Try hanging from the top of the mast in a bosuns chair under full sail in a choppy sea, he said. This was nothing.
I have no idea what you just said, Rachel replied, laughing.
Lets just say, Im a man of many talents. Milking goats, toting bales, kissing beautiful women in piles of straw.
She stopped in front of him. You dont think this is strange, do you? I just met you yesterday. I dont really even know you and weve been intimate. And it doesnt bother me.
Sometimes it just happens like that, he said.
Fate.
Has it ever happened to you? Because its never happened to me.
No, Dermot replied. This would be the first time.
Its like we already knew each other. We didnt start from the beginning, we started in the middle.
He bent close and kissed her. I just know how I feel. And this feels just right.
She pushed up on her toes and kissed him back, then frowned. Did you get breakfast this morning? We didnt have dinner last night, did we? When did you last eat?
I had your burned cherry pie in the middle of the night and I had cereal for breakfast.
Ive been doing a terrible job of feeding you, Rachel said.
Im not starving, he replied. In fact, Im perfectly satisfied at the moment.
We really should get to know each other a little better, she said, walking backward, the blanket swinging from her hand.
Her pale hair was loose and blew in the breeze. Dermots breath caught as he watched her. Hed never seen a more beautiful creature. Everything about her was designed just for his eyes. Then tell me something I dont know.
I played the saxophone in the high school band, she said. And I was pretty good. Except I hated marching at the football games.
Dermot chuckled. Really? I would have never guessed. Tell me something else.
I was the president of my 4-H club. And it wasnt just all about goats. I won grand prize at the county fair for a quilt I made and for my strawberry preserves.
Dermot chuckled. She really was a farm girl at heart. After only a day, hed come to appreciate the simplicity of life at Clover Meadow. There was no racing from place to place, no people to see or phone calls to take. It was a quiet life, though the burden of responsibility was greater. He sold boats for lots of money. She cared for sixty-some living creatures.
Now you have to tell me something, Rachel said.
Id rather hear more about you.
No fair.
All right. I broke my arm falling out of a tree when I was thirteen.
What were you doing in the tree?
My twin brother dared me to climb to the very top. We did a lot of that when we were kids. Dares and double dares and triple dares. I was almost down and then I slipped and fell.
You have a twin brother?
Dermot nodded. Kieran. Were almost identical twins. We do look a lot alike, except Im much more handsome.
She sighed softly. I wish I were closer to my siblings. Weve just never really known each other. I have two nieces who are older than me. And when I was young I had an imaginary friend named Rosalie. We were going to open a bakery together when we grew up.
Rachel returned to his side, slipping her arm around his as she chatted about her childhood on the farm. Though it sounded idyllic, there was an undercurrent of loneliness in her stories. She never spoke of friends or parties or adventures. Every story was one of solitude.
You sound like you loved the farm, he said. Was it difficult to leave for college?
Rachel nodded. I was ready to see a little bit of the world. And going to art school was my dream. I was only an hour away and I came home every other weekend. My parents were older and they needed my help.
And then you left after college?
I met a boy. His job took him to San Francisco and I had to make a choice. I thought it was right, but then it wasnt. And then I met another man and we moved to New York and that didnt work either. She smiled. I dont have a very good history with men.
They were both idiots, he said. Tell me about these greeting cards that you make.
I dont actually make them. Im an illustrator. I provide the art and a publisher makes and sells them. It started with farm animals and silly puns. You know, like Thinking of Ewe with an illustration of a sheep. E-W-E. You? Theyre kind of whimsical and people just really liked them. They provide a nice living, although goat farming doesnt allow much time for art.
Now that Im here, that will change.
As they walked out past the goat pastures, the landscape began to change. Rolling hills gave way to wooded areas and they followed a ridge, then walked through a wide field to a small grove of trees. To Dermots surprise, there was a wide creek running through the trees.
It was one of the most picturesque spots hed ever seen, the water, the lush green trees and the blue sky above. Its like heaven, he said. When Im out on the water, I think that its the most perfect place in the world. But youre right, this is pretty perfect, too. I dont see how you could let this go.
I know. Im afraid if I do let it go, I wont have anything left. This is really all I have for a home. Eddie and this farm. My sister and brothers dont know me. At least when Im here, I feel like I belong. And what would Eddie do? Hes lived here his whole life.
You wouldnt have to be lonely.
She shrugged. You found me. I guess if I decide to stay, then I have to hope that someone else will find me, too. Drawing a deep breath, she forced a smile. So this is it, she said. I used to come here to draw when I was a kid.
He glanced around. She was right. It was a scene out of a landscape paintingthe tall trees, an old stone fence, a slow-moving creek. There were birds everywhere, singing from the boughs, and butterflies fluttered on the soft breeze. I can see why you like it, he said.
Tell me about your favorite place, she asked as she laid the blanket out on the ground.
He dropped the basket on the center of the blanket and sat down next to her. I have way too many, he said. But theyre all someplace that can only be appreciated from the cockpit of my sailboat.
Ive never been on a sailboat, she said.
Now, thats a shame. Maybe well have to do something about that.
Unfortunately, we dont have any oceans around here.
You do have an awfully big lake not too far away. Maybe Ill take you someday. In truth, he wasnt sure how that was going to happen. He had no money to rent a boat and no car to drive them there. He could barely afford to take her for ice cream at this point.
She opened the picnic basket and pulled out a sketchbook and pencil. Then she stared out at the scene in front of her.
Can I see your drawings? Dermot asked.
She handed him the book and he flipped through the pages. There were all sorts of wild animalssquirrels, rabbits, porcupines. They looked very realistic except for their funny faces. Dermot chuckled. These are really good, he said.
Im working on some little reptiles and amphibians, she said. And insects. She reached over and turned to a drawing of a bee. I think theyll do pretty well. I met this publisher at a convention once and she told me I should be illustrating childrens books.
Im working on some little reptiles and amphibians, she said. And insects. She reached over and turned to a drawing of a bee. I think theyll do pretty well. I met this publisher at a convention once and she told me I should be illustrating childrens books.
Do you ever draw people?
I used to, in art school. She frowned. Im not sure if I can anymore. She grabbed the book and set it on her lap. Take your shirt off. And lie down. Ill try drawing you.
Im not sure I want to be on your new series of nude-men greeting cards.
Rachel grinned. Thats a good idea. I wonder if thered be a market for them. Maybe mail order, but you couldnt put them in a grocery store or a gift shop. Maybe an X-rated gift shop. She frowned. Im not sure Id want my cards sold next to dildos and vibrators, though.
Dermot stretched out at the end of the blanket. Hows this?
She shook her head. No, sit up and brace your arm right there.
He did as he was told, but she shook her head again. It would be better if you stood next to that rock over there.
Dermot gave her a sly look. Maybe it would be even better if I took my clothes off.
Youll use any excuse to get naked, she said. But I think that might be a bit distracting for the artist. You can take your shoes off. I need practice with feet.
He kicked off his shoes, then walked over to the rock and leaned against it. Hows this?
She tipped her head to the side. Nice. Put your arms up over your head. And undo the top button of your jeans. Rachel waited for him to comply, then began to sketch, her forehead creased into a frown.
Dermot stood perfectly still until his calf began to cramp and a bee started buzzing near his crotch. When he felt something slither across his foot, he jumped back. Jaysus, what was that? Are there snakes around here?
Yes, she said as she sketched. But theyre not poisonous. She sat back, then shook her head. Nope. With that, she tore the page out of the book and crumpled it into a ball.
Wait, let me see.
No, she said, grabbing the wad of paper. I need to stick to animals.
He sat down next to her and held out his hand. Come on, Rachel. You can trust me. Let me see it.
RACHEL WAS ALWAYS rather reluctant to let anyone see a work in progress, but she sensed that she could trust Dermot. She handed him the paper and he smoothed it out on the blanket in front of him. He studied it for a long moment, then nodded. Its really good.
Its really horrible. The drawing, not you. You looked beautiful. I think Ill stick to bunnies and frogs.
He reached over and wrapped his hand around her waist, then pulled her into a kiss. I can get behind that. Id rather you didnt start sketching naked men.
You werent naked, she said.
I can remedy that.
No, she said, a playful smile touching her lips. Ill take care of it. She reached for the hem of her dress and pulled it over her head. Now, you sketch me. I showed you my drawing, now you show me yours.
I cant draw, he said. My brother Cam, now, he can draw.
She stretched out on the blanket beside him, bracing her head in her hand. The sun filtered through the leaves in the trees and felt warm on her bare skin. She smiled to herself.
There were times when, as a teenager, Rachel would come to this spot and put aside her sketchbook. Shed turn her thoughts to boys, to the secret crushes that she developed on classmates. Shed been an awkward girl with plain clothes, not the type that got noticed. A wallflower was the most apt description.
I had my first kiss right here in this spot, she said.
Tell me all about it, Dermot urged.
I told a boy I liked that Id found a huge piece of gold buried beneath this tree and Id split the money for it if hed help me carry it out. And then, when I got him here, I tried to kiss him.
What happened?
He hit me with a stick and told me I was as ugly as a toad. And then he ran away.
Im not running, Dermot said.
Youre paid to stay, she countered.
He set down the sketchbook and crawled across the blanket. Im not planning on going anywhere, he said. Im not going to hit you with a stick and I think youre just about the most beautiful thing Ive ever set eyes on.
Rachel smiled and pulled him into a deep kiss. He was charming and maybe he did know exactly what to say that made her feel like the only woman in the world. But she didnt care. Shed been alone for too long and she was going to enjoy Dermot Quinn while she could.
Rachel pulled him down on top of her, their naked bodies coming together in a way that felt so perfect. His shaft was hard and hot between them, nestled in the juncture of her thighs. And here, alone, under the late-summer sun, shed make a memory that shed never forget. A memory of being with a stranger who felt more like a long-lost lover.
Are we going to do this? he whispered.
She drew her leg up along his hip, his body fitting ever closer. Were alone and were naked. It is the next logical step.
I came prepared, he said.
Rachel brushed her lips against his and he captured her mouth in a long, delicious kiss. Shed never been with a man who was able to dissolve her insecurities and inhibitions. Was it the fact that they really didnt know each other? Did that make it all so much easier?
There were no expectations between them, no arguments or fundamental differences. She didnt know anything about his past, about the women in his life or his plans for the future. All Rachel knew was that in six weeks hed be gone and shed be alone again.
His body was hard and muscular and she couldnt keep herself from touching him. Dermot held on to her waist and rolled her over on top of him, then pulled her knees up against his hips. A lazy smile curled his lips as he cupped her breast in his palm.
Ive never done this, he said.
Had sex?
No. Done it outside. I mean, I have done it in a tent, but never in the great wide open. What if someone comes along?
Theyll get an eyeful, she said.
Ill be sure to make it good.
He began a gentle, yet deliberate exploration of her body and Rachel closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of his caress. He knew exactly what he was doing, tracing a path from her lips to her breasts to the spot between her legs.
She was already damp with desire, and when he touched her there, a current shot through her body. Goose bumps prickled her sun-warmed skin and she felt a tremble inside her. She was already so close, but she didnt want to surrender quite yet.
Rachel reached down and touched her lips to his, teasing him with a kiss that was both playful and filled with promise. Her tongue flicked across his bottom lip, and when he groaned, she smiled.
Shed never felt in control before, never felt as if she had anything to offer a man sexually, besides her body. But with Dermot, it all seemed so natural and in balance. He wanted her as much as she wanted him.
Rachel knew everything would change once they took this last step. Though their high-speed affair had taken an unconventional path, from now on, theyd know each other intimately. Shed be completely vulnerable to her feelings, to the effect he had on her body and her soul.