Part 17 (1/2)
Then she came through a clump of bushes and found herself in the clearing with all of the machinery.
She stopped, stunned and fascinated at the sight that greeted her. Much of the overgrowth had been cleared away from the center of the s.p.a.ce, now stacked in large brush piles beneath the trees. A large upright wheel, taller than the house, taller than the trees, was randomly lit with small lights. And it was turning, slowly, with groaning protest ... but it was moving. There were boxes hanging from it, like swings with sides ... Selena had seen that before, in DVDs. A fairies' wheel.
Who in the- But she didn't even need to finish the thought. Of course it was Theo. She knew it had to be him. He'd fixed her DVD player and rewired a light that had been giving Frank trouble, and did something to the was.h.i.+ng machine that made Vonnie weep with grat.i.tude.
It wasn't long before she found him-near the base of the fairies' wheel, sitting on the ground, swearing at a metal box fixed on legs, filled with wires and levers. Tools cluttered the ground around him and his hair was standing up every which way. His dragonless arm was in view, taut and flexed deliciously as he struggled with something in the box.
For some reason, Selena's palms grew damp as she approached. Those d.a.m.n b.u.t.terflies started up in her stomach again.
How is he going to react when he sees me? Still angry?
Her mouth was going dry and her heart was pounding. She wasn't certain how to approach him, or whether he'd be annoyed if she interrupted. So she just walked over and stood there. Her feet would be in his peripheral vision and eventually he'd notice.
When he did, it was with a little jolt and a start, and then his gaze traveled slowly up from her rope sandals, over her long loose skirt, and higher to meet her eyes.
”I thought you were Frank,” he said.
”I'm not,” she replied, relieved that he hadn't ordered her to go away.
”There's definitely no mistaking you for Frank.”
And there was definitely no mistaking the inflection in his voice. That made the b.u.t.terflies a little more excited.
Theo pulled to his feet and she found herself looking up at him and stepping back a bit. His expression was reserved; just a bit warmer than merely polite. ”Want to try it out?” he asked, gesturing toward the big wheel.
Selena couldn't hold back a gasp of surprise and delight. And terror. ”I don't know ... it's so high.”
He chuckled a little, softening, and the low rumble sent a little frisson of warmth down her spine. ”Don't tell me you're afraid of heights.”
”I don't get very high very often,” she said, and for some reason that made him laugh again. She liked the sound of it, and realized she'd heard it quite often.
”Come on, Selena,” he said. ”What's another risk in your already dangerous life?” There might have been a warning edge to his voice. Or maybe it was sadness.
”Is it safe?” she asked, following him onto the little ramp that led to the lowermost seat.
”Of course. Well, at least this one is,” he said, jiggling the seat a little. ”I just rebolted it and double-checked its weight-bearing load. See those boulders over there? They were the first to take a ride.”
The sight of the three ma.s.sive boulders comforted her. How he even got them into the box was a mystery, but if they'd made it on the ride, then she and Theo should be okay. ”All right,” she said. She saw now that the wheels' ”spokes” were covered with tiny lightbulbs. Only a few were lit-intermittent glows of red, blue, green and yellow.
He gave her a smile and opened the box with a flourish. ”Beauty before age,” he said, gesturing for her to climb in.
Selena laughed and gave him a you're crazy you're crazy look as she stepped onto the little cradled seat. It swayed and wobbled and she froze with one foot on and one foot off. ”It's rocking,” she said. look as she stepped onto the little cradled seat. It swayed and wobbled and she froze with one foot on and one foot off. ”It's rocking,” she said.
”It's supposed to. Go ahead, pick a side.”
She scooted over to one side of the box and then was nervous, waiting to see if he'd sit next to her or across from her. When he climbed on, she was more than a little disappointed that he chose the opposite seat.
”I want to make sure it's balanced,” he said, mollifying her a bit. Then he bolted the little door to the cart and settled back in his seat. He lifted a small gadget that looked like a DVD remote control, but it had a stiff wire extending from it. ”Normally, there's a guy down there running the machine. He throws the lever and it starts up, and he stops it when it's done. But that's not going to work in this situation-unless you want to go alone?”
”Not on your life!”
He grinned. ”I didn't think so. So I have a remote control for the machine. Are you ready?”
”Yes. I think.” Selena braced herself, sitting in the middle of her seat, arms extended so that her fingers could clutch each side of the box. She closed her eyes and braced her feet against the edge of Theo's seat.
She thought she heard the rumble of his chuckle again, but if so, it was lost in the long, low groan of the machinery beginning to turn and lift the seats.
Selena didn't know what she'd expected-probably some crazy-fast liftoff or some sort of sharply-upward-vaulting motion. But all she felt was a little delicious breeze and an odd, weightless sensation. The seat swayed gently, not violently as she'd expected it would.
When she opened her eyes, she found Theo watching her. There was a half-smile curving his lips, but the expression in his eyes was anything but amused. Hot and heavy. Hot and heavy.
Her stomach's b.u.t.terflies shot into full flight, and it wasn't, Selena realized, just because the wheel had reached the top and was now falling in its full descent. She swallowed and s.h.i.+fted her gaze, feeling the breeze rush gently over her face.
Wow, she thought.
”You like it?” Theo asked. He'd settled back into his side, arms extended casually over the back of the seat instead of bolt outright like hers were.
”Yes. It's marvelous. I've never experienced anything like this.” Selena relaxed her grip and even released one side of the box. She s.h.i.+fted as if to drop her feet to the floor, but he moved suddenly and stopped her.
Closing his fingers around her ankle, Theo said, ”You don't have to move your feet.” He didn't release her foot, and before she could protest, he'd removed her frayed rope sandal and dropped it to the floor of their swing. His fingers s.h.i.+fted on her ankle, and the next thing she knew, he'd s.h.i.+fted her her so that her foot was positioned between his knees and he was using both hands to ma.s.sage her sole. so that her foot was positioned between his knees and he was using both hands to ma.s.sage her sole.
Oh, heaven. Absolute ... Absolute ... heaven! heaven!-Those strong fingers.
He was kneading the ball of her foot with just the right pressure, then moved along the delicate arch more gently, so as not to tickle her-and pressed with a firm thumb and forefinger at the back of her ankle. Ohhh. Ohhh.
”You have really s.e.xy feet,” he said, glancing up at her as the trees scrolled down behind him and the breeze teased her hair.
”Thank you,” Selena managed to say. Her knees were turning into soup and she couldn't draw her attention away from the sight of his elegant hands and the long dark fingers cupping her lighter, honey-colored foot.
”I mean, really really s.e.xy feet. That was one of the first things I noticed about you.” s.e.xy feet. That was one of the first things I noticed about you.”
She couldn't swallow. And then her scattered mind remembered his question from the other day. ”The red paint on my toenails? It's made from clay and honey and some other things. Dandelion root for the color.”
”I like it.” He bent forward suddenly and captured her other foot, which had slid to the floor between them as she relaxed.
Selena didn't resist as he began to give it the same treatment as the other. She closed her eyes and settled back against the seat, let the breeze and the pleasure wash over her. If only she could make this moment last forever.
”How long have you been working on this project?” she asked, opening her eyes after a minute.
He didn't release her feet. Now he was stroking the top of one, up to her ankle and easing to her calf. Selena couldn't help but wonder where this might lead ... and she wasn't altogether uninterested.
In fact, if the spreading warmth in her body and the tingling down low were any indication, she was more than a little interested. But she wasn't impatient, nor did she feel any pressure.
”For a few days,” he replied to her question. ”I decided I would make myself scarce for a while-and there were a few things I thought I might do while I'm here, and this was one of them.”
While I'm here. She ignored the pang of disappointment she felt at that reminder, and forced herself to nod and look interested. She ignored the pang of disappointment she felt at that reminder, and forced herself to nod and look interested.
”I thought I might coax you out here for a surprise when it was finished ... but you beat me to it. I'm surprised you found me. The only person who comes out here is Frank, and that's only because I asked him to show me. What were you doing all the way out here, a mile from the house?”
Of course, his question had the effect of bringing the problem with Sam and Jennifer back to the forefront of her mind and wiping away most of her enjoyment of the ride. ”I needed to walk off some anger,” she finally answered, s.h.i.+fting in her seat and trying to return her feet to the floor.