Page 34 of Spring Showers

“Hi.”

He brushed the back of his hand down the length of her arm and lingered where their fingers touched by her side. A little shiver ran through her at his touch, but he could tell by her pinched brow that she was unsure how to feel about the way her body reacted to him. For that matter, he was unsure how he should feel about his own intense attraction to her.

In an effort to break their connection, he side-stepped towards the bonfire. Makeshift benches encircled the fire a few feet away from where the logs and sticks were piled in the center. The air smelled thick with cedar and sweet pecans. Grant sat on a wooden plank that spanned two cut logs, and the thin board gave under his weight more than he was comfortable with.

“Can I join you?” Thandie said. “Everything is all set up over there and I can actually relax for a minute.” She pointed to a blanket spread on the grassy area nearby. “Can I get you anything? Cider? Hotdog on a stick?”

“I have a filet waiting for me back in my cabin,” he said. “Come sit with me.” Though he considered the added weight on the board might bring them both down.

An owl hooted from a nearby tree, and a smile lifted Thandie’s cheek. The firelight twinkled in her eyes and made her skin appear golden. She acquiesced and straddled the bench, facing toward his side. “I was afraid you wouldn’t get it.”

“I almost stepped right on the tray.” He laughed.

“I knocked. You know?”

Grant was sure that he would have heard someone knocking on the door of his small accommodation. It was only one room and the bathroom. He snapped his fingers. “I must have been in the shower,” he said. “Sorry I missed you.”

Thandie leaned into his ear as he watched the flames bob and weave through the burning wood. “I missed you too.”

At that sensual phrase, Grant turned his face. He was a breath away. “I thought we were keeping things professional.” Her chest grazed his arm, and he froze, knowing that his next move was dangerous. If he did nothing, she might be insulted. If he closed the distance between them and let his lips warm hers, he was overstepping their professional host-guest relationship. Either way, he would lose.

Thank goodness for nosey-nellies, or in this case, nosey Margret. “Just kiss her already!” Margret encouraged and broke the crux of his impossible situation.

Thandie stood up and moved away without acknowledging Margret’s jeering. Grant was relieved that the pressure was off of him, but annoyed that Thandie was now run-skipping up the short incline away from the heat.

“Wait! Thandie, wait up,” Grant said and ran after her.

She was quick. Grant finally caught up to her, but only because she slowed down after reaching the refreshments area. White platters, arranged on top of stacked hay bales, reflected the fire’s orange glow. Grant’s mouth watered at the display of hotdogs and smore’s ingredients in front of him. Beside the food, wheelbarrrows were piled high with woolen blankets and small lanterns. He made a mental note to include how cozy and welcoming the setup looked in his final report.

“You’re fast,” he said and braced his hands on his knees while he caught his breath. Though she faced away from him, he reached out for her hand. Removed from the other guests, Grant whispered her name, “Thandie.”

“I can’t,” she said. “I didn’t mean to insinuate. . .”

Her words trailed off, and Grant wrapped his arms around her shoulders. The fire licked the night sky. Flickers of embers floated through the air on the breeze around them like a wispy drape, giving them a sense of privacy from the other guests. Grant pulled her in, her back rested against his chest, and he spoke softly behind her ear. “I want to kiss you, but I’m more afraid than you know.”

Her head rested back against his shoulder and her muscles relaxed into him. “Then tell me why this feels so natural,” she said and turned to him. “I feel like I’ve known you for years. When we touch, I can’t explain it. It’s like the fire. Burning so bright and hot and . . . and . . .”

“And what? When this is all over?—”

Her hand covered his mouth. “Whatever you are about to say, don’t. We don’t even know each other! And you don’t want to say something you’ll regret later.”

“I know I won’t,” Grant said and bent his face to her. His mouth was just out of reach of her lips. Her breath cooled the edges of his mouth, and he lingered, waiting for her. She had to be the one to take the next step. It was no longer his impossible situation, it was hers.

His pulse thumped in his ears with excruciating impatience. The pitter-patter of his heart beat against his ribs. He sensed her coming closer. The slight arching up on her toes, the tension in her back, her chest rising with deep, thoughtful breaths, and her lips brushing ever so slightly against his.

“Rain,” she sighed as their lips touched for too brief a second. She pulled away. “Rain. It’s gonna rain soon. Can you smell that?”

Now she was toying with him, he suspected, as he looked to the sky and pointed past the orange glow. “Look, the stars are still out. There’s no rain.” He leaned in to pick back up where they left off, but the moment had unceremoniously passed by.

“It’s not raining yet,” she said. “It’s coming. I’d check the radar, but there’s virtually no signal around here. And, thanks to someone, I don’t have a working phone anyway.”

“You can use mine. I left it back in my room.” Grant offered and realized that it may have sounded like he was making a move on her to get her in his cabin. So, to not leave any confusion between them, he added, “I can go get it really quick.”

“I appreciate the offer, but we’ll know here in about fifteen minutes, I suspect.” Thandie bent down and came back up, holding two long metal skewers and two hotdogs. “Shall we?”

Grant took the dogs from her and threaded them on to the fork end of the skewers. “We better be quick about it,” he teased.

“You just mark the time. I know what I know about this stuff.”

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