Must-Have Husband (Summer Grooms Series) (3 page)

Linda shook her head. “How about if we drag him?”

“By what? His beard?”

“Hang on. Keep him dry.”

Linda scurried away toward the tent as Connie angled herself
over the guy, holding her jacket out sideways to keep as much moisture off as
possible. “Hurry it up, will ya?” she called back to Linda, who seemed to be
taking her time in the tent.

“Got it!” her sister proclaimed, emerging with a curled-up
bedroll.

A makeshift stretcher. What a great idea! “You’re a genius,”
she told Linda as her sister carted the piece over and unrolled it next to the
man.

“Okay, now help me,” Linda instructed. “Let’s get the top
end first.”

Connie bent low to grip the guy under one arm, while Linda
grabbed him by the other.

“On three! Watch his head, now.
One… Two…
”

Goodness, he weighed a ton.

“
Three!
”

“
Harrumph.
” Both
girls tugged together, sliding the top part of the man’s torso onto the
bedroll. The rain drove down harder, flecking his flannel shirt and dampening
their clothes.

“Better hurry it up,” Connie urged.

They got his legs on next, then prepared to tug from the
head end of the bedroll. “Are you sure this will work?” Connie asked. “What if
we injure him further?”

“What if he drowns in the rain?”

“You’re right.”

Seconds later, they gave the bedroll a tug. Nothing happened.
They met each other’s gazes, then yanked harder. The man’s hands and arms
flopped to the side. “Oh no!”

Then one of his feet spilled off the bedroll too.

“We’ve got to keep him in place somehow,” Connie called
through the rain that by now was drenching their clothing.

Linda adjusted her cap and scanned the area. Quickly, she
took up the rope that had fallen out of the trees.

“You want us to rope him?” Connie asked in shock.

“Just temporarily.”

Connie watched Linda take charge employing some sort of
skill she’d supposedly learned in Girl Scouting. Although Linda’s time in the
Scouts had been limited to one year in the second grade, and Connie didn’t
believe Brownies were primed in tying people up.

“Why don’t you just pop an apple in his mouth and be done
with it?”

“Stop it.” She finished her work, securing his wrists and
ankles together, and somehow linking both ends before tying him to the bedroll.
Linda turned expectant eyes on her sister. “Well? Are you going to help me, or
aren’t you?”

“Yeah, sure.” Connie bent toward the man, hoping to goodness
he wouldn’t remember this. This was the kinkiest thing she’d ever done. Even if
it was for the right reasons. As she positioned herself near the top of the
bedroll, Connie raised an eyebrow at her sister. “Where did you
really
learn that thing with the ropes?
Did Beau teach you?”

“You, sister, have an all-too-vivid imagination,” she said
as they heaved the bedroll forward.

Connie and Linda sat beside the prone man in the cramped
space of the tent while rain pitter-pattered above. He just lay there snoozing,
looking none too worse for the wear, considering the beating he’d taken. He
stood about six feet tall and was fairly broad at the shoulders, well built
with a solid chest. He was obviously athletic and kept himself in shape, most
likely by doing rugged outdoor stuff like mountain climbing. Although
considering he couldn’t even climb a tree without falling, maybe scaling
mountains wasn’t such a good idea.

Connie glanced at her sister, who was neatly coiling the
rope. They’d found a battery-powered lantern with his gear, and it now
illuminated the small area. “What are we going to do with him?”

“Get him to help, if we can.”

“How can we help him when we don’t even know where we are?”

“Good point.”

Connie studied his chiseled face in the lantern’s glow,
wondering how he’d look without the beard. Not that it didn’t suit him. It most
certainly did, giving him the air of a man of the wild. Someone who was confident
—
and comfortable—with
nature. She fought an urge to reach out and stroke his cheek, just to see how
it felt. She’d never dated anyone with facial hair.

“Connie,” Linda cautioned. “What are you doing?”

She looked down with a start to see she’d very nearly
touched him. “I, uh…” She drew her fist to her mouth, faking a cough. “Was just
warming my fingers by the lantern.”

Linda gave her a suspicious look. “Sure you were.” She
surveyed his face, addressing her sister. “He
is
pretty cute. You’ve got to admit it.”

“Yes. If only he weren’t”
—
Connie lowered her voice
—
“suicidal.”

“So maybe he was down on his luck?”

“That’s a pretty drastic way out. And you know it.”

A devious smile spread across Linda’s lips. “I wonder if he’d
consider coming to Napa?”

“
What?
”

“I mean, just for a rest. You know, to recoup from his”
—
she eyed the coil of
rope nearby
—
“dreadful
ordeal.”

“Are you out of your mind? We can’t take a strange man back
to Napa.”

“He’d couldn’t be any stranger than Walt. Or…? What was the
name of the guy before?

“Jake.”

“That one was a nutcase. Whoohoo. Real Looney Tunes.”

Connie heaved a breath. “We don’t even know who this guy is.”

“Maybe we should check his pants? Look for ID?”

Both girls eagerly sprang forward.

“I’ll check,” Linda said, kneeling beside him and angling
her hand over his jeans.

“You’re married!” Connie elbowed in. “Let me do it.”

Linda lifted an eyebrow and sat back on her haunches. “Well,
go on. Don’t be shy about it,” she said as Connie wiggled her fingers into the
man’s right front pocket. “Go for the gold.”

“Stop it. I think I just found a”
—s
he extracted a thin leather
billfold
—
“wallet.”

Linda snatched it away.

“Hey!”

Before she could stop her, Linda was scanning through a row
of credit cards. “Aha!” she said, withdrawing a driver’s license. “We have
before us one Adam McCormack, but apparently,” she said, flipping through an
assortment of billfold photos, “he goes by Mac.”

“How do you know that?”

“It’s who all these women have autographed their photos to.”

Connie twisted her lips, thinking it was no wonder. When
this guy was in his right mind, he was probably quite a catch.

“Well, well…” Linda baited. “Will you look at
her
. And what a cutie too. I’ll bet this
one was his favorite,” she said, thumping her finger against one picture in
particular.

Connie raised her brow, and Linda turned the billfold in her
direction. The worn color photo was of the most adorable yellow lab and a
little boy, roughly ten years old. “Aw. Do you think that’s him? I mean, Mac?
As a kid?”

“I’m guessing, yeah.” Linda closed the wallet and handed it
to Connie. “Kind of sentimental. Keeping a photo of his first dog. Don’t you
think?”

Connie’s heart softened, thinking this man couldn’t be all
bad. Life must have been awfully hard on him to push him so far over the edge.

Mac’s eyelids fluttered, and she shoved the wallet back in
his pocket. He reached up and grabbed her wrist before she could withdraw her
hand.

“Well, hey,” he said groggily.

Connie felt her face flame “Um. Hello,” she offered weakly. “I
was just checking your…credentials.”

“That makes sense.” He smiled warmly. “Wouldn’t want to tag
the wrong body.”

She felt herself flush brighter. “No.”

She tried to pull her arm away, but he held her fast with a
quizzical look. “Am I dead yet?”

“Of course no—”

“Yes!” Linda yelped with enthusiasm.

Mac raised his head to peer at her.

Connie set her jaw and glanced at Linda before shooting Mac
an apologetic look. “Will you excuse us one second?”

She motioned her sister to the far side of the tent, then
hissed in a whisper, “Just what do you think you’re doing?”

“What? Dead could work.” Her cheeks took on a rosy glow. “We
could tell him Napa is heaven.”

Connie gasped. “I can’t believe you said that.”

“It’s just a little lie.”

“You really have flipped your lid.”

“Think about it, Connie. He could come home with us, be
there for Grandpa’s birthday.”

“As what?”

“Your betrothed, of course. That way, you wouldn’t have to
ruin the party with your news. We could play this little game to get you
through it, then—”

“Absolutely not. You’re talking crazy.”

“We could get him help,” her sister tempted. “Secure the
best psychiatric care money can buy.”

She fumed at Linda’s ludicrous suggestion. “And here stands
the woman, who
—
not
hours ago
—
was
telling me that now’s the time to fess up. Come clean with the whole family.”

She pinned Linda in place with her stare. After a prolonged
beat, Linda dropped her eyes, awash with shame. “You’re right. It was a stupid
idea. I never should have mentioned it.”

Mac shook his head, trying to clear it. It still hurt quite
a bit and his body ached all over, but he was built tough and would soon get
over it. He’d had the wind knocked out of him before and had always recovered.
What he didn’t get was why his wrists felt raw. He massaged them, studying them
curiously.
Wait a minute. Is that rope
burn?

Mac raised his brow at the women whispering on the far side
of the tent. They both turned to look at him. “You’re sitting up!” the one in
the baseball cap said.

But it was the other girl with the short blonde hair who
held his attention. He chuckled to himself, thinking he’d envisioned her as an
angel when he was still coming to. Of course, that halo must have been the
campfire’s glow illuminating her from behind. And then when he’d nearly caught
her feeling him up, it was all he could do to keep a straight face. Going for
his credentials, right. She’d blushed so brightly when he caught her with her
hand down his pants, he couldn’t help making that joke about being dead. For some
weird reason, though, the girls didn’t seem to find it funny at all. In fact,
he had the notion they’d taken him seriously.

When the women scooted toward him, Mac decided maybe he
should have taken himself seriously too. For when he looked in his angel’s
eyes, it was like he’d died and gone to heaven. They were pale blue like the
sky on a springtime day, and her lips were full and kissable. Man, she was a
knockout with those nice long legs and that lean athletic body. He wondered
briefly if she was as outdoorsy as he was. Then she drew closer and he caught a
whiff of her perfume, deciding
nope
.
No wilderness girl went out in nature sweetening themselves up for insects that
way.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, lifting her brow in
concern. The other woman’s face also looked worried.

“Better. But I don’t think I should stand yet. Best to give
it a little time.”

“Uh-huh,” both girls agreed.

The shorter one adjusted her baseball cap, and Mac noted she
was wearing a wedding band set next to an enormous rock of an engagement ring. His
gaze casually panned down his angel’s arm to her delicately manicured
fingertips, noting one of her nails had broken. Definitely not a nature girl,
and definitely not married
, Mac mused to
himself, thinking he’d picked just right. Mac drew a breath, scarcely believing
himself. What was he doing, thinking of choosing and looking for wedding bands?
He must have taken a much harder knock to his noggin than he’d imagined. He
coughed and pointed to his water across the way.

“Do you think you could hand me that canteen over there?”

The smaller girl reached for it while the other one just sat
there, staring in his eyes. Mac wondered if she’d noticed him checking for a
ring and felt his face warm beneath his beard. He had to get a grip. He didn’t
even know her name.

“My name’s Connie,” she said, smiling sweetly. “I’m the one
you nearly fell on back there.”

“Fell on? I’m so sor—”

“And
I’m
the one
who saved her,” the other one proclaimed, butting in as she passed him the
canteen. “I’m Linda.”

“Nice to meet you both. I’m Mac.”

“We know,” they parroted together.

Mac raised an eyebrow. “Are you two twins or something?”

“Sisters,” Connie said.

“She’s older,” Linda added.

“I see.” He studied them both, attempting to devote equal
attention to each, but it was tough to pull his gaze away from pretty Connie. “Just
what were you girls doing out here anyway? It’s not really safe to be wandering
around at night.”

“Don’t we know it!” Linda said.

“We went hiking.” Connie shrugged. “But we got lost.”

Linda explained further. “We ran for shelter during the
storm and got off the trail.”

“Never a good thing to do,” he told them. “Stray off the
trail, particularly when you’re not used to being outdoors.”

Connie set her hand on her hip and flipped her hair to the side.
“What makes you think we’re not used to being outdoors?”

He glanced at her chipped fingernail, then once more met her
eyes. “Wild guess.”

“Huh!” she said, acting slightly indignant.

“He’s right, Connie,” Linda said. She turned her gaze on Mac’s.
“The truth is we’ve never gone hiking before. It was kind of my idea, a girls’
getaway to help Connie forget—”

Connie reached out a hand to cover her sister’s blabbermouth.
What
was
it about Linda sometimes?
The girl couldn’t keep herself from talking! Connie didn’t know why she
particularly cared if Mac knew she’d come up here on the run from heartache,
but she did. Besides, it wasn’t her sister’s business sharing the news. “She
means we came up here to escape the city. Forget about those everyday
pressures. Unwind in the fresh air, you know? Only we didn’t expect the air to
turn windy or rainy…or for it to get dark. Um. Yeah. That.”