'Oh, sure, I'll be there before you know it.' He disconnected, chuckled, and settled down to enjoy his sandwich, but he'd barely managed three bites before she called back. 'Yeah?'
'Did I tell you I might have sprained my ankle?'
'Oh, no. How'd you do that?'
'Some kind of animal hole.'
'Hope it's not from a snake. There are some rattlers around here.'
'Rattlers?'
He reached for a napkin. 'I'm walking by Jacob's Ladder right now, but somebody must be running a microwave, because I'm getting interference. I'll call you back.'
'Wait, you don't have my num-'
He disconnected, gave a whoop of laughter, and headed for the refrigerator. A sandwich always tasted better with beer. He whistled to himself as he popped the cap and settled back to enjoy.
Then it struck him. What the hell was he doing?
He snatched up his cell phone and punched in Phoebe's number from memory. There'd be plenty of time later to teach her a lesson. This was the first chance he'd had in two days to get her alone. 'Hey, Molly?'
'Yes.'
'I'm having a little trouble finding you.' He tucked the phone under his chin, grabbed the beer, along with what was left of his sandwich, and headed out the back door. 'Do you think you could scream?'
'You want me to scream?'
'It'd be helpful.' He took another bite of sandwich and hurried toward Jacob's Ladder.
'I'm not really much of a screamer.'
'You are in bed,' he pointed out.
'Are you eating?'
'I need to keep my strength up for the search.' He waved at Charlotte Long with his beer bottle.
'I'm fairly sure I'm near the creek. At the end of the path that starts right behind Jacob's Ladder.'
'Creek?'
'The creek, Kevin! The one that runs from the woods across the meadow. The only creek there is!'
She was beginning to sound snappish. He took a sip of beer. 'I don't remember a creek. Are you sure?'
'Yes, I'm sure!'
'I suppose I'll recognize it when I see it.' Kids were running around on the Common. He stopped for a moment to enjoy the sight, then returned to his mission. 'The wind's really started to kick up. I can hardly see the path.'
'It's not that bad here.'
'Then maybe I'm going the wrong way.'
'You took the path behind Jacob's Ladder, right?'
He tossed the rest of his sandwich into a trash container and stepped onto that exact path. 'I think so.'
'You think so? Aren't you paying attention?'
Definitely snappish.
'Just keep talking. Maybe I'll be able to tell how close I'm getting by the reception.'
'Can you hear the creek?'
'Which creek is that again?'
'There's only one!'
'I hope I can find it. I don't even want to imagine how terrible it'd be if you had to spend the night in the woods by yourself.'
'I'm sure that won't happen.'
'I hope not. Whatever you do, don't start thinking about the Blair Witch.'
'The Blair Witch?'
He managed a choking noise, then a monster moan, and disconnected.
It didn't take long for his phone to ring again.
'My ribs are aching from laughter,' she said dryly.
'Sorry. It was just a squirrel. But it was huge.'
'If you don't play right, I'm going home.'
'Okay, but you'd better not be wearing anything more than shoes and a hair ribbon when I find you.'
'I don't own a hair ribbon.'
'That'll be one less thing for you to take off, then, won't it?'
As it turned out, she was still dressed when he spotted her, but that didn't last for long. They tumbled naked into the soft meadow grass, and as the rain began to fall, their laughter faded.
He drugged himself on her kisses, and as he entered her soft, welcoming body, he glimpsed something that felt almost… holy. But the illusion was too fragile to survive the primitive demand of his body.
The rain drummed on his back. Her strong fingers dug into his shoulders-demanding. The rain… this woman… Her pleasure spiraled beneath him, and he lost himself.
As one day slipped into the next, Molly behaved like a woman possessed. On Wednesday she lifted her skirt for Kevin in the office while the guests gathered for tea. That same night she escaped another of Phoebe's arrangements for a private chat and met him in the woods behind the cottage. The following morning he dragged her into the pantry just as Troy was coming through the kitchen door, then had to cover her mouth because she started making too much noise. Later she hauled him into a deserted cottage, but as he lifted her onto the kitchen table, her muscles finally rebelled from the strain of so many awkward positions, and she winced.
He pressed his forehead to hers and took a shaky breath, struggling for control. 'This is nuts. You've had enough.'
'Are you kidding? I'm just getting started, but if you can't keep up with me, I understand.'
He smiled and kissed her. Oh, she loved those slow kisses. He caressed her breasts and her thighs, trying to take more care, but they were dancing with danger, and she wouldn't let him. Before long she forgot all about her aching muscles.
That evening they sidestepped the Calebows' dinner invitation by announcing that they had to drive into town for supplies, but when they returned to the campground, they discovered their luck had run out. Phoebe and Dan were waiting for them on the steps of the B &B.
Chapter 22
One day this bad guy came to Nightingale Woods. He was realy bad and mean, but he pretended to be Benny's friend. But only Daphne knew he was realy bad. So she told Benny, 'Hes not your friend!!!!!'
Molly heard Kevin's quiet curse and fixed a smile on her face. 'Hey, you guys. Escape the kiddies for a while?'
'They're playing flashlight tag on the Common.' As Phoebe came down the steps, she took in Molly's rumpled dress.
Molly needed her wits about her, but the fact that she was still missing her underwear put her at a disadvantage. 'I hope Andrew's going to be all right. You know how fast he disappears.'
'Andrew's just fine,' Dan said. 'There's not much trouble he can get into around here.'
'You have no idea,' Kevin muttered.
Phoebe tilted her head toward the lane that led past the beach. Her oversize Stars sweatshirt and jeans didn't quite hide the power player beneath. 'Mrs. Long volunteered to keep an eye on all of them. Let's take a walk.'
Molly flexed her shoulders. 'I think I'll pass. I've been up since five-thirty, so I'm a little tired.' From making love three times today. 'Maybe tomorrow.'
