Deadline

by Judy McDonough

A couple more weeks passed with no unusual occurrences or significant changes. Caroline had grown very close with Claire and Remy, as well as her dad, but she still regretted not being able to spend as much time with Cade. Completely ridiculous. A grown woman and a grown man should be able to spend as much time together as they wanted. No reason why they couldn't act civilized around each other. He wasn't avoiding her; she avoided him, and she missed him terribly.

  After the crawfish boil, and the boneheaded comment she'd made to Catherine, Caroline made a point to talk to Trevor nearly every day, but even those conversations were melancholy and boring. More like standard news updates rather than exhilarating conversations between two people in love. And he constantly sounded aggravated or annoyed. Caroline had to do something before she went crazy.

  Friday morning she woke up with the sun, just like she did every morning. She showered and dressed with the intention of visiting Cade and reigniting the friendship they had so easily established within hours of meeting. She planned to apologize for being rude and unsociable the last few weeks. With only a short time left in Louisiana, she wanted to spend as much of it with him as she could.

  Caroline twisted her hair up in a messy bun in preparation for the sticky July Louisiana heat. Afraid to leave it in the room for fear it might disappear again, she put her ring in her pocket telling herself it was so it wouldn't slip off her sweaty finger. Then she slid her cell phone in her other pocket and zipped down the stairs and out the door.

  The quaint little cabin came into view. Excitement bubbled within her and Caroline quickened her last few steps. The nerves had her breathless and shaky as she approached his doorstep. She knocked and waited anxiously to see his handsome, smiling face, but he didn't answer. I guess he's not home.

  Now really depressed, Caroline stood there for a few minutes without moving, halfway expecting him to surprise her and open the door. Nothing happened. She nervously rubbed her bald ring finger with her other hand, and chose not to check the knob this time. Disappointment consumed her, but sulking on his porch in hopes he'd magically appear wouldn't accomplish much. She would head back to the house instead.

  She turned and stopped cold at the unmistakable sound of a rattle. The beady-eyed snake was only two feet away to her left, plenty close enough to strike. Her heart pounded hard enough to burst from her chest. She tried to yell for help, but her voice came out a muffled gurgle. Probably because her heart had jumped up into her throat.

  What do I do? Think!

  A gunshot echoed through the trees. She leaped backwards and screamed covering her heart with her hands. Numb from fear and not knowing if she'd been bitten or shot, her shaky legs gave out. She dropped and curled up into a ball, her hands clamped over her ears and her eyes squeezed shut.

  Someone nudged her with his boot. The large backlit figure was unrecognizable, but she was relieved to see an actual person rather than a six-foot rattlesnake attached to her leg steadily pumping venom into her bloodstream. She glanced around for the serpent. It lay, or what was left of it, splattered on the ground.

  Caroline sat up and recognized her would-be savior. "Henry! Oh, thank goodness!"

  "That rattler looked like he had your number. You a'ight?"

  "Yes. Yes, I'm okay. Thanks to you."

  A sly grin stretched across his stubbly face, studying her. Suddenly, something about him made her uneasy. "No. No, cher, I'm not the one who killed your snake. I wish I had. I'da saved the skin to mount on my wall and ate the meat for a week or two. No, doll face, I didn't kill your snake." His bleary eyes glistened strangely and he smiled again, but it wasn't comforting. Like he knew something she didn't know, and had no intention of disclosure. The hairs on her neck stood up.

  "Then, who did? If you didn't save me, why are you here?" Truly confused and now agitated with Henry for not just telling her what happened, Caroline stood and protectively crossed her arms.

  "I don't know what to tell you, sexy. I can help you calm down, if you'd like." He stepped closer and reached for her face. She instinctively stepped away. Something wasn't right. His breath reeked of alcohol, and it seeped from his pores. Her gut was uneasy for a good reason.

  "Where's Beau?" She hoped his name would remind Henry they were standing in front of Cade's cabin. She didn't like the distant, crazy look in his eyes, nor did she appreciate his creepy innuendo.

  "I bet he's somewhere out in these woods huntin' down a wild animal. You know, you can't never be too careful out in nature. There's predators all around." He took a step closer, and she finally put her hand out to stop him.

  "Look, Henry, I'm sorry. I'm only here to find Cade. I can see that he's not here, so I'm leaving now. If you see him, please tell him I stopped by."

  He grabbed her upper arm. "What's your hurry, doll face? I'm sure his door's open." He suggestively stroked his calloused fingers down the length of her arm. "I'll be happy to keep you company while you wait. You know, to keep snakes or other wild animals from sneakin' up on ya."

  Caroline tried unsuccessfully to pull her arm from his grip. She rushed to think of anything to escape this uncomfortable situation. Trying to appear in control of her emotions, her shaky voice betrayed her. "Thank you, I appreciate your offer, but my dad is waiting for me."

  Still smiling, Henry backed her up to the outside wall of the cabin and cornered her, pressing his heavy body against her, effectively blocking any escape. He brushed a loose strand of hair from her eyes as he studied her face. His focus centered on her mouth.

  "I'm sure your daddy won't mind you bein' a few minutes late. You know, I never met anyone as sweet and innocent as you. Fresh and untainted." His eyes roamed her curves. "I wonder what it is that you been waitin' for all these years? I bet it'd feel pretty damn amazin' to see what's hidden under this delicate skin. To unleash that wild cat in you." He whispered, "Just a sweet little taste." Henry licked his lips and focused on her mouth again as his hand came up to cup her breast. "Might bring out the wild animal in me. You know, make me feel alive."

  She closed her eyes turning her face away from his. The bile rose in her throat and she focused on not barfing from the putrid smell of his filthy, alcohol and sweat soaked clothes. He chuckled, clearly amused by her disinterest. Flashbacks of the first dream she had when Rachel was raped rocked her memory, only this wasn't a dream. This can't be happening. Cade, where are you?

  His face only inches from hers, Caroline gagged at the disgusting smell of his nasty beer and nicotine breath. His hand massaged her sensitive breast, plucking it attempting to arouse her. She choked back the bile and squeezed her eyes closed, focusing on everything but this invasion so she wouldn't lose all sense of reality. Rather than resist, she took a deep, shaky breath to prepare for whatever else he was about to try. Someone who hunted alligators for a living could certainly handle her attempts to fight him off.

  "Please, Henry. Don't," she whispered, pleading.

  "Oh, now I like the way that sounds. Say my name again, cher. Beg me to stop. I want to remember the sound of that in my dreams tonight."

  It took everything she had to control the waves of fear convulsing through her body as she attempted to find her happy place. Then the most beautiful sound in the world caressed her ears.

  "Henry!"

  Words she didn't understand slipped from Cade's mouth, but from the tone she could guess what he said. Henry's grip on her breast loosened and he slowly lowered his hand. For her benefit, Cade repeated himself in English, clearly a censored version.

  "Henry, you wanna step away from her before I blow your damned head off?"

  Henry sighed and stepped back with his hands up. A sinister smile wafted over his face as he turned around. "Aw, come on, Beau. I was just messin' with her. You know, to ruffle her feathers a little."

  "You can go ruffle the feathers of some other girl, but you leave this one alone. Got that, slick? She's not some two-bit whore you met on Bourbon Street. She's my friend, and your boss's daughter, for cryin' out loud
! What the hell are you thinking? Have you lost your mind? Why you here, anyway?"

  "I tol' ya, bro. Just messin' with her. I brought you the twenty bucks I owed you."

  "Later. You know the way out, so I suggest you take it now, while your balls are still attached."

  "Yeah. Sure thing, boss. You don't gotta go all Rambo on me. I'm out. Caroline, no hard feelings?"

  She didn't answer or look at him. Instead, she turned toward the cabin with her face in her palms. An emotional basket case, completely shaken up, she was immensely relieved for Cade. But she didn't want either of the men to see her as she closed her eyes against the tears streaming down her cheeks. Her shoulders shook, and the uncontrollable sobs rattled her bones. Cade scooped her up and carried her inside.

  "Caroline, it's okay. It's just me. Calm down. . .you're safe." He laid her on the couch and knelt beside her. "I don't know what got in to Henry. I've never seen him act like that. I'm so sorry."

  He handed her a handkerchief from his pocket, and it smelled good. Like him. She sat up, a little calmer now. "What just happened? What was that all about? I thought Henry was your friend? I met him that day, and he was fine."

  Cade stared at the floor thinking. "I'm not sure, love. But I promise you I will find out and make sure nothing like that ever happens again. Henry's always been quiet and distant, but I never expected him to do something like this. It's beyond anything I ever thought he was capable of. I just need to know if you're okay. Are you? Okay?"

  She nodded, but the tears flowed freely again. He wrapped his arms around her cradling her head on his shoulder. "Oh, sweet girl. I'm so sorry." He kissed her temple. "I'm sorry I wasn't here fifteen minutes earlier." She pulled her head back to look at him.

  "Were you the one who shot the snake?" She had almost forgotten about the terrifying rattler. She'd never had two horrible experiences within a fifteen minute timeframe before.

  Cade's lips curved into a grin. "Yeah, I killed it. It was a timber rattlesnake."

  "H-how. . .how did you see it? How d-did you know? Where were you?" Caroline was baffled.

  "Well, I was up in a tree hunting. Well, mostly thinking, but I had all my hunting gear. Anyway, I was messing around with my scope and saw movement near my house, so I looked through it in this direction. I saw you knock on my door. I didn't know why you had come, but when I realized you were upset that I hadn't answered it made me happy. I watched you for a few minutes through my scope, and that's when I saw the snake behind you. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you, especially something I could prevent, so I set my cross hairs on the snake's head and pulled the trigger without thinking twice about it."

  He could have missed the snake and accidentally shot her. Normally, the simple fact he had a gun pointed at her would have infuriated her, but for the moment she didn't care.

  Cade moved onto his knees in front of Caroline and cradled her face in his hands as he spoke, looking directly in her eyes. "Caroline, I know he's my friend, but if Henry had gotten any closer to you. . .I might have blown his brains out. I saw his body language towards you after I killed the snake. At first, I was relieved he had shown up, but I couldn't hear what he said. When I saw the look on your face as you put your hand out to stop him, alarms blared in my head. I immediately climbed down the tree and ran as fast as I could to get here. That's when I saw his hand on you and I nearly lost it. Looked like I stopped him just in time. What did he say to you?"

  She fidgeted with her fingernails. Unsure why, she didn't want to tell him everything Henry said. "You know, I don't even remember. I'm just shaken up a little. I guess he succeeded in ruffling my feathers, huh?" She laughed nervously. "It's over now, so let's just not worry about it, okay? I'm really glad you showed up when you did. Thank you for saving me—twice."

  Cade softly kissed her forehead. "It was my pleasure, sweet Caroline."

  It made her deliriously happy to hear him call her sweet Caroline again.

  "I'm sorry I let it get as far as it did. If he had hurt you, I swear I would've. . . Well, it wouldn't have been pretty."

  "Well, he didn't, so we're good. Both of us." She reached out to hold his hands. "Look, I need to talk to you. I don't like the way things are with us right now. I've missed you the last few weeks. Terribly. I know it's my fault that we haven't been hanging out, and I want to apologize. I know I jumped your case for this, and then went and did it myself, but just because I'm engaged doesn't mean I can't be your friend."

  His smile prompted her to continue, and, like the coward she was, she kept picking her nails to avoid eye contact. "You've been nothing but respectful, helpful, and friendly to me since I came here, and the past few weeks I've treated you like dirt. I've avoided you. And for what? Because I'm attracted to you? Because I don't trust myself with you? None of that is fair to you." His grin transformed into a full-fledged smile. She looked up at him through her lashes. "Will you forgive me? Please?"

  "Whatever it is you think you've done wrong, I promise it's totally forgiven. I've missed you like crazy. After hanging out with you the first week you were here, and then only seeing you in passing over the last few weeks, I'll be honest, it's killing me. Yes, I forgive you as long as you can forgive me for not stopping Henry sooner."

  Caroline was so happy she could kiss him. However, considering the reason she had avoided him to begin with, she decided against that, but it still didn't stop her desire. Instead, she launched off the couch and gave him a bear hug, knocking him off balance. They both ended up lying on the floor with her on top of him. It should have been awkward, but it wasn't. She lifted her head to look at him, and he gave her a big cheesy smile.

  "Man, you've been here for all of ten minutes and you're already jumping my bones."

  She couldn't hold back her laughter as she playfully smacked his chest.

  "Oh well, at least I get to hang out with you again. I'll pretend I don't know how bad you really want me."

  Caroline shook her head at his tireless efforts. "You are really something, you know that? You make me happy, Caden Luke. Thank you for that." She knew she shouldn't, but she gave in to her weakness and softly kissed his lips. He kissed her back briefly, but then gently pushed her off of him and sat up.

  Afraid she'd already ruined the short moment of normalcy, Caroline studied him. As if nothing had happened he asked in a chipper voice, "Hey, you wanna go to a movie tonight?"

  "That sounds fun, but I have a better idea. How about we try to do another ghost experiment? Let's see if Rachel's still hanging around. You up for that?"

  A wide smile transformed his face and his eyes lit up. "Yeah, buddy! Let's do it!"

  "Do you have lunch plans?"

  "Well, I was hunting for my lunch, and I killed me a rattlesnake."

  If Cade's laughter was any indication, her face must have turned green. "I'm sorry, snake isn't really on my diet. How 'bout a burger?"

  "Sounds great. Let me clean up and I'll meet you back at the house."

  Things were looking up for the rest of her summer now that she and Cade would be together more. Caroline enjoyed his company, more than she should, but her loyalty to Trevor limited the extent of that, so she'd take what she could get. She was mostly just thankful they worked everything out and their friendship wasn't compromised. She skipped back to the house, frolicking like a little girl. She hardly noticed the white rental SUV parked in the driveway. She bounded up the porch and the front door swung open before she touched it.

  "Trevor!"

  Twenty-Six