LOST - PART 1
A HELPING HAND
Chapter 11
When the three smiling men trooped through the kitchen door Glory and Thea exchanged pleased smiles. Nate was never one who could keep what he was feeling from showing on his face, and he was grinning as he harassed Adam and Abner, claiming they tried to crush him.
Glory turned around quickly and looked Nate over with anxious eyes. Nate actually blushed a little when her gaze seemed to linger, so Adam couldn't resist pinching his cheek as he walked by, making the other man start to choke trying to hold back startled laughter.
Glory and Abner didn't even try to hold theirs back at his expression, and then laughed even harder when Nate turned beet red. Adam was chuckling as he stood at the sink washing his hands and forearms, aware of the reason for all the noise going on behind him. Only Thea was oblivious.
Adam glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes and saw her stretching one arm up, trying to grab the edge of a platter that was just beyond her reach.
"Let me get that for you," he said as he stepped over to stand behind her. But just as he did, she turned around, her eyes mere inches from the open collar of the red shirt he was wearing. He pulled the dish off the shelf easily then quickly glanced down at her when he felt her press up against him.
His mouth almost fell open to see her tip her head forward, her nose almost touching his chest as she inhaled deeply.
He froze, waiting to see if she would shrink away from the earthy smell of his sweat. When she did it again, this time with her eyes closed, he knew he should step back, but couldn't. He was fascinated by her pleased expression, the first solid evidence of the sensual nature he thought she had.
Leaning back slowly, he said her name softly and when she raised her heavy lidded eyes to his he clenched his teeth in a vain attempt to not react.
He cleared his throat and looked down at the platter in his hands, not sure of what to do. But when he looked down, she looked down too and he watched her hands slowly rise to take the dish from him.
"Thank you," she said softly and gave him a languid smile before she turned to place it on the counter, completely unaware of the affect she had on him. Stepping back, he took a deep breath, suddenly feeling like the temperature in the room had risen twenty degrees.
Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead and he quickly wiped them away before turning around. Then he rolled his eyes in exasperation to see Glory, Abner, and Nate all giving him knowing smiles.
Thea stepped around him then, carrying the platter, which she had just filled with various types of sandwiches. "Come on, everybody sit down," she said, still oblivious and gave Adam her usual smile to thank him for holding her chair.
As he sat down beside her and directly across from Nate, Adam was horrified to see everything the man was thinking written plainly on his face. Nate opened his mouth, no doubt to tease Thea, so Adam quickly stretched out one long leg and kicked him in the shin under the table.
The blonde man let out a startled "Ow!" and when Glory turned to him in concern, Nate merely said, "Uh...leg cramp." But for the rest of the meal he occasionally gave Adam a quick grin that promised verbal retaliation when he was out of the other man's reach.
While Adam was amused by Nate's grins he was also deeply aware of Thea sitting next to him. With every breath, he took in the light, evocative perfume she wore, and felt her barely brush against him when she moved. He knew she was leaning slightly toward him and by the end of the meal he was so incredibly tense he was seriously considering going back and running through the entire list of exercises again.
When everyone was finished eating, Thea said his name twice before he heard her and he almost choked on a mouthful of water when he realized what she was saying.
"I think we better test your flexibility this afternoon. You're running through the strengthening exercises at such a fast pace I want to make sure you're not sacrificing one for the other."
Swallowing hard to try and clear his throat Adam croaked, "Now?"
"No time like the present!" she answered and stood as Nate spoke up.
"Mind if I tag along?" he said to Thea who nodded while Adam gave him a dark, warning look.
Abner started to help Glory with the clearing up, knowing that Thea had taken over the "hands on" part of assessing Adam's progress. When the other three left the room he and Glory grinned at each other and began to hurry with their tasks. They didn't want to miss this assessment either.
Thea led the way down the hall with Adam right behind her. Nate, however, wisely stayed back and out of reach.
When the three entered the room where Adam still slept, he automatically went to a new piece of furniture that had been added - a padded table. He hopped up and looked at Thea for instructions. Nate was already grinning in anticipation as he leaned against the back of a low, overstuffed chair.
Adam was surprised when Thea came to kneel and pulled off the soft leather shoes he wore when exercising. Then she removed his socks before placing one hand under the ball of his right foot to press upward. As she increased the pressure she used her other hand to firmly grip the Achilles tendon right above his heel.
"Good!" she murmured when she felt the tendon stretching easily and moved to the other foot to do the same thing. With a pleased nod, she stood saying, "Sit on the end of the table here, please." She patted the end and he swung around.
"Now I need you to lay back and bring this knee up as far as you can," she said, tapping his right knee. When his leg was bent she stepped closer to place his foot against her abdomen. "Now push slowly against me."
When he did, he was surprised at how strong she was. He had to put real effort into moving her back. Then she slid her hands up his leg, firmly gripping his thigh and he almost stopped, startled, but didn't.
"Very good!" he heard her say when his leg was stretched out to full length. "Now pull this knee up again." This time she gripped his calf muscles as he pushed against her. Then she moved over to his left leg and did the same, not noticing Glory and Abner entering the room.
"Alright, please sit up again," she asked and he did, breathing a sigh of relief, hoping she hadn't noticed the slight quivering of his muscles he hadn't been able to completely control. She knelt again and placed her hands flat on the top of his feet. "Flex your foot up," she said and he did. "Now don't let me push them back down."
Again he was surprised how strong she was, but managed to keep her from pushing them down. "Very, very good!" was her next pleased comment and he couldn't help but smile at how genuinely happy she was with his progress.
She was grinning widely when she stood and stepped to the side. Taking his left ankle in one hand and slipping the other behind his knee, she lifted his leg saying, "Just let your leg go limp." Nodding at the ease of motion in the joints, she tested his right leg and found the same result. Then she asked him to move up the table and lie down on his back again.
While Adam was happy she was so pleased with his progress, he was also relieved that she was finished putting her hands on his legs. He had been incredibly tense before, but now felt as taut as a bowstring.
Holding his right arm by the wrist and elbow, she moved it through the normal range of motion quickly. Testing his left arm went just as quickly and he was hoping they were finished. But she asked him to sit up again and began to test his arm strength. He had actually started to relax a little when she stepped closer to stand in between his knees and slid her strong, long-fingered hands behind his neck.
"Push slowly back against my hands," she said and he heard a muffled snicker from Nate when his face began to flush red in reaction to her closeness. He pushed back and she laughed when he pulled so strongly she rose up on her toes in spite of her best efforts to hold him still.
Adam was clenching his teeth at this point, desperately wanting to escape this torture, while at the same time savoring her closeness. He closed his eyes and sighed, wondering what part of his body she'd be putting her hands on next. Then his eyes popped open when he realized she was unbuttoning his shirt. He quickly grabbed her wrists.
"I think I can do that myself," he said with a slight edge of irritation in his voice. Thea merely gave him a slightly puzzled look before stepping back, shrugging her shoulders, and moving around the table to stand behind him.
When he shrugged out of his shirt and felt her hands sliding up his spine he ground his teeth and had to suppress a shiver. Hearing another muffled snicker from Nate, he shot a furious look at the blonde man. Then he gasped when she slid one cool hand around to press against his abdomen as she dug her fingers into his spine.
"Hmmm..." he heard her murmur, and then suddenly her hands were gone. "Well that's it, and I have to say you've passed with flying colors," she said with a happy laugh as she walked around to stand next to him.
Adam had already pulled his shirt back on so she bent down to pick up his socks and shoes. He practically snatched them from her hands, mumbled a quick "thank you," and then hopped down from the table. She watched him hurry from the room and turn left down the hallway toward the kitchen.
She was still standing there trying to figure out what was wrong with him when they all heard the back door open and bang closed. Then she watched him running at full speed through the garden, seemingly heading for the barn.
Hearing odd noises coming from the group of three that had been watching, she turned to them with a baffled expression.
"Now what on earth is the matter with him?" she said and her face turned red when they burst out laughing and obviously at HER.
"What?"
Nate was hanging onto Abner weakly and Glory had tears running down her face.
"Thea!" Abner managed to choke out. "Good God woman, can't you see what you've been doing to that poor man ever since he came in!" He took a deep breath and seemed to calm down somewhat.
Thea quickly understood what he was referring to, turned bright red, and wanted to kick herself. Nate was still giggling helplessly and Glory was using her apron to dry her face when Thea said, "Dear Lord, I never even thought of that. What the hell is the matter with me? I'm not usually this dense!"
Her three friends stared at her incredulous for a moment until Nate broke up again and slid to the floor, taking Abner down with him. The two men sat there, howling with laughter so they didn't see the hurt look Thea was giving them. Glory firmly bit back her own urge to howl too and came to put an arm around the other woman's shoulders.
"Don't pay any attention to those two idiots," she said kindly and smiled down into her friend's face when Thea looked up.
"Hon, think about it and be honest with yourself. You're in love, that's what's wrong with you."
Thea stared up into Glory's face with a blank look. The other woman's brow furrowed. "Haven't you ever been in love before?"
Still staring, Thea opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Then she snapped her mouth shut as she stuck her chin out and shook her head. "No, I never have been and I'm not NOW," she stated firmly and the other woman gave her a kind smile.
"How do you know you aren't if you haven't been before?" Glory asked reasonably. "You're showing all the signs. You've been distracted and moody, you watch him all the time, and touch him every chance you get."
"I don't believe it," Thea insisted, a shadow of doubt showing in her eyes.
"Believe it," Glory said quietly and hugged her when she cried out, "But I don't WANT to be!"
"That's usually when we fall in love. When we don't want to, or the timing couldn't possibly be worse. And especially when the person is completely unacceptable. The heart doesn't care about those things."
"That's stupid," Thea sniffed, her head against Glory's shoulder as she cried a few tears in frustration.
"That's love."
"It's still stupid," she persisted and Glory just could not hold back a chuckle.
"This isn't funny!" Thea said as she stepped back. "Alright, you're so sure I've fallen IN love so I guess I'll just have to fall OUT of love." she almost shouted and gave the other woman an exasperated look before rushing from the room.
The two men had gotten to their feet and Nate came to put an arm around Glory.
"She isn't really mad at you," he said and Glory nodded.
"Oh I know that. I just wish I knew why she's always been so bound and determined to not let any man into her heart."
"Seems to me she's afraid."
"Thea? Afraid?"
Nate chuckled quietly. "Yes, afraid. Thea just can't stand the thought of anyone having that kind of power over her."
"Oh..." Glory breathed and shook her head. "The poor thing, it's far too late."
"Poor Adam. It's far too late for him, too. Only he doesn't know it yet either."
Abner came to stand next to Nate. "I hope you realize they are both going to be extremely irritable for a while. Or at least until they give in." The other two nodded, but were smiling.
Nate chuckled again. "It's going to be very entertaining watching those two."
"That's easy for you to say," Glory answered, "you don't have to live with them!"
"Too true!" he laughed. "I swear I've never seen two people more alike before in my life. I thought opposites were supposed to attract."
"Most of the time," Abner agreed. "But it's as plain as the nose on your face those two are meant to be together."
"God," Glory breathed as Nate nodded. "I wonder how long this is going to take?"
"I don't know. But if it gets intolerable we'll just lock them in a room until it's settled."
"That shouldn't take long then, I've never seen two people more physically attracted to each other before," Abner chuckled. "Let's just hope none of us gets wounded in the crossfire."
The three people stood there silently for a moment until Nate spoke. "You know," he said his gaze narrowing. "It might be a good idea to think about ways we can...ah...help these two accept the inevitable." Glory's brows rose and Abner grinned.
"Let's go to the kitchen, have some coffee, and bounce some ideas around." Nate suggested and the three started for the door. As they passed into the hall he said, "Now I think Adam is going to be the harder nut to crack..."
A HELPING HAND
Chapter 11
When the three smiling men trooped through the kitchen door Glory and Thea exchanged pleased smiles. Nate was never one who could keep what he was feeling from showing on his face, and he was grinning as he harassed Adam and Abner, claiming they tried to crush him.
Glory turned around quickly and looked Nate over with anxious eyes. Nate actually blushed a little when her gaze seemed to linger, so Adam couldn't resist pinching his cheek as he walked by, making the other man start to choke trying to hold back startled laughter.
Glory and Abner didn't even try to hold theirs back at his expression, and then laughed even harder when Nate turned beet red. Adam was chuckling as he stood at the sink washing his hands and forearms, aware of the reason for all the noise going on behind him. Only Thea was oblivious.
Adam glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes and saw her stretching one arm up, trying to grab the edge of a platter that was just beyond her reach.
"Let me get that for you," he said as he stepped over to stand behind her. But just as he did, she turned around, her eyes mere inches from the open collar of the red shirt he was wearing. He pulled the dish off the shelf easily then quickly glanced down at her when he felt her press up against him.
His mouth almost fell open to see her tip her head forward, her nose almost touching his chest as she inhaled deeply.
He froze, waiting to see if she would shrink away from the earthy smell of his sweat. When she did it again, this time with her eyes closed, he knew he should step back, but couldn't. He was fascinated by her pleased expression, the first solid evidence of the sensual nature he thought she had.
Leaning back slowly, he said her name softly and when she raised her heavy lidded eyes to his he clenched his teeth in a vain attempt to not react.
He cleared his throat and looked down at the platter in his hands, not sure of what to do. But when he looked down, she looked down too and he watched her hands slowly rise to take the dish from him.
"Thank you," she said softly and gave him a languid smile before she turned to place it on the counter, completely unaware of the affect she had on him. Stepping back, he took a deep breath, suddenly feeling like the temperature in the room had risen twenty degrees.
Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead and he quickly wiped them away before turning around. Then he rolled his eyes in exasperation to see Glory, Abner, and Nate all giving him knowing smiles.
Thea stepped around him then, carrying the platter, which she had just filled with various types of sandwiches. "Come on, everybody sit down," she said, still oblivious and gave Adam her usual smile to thank him for holding her chair.
As he sat down beside her and directly across from Nate, Adam was horrified to see everything the man was thinking written plainly on his face. Nate opened his mouth, no doubt to tease Thea, so Adam quickly stretched out one long leg and kicked him in the shin under the table.
The blonde man let out a startled "Ow!" and when Glory turned to him in concern, Nate merely said, "Uh...leg cramp." But for the rest of the meal he occasionally gave Adam a quick grin that promised verbal retaliation when he was out of the other man's reach.
While Adam was amused by Nate's grins he was also deeply aware of Thea sitting next to him. With every breath, he took in the light, evocative perfume she wore, and felt her barely brush against him when she moved. He knew she was leaning slightly toward him and by the end of the meal he was so incredibly tense he was seriously considering going back and running through the entire list of exercises again.
When everyone was finished eating, Thea said his name twice before he heard her and he almost choked on a mouthful of water when he realized what she was saying.
"I think we better test your flexibility this afternoon. You're running through the strengthening exercises at such a fast pace I want to make sure you're not sacrificing one for the other."
Swallowing hard to try and clear his throat Adam croaked, "Now?"
"No time like the present!" she answered and stood as Nate spoke up.
"Mind if I tag along?" he said to Thea who nodded while Adam gave him a dark, warning look.
Abner started to help Glory with the clearing up, knowing that Thea had taken over the "hands on" part of assessing Adam's progress. When the other three left the room he and Glory grinned at each other and began to hurry with their tasks. They didn't want to miss this assessment either.
Thea led the way down the hall with Adam right behind her. Nate, however, wisely stayed back and out of reach.
When the three entered the room where Adam still slept, he automatically went to a new piece of furniture that had been added - a padded table. He hopped up and looked at Thea for instructions. Nate was already grinning in anticipation as he leaned against the back of a low, overstuffed chair.
Adam was surprised when Thea came to kneel and pulled off the soft leather shoes he wore when exercising. Then she removed his socks before placing one hand under the ball of his right foot to press upward. As she increased the pressure she used her other hand to firmly grip the Achilles tendon right above his heel.
"Good!" she murmured when she felt the tendon stretching easily and moved to the other foot to do the same thing. With a pleased nod, she stood saying, "Sit on the end of the table here, please." She patted the end and he swung around.
"Now I need you to lay back and bring this knee up as far as you can," she said, tapping his right knee. When his leg was bent she stepped closer to place his foot against her abdomen. "Now push slowly against me."
When he did, he was surprised at how strong she was. He had to put real effort into moving her back. Then she slid her hands up his leg, firmly gripping his thigh and he almost stopped, startled, but didn't.
"Very good!" he heard her say when his leg was stretched out to full length. "Now pull this knee up again." This time she gripped his calf muscles as he pushed against her. Then she moved over to his left leg and did the same, not noticing Glory and Abner entering the room.
"Alright, please sit up again," she asked and he did, breathing a sigh of relief, hoping she hadn't noticed the slight quivering of his muscles he hadn't been able to completely control. She knelt again and placed her hands flat on the top of his feet. "Flex your foot up," she said and he did. "Now don't let me push them back down."
Again he was surprised how strong she was, but managed to keep her from pushing them down. "Very, very good!" was her next pleased comment and he couldn't help but smile at how genuinely happy she was with his progress.
She was grinning widely when she stood and stepped to the side. Taking his left ankle in one hand and slipping the other behind his knee, she lifted his leg saying, "Just let your leg go limp." Nodding at the ease of motion in the joints, she tested his right leg and found the same result. Then she asked him to move up the table and lie down on his back again.
While Adam was happy she was so pleased with his progress, he was also relieved that she was finished putting her hands on his legs. He had been incredibly tense before, but now felt as taut as a bowstring.
Holding his right arm by the wrist and elbow, she moved it through the normal range of motion quickly. Testing his left arm went just as quickly and he was hoping they were finished. But she asked him to sit up again and began to test his arm strength. He had actually started to relax a little when she stepped closer to stand in between his knees and slid her strong, long-fingered hands behind his neck.
"Push slowly back against my hands," she said and he heard a muffled snicker from Nate when his face began to flush red in reaction to her closeness. He pushed back and she laughed when he pulled so strongly she rose up on her toes in spite of her best efforts to hold him still.
Adam was clenching his teeth at this point, desperately wanting to escape this torture, while at the same time savoring her closeness. He closed his eyes and sighed, wondering what part of his body she'd be putting her hands on next. Then his eyes popped open when he realized she was unbuttoning his shirt. He quickly grabbed her wrists.
"I think I can do that myself," he said with a slight edge of irritation in his voice. Thea merely gave him a slightly puzzled look before stepping back, shrugging her shoulders, and moving around the table to stand behind him.
When he shrugged out of his shirt and felt her hands sliding up his spine he ground his teeth and had to suppress a shiver. Hearing another muffled snicker from Nate, he shot a furious look at the blonde man. Then he gasped when she slid one cool hand around to press against his abdomen as she dug her fingers into his spine.
"Hmmm..." he heard her murmur, and then suddenly her hands were gone. "Well that's it, and I have to say you've passed with flying colors," she said with a happy laugh as she walked around to stand next to him.
Adam had already pulled his shirt back on so she bent down to pick up his socks and shoes. He practically snatched them from her hands, mumbled a quick "thank you," and then hopped down from the table. She watched him hurry from the room and turn left down the hallway toward the kitchen.
She was still standing there trying to figure out what was wrong with him when they all heard the back door open and bang closed. Then she watched him running at full speed through the garden, seemingly heading for the barn.
Hearing odd noises coming from the group of three that had been watching, she turned to them with a baffled expression.
"Now what on earth is the matter with him?" she said and her face turned red when they burst out laughing and obviously at HER.
"What?"
Nate was hanging onto Abner weakly and Glory had tears running down her face.
"Thea!" Abner managed to choke out. "Good God woman, can't you see what you've been doing to that poor man ever since he came in!" He took a deep breath and seemed to calm down somewhat.
Thea quickly understood what he was referring to, turned bright red, and wanted to kick herself. Nate was still giggling helplessly and Glory was using her apron to dry her face when Thea said, "Dear Lord, I never even thought of that. What the hell is the matter with me? I'm not usually this dense!"
Her three friends stared at her incredulous for a moment until Nate broke up again and slid to the floor, taking Abner down with him. The two men sat there, howling with laughter so they didn't see the hurt look Thea was giving them. Glory firmly bit back her own urge to howl too and came to put an arm around the other woman's shoulders.
"Don't pay any attention to those two idiots," she said kindly and smiled down into her friend's face when Thea looked up.
"Hon, think about it and be honest with yourself. You're in love, that's what's wrong with you."
Thea stared up into Glory's face with a blank look. The other woman's brow furrowed. "Haven't you ever been in love before?"
Still staring, Thea opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Then she snapped her mouth shut as she stuck her chin out and shook her head. "No, I never have been and I'm not NOW," she stated firmly and the other woman gave her a kind smile.
"How do you know you aren't if you haven't been before?" Glory asked reasonably. "You're showing all the signs. You've been distracted and moody, you watch him all the time, and touch him every chance you get."
"I don't believe it," Thea insisted, a shadow of doubt showing in her eyes.
"Believe it," Glory said quietly and hugged her when she cried out, "But I don't WANT to be!"
"That's usually when we fall in love. When we don't want to, or the timing couldn't possibly be worse. And especially when the person is completely unacceptable. The heart doesn't care about those things."
"That's stupid," Thea sniffed, her head against Glory's shoulder as she cried a few tears in frustration.
"That's love."
"It's still stupid," she persisted and Glory just could not hold back a chuckle.
"This isn't funny!" Thea said as she stepped back. "Alright, you're so sure I've fallen IN love so I guess I'll just have to fall OUT of love." she almost shouted and gave the other woman an exasperated look before rushing from the room.
The two men had gotten to their feet and Nate came to put an arm around Glory.
"She isn't really mad at you," he said and Glory nodded.
"Oh I know that. I just wish I knew why she's always been so bound and determined to not let any man into her heart."
"Seems to me she's afraid."
"Thea? Afraid?"
Nate chuckled quietly. "Yes, afraid. Thea just can't stand the thought of anyone having that kind of power over her."
"Oh..." Glory breathed and shook her head. "The poor thing, it's far too late."
"Poor Adam. It's far too late for him, too. Only he doesn't know it yet either."
Abner came to stand next to Nate. "I hope you realize they are both going to be extremely irritable for a while. Or at least until they give in." The other two nodded, but were smiling.
Nate chuckled again. "It's going to be very entertaining watching those two."
"That's easy for you to say," Glory answered, "you don't have to live with them!"
"Too true!" he laughed. "I swear I've never seen two people more alike before in my life. I thought opposites were supposed to attract."
"Most of the time," Abner agreed. "But it's as plain as the nose on your face those two are meant to be together."
"God," Glory breathed as Nate nodded. "I wonder how long this is going to take?"
"I don't know. But if it gets intolerable we'll just lock them in a room until it's settled."
"That shouldn't take long then, I've never seen two people more physically attracted to each other before," Abner chuckled. "Let's just hope none of us gets wounded in the crossfire."
The three people stood there silently for a moment until Nate spoke. "You know," he said his gaze narrowing. "It might be a good idea to think about ways we can...ah...help these two accept the inevitable." Glory's brows rose and Abner grinned.
"Let's go to the kitchen, have some coffee, and bounce some ideas around." Nate suggested and the three started for the door. As they passed into the hall he said, "Now I think Adam is going to be the harder nut to crack..."