Sweet Harmony

by LuAnn McLane

  Deep in thought, Cat climbed a rather steep incline, grabbing on to branches for support. She wondered whether the kidnapping had been the reason her parents had never had more children. Although she had friends, she’d never been allowed to spend the night at anyone’s house, and her parents had been understandably overprotective. And while her childhood hadn’t been unhappy, there were times when she’d felt isolated. In her loneliness Cat had often turned to reading, losing herself in stories as if she were the main character. But after learning to play the guitar, she discovered that music soothed her restless spirit in a way nothing else could, and that remained true to this day. With her guitar in her hands, melodies filled her head and the rest of the world drifted away, leaving her in peace.

  When she reached the top of the hill, the first thing Cat noticed was the sheer beauty of the view. “Oh, wow.” She could see the creek in the distance, and judging by the color of the sky, the sunset was going to be spectacular.

  Wait … sunset?

  How long had she been walking? And the creek was way down … there. When her ADD kicked in, she often got into a zone, a daydream kind of state that made her lose track of time. She wasn’t hyperactive, just scatterbrained and often had difficulty staying focused. She was forever losing things but tried to overcome her ADD by making lists and trying to keep organized. Smartphones with alarms and calendars certainly helped, but now, without a personal assistant, she had to be particularly careful.

  Cat pulled her cell phone from her jeans pocket. “Oh, damn, it’s going on seven.” A little flutter of panic hit her in the stomach when she realized she’d been hiking for over an hour instead of the thirty minutes she had allotted to clear her head. An hour back meant it would be dark before she arrived back at the cabin.

  Wait. Where was the cabin? She turned in a complete circle thinking it would somehow help, but all it did was make her feel slightly dizzy.

  “Okay, calm down.” She lowered her palms downward and inhaled a deep breath. “I’ve got this. Just follow the creek. Damn!” When her mouth went dry, she took a few gulps of water and then had a wild thought that she’d better conserve the rest. She told herself she was being silly and then turned to make quick work of the huge hill she’d climbed. Quick, however, wasn’t the smartest move. She slid and then with a yelp grabbed for an overhanging branch that stopped her precarious progress. Cat dangled from the branch trying to regain her composure. The toes of her boots grazed the ground, so she was only inches from safety, except she might start a downward plunge if she let go. Maybe if she just eased her grip oh so slowly. “Yes,” Cat whispered.

  And the branch broke with a loud snap that sounded like a gunshot. Or was it a gunshot? She’d seen Justified. Shit got real in the Kentucky woods.

  The snapping sound collided with her scream, and she did a rapid shuffling of her feet in an effort to slow her forward momentum, which resulted in her immediately falling and sliding on her butt. When she ducked to avoid a low-hanging branch, she started a sideways roll, picking up leaves and sticks along the way. Cat grabbed for something, anything, but only ended up with a fistful of weeds. A rather steep patch had her rapidly rolling at an odd angle that thankfully slowed her descent, and when she saw another branch, she grabbed for it and almost had to laugh when it also broke. She came to an abrupt halt, her heart pounding as she wondered whether she was on a ledge and one slight movement would cause her demise. She slowly turned her head and realized she’d landed at the bottom of a hill that seemed like a mountain.

  Cat rolled onto her back, breathing hard and not knowing whether to laugh or burst into tears. She remained undecided while humor warred with frustration. “Maybe I should laugh until I cry and let it all out,” she mumbled and then sat up. The world started to spin and for a wild moment she thought she might be sick to her stomach. With a hand to her stomach she took a deep breath and willed the dizziness to pass. “Damned motion sickness,” she muttered. Everyone thought she was a scaredy-cat (which she was) for not riding on a roller coaster, and she would have sucked it up except that she knew she would throw up afterward.

  Cat let out a miserable moan. Remembering one of her near fainting incidents of stage fright, she recalled that she was supposed to raise her knees and dip her head between her legs. Or was it breathe into a paper bag? Wait—or pinch the bridge of her nose? Whatever. She leaned forward and rested her forehead on her knees. After taking deep gulps of earthy air her tilted world started to slowly right itself.

  “Holy shit … Cat, are you okay?”

  “What? Jeff? How did you get here?”

  “I took the metro.”

  “Ha ha, aren’t you the funny one?” she grumbled.

  “I try.”

  “Humph.” Humiliation rolled over her in droves. How in the world had he found her? Perhaps he wasn’t looking but wanted to see the sunset from on top of that … that mountain. Mortified, without raising her head, Cat muttered, “I’m perfectly fine.”

  “What in the world are you doing?”

  “Meditating.” Cat felt something tug at her scalp. “Ouch! Why are you pulling my hair?”

  “You’ve got sticks and leaves poking out everywhere. How did that happen?”

  “I like the look. Very bohemian,” she mumbled. “You can go away now,” she said rather testily and then remembered she was lost. She would sneakily follow him. “I’m not Zen yet.”

  To her dismay, or rather relief, Jeff sat down.

  “Did you trip?” he asked so gently that Cat’s eyes smarted with tears. “No. I kind of … rolled.”

  “Rolled?”

  “Well, maybe it was tumbling with a bit of sliding involved.”

  “Down the hill?”

  “All the way down the mountain. On purpose, of course. It makes the meditation afterward seem much more calming.”

  “What?” His tone was incredulous, as if he’d never fallen down a hill before. Okay, he probably hadn’t. “Are you serious?”

  “Almost never.”

  “Are you hurt?”

  “Define hurt.” She refused to look up.

  “I feel as if we’ve had this conversation before.”

  “I’m certain it won’t be the last time. I told you I’m, well, accident prone.” She felt him gently tugging foreign objects from her hair.

  “Wow, there’s a feather,” he observed with a sense of wonder.

  “Part of the whole Zen thing. Very spiritual. Go ahead and roll down the mountain.”

  “Please don’t dare me.”

  “It’s like being so close to nature. Oh God, wait—do you think I took out a bird on the way down?” She searched her memory. “Surely I would know that, right?”

  “Know what?”

  “If I murdered a bird.”

  “I’m sure you didn’t. Oh, damn—you’re bleeding.”

  “I am?” Cat’s heart started to thud and she raised her head. “Like from a gash or something?” The dizziness must have masked the pain. Or maybe she was just getting tough from always getting hurt and her body refused to register pain any longer.

  Jeff reached over and examined a rather nasty scratch on her arm. “Damn, Cat, how’d you do this?” He started to examine her in other places. She wanted to give him a few suggestions.

  “I think it’s kind of obvious. I fell down an entire mountain. Look, if this is where you play doctor and ask me to disrobe, it won’t happen,” she said, but then thought it could be fun. She sucked in a breath as she flexed her hand. Her pinkie finger looked a bit odd. She held it up. “Do you think it’s broken?”

  Jeff failed to laugh and gently examined her finger. “Maybe,” he said, looking at her with concern. “We need to get you back to your cabin. Do you have a first aid kit?”

  “I … I don’t think so.” She looked at the scratch and winced. Why was it that it didn’t hurt until he’d pointed it out?

  Jeff shook his head. “You of all people should have one, preferably on you, at all tim
es, maybe hanging around your neck.”

  Cat didn’t argue. “Ha. Aren’t you just so very funny today.”

  “I’m not really kidding.” When Cat noticed the concern remaining in his eyes, her stomach did a weird little thing that had nothing to do with being dizzy. “Can you walk?”

  “Why are you always asking me that?” she tried to joke, but just as he leaned in to pull a twig from her hair she bent forward and they bumped faces. His mouth caught the edge of hers …

  And suddenly they were kissing.

  This was when she should shove him away with a sputter of indignant protest, but Cat clung to his shoulders and kissed him back with the pent-up passion of having wanted this for the past week. His tongue touched hers and Cat moaned. Sliding her fingertips down, she fisted her hands in his shirt, pulling him closer. He threaded his fingers through her hair, tilted her head back, and kissed her deeply, hotly, on and on until the kiss turned gentle, sweet … and blew her away.

  Jeff pulled back and rubbed the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip. She was about to suck his thumb into her mouth but wondered whether that would be sexy or weird. Before she could decide, he said, “I’m kind of surprised that you kissed me instead of punching me.”

  “Kissed you?” Cat squeaked.

  “Isn’t that what it’s called when you press your lips to someone else’s lips? Kissing?”

  She shook her hands, still fisted in his shirt, making him bob back and forth. “You, kind sir, kissed me.” Hadn’t he?

  “Um, I don’t think so. Seriously … you called me kind sir?”

  Cat felt heat in her cheeks. Her odd vocabulary was a direct result of her love of romance novels. “How’s this: Dude, you totally kissed me.” She gave his shirt one last little shake and then let go.

  “I like kind sir better.”

  “I can think of a few other things … rake for starters.”

  “Better than a hoe.”

  Cat tried hard not to laugh.

  “You wanted to kiss me.” He gave her a confident grin, and she was momentarily blinded by the dimples as he leaned closer. “Just like you want to do right now.”

  “I do not!” Fuming, Cat wanted to scramble to her feet, but she knew that in her current condition doing anything quickly wasn’t in the cards, so she said, “You need to … to get over yourself.”

  “You talking to yourself there, Cat?”

  Inhaling a sharp breath, Cat willed every molecule in her body to gather together for a massive scramble. Not quite confident she could pull it off, Cat bought more time. “Why are you even up here, anyway?” She raised her eyebrows. “Were you following me?”

  “I was simply looking for you. I was worried when you didn’t come back.”

  A little wind went out of her angry sails as she thought about him being concerned for her safety. “So you were spying on me?” she asked with less heat.

  “I was taking out my trash when I saw you cross your yard and head over to the path into the woods. I don’t spy, by the way. I’m not a creeper.”

  “No, but you do like to blindside someone with an unexpected kiss,” she sputtered. “And don’t even try to—” she began, but then heard a scurrying noise that sounded very close. “What was that?” she whispered.

  “I don’t know. It’s getting dark soon. Nocturnal animals are coming out to feed.”

  “Feed?” Cat swallowed hard and looked around for beady little eyes. “Oh.”

  “You shouldn’t have decided to take a hike this far this late in the day. It’s really not safe, Cat.”

  Cat squared her shoulders. “You’re just trying to scare me.”

  Jeff nodded. “Yes, I am.”

  She heard the sound again and wished she hadn’t let go of his shirt. “It’s working.”

  “And when it gets dark up here, it’s pitch-black and becomes colder.”

  “How long do we have?” she asked, sounding like total doom and gloom. They didn’t even have anything to ration and she’d lost her water bottle in the tumble down the hill.

  “We’re not going to make it back before dark—that much I can tell you.”

  Cat felt a shiver slide down her spine. Had he not come after her, she would be all alone in the dark. With hungry nocturnal animals coming out to feed.

  The dark.

  Her stark fear must have shown on her face because his grin faded. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I want you to hold my hand.” She nodded; then he stood up and assisted her to her feet. “You okay?” He tilted his head and looked at her without the dimples, just concern.

  “Must you keep asking me that?” she asked in a tone meant to be flippant, but she clung to his big warm hand. Cat was aware that she often masked her fear with humor. Part of her stage fright was due to the darkness just before she went on a stage, but when the lights came up she was fine. Mostly. She clung to his hand like a lifeline.

  “We don’t have to go fast,” Jeff assured her. “I know these woods like the back of my hand.”

  “I’ve never understood that saying. How well does anyone really know the back of one’s hand, anyway?”

  He gazed down at his hand as if considering. “My cell phone has a flashlight.” He stopped walking and looked at her. “But seriously—don’t go hiking after dark unless I go with you.”

  “It wasn’t my intention.”

  “To walk without me?”

  Cat let out a huff. “No, to be out this long. I was just thinking about a song and kept walking without paying attention to where I was going and ended up on top of that … that giant mountain.”

  “It’s just a hill, my little city girl,” Jeff said with a grin, and then started walking. “Let me know if you get tired and we can rest.”

  “My childhood was spent in South Carolina,” Cat told him. “So I do have roots in the South, for your information. I’m not entirely a city girl.”

  “Why did you move?”

  Cat shrugged. “My parents thought we needed a change,” she briefly explained, not wanting to disclose the real reason.

  “Do you have siblings?”

  “Nope. I guess I was all my parents could handle,” she said breezily.

  “Makes sense,” he said, and she shot him a look. “Hey, you said it.”

  “And both of my parents’ extended families are scattered all over the United States, so I didn’t have cousins around either.”

  “Ah, so that’s why you don’t play well with others. It’s all making sense to me now.”

  “I always wanted brothers and sisters. I asked Santa every year.”

  “Maybe you were always on the naughty list.”

  “Most likely,” she said with a small smile. “I was forever getting into trouble, even on my own.”

  “Again, I’m not surprised,” he said and gave her hand a little squeeze. “Your sassy attitude reminds me a lot of my sister, Sara.”

  “Well, then Sara must be awesome.”

  Jeff chuckled. “She is.”

  Surprised by his admission, she fell silent. Cat tried to remember the last time anyone had held her hand. It felt nice. “I finally gave up asking for siblings,” she added, expecting a teasing comment in return, but instead he squeezed her hand again.

  “Sara was always getting into trouble in school, mostly for not being able to pay attention.” He paused and looked at Cat. “She has ADD.”

  “Like me,” Cat confessed.

  “Yes, so I do understand. My parents were totally frustrated with her until she was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. She decided to become a teacher, knowing that not all children learn the same way.”

  “So is that why she started Old MacDonald’s?”

  “Partly. She says that kids learn well when the lessons are hands-on. She also was trying to save our family farm from financial ruin and the school brings in extra money.” Jeff sighed. “Most farms are run by corporations nowadays. Family farms are quickly becoming a way of the past.”

&n
bsp; “That’s so sad.”

  “Yeah, but it’s reality. Farms that have been in families for generations are failing right and left. You have to really love farming to consider staying in business, and my family does.” He shook his head. “Most farmers actually have other jobs to put food on the table and to keep the farm running. It’s a crying shame.”

  “I had no idea. So I’m guessing that the barn weddings generate a lot of revenue. I remember that it was a gorgeous setting, both rustic and elegant at the same time. I wish I could have stayed for the reception. I’d love to get married there,” she said and then wanted to smack herself. “Not that I think about it much,” she added hastily. “So the barn weddings are doing well?”

  “Yes, they’re booming. Sara actually has to turn people away because the dates are snatched up well in advance.”

  “Wow, now that’s great.”

  “Yes, it’s taken the pressure off my parents. Plus, the school program is always booked and in addition to weddings my father does pig roasts for things like family reunions. Between all that and farming, we do all right. Braden still works the farm and Reid does all the financial stuff. I’m the only one who’s no longer hands-on.”

  “But I’m guessing before all of this you put your music career on hold to help out?”

  “Yeah. Reid came home to help get things straightened out. It was a family effort.” Jeff chuckled. “Reid was so against the barn wedding thing at first. He and Sara sure butted heads over it big-time. Addison was supposed to be on Reid’s side and discourage Sara, but she loved the notion.”

  Cat arched an eyebrow. “That had to cause some commotion between the two of them.”

  “Yeah, and now Reid and Addison are married with a baby girl on the way. Go figure.”

  “Back when Mia asked me to sing, I remember her telling me all about how the wedding was a surprise event. Reid thought he was pretending to be a groom at a mock wedding to showcase the renovated barn, but it was the real deal. Amazing. Addison sure was taking a chance. I don’t know if I could be brave enough to do something like that in front of the entire town, not knowing the result.”