she asked, her voice sounding almost hoarse. She coughed, clearing her throat.
“You could have not known how to climb a tree,” Jonah answered. He began to urge Cody to start heading away from the tree. The rain was just not letting up. “It looks like the floodwaters rushed through here before they receded back to a decent level.”
“They did,” she told him. “That’s why I was up in the tree. I lost track of time,” she ruefully admitted. “Do you have any idea how long I was up there?” Maggie asked.
“A long time,” Jonah deadpanned. “Your sister and Donovan just had their first baby a week ago. It was a boy,” he told her with a totally straight face, although she couldn’t turn around to see it. “They named him Jonah, after me.”
That was when Maggie laughed. “You know, you had me going there for a second,” she told him.
“Oh?” he asked innocently. He kept his head down, talking close to her ear so that she could hear him. “What gave me away?”
“Because after what we’ve just been through,” she told him, almost shouting so that he could hear her and not have the wind whip her words away, “Bellamy wouldn’t have gotten married without me there. Really,” she asked more seriously, “how long have I been out here?”
He thought back to what Rae Lemmon had said to him. “By my best estimation, probably close to twenty-four hours.”
That made sense, Maggie thought. “That would explain why I feel like I’m starving,” she said. And then she ventured another look up at the sky. She almost wished she hadn’t. “It looks like it’s going to rain harder,” she reported in dismay.
Without his hat to shield him, Jonah quickly glanced up and then looked down again. “That would be my guess,” he concurred.
She looked straight ahead and had no idea where they were going. She could hardly make out anything. The rain was obliterating everything around them.
“Are we going to get back to town in time?” she asked him anxiously.
That was easy enough for him to answer. “Nope, afraid not,” Jonah replied simply.
That startled Maggie enough for her to attempt to twist around to get a better look at him. She nearly wound up sliding off the horse.
Jonah immediately tightened his arms around her again. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to make any sudden moves when you’re riding double in the middle of a storm?”
“Never had a need for anyone to point that out before,” Maggie answered, feeling exasperated again. “If we’re not headed to town, then where are we going?”
“Well, we definitely need shelter so we’re going to the closest place I know of—if it’s still standing,” he qualified. He hadn’t checked on it since Hurricane Brooke had paid the area this unexpected visit.
He could feel Maggie growing antsy. “My place,” he told her. “It’s a one-room cabin, but right now, it’s probably our best bet if we want to wait out this newest wave of Hurricane Brooke,” he said.
As he answered her question, Jonah shifted ever so slightly so that he could pull the ends of his slicker apart. The second he did that, Jonah carefully tucked the two sides around the woman sitting directly in front of him.
“It’s not much,” he granted, “but at least it’ll give you some protection against this rain.”
“I’m already soaked,” she told him. “But thank you,” she added in a politer tone. Then, turning her face toward him—carefully this time so she wouldn’t slid off—Maggie added, “And thank you for coming out to look for me.”
“Hey, no big deal.” Jonah shrugged off her thanks. “As it turns out, I just happened to be in the neighborhood,” he cracked.
Maggie knew the man behind her had said something, but because the wind had increased, whipping his voice away, she hadn’t been able to hear him. “What?” she practically yelled.
Jonah started to repeat what he’d said, then gave up. Instead, he just shrugged. “Never mind.”
He didn’t think she heard that, either. Right now, it felt as if the wind was scattering his words to the four corners of the earth before they could be heard.
Leaning in over the woman he was holding tightly against his chest, afraid she would slide off if he loosened his grip even just a little bit, Jonah raised his voice and yelled, “We’ll talk later.”
She nodded, not bothering to try to answer him.
Maggie kept her face forward, searching the area for a sign of something that resembled a building or anywhere that they could take shelter until this latest onslaught of rain finally passed. There was nothing.
She had never felt this dismally wet and cold—and hungry—before.
Finally, just as she was about to give up all hope, she thought she could make out what looked to be a small cabin up ahead. For a second she fought the impulse to turn around and ask her white knight if what she saw was indeed his cabin. But considering the fact that her words would probably be lost before he even had a chance to hear them, Maggie decided that it would be in her best interest to just be patient and see if this was the actual final destination.
At this point, Maggie was grateful for any place that could keep them even moderately dry. She wasn’t picky.
When they came to a stop, Maggie saw that they were right in front of the cabin. Up close, it looked less rustic and more modern, but as long as it kept them dry, that was all that mattered.
Maggie could feel her white knight dismounting. She was right—this was their destination. At least until the storm had passed.
Holding on to Cody’s reins, Jonah faced her, waiting. “Need any help dismounting?” he offered.
She looked at him as if she debated whether or not to be offended.
“I’m Texas born and bred, so no,” she replied. The next second, she got off the horse as gracefully as possible. But when her feet hit the ground, she found that her legs were a lot less sturdy than she’d thought. The honest truth was they were downright wobbly, and she almost sank straight down to the ground.
And she would have if he hadn’t caught both her arms in an attempt to steady her.
“Careful,” Jonah cautioned.
Embarrassed, Maggie murmured a stricken, “Sorry about that.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. You spent a day up a tree. You’re lucky you still remember how to walk,” Jonah told her.
She took one tentative step only to find that her legs still insisted on buckling rather than supporting her.
“Not so sure I do,” she admitted.
There was a part of him that couldn’t believe he was actually holding Maggie Reeves like this, the way he had once dreamed of doing. Usually, dreams had a way of not measuring up to long-cherished expectations. However,
