Pushing Her Boundaries (11 page)

Mace felt his fists clench.

“Before that, it was some guy who was into cars and motorcycles and drank like a fish. From what Lynn says, he happened during Maggie’s
rescue
phase. She’s always trying to fix what’s broken. I guess it’s pretty typical when you have a parent who’s an alcoholic.”

“Lynn and Maggie’s father is an alcoholic?”

“No.” Jeff guided the car onto a dirt lane. “Their mother. Their father walked out on them when their mom was pregnant with Lynn. I guess the minute she brought Lynn home from the hospital, she handed her to Maggie. Maggie pretty much raised her. I think Lynn turned out all right for someone raised by a five-year-old, don’t you?” Jeff looked at him.

Mace was floored.
A five-year-old child raising an infant?
He cleared his throat. “I think it’s pretty remarkable that a five-year-old did a damn good job of raising herself, let alone caring for her sister. I see enough patients from homes like this to know that both Maggie and Lynn could have easily become alcoholics themselves, or drug addicts, or worse. Where’s their mother now?”

“I don’t know exactly, some nursing home. Do you think I should park in that lot over there, or park along the road?”

Still rocked by what he’d just heard, Mace barely glanced at the lot. “The road. Seems like most cars are parked along the road.”

“Yeah, that’s what I think too. Let’s get the car unpacked. Robert should be waiting for us at the dock.” Jeff turned to open the car door.

Mace put a hand on his brother’s arm. “Jeff, I swear I won’t mess anything up for you and Lynn, but I want to get to know Maggie, so I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t do anything to mess that up for me.”

Jeff sat back. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve never taken women seriously, I mean, not in the sense that you want to get to know them.”

“Yeah, well, things change. I’ve changed over the past year.”

“I’ll talk to Lynn. She already figured out you were interested, but I told her that with you, it was all about the sex.”

Mace snorted. “Thanks loads. I’m sure that went over well.”

“I have to give Lynn credit. She seemed to think your interest went a little deeper than that, no matter how I tried to spin it. Well, you have five days out in the wilderness to impress her.” Jeff patted his brother on the shoulder, and he said with a grin, “If shitting in the woods together doesn’t do it, then I don’t know what will.”

Chapter Seven

When Jeff’s friend Robert greeted them at the dock, Maggie took one look at him and nearly choked in her attempts to smother her laughter. She immediately flashed on Pee-Wee Herman, except instead of the crazy suit, Robert was wearing safari shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, and a floppy hat along with his sneakers.

“He’s harmless,” Lynn whispered as Maggie unpacked the car. “This is kind of how people dress up here.”

“What does he do?” Maggie whispered back.

“He was one of Jeff’s law school professors. He inherited this island from an uncle and retired early. He and his wife, well, his new wife, remodeled the original cabin and expanded. It’s a great getaway.”

“I got a bad feeling about this,” Maggie muttered, and Lynn poked her with one of her crutches.

“It’ll be okay,” she hissed. “Be nice.”

Maggie slung her backpack over one shoulder, her purse over the other, and grabbed Lynn’s rolling bag. “Can you manage down this hill on those?”

Lynn nodded.

“Then let’s get going. We wouldn’t want to keep nature boy waiting.”

“Maggie…”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be nice.”

Lynn stopped. “Maggie, these are Jeff’s friends. He’s known them a long time, so please, please be nice.”

Maggie looked at her sister. “Lynn, I will be on my best behavior, I promise.”

“That’s all I ask.”

* * * *

Sitting in the front of the speedboat, Maggie pushed the hair out of her eyes. It didn’t do any good. The hair blew back in front on her face the instant she moved her hands away.
Oh well, doesn’t matter. Robert’s a major whack job and I’m headed off into the la-la land wilderness with him and who knows who. Do I care what my hair looks like?

Robert spent the entire ride trying to carry on a conversation with her, not seeming to realize that the wind was right in her face, and she couldn’t hear a single word he said. He didn’t seem to notice that either; he just kept right on blabbing. Maggie decided her best option was to face straight ahead and ignore him. It was better than getting a mouthful of hair.

Away from the marina, the boat picked up speed and soon they were cruising along a heavily wooded shoreline. During the thirty-five-minute ride to the cabin, they passed only one other boat. Robert slowed down and waved.

“How many cabins on this lake?” Maggie shouted, her voice blowing back with the wind.

“Fifteen, mostly closer to the marina. Our cabin is on an island on the far side of the lake. My cousin has a cabin on the other side of the island, but that’s it.”

“How do you get electricity, if you’re so far from the marina?”

“They dropped cable under the lake a few years back,” Robert said, right before he sped up.

Maggie had been about to ask how they managed the indoor plumbing, but she shut her mouth, deciding she didn’t want to shriek, nor did she care to risk swallowing a bug. She’d find out soon enough. Maybe his cousin would be her canoe-buddy.
Whoopee
.
Just shut up, sit back, and enjoy the view. And remember, be nice.

After what seemed like an endless wind tunnel, Robert steered the boat around a bend in the lake and Maggie saw a dock, actually two docks, one old, and one new, built right over heavy granite boulders. The new dock was covered with a wide canvas awning. Robert angled the boat toward the new dock and pulled beneath the awning. Maggie noticed that this dock sat much higher than the old dock, and the boat ramp was set at least three feet from the edge. She wondered how she and
Pee-Wee
Robert were going to lift Lynn five feet into the air and maneuver her across the three-foot gap over open water. Lynn’s suitcase and her own backpack were going to be bad enough.

As Maggie was trying to figure out the logistics of hoisting Lynn across the open water, two sets of jeans-clad male legs appeared. Both men wore sandals. Relieved, Maggie stared at the feet, but her relief was short-lived.
Oh my god, I know those toes
. A familiar face appeared and Maggie didn’t know whether to scream, throw her backpack at him, or break into hysterical laughter.

“Need any help?”

* * * *

“What the hell are you doing here?” Maggie hissed as Mace carried Lynn’s suitcase to the guest cabin.

Mace shrugged, nonchalant, trying to keep the grin off his face. He’d really gotten under her skin. “I was invited. What’s your excuse?”

Maggie stopped in her tracks. “Oh don’t tell me…you are not…you are not canoeing with me. No way. Lynn said Robert had a friend who was…” She dropped her backpack on the gravel pathway. “I’ve been set up again. You all set me up.”

“Hey, don’t look at me. I planned to do this canoe trip from the beginning.” The look Maggie shot him was accusing. “You made an assumption. You assumed I was going back to California. You assumed wrong.”

“You could have said something.”

Mace stared into her eyes.
Nice eyes, especially when she’s pissed off
. “And when would I have said something? I don’t recall seeing you in the apartment when I woke up this morning. In fact, all I seem to recall is a curt, dismissive note.
Have a nice trip
. Wonder who left that?”

Maggie didn’t reply, but he didn’t expect her to. What could she say? Her cheeks turned pink and he knew his remarks hit home. His mere presence knocked her off balance. That’s what he wanted, Maggie off her game, forced to punt. Mace felt like he’d have to be the option quarterback in this situation. The stubborn woman had come up with a plan to shield her heart and she was going to stick with it come hell or high water. Well, after spending a few hours with Robert and Mrs. Robert, Mace decided it was no contest. It would be the two of them against the crazies, unless she grew so desperate to avoid Mace that she’d be willing to spend the next five days listening to Robert wax poetic about Robert. Just two hours with Jeff’s friends left Mace feeling like he’d been transported to the Twilight Zone.

Wait until she hears the household rules
.
And finds out about the sleeping arrangements.
Mace couldn’t help it, he smiled.

“What the hell are you smiling about?” she grumbled.

“Nothing.” He slid Lynn’s suitcase into the tiny guest cabin and reached for Maggie’s backpack. She snatched it away from him.

“I’ve got it.”

Mace spread out his hands. “Suit yourself. The main cabin is that way, up the hill.” He pointed to the left. Maggie slung the large pack over her shoulder and headed off to the right.

“Uh, Maggie?”

“What?” she snapped.

“I said to the left. To the right are the old outhouses.” He could hear her muttering under her breath as she stomped up the path.
Damn, I can’t wait to get her out into the wilderness
. He hurried up the trail after her, eagerly anticipating her reaction to the speech she was about to receive.

They stepped onto the deck in front of the cabin, a brand-new redwood deck that overlooked the lake. Walking ahead of him, Maggie reached for the door handle.

“Stop,” shouted someone from inside the house.

Maggie’s hand froze in midair. Mace grinned.
Here it comes
.

“Take your shoes off out there,” barked Mrs. Robert, the name Mace had assigned her. “Stick them on the shelves to your left. I don’t want sand tracked in.”

“Jesus freaking Christ,” Maggie mumbled. She glanced back at Mace. With a helpful motion, he pointed to the shelves, and removed his own sandals.

Maggie dropped her backpack and sat down on the redwood planks to unlace her hiking boots. Amused, Mace watched. He reached for her hiking boots, planning to slip them into an empty slot on the shelves, but Maggie ignored his hands and shoved them into the shelves herself. The door to the cabin opened and Mrs. Robert appeared. Mace tried to remember her first name, but he’d been struggling with it ever since he arrived. He seemed to have blocked it out. Maggie scrambled to her feet.

“Hi, I’m Patty. You must be Maggie. It’s nice to meet you.” The woman stuck out a hand. “How much do you weigh?”

Ah, Patty. I need to remember that
.

Once again, Maggie’s hand froze, this time, halfway to Patty’s outstretched hand. “I’m sorry, what did you just ask me?”

Mace snorted.

“I asked, how much do you weigh?”

Maggie appeared confused. “For the canoe trip, you mean? Are you trying to figure out how much weight to put in each canoe?”

“No, I need to know for supper.” Patty sounded irritated. She withdrew her hand. “I’m trying to gauge your portion size.”

“My…my what?”

“Your portion size. How much salmon you’ll eat.”

“How much salmon I’ll…what?”

Mace swallowed his laughter, watching Patty roll her eyes. He’d already been through this.