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He rolled his eyes. “Do I look like some sort of Avenger to you? Because unless you have some superpowers I’m unaware of, we’re stuck here until someone can cut down that tree.”
“Maybe Colton has a chainsaw out back.”
He squinted his eyes as though he wondered if I were crazy. “Why would he have a chainsaw?”
I threw my hands up in the air. “I don’t know! But at least I’m trying to think of something!” Why wasn’t he doing anything? Why was I the only one trying to think of a solution? Typical.
“Fine, I’ll do it myself,” I said, marching out of the room and racing down the stairs.
“Sweeney!” Luke shouted. “Where the hell are you going?”
“Where do you think I’m going?” I swung open the front door and marched toward the tree. The rain pelted me from the sky but I didn’t care. From the second floor, the tree looked big, but the closer I got, the more massive it became. When I reached the fallen giant, the top of its trunk was near my waist. I wiped my eyes and looked around for some sort of leverage. I knew little about physics, but I knew I needed a lever if this thing was going to budge. Other smaller branches were laying on the ground but those would break.
A jack! I have one in the car.
I ran to open the driver’s side and popped open the trunk.
There it is!
I grabbed it and slammed down my trunk before racing back to the tree. Shoving the jack as far underneath the tree as possible, I cranked it.
Footsteps pounded behind me. “What are you doing?” Luke asked when he reached me.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” I shouted above the rain and wind.
“Trying to change a spare tire on a tree?”
“No. I’m trying to move this damn thing!”
“That’s not gonna work. Come inside, Sweeney, before you catch pneumonia.”
“No,” I said and tried again. It would not budge, not even an inch.
“Ahh!” I shouted and smacked the tree. Then I hit it with my other hand and pushed as hard as I could. “Come on, you stupid thing. Move!”
Luke grasped my shoulders and pulled me back. “Come inside,” he said. “I’ve already called someone.”
“You did?” I asked, turning around to look at him.
His light gray pants deepened to charcoal from the rain and his white buttoned shirt clung to his chest as he breathed. He wiped his face with his hand and pushed back his long, wet strands of hair. He stared at me. I must have looked like some drenched rat, as his eyes roamed over my body.
“Come inside,” his voice was softer now so I agreed. He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the house, probably afraid I’d make one last attempt to move the tree. I did think about it, but decided it was useless.
I raced up the front steps, and Luke let go of my hand once we were inside. I stood at the entrance dripping wet. “I don’t want to ruin Colton’s floor. Do you have a towel?”
Luke looked around and opened a door next to the entrance. He pulled out a large black coat with a fur-trimmed hood. “Take off your clothes and put this on.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s better if you get out of those wet clothes. Don’t worry, I’ll turn around.”
My teeth started chattering from the cold. “All right,” I said, grabbing the jacket. When I raised my eyebrows expectantly, he turned around.
I unbuttoned my blouse and removed my bra, pulling down my pants next. Fortunately, my panties were still dry, so I kept those on.
Picking the coat off the ground, I slipped my hands into the arms. The coat reached just above my knees but covered all the important bits. “Okay, you can turn around now.”
Luke swiveled to face me again. Placing his hands on his hips, he examined me. His mouth twitched.
