"It's no problem if Cody's wet," Annie replied, "but if he's pooped that's where Josh and Ryan draw the line."
Ryan looked askance at Annie standing beside him, and said, "I've done my share of pooped diapers."
"Only when you're into forced servitude because I'm not around," Annie replied, "but when I'm handy he's definitely passed over to me. That's okay though, honey, I'm not complaining, just clarifying."
A few minutes later, Josh returned with Cody nestled in the crook of his arm and sat in a chair angled not more than a foot from where Genie was sitting. Cody immediately started nuzzling Josh's chest, to which Josh laughed, and said, "I'd whip out a boob if I could, little buddy, but you'll have to settle for a bottle instead."
Annie turned from the grill, and said, with a chuckle, "One more month and the whipping out of boobs will be over, though it's been a good thing. I firmly believe in breast feeding."
"Yeah, so do I," Ryan said, and gave Annie a wicked grin.
Genie found herself glancing over at Josh, but instead of smiling he was looking at her soberly, like he was pondering something serious, something that had her wondering if he too was thinking what she was thinking, not about husbands taking their turns with nursing mothers, but about her as a mother to a nursing baby, maybe his baby?
Catching herself, she reeled in her absurd pipedream. They'd spent three days together in the hospital where she'd tended his body in the most intimate way a nurse was obliged to do, while at the same time fantasizing over the man. His family had also been there much of the time, and from their conversations outside the room she'd learned things about Josh she never would have known—he'll do anything for anybody… he's always positive… I don't know anyone who doesn't like him… he makes people feel better and leaves them with a smile—and everything she'd learned rounded him out as a man she knew she could love, except for the fact that he was, at that time she'd been hearing the comments, lying in a hospital bed because of a badass profession he'd never give up…
Josh, who had Cody sitting up straight on his lap, with his little hands curled tightly around Josh's index fingers, said to Cody, "You've got a good strong grip."
"Don't get any ideas," Annie said. "Cody will not be using that grip to hold onto a bullrope."
Josh laughed, and said to Cody, "In a few years you and Uncle Josh are going to have a man-to-man talk about life, love, and female-dominance."
A long stretch of silence had Genie looking over at Annie and Ryan, who were both glaring at Josh. It was obvious that Josh's comment hit a raw nerve with both of them, Ryan because it was an affront to his decision to give up bull riding for a woman, and Annie because she was standing by her man. When the silence became awkward, Josh looked over at them, then said to Cody, "Okay, little buddy, I'm outnumbered. We'll have a long talk about life and love."
"You haven't exactly struck pay dirt in those areas either," Ryan said in a voice that held no humor. An inscrutable look crossed Josh's face, which had Genie wondering what that was all about. Whatever it was, there were definitely barbs being tossed between the brothers.
Deciding an intervention was needed, Genie said, "How about you guys call a truce for now and I'll entertain you with a magic trick." Everyone looked Genie's way.
Fixing her gaze on Josh, she said, "You guys think you're tough because you can ride bulls and play around with them in the rodeo arena, but how tough are you when it comes to little things like getting a shot when you see the needle coming?"
Josh let out a short laugh. "Are you kidding? Getting a shot?" He eyed her with amusement, like what she was trying to do was too obvious to respond to.
"Okay then, how about giving yourself a shot?" Genie said. "Have you ever stuck a needle in your own arm?"
"No," Josh replied, "but that's nothing. I've cut myself when a snake bit me and prodded around with a knife to get thorns out of my leg."
"Then it shouldn't bother you to watch someone else stick themself with pins," Genie said.
Josh eyed her with uncertainty. "I hope you don't plan on doing something stupid."
"It's magic," Genie said. "But why would sticking myself with pins be any different from you sticking yourself? Is self-infliction only reserved for macho men?"
"You said you were going to show us some magic," Josh said, his voice a blend of curiosity and irritation.
"I will," Genie replied, "if Annie will get me a packet of sewing needles and a handkerchief or a piece of cloth."
"I'll get them," Annie said, then disappeared into the house.
While Annie was fetching the needles, Genie reflected on her last visit to the ranch and the image of Josh bent over the pool table in the multi-purpose lodge and the shot he'd missed when she walked in, and said, "Did you ever learn to shoot pool?"
"I can shoot pool," Josh replied. "When you walked in you messed up my concentration."
Genie reached across the table and took a carrot from the tray of vegetables. "Then I assume you can run four balls in a row."
"Sometimes," Josh replied. "It depends on the set up."
"You ever try shooting without aiming?" Genie asked.
"Not if I want to sink a ball in a pocket," Josh replied.
"Try it sometime," Genie said. "Let your subconscious mind take over. You might be surprised with what happens."
"Are you saying you can run four balls without aiming?"
"Something like that."
Annie stepped out of the house. "Here you go." She handed a packet of needles to Genie, along with a handkerchief with some uneven crocheting along the edge, like Annie might have tried her hand at it. "And this is for you, honey," she said to Cody. "How about you have your bottle in your playpen so Uncle Josh can have some veggies?"
She lifted Cody off Josh's lap and put him in a playpen set off to the side, gave him the bottle, and sat at the table across from Genie.
Genie opened the packet of needles, slipped one out and studied it, then returned the needle and passed the packet to Josh, saying, "Check these out so you know they aren't trick needles, then hand them to Ryan so he can take a look if he wants."
Josh took the packet and pulled out a needle, eyed it closely, then slipped it back. "They're regular needles," he announced.
"Then you're all absolutely certain that they're normal everyday sewing needles?" Genie glanced from one to the next. They nodded and mumbled their yes's. She held her hand up in front of Josh, with her thumb sticking out, and said, "Okay, I want you to take a close look at my thumb and make sure there aren't any needle marks in it."
Josh curved his palm around Genie's hand, and the moment she felt the heat from his palm penetrating her hand, her heart accelerated, her breath quickened, and her face felt as if it were on fire. She also realized Josh was taking an inordinate amount of time to study her thumb. Still, she didn't rush him because… she couldn't explain why, only that she felt something passing between them, and when she looked up and Josh held her gaze, she wondered if he felt it too.
The magic was broken when Annie cleared her throat to get their attention, and said, "So Josh, do you see needle marks in her thumb?"
Josh released Genie's hand, and replied, "No needle marks."
Genie drew in a breath and waited a moment for her quickened heart rate to settle down, then removed several needles from the packet and placed them on the table. Lifting the handkerchief, she slipped it over her thumb. "Okay, watch carefully and we'll see how tough you guys are." Picking up one of the needles, she pressed the tip to the outer edge of her thumb, and ever so slowly, pushed it until it came out the other side.
Josh sat up and looked on in alarm. "What are you trying to do?" he asked.
"Show you that women are as tough as men," Genie replied. Taking another needle, she put it close to the other needle and gave it a little jab, letting out a grunt as she did, and pushed it slowly through. With the third needle, she gave another little grunt and bit her bottom lip. But when she picked up the next needl
e and placed the tip against her thumb, Josh grabbed her wrist and said, "Stop. You got your point across."
Genie looked at Josh's hand wrapped around her wrist, then at Josh, and said, "A few little needles in a thumb is a whole lot less painful than a bull's horn in a butt."
"Just stop here," Josh said. There was no humor in his voice.
"Okay then," Genie replied. "Unwrap your hand from around my wrist and I'll pull the needles out." She wondered if he'd refuse, and mess up her trick, but he didn't. Instead, he released her wrist. Then just as slowly as she'd stuck the needles in, she pulled each one out, but when she looked at Josh's face, she not only saw a look of intense concern, she also saw a glossy sheen in his eyes. After she'd pulled out the last needle, she removed the handkerchief and set it aside then offered her thumb for Josh to inspect. He took her hand in his, stroked her palm with his thumb like he was trying to sooth her, which touched her in a way she hadn't expected…
He has a sweet and deeply caring side that makes me know he'd be a good husband…
Genie saw that side, which made her feel a little guilty.
Seeming to catch himself, Josh took a close look at her thumb and studied it with an intensity that had Genie almost breaking the magician's code to tell him it was nothing more than a basic magic trick.
Once he was satisfied that her thumb was okay, he released her hand, and said, with a hint of what she construed as embarrassment, "Okay, you pulled a fast one. How did you do it?"
Genie shrugged. "It's magic and when you perform magic it heals fast. Haven't you heard about psychics who open people up with their hands and perform bloodless, painless surgery? It's done in the Philippines and there's no sign of an opening. I'm sure you've also heard of firewalkers who walk over red hot coals and don't burn their feet. There's documentation of it all over the world. It's all about mind over matter."
"I know about firewalking," Josh said. "My brother's an archaeologist. He says the embers aren't good conductors of heat and since the firewalkers keep moving, it isn't long enough to cause burns and the ash on the coals also act as an insulator."
"Then how do you explain that I don't have any needle marks in my thumb?" Genie asked.
"You had a handkerchief over it so I couldn't see what was really happening," Josh replied. "That was part of the trick."
"No," Genie countered. "I do that because the one time I did it without the handkerchief a woman started hyperventilating and passed out. It scared the daylights out of me."
While Josh puzzled over that, Genie sat back and said nothing. Maybe another time she'd tell him how she did it, but for now, having grown up under the guidance of Sebastian Matthias, there was enough of the amateur magician in her to want to let Josh wonder.
While they ate, Annie and Ryan and Genie chattered about inconsequential things, while Josh seemed distant and detached, not just from Genie, but from Ryan and Annie as well, and Genie again wondered what was behind Ryan's comment that Josh, hadn't exactly struck pay dirt in those areas, meaning in the areas of life and love, which she narrowed down to love. It hadn't occurred to her before that Josh was a guy who'd have any kind of serious love life. She also felt a little twinge of jealousy for the woman who might have captured his heart, and wondered how much sacrifice he might have been willing to make for her, if the woman ever existed.
After they'd had dessert, and deciding it was time to get back to the house and check on Abby, Genie said to Ryan, "That was a wonderful meal—the salmon, the beans, the grilled onions, the corn on the cob—and Annie, your fresh strawberry pie was wonderful."
"Except that we couldn't bite through the crust," Annie groused.
"Well, perfection in crusts will come with experience," Genie said, "but I think I need to get back and relieve your mom and dad of Abby." She went over and gave Annie and Ryan each a hug, then looked at Josh, who mentioned nothing more about going riding the next day, and said, "See you around." He shrugged, and she turned and left.
The walk from Annie and Ryan's house to where the ranch road met the road that looped through the compound was about a ten-minute walk. Around five minutes into it, however, Genie sensed that she was being followed, and when she glanced around, she saw Josh walking behind her. She couldn't decide if he'd left so he could catch up with her, or because he was done for the night, but since he'd given no indication during the evening that he wanted to spend any time with her, she ignored him and walked on.
By the time she reached the intersection where the ranch roads joined, Josh caught up with her, took her arm to keep her from turning toward Matt and Ruth's house, and said, "Okay, you've got my curiosity."
"Where are you taking me?" Genie asked, as Josh steered her away from her destination.
"To the lodge," Josh replied.
"Why there?" Genie asked.
"Because I want to see you run four balls in a row."
"It's easy," Genie said. "You let your subconscious mind take over and shoot without aiming. It works every time." She tried not to be distracted by the feel of Josh's hand wrapped around her arm, but it was firmly connected, and she was making no attempt to pull it away.
"I also want to know how you did the thumb trick," Josh said.
"I told you, it was mind over matter, but if it wasn't, I still wouldn't tell you because it would break one of the seven principles of the magician's code, which is secrecy. A magician only reveals secrets to other magicians. "
"You're not a magician. You're a nurse."
"A nurse on leave. I might not be going back."
"Why?"
"I already told you, it's too complicated to explain."
"No, you told me it was complicated. Nothing's too complicated to explain, unless you don't know yourself why you're quitting, which I'm sure is not the case."
"You can't be sure of anything because you don't even know me," Genie said.
"I know enough," Josh replied. "I did some research."
"What kind of research?"
"The Annie kind."
Genie looked at Josh in curiosity. "You asked Annie questions about me?"
Josh nodded.
"Why?"
"Because I want to know what makes Nurse Ratched tick, kind of like standing back and studying a two-thousand pound, pissed off, insanely angry bull to know how he reacts in different circumstances."
Uncertain how to interpret his analogy, Genie set it aside for the moment, and said, "You were only in the hospital three days, after which we parted company, presumably for good, except that you've continued playing with bulls which will ultimately get you back into Nurse Ratched's ward, but since you still believe you're invincible, you don't think that way, so why did you want to know what makes me tick if you never expected to see me again?"
"I believe in fate," Josh replied.
"Fate that you'd end up back in my ward, or that I'd end up here?" Genie asked.
"Neither. I just turn it over to fate."
When they reached the lodge, Josh, who was still holding onto Genie's arm, which she was still making no attempt to pull free, guided her to the front entrance. Through the window she saw ranch guests inside—three sitting in a grouping, and a couple standing and talking—but no one was playing pool. She was relieved that guests were present though. She wasn't prepared to spend time alone with Josh. It wasn't conducive with keeping her distance from him. And right now, she was going against everything she'd programmed herself not to do by trailing along with him to the lodge instead of going back to the house because, if the guests decided to leave, she could find herself alone with Josh, and he wasn't the one she feared. His nearness affected her in ways she couldn't explain. Yet ignoring her instincts, she continued with him into the lodge.
CHAPTER 5
On entering the lodge, Josh dropped Genie's arm and walked to the rack of cue sticks mounted on the wall behind the pool table. Taking a stick down, he handed it to Genie. She took it and stepped aside while Josh proceeded to rack the balls.
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"What are you setting up for?" she asked.
"Eight-ball," Josh replied. "You have any preference as to how the balls are racked?"
"Is this to be a game, or did you just want to see me run four balls in a row?" Genie asked.
"Whatever you want."
"Okay then, just do a standard rack."
After Josh set up the balls, he removed the rack from around them and stepped back, then motioned for Genie to make the break. After a brief calculation, Genie positioned the white cue ball and quickly shot. An equal number of solid and striped balls scattered in all directions while sending two balls into pockets. After glancing into each pocket, she announced, "I'll take solids." Leaning over the table again, she positioned her cue stick, made a brief mental adjustment and shot, sending another solid ball into a pocket. Moving around the table, she made another quick decision and sent the cue ball bouncing off a striped ball, which sent a solid ball dropping into a corner pocket. "That's four balls," she announced, then stood and waited for Josh to comment.
He looked completely perplexed. And ticked. The macho male routed by a female.
"So, are you just going to stand there looking pissed, or do you want to know the secret? This isn't magic. I can tell all. It's also something anyone can learn."
Josh eyed the balls with a look of curiosity and interest, like he wanted to know and understand but was too proud to ask. Then his gaze crisscrossed around the table, and he looked at her thoughtfully, and said, "How long did it take you to learn this?"
"Half my life," Genie replied. "It's something Dad taught my brother Dimitri and me years ago. Along with being a master illusionist, Dad's also a pool shark. To give you a little snapshot about my dad… Normal fathers take their kids biking, or swimming, or to a movie, but my dad took Dimitri and me to séances and back-room magic shows, and to a private club for magicians and illusionists where the lobby had no visible doors to the interior, and to gain access, you had to say a secret phrase to a sculpture of an owl. It wasn't your average childhood."
Dancing With Danger: Book 8: Dancing Moon Ranch Series Page 5
