Chapter 8
My pocketbook weighed a lot less when we exited the hardware store, but my car was packed with short boards, plaster and whatnot. We slid into the car and started the drive back. I glanced into my rear view mirror at the items in the back seat. "What exactly are you going do to my home? Embalm it?"
Adam chuckled. "No, but I could if you make a mean steak tartar."
I wrinkled my nose. "Isn't that the stuff with the uncooked meat?"
He shrugged. "I have a weakness for it."
"And salmonella poisoning," I added.
Adam shook his head. "No chance of that. I have a strong constitution."
"Good, that may help you get through some of my dishes. I like spicy foods," I informed him.
"You do, too? What a coincidence," he mused.
I raised an eyebrow. "I know what you're doing."
He feigned innocence, but like I said before he was a terrible liar. "What? I really do like hot stuff."
"You're just saying that because you want to flatter me and get more free food out of me," I argued.
He smiled and sheepishly shrugged. "I don't know about that, but I am looking forward to your cooking."
"You don't know my cooking. Maybe you should be afraid, be very afraid," I warned him.
He laughed. "I'll take my chances. Anyway, your cabin might kill me when I show you where the problems are in your roof."
We drove up the mountain and arrived at my little home. It was an hour before lunch, so we carried the stuff from the car onto the porch and to the kitchen. My towel was still in place, and the thrust I'd given it meant it was likely to stay that way for a while.
Adam tossed his coat on the chair closest to the door, stepped out onto the driveway and glanced up at the right side of the roof. I walked outside to join him, but paused on the porch. The eerie silence had once again fallen over the woods. At least this time I had company, and I strode over to Adam's side.
"You got a ladder?" he asked me.
I slapped my hand over my face. "Oh crap," I replied.
"I'll take that as a 'no' and see if I can get up there from the wilder side. You stay here and if you hear a scream followed by a hard thump-"
"-I'll go get the shovel," I finished.
He winced. "At least make sure I'm dead."
I grinned at him. "I make no promises."
"Well, just stay here and wait for me," he repeated. Adam walked around the cabin out of sight. I heard grunts and groans, and saw one of the larger trees shake and shiver. In half a minute his head popped up over the single point in the roof. The roof sloped off toward the sides of the house, and he tentatively climbed over the peak and onto my side. He used the bolts in the metal sheets as footholds and carefully shifted downward from bolt row to bolt row until he reached the rear corner of the cabin. He gestured to me. "Let me show you-" He demonstrated rather than showed when his right foot slipped between two loose metal sheets and pushed through the rotten ply-board beneath the roofing.
I raced to the corner and watched him struggle with the metal sheets. I'd never seen anyone so panicked as he was. His calm, funny demeanor was changed to that of an animal caught in a trap. His eyes were wide and he grasped his leg between both his. He gave hard yanks on his foot as though he meant to tear it off. His thrashing only worsened the situation as the metal sheets edged up over his boot and cut into his sock.
"Hold still!" I yelled at him. He didn't seem to hear me over the banging over the metal sheets.
I raced around the back of the house to where I'd seen him climb. There were several trees close to the cabin, but I couldn't see one that I would be able to climb and jump to the roof without having superhuman abilities. However, there was an old generator and a few broken wooden boxes. I stacked those and climbed the precarious ladder to the roof, then hefted myself over the edge. All the while there was the incessant drumming and banging as Adam tried to free himself.
I wasn't scared of heights, but I was scared of gravity. The metal sheeting was slick and I wormed my way up the peak. In a moment I peeked over the edge and saw Adam wrestling with his foot.
I gave him a shaky smile and inched my way over the peak down to him. "It's okay, Adam. Just stop moving and I can help."
I reached him and must have startled him because he suddenly stopped struggling and whipped his head to me. His eyes were wide and feral, and he bared his teeth in a hideous snarl. Saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth, and his hands were coated with blood from his trapped foot. My eyes widened and I cringed away from his monstrous look. My terror reflected in his large eyes and for a moment I wondered if he would lunge at me.
Adam's face fell and he blinked. The madness in his eyes deserted him, leaving him bloodied and both frightened and ashamed. He clutched his face in one hand and his body shook like a leaf in a tornado. His voice was a choked whisper. "You need to stay away from me."
I frowned and nodded my head at his trapped foot. "Not while you're still trapped. Let's see if I can get that metal off your foot." I slid down beside him and grasped the edge of the closest sheet. "I'm going to lift this and you pull your foot out, okay?" He dropped his hand and nodded. "All right, on three. One, two, three!" I lifted the sheet up as far as I could manage and Adam pulled himself up the incline of the roof. His foot slipped from the hole and out from beneath the other sheet. He was free, but his let was roughed up. His socks were cut through and blood poured from the thin wounds.
I climbed backwards to sit beside him. I rubbed his shoulder and leaned forward to catch his eye. "You okay?" I asked him.
There was a small, shaky smile on his pale lips, and the color was drained from his face. "I'm fine, and I'm. . .I'm sorry for my behavior. I've had some bad experiences with traps, and I guess the memories made me panic," he apologized.
I smiled back at him. "How about we psychoanalyze your past experiences on my couch? It's not very comfortable, but it beats sitting up here."
Adam chuckled and gave a nod. "That's the best idea I've heard in a very long time."
I glanced down at his injured foot. "You need me to make a ladder or pull you up the roof?" In this case it was the thought that counted because I had no idea how I'd achieve either suggestion.
He shook his head. "It's not as bad as it looks and I'm heavier than I look, so I'll get myself down." He slowly scooted himself up the roof and I followed. We reached the bottom of the opposite side and he admired my stacking job. "You're not a bad climber," he commented.
I shrugged. "Where there's a will there's a way."
"Agreed, but I don't think the will of your stack will hold my weight, so I'll get down the hard way." He squatted at the edge of the roofing.
My eyes widened when I realized he meant to jump. "Don't-" Too late. Adam leapt off the roof and dropped the ten feet to the ground. He landed with a little wobble, but was otherwise fine.
Adam turned back to me and held out his arms. "Jump and I'll catch you," he offered.
"Oh hell no." I turned around and lowered myself foot-first over the edge of the roof. I waved my foot around and found the top of my precarious pile. First I put one foot and then the other on the stack of miscellaneous objects. It felt sturdy until I leaned my full weight down on it.
Something slipped because suddenly I felt myself pulled by gravity toward the ground. I fell backward, shut my eyes, and tensed for a short drop with a hard stop. Instead I was greeted by a pair of strong arms that caught me in their soft hold and pulled me against a warm body. I creaked open one eye and found myself looking into the amused face of Adam. He'd caught me and now held me in his arms against his chest.
I dropped out of his arms, straightened myself, and turned toward my savior. "Thanks. That would have been a bad fall."
He smiled and bowed his head. "It was my pleasure, but don't make it a habit of putting yourself into danger. It's unbecom
ing of beautiful women."
My cheeks glowed like Rudolph's nose and I waved aside his compliment. "Well, I'll be sure to tell beautiful women that when I see them. Now we should get you inside and take a look at that leg."
Adam shook his head. "It's fine, but your roof isn't and there's going to be-"
I looped my arm through his and tugged him toward the front of the house. "It is not fine. That foot was bleeding like the time I tried to sew a shirt, and it might take as many stitches to stop it."
He grinned. "That's very old-fashioned of you to know how to sew."
I snorted and pulled him inside. He didn't even limp. "If I knew how to sew I wouldn't have bled so much." I pushed him onto the couch and grabbed his leg.
He laughed and tried to pull away. "I'm ticklish there!"
"Then hold still or I'll torture you," I warned. The blood on his sock had dried and flakes of the stuff fell onto the floor. I pulled the sock down and froze. There was nothing there but a bit of dried blood stuck to his short, curly dark leg hair. I brushed aside the blood, but was still unable to find any sign of a wound, especially one large enough to cause that much blood. My mouth was agape as my eyes flickered up to his face. "How'd you do this?" I asked him.
"Do what?" he innocently replied.
I frowned and shook his leg with one hand. "How'd you make the wound disappear?"
He shrugged. "I guess it wasn't as bad as you thought."
I pointed at the sock. "And that?"
"Maybe I carry around packages of ketchup in my sock," he replied. He pulled his leg from my grasp and pulled his pant leg down to hide the spot. "But enough of work and work-related injuries. What's for lunch?"
I crossed my arms and glared up at him. "Nothing until you tell me what's going on."
He picked some of the red stuff from his sock and studied the dry peels. "Well, this is the same color as your roof. The pain must be peeling from the metal sheets and got on my sock. I'm surprised I'm not covered in it."
"I know blood when I see it, and that's blood. See?" I reached out to dip my hand in the flakes, but he grabbed my wrist.
Adam's voice was low and his eyes unwaveringly stared into mine. There was a dark glint in them that made me shudder, but I couldn't look away and his hold on my wrist was unbreakable. "Don't do that." I cringed, and the darkness in his eyes faded. He pulled back and released me. The smile returned to his lips, but it was strained. "You never know what's in that old metal stuff. Just let me get changed and I'll be back to fix that hole. That's probably where the squirrel got in, and it needs to be fixed before the storm tonight." I rubbed my wrist as Adam stood and walked around me to the door. He paused in the doorway and behind him the light of the late-morning sun cast his face in shadow. "Maybe we should cancel this whole food arrangement. If you want I can fix your roof for free and leave."
I stood and shook my head. "A deal's a deal," I insisted.
He bowed his head. "All right, I'll be back in a bit." He turned and left. I couldn't help but notice the sound of the woods return with his absence.