Love Is All Around

by Rae Davies

  What was happening to her? Thank heavens her lummox of a brother had blundered up. She’d been a push-up bra away from channeling Jessica, for heaven’s sake. She didn’t think there was enough holy water in the Midwest for that exorcism. Doing her best not to look at Will, she followed her brother and her basket.

  While Dwayne and Jessica unpacked the food and utensils, Patsy looked around for Ruthann. No sign of her. Giggling sounded from the brush about five feet away. Patsy’s eyes narrowed as Ruthann and Randy emerged from behind some brambles. Randy carefully held a branch out like Cinderella’s prince opening the door to her carriage. Ruthann giggled again and stepped through the space.

  “Where you been?” Patsy asked. Her annoyance at her own close call with bimbohood colored her tone.

  “Oh, Randy was just showing me the difference between poison ivy and Virginia creeper.” Another giggle.

  Ruthann lost all use of her brain when a man was around. A habit Patsy found hard to tolerate. She edged up next to her friend.

  “You haven’t confused poison ivy with Virginia creeper since we were seven, and you made a wreath out of the wrong one,” Patsy said in a low tone.

  “That’s true. I haven’t, have I?” Ruthann arched one brow and strolled to where Dwayne was laying out the food.

  They ate lunch sitting around the flat-topped boulder. Patsy had packed an old tablecloth embroidered with a daisy chain border, and a jug of Granny’s sweet tea. Ruthann supplied Kentucky Fried Chicken. Randy had brought sugar cookies so weighed down with icing and sprinkles, Patsy was afraid to pick one up.

  “Oh, look. They’re dogs. Aren’t they darling?” Ruthann gushed. “Did Luke decorate these?”

  Randy beamed. “Yeah, we baked them yesterday. They’re coonhounds. See, this here is a redbone, this is a black and tan, and this one’s a bluetick.” Randy shuffled through the multi-colored cookies.

  “Cute. He can learn his colors, his dogs, and how to bake all in one easy lesson.” Patsy bit the head off a redbone hound.

  “Don’t mind her,” Dwayne broke in. “She’s just mad ‘cause he left out Pug ugly.”

  “Pugnacious isn’t a coon dog.”

  “Yeah, try telling her that,” Dwayne responded.

  Patsy ignored him. So Pugnacious had some kind of unexplainable attraction to anything and everything Dwayne’s coonhounds did. She wasn’t a coon dog. She was a purebred pug. Pugs were once owned by Chinese emperors. They did not run around in the dark woods baying and terrorizing raccoons.

  “You have a dog?” Will asked as he watched Patsy shake the crumbs out of the tablecloth.

  “A pug.” Patsy gave Dwayne a keep-your-mouth-shut look.

  “I’ve got a mutt. His name’s Ralph. Looks like a big gray mop.” Will grabbed the other end of the tablecloth and helped Patsy fold it. “I hated to leave him at home today, but I wasn’t sure how he’d do in a canoe. With all that hair, he’d probably sink like Enron stock.”

  He took a step forward, holding the corners of the cloth out to her. Patsy grabbed them and jumped back.

  “Wouldn’t be a problem unless we tipped over.” Smoothing the cloth with her hand, she watched him from the corner of her eyes.

  He stiffened slightly, but before he could comment, Dwayne jumped into the conversation.

  “You should bring him out to Mom and Dad’s. Let him run. Damn leash laws. Can’t let a dog get any exercise in town no more.” He crushed his empty beer can in his fist and tossed it into the cooler. “Why don’t you come by Saturday? We’re having a barbecue. Then later, Randy and me are going to run our dogs. Coon season’s not for a few months, but we like to take them out and see if they can pick up a trail. You’re welcome to come along for that too.”

  Patsy thought Will looked less than enthusiastic at the mention of coon hunting. Not that she blamed him. Stumbling around in the dark while a bunch of noisy hounds chased down some defenseless critter was not her idea of fun either.

  “What’s back there?” Will pointed toward a footpath that led into the brambles.

  “Some old ruins,” Dwayne replied.

  “Really? Of what?” Will asked.

  “A hospital. There’s a cave and a big spring too,” Jessica shoved the picnic basket Patsy’s direction and sidled toward Will. “You’ve never seen it? It’s real pretty.”

  Patsy tightened a bungee around the picnic basket. Checking to see if it was secure, she pulled on the elastic. It hit against the basket with a satisfying snap. “You can’t get into the cave though. It’s barred off to save the bats.”

  Jessica wrinkled her nose. “You would know that. Who cares about getting in a dirty cave, especially one with bats?”

  “What’s a hospital doing out here?” Will asked.

  The group turned to Patsy. She sighed. Why was she the only one who seemed to know this stuff? “It was built back in like 1913 or so. The guy who owned it thought the cave would be good for people with asthma. Before that, there was a mill here.”

  “What happened to the hospital?” Will asked, his eyes alive with interest.

  Patsy felt a stir of excitement. It had been a long time since anyone had shared her passion for local history. “I don’t know, really, except the man who built it died and so did his business. In the late sixties, the Park Service took the land over. There have just been ruins here since then.”

  She looked at Will, ready to describe more, but before he could ask another question, Dwayne jumped in.

  “It’s a little spooky. Makes a girl want to cuddle. Isn’t that right, Jessica?” Dwayne draped his arm around her shoulders.

  Jessica shook him off and grabbed Will. “You have to see it. I’ll take you on a tour.”Pulling her heart-shaped locket toward her breasts, she yanked him toward the trail.

  Patsy stared after them. And the breasts win again.

  Kicking a rock out of her way, Patsy followed Dwayne and the two couples down the uneven path. Patsy loved the ruins and cave, but she had no desire to see either with Jessica. She felt as welcome as an alley cat in a trout pond. And to make matters worse, she had Dwayne.

  “Well, this is cozy, ain’t it?” he complained.

  For a tour guide, Jessica seemed to be having a hard time keeping her eyes on the sights. Maybe that was because her hands were so busy rubbing up and down Will’s bicep. Patsy bristled. She wasn’t tromping through these woods so she could watch Jessica grope Will.

  “The hospital’s this direction.” Patsy pointed toward a rough path of rocks all but immersed in bubbling water. “You have to risk getting a little wet to get to it.”

  “Oh, we can see it just fine from here. Besides, I thought Will might like to walk down this path a little further with me.” Jessica pressed her palm against Will’s bare chest.

  “Suit yourself. But I’m not afraid of a little water.” Patsy stared a challenge at Will and took off toward the rocks. She hopped from the bank to the first one, a big flat stone with plenty of space. “Anyone else coming?”

  Patsy didn’t wait to see if they followed. She continued jumping from rock to rock until she reached the middle of the stream. Here the water ran faster, covering her feet and grabbing at her ankles. She struggled a minute to keep her balance, then scissored her legs in a leap to the next stone. The closer she got to the ruins, the slipperier the rocks got. When she had made it off the last moss-covered rock onto the bank, she sighed in relief.

  Will was only a few rocks behind her.

  “Better watch out, city boy. You’ll fall on your rich Internet behind,” she yelled.

  “You think so, do you?” Will stood with his feet firmly centered on a stone, three-quarters of the way across the ford.

  “If the moss doesn’t get you, the Current will.” Patsy crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against a tree.

  “Patsalee, why didn’t you warn us before we got out here? These rocks are slippery as grease on a slide.” Dwayne teetered one rock behind Will.

  “Give
it up, Dwayne. You couldn’t balance a ball in a bucket, much less make it across these rocks,” Patsy yelled.

  “Wait till you try and make it back. We’ll see who gets wet.” Dwayne struggled to keep his footing on the moss-covered rock. He slid forward and inched his way back up. Patsy saw something floating down the stream toward him.

  “Watch out, Dwayne. Snake.”

  “Where?” Dwayne twisted on one foot and slipped off his rock into the icy water.

  Patsy doubled over in a fit of giggles. Will joined in. Unfortunately, he was still perched on his own slime-covered stone. His feet shot forward and his butt fell backward with a splash. Pow, two strikes for the bad boy.

  Patsy took one look at his two-toned eyes, wide with surprise, and lost her battle with laughter. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. Seeing him swept underwater was a lot funnier when she was on dry land.

  As Patsy wiped her eyes and got herself under control, Dwayne labored through the water back to shore. Jessica, who hadn’t even made it to the halfway point, also scurried back to dry land. Randy and Ruthann were nowhere in sight.

  “Sissies,” she yelled.

  “Who are you calling a sissy?” A deep voice vibrated just inches behind her.

  She spun around to find herself staring into the well-developed and dripping wet chest of Will Barnes.

  Chapter 4

  “It’s not polite to sneak up on people.” Patsy’s head came even with his chest. For a second, Will thought she was going to retreat, he was definitely in her space, but she cocked her head to the side and looked up at him.

  “Didn’t your momma teach you any manners?” she asked. He could almost hear her heels digging into the soft dirt.

  What was she thinking? Was she afraid of him? She, or at least his reaction to her, was beginning to scare him a little, and, aside from the sly remark after lunch, she hadn’t mentioned their accident. Even when Dwayne asked why they were late, she’d covered for him. Why?

  Remembering his resolve to play it cool, he replied. “Oh, but it is polite to taunt people into falling on their ass in ice-cold water?” Will shook his head, letting water drops fly like she had earlier on the log.

  “Hey, watch it.” Patsy jumped back a foot to escape the spray.

  “Are you afraid of a little water?” Two could play at this game.

  “If I am, I picked the wrong canoe partner today, didn’t I?” She stared him in the eye.

  Will flushed; here it came. He knew she wouldn’t be able to resist for long. “About that… thanks.”

  “For what? Not like I jumped in and saved you.”

  No teasing, no taunts? “And you didn’t tell the others either. You could have.”

  “And listen to Dwayne go on? Why would I put myself through that?” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms. The gesture forced her breasts together, making the small mounds visible above her bikini top. A bead of water rolled down tan skin into the crevice between her breasts. His gaze followed it, wishing he could trace its path with his lips.

  “I like the other idea too.” Longing for another drop of water to roll down her chest, he grasped a lock of her hair, twisting it around his finger.

  “What idea?” Her gaze flitted to his chest, then up to his mouth.

  “You saving me.” Her hair was soft and strong. He could feel her breathing, the cool cloth of her bikini top brushing against his chest when she inhaled. He wanted to wrap her hair tighter around his finger, pull her closer until no space remained between them.

  “Do you know mouth-to-mouth, Patsy Lee?” He grinned, hoping to give the question a light note.

  “Patsy. It’s Patsy now. I quit going by Patsy Lee when I was in the first grade.” She looked annoyed, and he could feel her withdraw.

  Over the name?

  He dropped his hand to his side. Fine. He wasn’t going to make a fool of himself. “Is that so? Dwayne still calls you Patsy Lee.”

  “Yeah, well, I call him a donkey’s patootie too, but I haven’t noticed him sprouting a tail.” She glanced around, the moment broken.

  It was the name. Only the name. Wanting to regain the intimacy, Will reached for her hair. He tucked a strand behind each of her ears, then traced the now visible skin with his thumbs.

  “Okay, Patsy, do you know mouth-to-mouth?” This time, he didn’t bother with the grin.

  “I know a lot of things.” She caught her lower lip between her teeth. Her eyes glimmered.

  She did look afraid. Of him? He should be polite—back off. He should, but he couldn’t. He wound the pale strand tighter around his finger and lightly ran his other hand up the back of her arm. She shivered and he wanted to pull her close, keep her warm, safe. He was sailing dangerous waters, without a life preserver or that elusive mast on which to secure himself.

  “Anything you’d like to share?” he asked.

  “I got the feeling last night you didn’t want my help,” she murmured.

  He tugged slightly on her hair, and she fell against him. “That was different.” Will lowered his head, his lips grazing hers.

  She shivered. Was she cold? Will wasn’t. Even fresh from his second plunge into the river, he was hot. Another minute and steam would be rising from his damp shorts. That, and something else. Get closer, something deep in his brain urged.

  Patsy’s fingernails scratched against his chest, luring him, encouraging him. Focused on her parted lips, he bent forward. His lips caught hers.

  She tasted sweet with a hint of spice, like the cookies they’d shared. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, urging her lips further apart. She hesitated for a second, then met his tongue with her own. Her nails scraped up his chest as her hands made their way around his neck. As she tugged on his neck, he reached behind her, cupping her butt.

  He paused for a minute, feeling the elastic of her bikini bottom through her shorts, remembering that white V of skin. He willed her to move her body upward. The smooth skin of one thigh edged up past his swim trunks toward his waist. Moving his fingers from the temptation of her buttocks, he ran his palm down her thigh, following the line of her hamstring. When his hand reached the underside of her knee, he prepared to pull her up, to wrap her legs around him.

  “Patsalee, where the hell are you?” Dwayne bellowed from the other side of the rock path. “Beer’s running low, and the creek’s running high. Time to get moving.”

  “Damn it,” Patsy muttered. She attempted to jump away just as Dwayne clomped into view. Still in a haze, Will kept her firmly hidden in his arms.

  “There you all are. What’s going on?” Dwayne eyed the pair. His gaze lingered on Will’s hands, which again cupped Patsy’s backside.

  “Nothing. We’re doing nothing.” Patsy shoved Will’s arms down and stumbled toward the stones.

  Will bit down a curse. He wanted to grab her and yank her back, but Dwayne still stood on the other side of the stone path, grinning like an idiot. “Hell.” Ignoring the rocks, Will stalked toward him through the fast-flowing, frigid water.

  Apparently unaffected by Will’s glower, Dwayne greeted him, “Guess this means you don’t mind if I give Jessica a little rub-a-dub-dub, huh?”

  Patsy rolled her eyes, and Dwayne turned his attention back to her.

  “You’re just lucky Randy seems to have lit onto Ruthann, sis. Or I’d be on you like a fat kid on a Twinkie.” Dwayne wiggled his index finger at Patsy. “As it is, with this opening the door for me with Jessica and all, I’m willing to let your indiscretion go on by.”

  Was there something between Patsy and Randy? That was an irritating thought. Will narrowed his eyes and evaluated her reaction.

  “You’re full of it. There was no ‘indiscretion.’ You’re just inventing things in your minuscule mind.” Patsy glared at her brother.

  “Sure I am, and you must’ve taken a belly flop into the river when I wasn’t looking too. ‘Course, even then, I’d have thought the back of your shorts would’ve got just as wet as the front.”
/>   Will glanced at her recently dried shorts where the wet imprint of his thighs was now obvious. He smiled. Nothing like proof positive. For some reason, he was annoyed she was denying their “indiscretion,” and the fact that Dwayne had noticed the damp evidence of their encounter pleased him. He crossed his arms over his chest and watched Patsy. It would be interesting to see how she explained that. If Dwayne had been two minutes later, she would have had a lot more to explain. Or, if you were talking clothing, a lot less.

  She turned as if to deliver an angry retort, but stopped short when Randy, Ruthann, and Jessica appeared, peering at them from behind a bush.

  Patsy stomped past them, leaving an amused and frustrated Will behind.

  o0o

  “What are you thinking about?” Ruthann asked, after catching up with Patsy at the river. “Like I have to guess.”

  “Nothing.” Patsy frowned at her friend. She wasn’t ready to analyze what had happened between her and Will, much less discuss it. “Where’d you go this time?” she asked. The attempt not to dwell on what had happened by the ruins failed miserably. Busy reliving the feel of Will’s solid thighs pressed against her, she almost missed her friend’s answer.

  “Randy and I decided to do some cave exploring.” Ruthann reached up to smooth her hair.

  A twig poked out of the back of Ruthann’s moussed locks. Patsy yanked on it, ignoring her friend’s squawk, and held it up. “The cave’s barred up. You can’t get in there.”

  “Oh, is that right? Guess we didn’t notice.” Grinning, she took the stick from Patsy, and flipped it into the river.

  o0o

  The next day, Will stared into the recesses of his harvest-gold refrigerator. It had been bad when he bought the place, but going on forty-eight hours without electricity had converted it from a simple eyesore to a total health-code violation. That was disgusting. He slammed the door shut before Saturday’s egg salad, or what it had morphed into, could reach out and suck him in.

  This was getting desperate. Yesterday morning, he’d managed to get the front window boarded up before leaving for the float trip, but that was it. He’d considered skipping the outing, but knew Patsy would realize he wasn’t able to finish a few simple repairs. Of course, after tossing her out of the canoe, any attempt at looking self-sufficient was a moot point. He still flushed at the thought.