Authors: Kimberley Reeves
The axe rose and fell, rose and fell, the sweat on her hands making the handle slide up and down with each blow. But she knew if she stopped to wipe them off, if she even slowed down, she would never have the energy to bring the axe up again. Tears of frustration pooled in her eyes, blurring her vision. She blinked them away irritably, brought the axe up over her head and threw her weight into the next blow. The wood split a fraction of an inch; it wasn’t much, but at least she was making progress. Ignoring the dull ache that seemed to have taken up residence in every muscle from her neck to her toes, Abby stubbornly ejected the word defeat from her vocabulary and took another swing.
***
Jack finished the chapter he was working on and sat back with a satisfied smile. His eyes wandered to the open sliding glass doors leading to the balcony.
What was that persistent, annoying noise?
He tilted his head to listen and then glanced at the clock. Impossible! That slip of a woman couldn’t possibly have been chopping wood for the hour and a half he’d been typing.
She must have stopped for a while and then come back out; no doubt thinking that whittling away a little at a time would eventually get the job done. Pushing his chair back, he strolled to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water and took a few sips before glancing toward the open doors again. Jack capped the bottle and set it down. Noise carried in the forest and the sound that was now drifting up the hill
and
through his doors had the same low, feral growl an injured animal would make.
He hurried out onto the balcony and leaned over the rail. “What the hell!”
Jack cringed as Abby Travis lifted the axe with shaky arms, where it wobbled precariously over her head; that gut wrenching pained moan erupting from her lips as she brought the axe down. Her aim was accurate but incredibly weak and there was no doubt in his mind the woman was going to kill herself, either from exhaustion or when she dropped the axe. He shuddered to think how he would inform her father.
I know I was supposed to watch over her, Mr. Travis, but you see…the axe fell on her head!
Yeah, that was going to go over real well. Jack took the steps down from his balcony and headed for the path to the Travis cabin. The brush around the path was thick and it occurred to him that Abby would undoubtedly think a herd of elephants was barreling towards her, but he shrugged it off. It didn’t really matter what she thought as long as he got there before the poor brainless city girl hacked off a body part.
***
Abby hoisted the axe over her head and then paused, her arms trembling from the effort.
What was that gawd awful racket?
Her eyes migrated towards a small path leading uphill that was nearly obscured with overgrowth. Something was crashing through the foliage, something big, and it was coming straight for her! She didn’t have a shot in hell of making it to the house before the creature got to her, not when her legs were as wobbly as her arms. Her only option was to stand her ground and hope it wasn’t as large as it sounded.
She held the axe high, nostrils flaring, eyes wide with fear, breath coming in short, ragged gasps. Her heart thumped furiously in her chest.
This is it
, she thought,
I’m going to get mauled to death by a bear on my first day here.
Abby held her breath as the foliage moved not four feet from where the clearing in front of her began. Squeezing her eyes shut, she heaved the axe at the attacking beast with what little strength she had left.
“Geezus, lady,” a man’s deep voice roared, “you damn near killed me!”
Abby’s eyes snapped open. She was right about the animal being big; she just hadn’t considered that it would be human. The man was every bit as muscular as her brothers and maybe a little taller, with a full beard and mustache and jet black hair.
Good God
, she thought,
he looks like a grizzly; a huge, angry one.
He glanced down at the axe lying near his feet before turning his steely gaze on Abby and skewering her with a furious flash of sky-blue eyes.
“What the hell were you thinking?”
Abby let out a frightened squeak when he took a menacing step toward her, certain he meant to throttle her with his bare hands. If there was any chance at all her unsteady legs would carry her, she would have bolted for the cabin and locked herself inside. As it was, the only thing she seemed capable of doing was trembling as he stooped to pick up the axe, still scowling and muttering oaths under his breath. A deep frown began to form as he examined the handle, tentatively running his fingers over the moisture clinging to the spot where Abby had gripped it.
“It…it’s just sweat, mister,” she said, giving her lips a nervous flick with her tongue. I’m sorry for throwing the axe at you, but I…uh…thought you were a crazed bear or something.”
Abby shrank away from him when he dropped the axe and closed the distance between them, issuing another startled squeak when he grabbed her by the wrist. The struggle to wrestle her hand back was short lived; the man had the grip of a steel vice. With a look of disgust, he turned her palm up, shaking his head after a brief examination.
“Good God, woman, don’t you have the sense to stop swinging when your hands are bleeding all over the handle?”
Following his gaze to her palm, she was alarmed to discover it was smeared with blood. She attempted to lift the other hand, but her arms simply lacked the strength to do so. Abby made a half-hearted attempt to smile as she looked up at him.
“I guess I don’t,” she said softly.
Reaching for her other hand and finding it in the same torn and bloodied condition, his hardened features softened for a few fleeting moments. “I’m sorry I scared you,” he said gruffly. “Let’s go inside and clean you up so I can assess the damage.”
Abby started to argue that she could do it herself, but the burning sensation in her arms and legs persuaded her to accept his help. “Who are you?” she asked warily.
“Jack Burton. I’m the caretaker for your dad’s cabin.”
“Abby Travis. I’d shake hands but…” She shrugged.
“We’ll save it for another day.” He nodded towards her cabin. “Shall we?” She took one tentative step before her knees started to buckle. “I’ve got you, sweetheart,” Jack said with surprising gentleness as he caught her by the waist.
“So much for good first impressions,” she muttered.
Jack chuckled. “I guess my crazed bear routine didn’t go over so well either.”
Having embarrassed herself already and, given the certainty she would fall flat on her face if she tried to walk on her own, Abby allowed him to help her into the cabin. Keeping one arm firmly around her waist, he turned on the water in the kitchen sink and tested the temperature before easing her hands under the faucet. Maneuvering himself behind her, Jack used the weight of his body to hold her up, freeing both hands to rinse the blood from her palms.
Despite the fact that Jack was being careful not to hurt her, some of the blood had dried making it difficult to cleanse her hands without breaking the engorged water blisters. Abby bit her lip to keep from crying out but a few feeble groans managed to escape now and then. She closed her eyes for a moment, slowing dragging air into her lungs. There were other sensations she was experiencing that were far more disturbing than the wounds on her hands. The heat from his body and the feel of his strong arms enveloping her had a dizzying effect and, if it was possible, her knees grew even weaker.
“It’s going to hurt like hell for several days,” he told her.
Abby nodded mutely as his big hands tended to her wounds. He’d scared the hell out of her when he came crashing out of the bushes; it was just sheer luck that her arms were so weak the axe hadn’t flown very far. She was mortified by the knowledge she could have seriously injured him, perhaps even killed him if she’d been capable of heaving the axe more than a few feet. At least she was spared the embarrassment of having to look him in the face right now.
“You must think I’m the most pathetically stupid woman alive.”
Jack turned the water off and grabbed a few paper towels to pat her hands dry with. “You were damn determined to chop that wood, weren’t you?”
“I would have done it too, if you hadn’t made me throw my axe away.”
His warm laugher made her smile. Her hands were dry but he was still holding them and it was creating a furious fluttering of butterfly wings in her stomach. She couldn’t even say exactly why; she didn’t think he was exceptionally handsome, although he did have a killer smile.
“Do you cook, Abby?”
“Not today,” she sighed, after a remorseful glance at her crippled hands.
“I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll chop the wood in exchange for a few home cooked meals once your hands have healed.”
“You got it,” Abby happily agreed. “I’m not touching that sadistic axe for as long as I live.”
“That’s exactly how I feel about the sadistic pots and pans in my kitchen.” He let loose of her hands and looped his arm around her waist, ushering her to the nearest chair. “Sit at the table while I get the first aid kit.”
Abby stared at her hands after he’d left the kitchen. How in the world was she going to type when her fingers were so stiff she could barely move them? Not to mention the numerous blisters littering both her palms and fingertips. With only six months allotted to complete a novel she hadn’t even started yet, her quiet mountain getaway was beginning to look extremely bleak.
“How long do you think it will take for the blisters to heal?” She asked when Jack returned a few minutes later.
“Four or five days at least.” Placing a chair in front of her, Jack sat down and riffled through the firstaideaid
kit he’d carried in and pulled out antibacterial cream and gauze. “Some of the water blisters have been torn open and rubbed so raw they bled. You did quite a number on yourself, honey. Are you always this tenacious when you set your mind to do something?”
“It’s a character flaw, what can I say?”
“Give me your hands,” he ordered, whistling between his teeth when Abby lifted her hands about an inch off the table with a grimace. It was apparent she’d put quite a strain on her arms and shoulders as well. “I think there’s a bigger problem than not being able to use your hands. I imagine you’ve over extended muscles you didn’t even know you had.”
“Believe me, I’m feeling each and every one of them right now. There’s not a spot on me that doesn’t groan in protest when I move.”
“I think I can help with that.”
Even after Jack rose from his chair and circled around behind her, Abby assumed he was going to retrieve painkillers or some other medicinal cure. It never occurred to her that he meant to massage the stiffness from her muscles and was thoroughly shaken by the visceral reaction she had to him. His hands were warm, his touch firm, and yet amazingly gentle as he worked the kinks and knots from her neck and shoulders. It felt…wonderful, although it was impossible to relax completely after an unexpected and disturbingly vivid image of those soothing hands roaming freely over her body popped into her head.
“Better?” he asked, thankfully banishing Abby’s errant thoughts.
“Immensely…thank you, Jack.”
“My pleasure,” he replied, returning to his seat. “I’ll bandage your hands as soon as I’ve finished with your arms.”
“My…”
Abby bit down on her lip as Jack’s fingers curled around her upper arm and pressed into the tender flesh. Her muscles were so tight they had locked up, but the throbbing pain had been tolerable as long as she kept her movements to a minimum. Now with Jack massaging them, it felt as though every fiber, sinew, and tissue was being gouged with jagged shards of heated glass. Gradually, the pain began to subside, although Abby wasn’t a hundred percent certain whether that was a good thing or not. Without the distraction her sore muscles had provided, it was difficult to ignore how intimate it felt to have his hands moving up and down her bare arms.
It was silly to respond to his touch as if it was a caress rather than the therapeutic balm he intended it to be, but she was powerless to stop it. Even as Abby silently berated herself, the ache in her arms was replaced by the hum of a low electrical current. It pulsed through her veins and threaded its way to various other parts of her body; parts that had no business feeling anything at all for Mr. Jack Burton!
***
Jack smothered a smile. So, he wasn’t the only one feeling the incredible attraction between them; he only hoped he was doing a better job of hiding it than Abby was. He hadn’t missed the way her body trembled when he scooted his chair closer, or the soft intake of breath when his leg brushed against hers. Forcing himself to focus on the task of dabbing antiseptic cream over the blisters, he wrapped the gauze around her hands and secured it with white medical tape. Glancing up at her face, he couldn’thelp laughinghelp laughing
at the smudges of dirt that covered all but a few small clean patches.