Free Chapter1 by Ribbon of Rain Page A

floor.   Hell, she’d wanted to pull him down on the floor.   This lack of control had her more worried than the men in the plane who’d taken potshots at her.  
    Red made it to a tree and almost over when he lifted his leg.   He ended up squatting like a puppy to relieve himself.   Kat ran to shut down the generator and returned to the porch with Red by her side.   Taking a deep breath for courage, she promised herself to stay away from Jude Callahan and especially to avoid looking into those damn cinnamon-colored eyes.
    “Someone sabotaged the phone,” Jude commented, as she walked through the door.
    “Are you sure?”   Kat hurried to the table, making sure she kept a safe distance.
    “See for yourself.”   He waved his hand toward the back of the radio unit.
    “Willie could have done it when he arrived this morning, but he’s the type who’d brag about what he’d done.”
    “Since the buildings are unlocked, anyone has access.”
    Kat turned away when he ran his hands through his hair.   That’s what she wanted to do.
    “Any other options for a phone, other than driving to
Rockville
?”   Jude asked, his tone irritable.
    Kat stepped into the kitchen area and poured herself a cup of coffee from the thermos sitting on the counter.   “There’s a spot out on the lake marked with a buoy.   Cell phones can usually pick up reception there.”
    Jude groaned.   “How far out?”  
    Kat shrugged her shoulders, sipped her coffee and watched him over the rim of her cup.   “About a mile.”
    “I’ll wait till tomorrow.   My hands couldn’t take any more paddling today.”
    “Blisters?”   Kat walked over to him.   “Let me see.”   His hands were a mass of broken, bleeding blisters.   “These could get infected.   Come sit down.   I’ll take care of them.”
    “What?   No wise comment about not wearing gloves?”
    Kat gave him an understanding look over her shoulder before she rummaged through the first aid drawer.   “It’s not an uncommon mistake, even for experienced canoeists.   Eventually, your hands will toughen up after you paddle enough.”
    “Fat chance of that.”
    Kat spread a clean towel on the table.   “Hands down, palms up.”   Opening a square green can with red clovers on it, she applied a gummy, yellow salve to the broken blisters.
    “What is this stuff?”   He wrinkled his nose.   “It smells awful.”
    “Callahan,” Kat sighed, “stop whining.   It’s Bag Balm.”
    “Bag Balm?   Never heard of it.”
    “I’m not surprised.   Probably not much use for it in
Washington
D.C.
  It’s an antiseptic made from natural herbs.   What you smell is eucalyptus.   Dairy farmers use it on cows when their udders get chafed.   It’s been around over a hundred years.”
    “Don’t you have anything normal, like Bacitracin?”
    “No.   Bag Balm is the best.   Your hands will be as good as new tomorrow.”
    Rubbing the ointment into Jude’s blisters got her thinking about rubbing other places on his body.   This problem needed to be nipped in the bud.
    “We need to talk about this—this thing between us.”
    “And what thing might that be?”   He asked her, in his slow lazy drawl.  
    “You know damn well what I’m talking about.   Stop baiting me in a sexual way.”
    “Whoa!”   Jude held his salve covered hands in the air.   “Wait just a damn minute.   I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.”
    She clenched her jaw and stared at him.   “Oh no?   What do you call what happened this morning upstairs?   And a few minutes ago, right here in this room?”
    “I call it sexual attraction,” he answered.   “And believe me, I don’t like it any more than you do.”
    “Then stop provoking it.”
    “It’s a two-way street, Kat.   If we keep our baser instincts under control, we’ll be fine.   Think you can manage that?”  
    Kat expected to see amusement on his face, but he looked as rattled as she was.   “I