Runaway Love (13 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Memories of her fearful walk the night of her abortive escape rooted Genie to the spot.  She re-lived the eerie howls; the frightening movements in the dark of the trees. 

Now, they were here, in the flesh - greedily seeking Domino's flesh.

She peered around the corner of the barn.  Domino, filled with reckless courage, continued to turn in unison with the circling wolves, snarling his counter-threats.  “Just try me,” his growls said.  

Genie knew in her heart that, against two fierce, starving wolves, courage was not enough - even the courage of a giant St. Bernard. 

She had to do something to help out.

She had one advantage.  The wolves were so intent on bringing down Domino that they hadn't spotted - or even sensed - her presence.  She stepped back to put the barn in between her and the wolves.

Turning too quickly, she slipped on the sleek snow.  She hit the ground hard, taking the full impact on her elbow and the base of her spine.   Biting off a yell, she rasped through gritted teeth as she lurched to her feet, “No time to hurt.”

She ran inside the barn too look for a weapon - anything that might help her to defend Domino. “A shotgun would be nice,” she said without much hope.  

Her rapid search revealed a yard broom.  She tested the long, hard bristles. “That'll do nicely.  They'll make a nasty sting.”  

Rushing outside, she paused only to close and latch the barn door behind her.   “Wolves keep out.  Gloria and Beatrice would not welcome you, nor would the chickens.  Especially the chickens!”

She hesitated momentarily at the corner of the barn to mentally prepare herself for the battle to come.  Pain crowded out by a barely controlled dose of fear, Genie gripped the handle of the broom tightly and raised it above her head. “Once more into the breach - or something.”  She marched resolutely into the 'battleground' and aimed herself at the nearest wolf.

“Get away from him,” she yelled, swinging her bristly weapon. 

The beast turned towards her and snarled.  Too late.  The wooden end of the broom head made a solid contact against the side of his skull.  He yelped and fell over sideways.  By reflex, he leapt to his feet and staggered to his mate, shaking his head violently.  

Genie stomped her feet aggressively.  It didn’t impress the wolves one bit.  Nevertheless, she stood protectively in front of Domino, pointed the broom at them and waggled it. “Shove off,” she yelled. “I mean it.   Shove off.”

Domino let loose a string of woofs to underline her command. 

Unmoved by her threats, they continued to glower at her, their eyes glistening. 

Genie shivered.  Those eyes.  Evil.  They looked like a pair of ghouls about to whisk her away to the nether regions - or more likely to eat her for breakfast. 

“Face your fear,” she muttered. 

She'd read that somewhere.  Tried it once or twice too.  That bungee jump for charity was a good case in point.  It hadn't worked then - and it wasn't really working right now.

“You may not be scared of me,” Genie said, waggling her broom again, “but you'd better watch out for this.”

Their response was to bare their fangs and growl menacingly.

“Your teeth don't frighten me, you two ugly mugs,” she said and, trying to ignore the knot in her stomach.  She thrust the bristle end at one of the wolves, barely catching him on his nose.  He backtracked rapidly, mouth slightly open and sneezing several times in quick succession.

“Didn't I warn you?”  Genie swung the broom in circles over her head.  

It distracted their attention sufficiently to give Genie the opening she needed.   She lurched forward, swung the rotating broom down and hit one of the wolves on his back.   He yelped loudly and collapsed against his partner.  

She used the momentum to swing again and made contact with the other, sweeping his feet from underneath him.  

The pair began to get Genie's message and slowly began to back away.  She pursued, swinging the broom and aiming it at them intermittently. 

Nevertheless, even though they showed some initial confusion over the unfolding events, the wolves soon appeared to figure out Genie's tactics.  Instead of watching her, they kept their eyes on the broom and succeeded in dodging her efforts to make contact.   However, their evasive tactics took them increasingly closer to the fence.

Lending his support, Domino inched forward in unison with Genie protectively.  His threatening growls were occasionally punctuated with a throaty woof.  

Finally, when the Domino’s vocal threats momentarily distracted the wolves, Genie managed to score one more hit.  She brought the head of the broom directly down on the top of the head of one of them.  It appeared to rattle his brain because he staggered around like a drunk for a few moments, violently shaking his head.  Apparently, this hit was the last straw.  With a flicker of a snarl, he turned and ran towards the fence with his mate close on his heels. 

Domino growled and started after them. 

“Wait, Dom,” Genie called.  “Don't go near them.”

At first, he ignored her but, when the wolves reached the fence, they turned and snarled.

That gave Domino cause for pause.  Only after his attackers had scuttled through the hole under the fence they must have dug, did he make his feeling felt with a round of serious sounding woofs.

“Genie,” Lorenzo called from behind her, “what's going on?”

“We've had a couple of visitors,” she said and ran over to Domino and wrapped her arms around his neck in case he wanted to follow.  On closer inspection, however, she decided that he'd never get through that hole.  It was barely large enough for slim, athletic wolves.  Well-fed Domino could barely pass through a hole the size of the Channel Tunnel.

“Were those wolves?”  Lorenzo arrived beside her.

“In the flesh.”  She began to scoop snow, dirt and rocks into the hole with the broom and her feet.

Domino sat down and watched.

“Great,” she said to him.  “Now you're making me do all the work?  After I just saved your neck, and all.”  She brushed vigorously at the ground but it was still too hard from the icy conditions to deliver up much loose earth.  “Heaven knows how those two managed to dig through this lot.  It's like concrete.” 

“You're not going to do it like that,” Lorenzo said.  “Just wait a minute.”

He returned from the barn with a heavy plank of wood and laid it across the hole. “This will do for a start.  I’ll fill it in properly tomorrow.”  A few seconds later, he dropped two large stone blocks on the plank.  “Only a precaution.  They probably won’t be back.”   

“If they do, they'll have to deal with Domino and me.” 

Although Genie's tone was matter-of-fact, her heart was beating at a rate that suggested it didn't believe in her show of bravado.  Indeed, it sparked off a number of other triggers to bring home reality now the danger was over. 

Her knees received the first message and began to dissolve.

She dropped the broom from her nerveless fingers and prepared herself to buckle earthward.

Lorenzo grabbed her and pulled her in tight to his chest. “Are you all right?”

“I'm...fine,” she lied. 

Her Lorenzo-boosted heartbeat began to pump some strength back into her knees.  His warmth began to dispel the cold and fright.  Since she was shaking from residual adrenaline, she decided that snug in Lorenzo's arms was a good place to be.  

He pulled his head back to show her, in no uncertain terms, his serious expression.   “That was a dangerous thing to do,” he said. “You don’t chase after wolves.”

“I had my broom.”

He shook his head in despair. “You frightened the life out of me.”

“Me too.” She could feel his hot breath warming her face.

Lorenzo’s dark eyes glinted in the ambient light reflected from the snow, worry, cross-fading to relief, cross-fading to something else. “I care what happens to you, Genie.”

Genie felt a serious thump in her chest.  Could he mean that?   Really mean it?

His touch on her shoulders - even through the thickness of the coat - generated a delightful tingling sensation that ran down her arms and her body.  Her heartbeat propelled into
overdrive.  She was certain that, at the pace her blood was racing through her arteries and veins, it would evaporate in a cloud of steam.

Domino seemed to sense a special moment was about to occur.  He ambled in closer to them and sat down in the snow to watch and wait.

Someone pressed 'pause' on the world. 

Time, too, waited - and watched.

Lorenzo pulled her in close. “You could have been hurt,” he whispered.

She nodded her head gently against his chest.  His embrace felt so good.  Made her feel...complete.  Immersing herself in the warmth of his body, she matched her breathing pattern to his comforting chest movements.  The scent of his cologne forced its way through the cold air.  She drew it in deeply.

Careful Hamilton, said her little devil.  You've been here before, remember?

Not now.  Let me have a little fun.

He rested his chin on her head and they remained enfolded in the palpable silence.

After a few moments, Genie felt his hands sliding up to her shoulders, one completing its journey at the back of her head.   He eased his body slightly away from hers and engaged her with his eyes.

Genie tried to gather information from his eyes and fancied many options.  She dismissed all of them except one.  Relegating caution to the back-burner, she silently messaged, “You can kiss me if you like, Lorenzo.”

She could feel his heart pounding against her chest.  Her breathing stopped as he lowered his head closer, his lips a mere millimetre from hers.  Her expectation reached heights loftier than the loftiest of surrounding mountains.

As seconds passed, that tiny millimetre took on the characteristics of the Grand Canyon.  If he doesn't move soon, Genie thought, I'll cross that millimetre myself.

Suddenly, as if he'd heard, his lips met hers - gently at first, then pressing, devouring.  She felt is tongue easing apart her lips and snaking in to caress hers.  She responded, dancing with his tongue - tasting him.

Her pulse pounded in her temples, and her heart swelled in her chest as she gave herself to the passion of his kiss.

But it was only a brief moment.

Domino's encouraging 'woof' broke the spell.

What was she doing?

She recalled ‘caution’ from the back-burner.  A cheap, convenient romance was a definite no, no.  And, not in a million years could this snowed-in romance turn into a forever thing. 

That's right. 

That's right, said her little devil.  And besides that, you don't know if he's really genuine?  Remember that magazine?

Okay.  Okay.  You've made your point.  Now go away.

With feelings as thoroughly mixed as the sauce she was stirring earlier, she eased herself away. “I think I'm all right now, Lorenzo.”

He leaned back and stared at her with a quizzical expression in place.

“Domino's a bit jealous.” she quipped as lightly as she could.  “And who knows what a jealous St. Bernard might do?”

He unclasped his arms and allowed his hands to rest on her upper arms. “He never did know when to shut up,” he said, raising a limp smile. 

An awkward silence slipped in between them. 

Genie shrugged and pushed her way through the quiet. “Perhaps his interruption was just as well.”

Lorenzo raised his eyebrows in a silent question.

“You know what it's like when you go through a scary situation,” Genie said.  “That's enough to get anybody into all sorts of emotional complications.”

“True.” He dropped his hands away and stepped back a pace. 

“And then, we're sort of marooned here.  It's like, you're here and I'm here and we might as well do it.”

“Are you as confused as I am, Genie?”

“Oh, you have no idea.”  She made a cynical laugh.   

“If I've offended you, I'm sorry.”

“Oh no.  Nothing like that.”  She placed the flat of her hand on his chest and massaged it briefly.  “On the contrary - absolutely on the contrary.”

“Then what--”

“It's just me.”  She transferred her hand to her own chest.  “I'm all mixed up.”

“I think I am as well.”

“Just now... Lorenzo, it was lovely - and scary at the same time.” She tightened her mouth. “The trouble is, Lorenzo, feelings and me.  I'm not sure if I dare trust them anymore.  My feelings have got me in trouble so many times.”

She fielded his intense gaze and held it.

“Too many mistakes.  Too much hurt.” She risked a warm smile. “I care for you, Lorenzo.  I really do.  But I’m unsure.  And I want to be sure - about me and about...a man.”