the right things, like a knight in shining armor, but he’d do that for anyone. What she realized was that she wanted him to be there, right now, for her. She wanted to be the only reason he had come, to know that he cared. She knew this was just silly, but it was easier telling her mind that simple reason than it was trying to convince her heart.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
She swiped at a tear that had slipped out, hoping he didn’t notice, but Neil, being Neil, noticed everything. That much, she’d picked up. “Nothing.”
“Oh, I see, we’
re doing the ‘nothing’ thing. Gotta tell you, honey, with two sisters-in-law married to my brothers, Brad and Jed, the most stubborn, hardnosed...” He let out a laugh that sounded almost like a groan. “Let’s just say that Brad and Jed do some of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen, and they say things to their wives that get them in all manners of hot water. When I ask them what’s wrong, both Diana and Emily say the same thing: ‘Nothing.’”
The way he said it had a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
“Come on, tell me. I know this is usually followed by the silent treatment, which is code for ‘What you just said and did was the most insensitive, stupid thing ever.’ Candy, I’ve always been the one who’s had to pull my hardnosed brothers aside and point it out when I’m there, mostly out of pity that they’d have a long cold night ahead of them otherwise. So tell me what it is I did, because I’m not insensitive. In fact, I’m caring, thoughtful, a great listener, and pretty damn good looking, as has been pointed out to me a time or two.”
Candy rolled over, careful not to bump her thigh, and Neil flicked on the flashlight and set it behind him so it pointed at the ceiling. Candy knew he was right, but being called out on her behavior was hard, especially when dealing with a man as astute as he was. She couldn’t believe Neil had picked up on her feelings, and she hoped he couldn’t read her thoughts. Even thinking it now had her face heating again.
“Where do your brothers live?” She needed to change the subject fast, distract him from that burning, astute gaze that had him watching her so closely that, for a second, she wondered if it was his way of saying, “I want to eat you up, every inch of you.”
He raised himself up on his elbow and gazed down on her. His expression changed to be that lighthearted, fun Neil that she’d never let herself get to know.
“Up in Washington state. Brad is the oldest. He’s got the family ranch outside Hoquiam on the peninsula. Jed is outside North Lakewood; he’s the younger brother, the stubborn one who set out on his own, scraping together enough money from two-bit jobs to buy a piece of shit dustbowl and run-down house. He set out to prove everyone wrong, saying that he could do it himself, and he did. I admire his guts. I admire everything he’s accomplished. Both my brothers, they’re the best. Mom and Dad are up at Jed’s right now because his wife just had their second baby, another boy. It was rough for Diana for a while because she was overdue. He was a big boy, almost ten pounds.”
The Unexpected Storm Page 5