The Wedding Arbor

“It wasn’t my fault. I slid backward.” She was growing exasperated with his know-it-all attitude. Wiping one hand on her ruined skirt she held it out to her would-be rescuer. He made no move to help lift her the rest of the way. She stared up at him. “Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Well, aren’t you going to give me a hand?” She hoped he didn’t remember that stale old joke and literally applaud her predicament.

“You said you’re not hurt. I’m glad. The way I see it, you got here all by yourself—in spite of the worst storm we’ve had this season—so you must be the independent type. Why should you need me for anything?”

Sara struggled to her feet to face the man eye to eye. She was disappointed to find she’d have had to stand on a box to avoid literally looking up to him. Clearly, she needed to do something to alleviate his annoyance. Perhaps if she introduced herself…

“I’m Sara Stone.” She shielded her face from the downpour with both hands and tried to smile. “Who are you?” For a few uneasy moments she thought he might refuse to tell her.

“Adam Callahan,” he finally said.

“I could use some help with my car, Adam. Please?”

He glanced past her shoulder to eye the stranded vehicle with disdain. “Do I look like I have a tow truck?”

That did it. Sara was through trying to be polite. She was drenched and freezing. There was a fair chance Eric would drive up and accost her at any moment. And the new laptop computer she had finally decided to buy was likely to be ruined if she didn’t get back in the car soon.

“If you could just help me push the stupid car, I’ll gladly go away.” She had to shout to be heard above the noise of wind and rain.

“It’s much too dangerous to drive anywhere while the roads and creeks are flooded.”

She made a disgusted face. “So, what do you recommend I do?” Noting the perplexity in Adam’s expression she couldn’t help grinning. “Besides, take a flying leap, I mean.”

He glanced over at the muddy, blue hatchback. “Looks to me like you almost did that, already.”

“I know.” Wide-eyed, she suddenly realized how close she had come to sliding into the rain-swollen gully. “I’ve never driven on anything but smooth pavement before.”

“I don’t doubt that.”

Sara watched him study the car’s hazardous position. “Can we push it?”

“Sure.” He shot her a cynical look. “You put your water wings on, get behind it, and push while I steer.”

“Very funny.” She faced him with her hands on her hips, keeping her stance wide for better balance due to the rising wind. She sure wished she’d worn something more suitable for stomping around in mud and water.

Adam turned away, ignoring her. He scanned the nearby underbrush, then broke a long, bare limb off a fallen tree. Swinging it around he gave Sara a momentary start until he placed it under the stuck rear bumper of her car and got into position to lift with his shoulder.

“You go over to the other side. Open that door so you can get a good hold and push from there,” he ordered.

“My camping gear will get rained on.”

“If it isn’t waterproof you got cheated when you bought it. Do you want my help, or not?”

“I do, I do.” She pressed her hands and inside shoulder to the door frame. “Okay. Ready when you are.”

“Now!” he shouted.

Sara held her breath and strained with all her might.

The tree limb snapped with a loud crack. Adam yelled and his hood fell back. Sara jumped away. She could finally see the dark, thick hair and chiseled features he’d had hidden beneath the yellow slicker. She could also see he’d given up his attempt to help.

“It’s no use,” he shouted. “We can’t do it by hand.”

“Okay. Now what?”

“How should I know? If I had a brain in my head I’d leave you here and go home where it’s warm and dry. But I can’t do that, can I?”

For the first time since they had met, Sara thought beyond the immediate present. If Adam wasn’t going to leave her, then he must intend to keep her with him. That presented a whole new set of problems. Was it safe to go anywhere with a man she’d known for only a few minutes? Could she trust him?

“Go ahead. Leave me here.” Sara put on a brave front. “I’ll just wait till the storm passes.”

“And then what? In case you haven’t noticed, that old wreck of yours is axle-deep in mud.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I have a sleeping bag and plenty of provisions.”

“Where?”

“In the back seat and under the hatchback.”

“How do you propose to reach them without falling off the cliff?”

“Well, I…”

Adam scowled at her. “I thought so. I suppose you’d better come with me then. My conscience won’t let me leave you here. Come on. I’ll take you to my place.”

Sara didn’t move. She insisted she wasn’t afraid. Not really. She just couldn’t make up her mind whether or not it was a good idea to go with him. The safest choice was to continue to decline his neighborly offer, no matter how innocent it was.

He wiped his wet face with a quick pass of one strong hand and pushed his hair off his forehead. “Well?”

“I’m not going with you.”

“Fine. In that case, I think you should know one thing. These hills are riddled with limestone caves. Every once in a while, when the soil gets waterlogged like it is now, the ceiling of one of the caves collapses.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Adam eyed the contents of her car. “Have you got a tour book in there?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Look it up. There’s a big one in southern Missouri. Grand Gulf, I think they call it. A cave roof fell in and created such an impressive canyon they made a state park out of it.”

Sara had been analyzing him as he spoke, trying to accurately judge his truthfulness. After being fooled so completely by Eric, she no longer trusted her intuition. Still…“You’re not kidding, are you?”

“Nope.” He held out his hand. “Well?”

She hesitated, changing her mind repeatedly. Should she? Shouldn’t she? The idea of being warm and dry certainly sounded appealing, even if she was forced to listen to more of the man’s unwarranted criticism while in his company.