Luke noticed that it looked like rain was coming in from the east as he drove up to the ranch house. He pulled into the carport, opened the door of his Bronco and stepped out, and heard a bloodcurdling scream from the garage. It scared the life out of him—he bolted inside, expecting to find body parts or something just as heinous.
What he found was Madeline, her back against the wall of the garage, wedged in behind the rototiller, the mowing tractor, and several boxes of old tools Luke had once meant to take into Goodwill. He looked wildly about for the intruder or bear or whatever had prompted such a piercing scream. “It’s there!” Madeline shrieked, pointing across the garage to some shelves.
Roscoe, the beagle, had his nose in the corner. Reggie and Rufus, the littermates, were lying in the middle of the garage absently looking about, as usual. And Reba, his mother’s little terrier, was behind Roscoe, barking fiercely.
Luke started for the corner.
“No, wait!” Madeline shouted. “It’s huge! Don’t get too close!”
What was it, a bear cub? Luke didn’t like to think that, for where there was a bear cub, there was a mama bear close behind. But it seemed a little early in the season for cubs. He stepped over the dogs, moved some old paint cans aside, then a box of his mother’s Tupperware. A rat darted past him, to a hole in the siding, and out of the garage. Roscoe—by far the smartest of the canine pack—raced out the open garage door after it. Reba stayed behind to examine the hole with her nose.
Luke put the box down and turned around. Madeline’s arms were splayed against the wall, her hair had something that looked like a cobweb in it, and she looked terrified. “It’s okay,” he said. “It was just a rat.”
“A what?” she shrieked, and somehow managed to press herself even flatter against the wall with such a gasp that Reggie’s tail began to wag.
Luke held up both hands. “Take a breath,” he said, and Madeline tried to do that. “Take another one. Put your hands on your knees and bend over and catch your breath. And calm down—it was just a rat.”
“Just a rat?” she said as she bent over. “What do you mean, just a rat! That was no rat, Luke! It was the size of a cat! Where is it? Where did it go?”
“Outside. You’re safe. He wasn’t going to bother you—you’re a lot bigger than he is.”
“That,” she said between two gulps of breath, “does not make me feel better.” She made a strange sound, a sort of choking sound. Luke took a step forward. She made the sound again, then slowly straightened, her chest rising and falling with each anxious breath for a long moment. She wasn’t choking. She was trying not to laugh. “I almost died.”
Luke smiled. “I’m pretty sure you would have survived it.”
“Easy for you to say,” she said, and pushed her hair back. She looked down at the rototiller in front of her, the box of tools beside her. He could picture her leaping through the air to put herself there when she’d seen the rat, and he couldn’t help but chuckle.
“What?” she demanded, still smiling.
“How’d you get back there?” he asked as he offered his hand to help her over the boxes of tools.
“I don’t know,” she said, and slipped her hand into his. “I was airborne, that’s all I know.” She looked around—but there was no easy way out.
“Step up on that box,” he said, pointing to a toolbox. “I’ll help you.”
She did as he said, teetering on the unstable box before he caught her by the waist and swung her down. She landed awkwardly, brushing against him. Everything seemed to freeze around Luke when her body touched his—nothing moved. Not him, not Madeline. Her eyes were on his, her hands gripping his arms. Tight. Something rushed through Luke’s blood. He couldn’t help himself—he brushed a strand of hair away from her face.
Madeline drew a long breath; her grip seemed to tighten. She stared up at him, her blue eyes glistening in the low light of the garage. “Thanks for saving me,” she said, her gaze flicking to his mouth, making the blood rush faster in his veins.
“You’re welcome.” He looked at her full, lush lips.
“But I’m still mad at you,” she said softly.
“I know,” he said. “But I swear I wasn’t setting you up. That was never my intent. It just came up.” Her hair fell again, and he pushed it away once more, his fingers brushing against her temple.
Madeline lifted her gaze to his again, her eyes narrowing slightly as she peered at him. “I don’t know if I believe you,” she said uncertainly.
“Fair enough,” he said.
“Mmm,” she said, and let go of his arms.
Luke reluctantly let his hand drop from her waist. “What are you doing in here, anyway?” he asked.
“I came to get some furniture polish. But the only thing I found was a freakishly monster rodent.” She ran her hands down her pants then glanced up at him. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard someone screaming.”
She smiled a little lopsidedly. “I mean here. Again. Showing up where I am.”
“Well, today I am here to check on the cattle.”