Love's Deception by Kelly Nelson Page B

down.”
    Cat didn’t trust her voice, but nodded through her rapid breathing. She turned her toes so they faced the right direction, shifted her body, and lowered herself to the next board. Realizing her fingernails were digging into his skin, she relaxed her hold on him, then took another step down.
    “When you’re ready, let go of me with one hand and grab the two-by-four,” he said.
    “Okay.” Her voice came out in a croak. Focusing on the board in front of her, she wrapped her fingers around it. Then she paused, relieved to be off the edge and on her way down.
    Ty chuckled above her. “Eventually you’ve got to let go of the other hand, or you’ll pull me head first off this ledge.”
    She jerked her fingers away like she would from a bee sting. “I was getting to that,” she said, trying to preserve her dignity.
    Although he waited until she was halfway down to begin, he soon hovered one board above her. “You’re doing great,” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me you were afraid of heights?”
    Cat took another step down. “I don’t know. I guess it didn’t seem so high, climbing up in the dark.”
    “Going up is always easier than going down.”
    “I noticed that.”
    Finally, her feet touched solid ground. She sighed in relief, moved back to make room for Ty, and quickly said a silent prayer of gratitude. As he stepped down from the last rung on the ladder, he discovered her shoes and stooped to pick them up. Like the prince looking for Cinderella, he knelt in front of Cat. “Let’s see if the shoe fits,” he said. She rested her hand on his shoulder while he picked up each foot and slid it through the straps of her high heels.
    They retraced their steps and found the canoe. Cat couldn’t stop smiling at the care with which Ty helped her into the boat and then pulled it out of the mud on the other side of the river. She held the blanket while he hid the canoe under the plywood and started the motorcycle. She pulled her skirt out of the way and climbed on behind him. Thankful for the excuse, she wrapped her arms around Ty’s waist. As they crossed the open field, the wind whipped past her and she laid her face against his back.
    Soon he drove the motorcycle into the barn and turned off the engine. He took the blanket and dropped it onto the old desk in the office. Holding hands, he and Cat walked to his truck. He reached through the open window. “Here’s your purse.”
    She slipped the strap over her shoulder. “Thanks.”
    He hadn’t released his hold on her hand, and she didn’t try to pull away. They went to her truck, the barn’s security light humming in the background. Ty didn’t open the door for her; he rested his arm against it instead. “I’m glad you found me tonight.”
    She glanced at her hand in his before looking in his eyes. “So am I.”
    He moved closer, half of his face in shadow. Cat noticed him clench his jaw and frown slightly, as if something weighed on his mind. Tension sparked in the air between them, and she thought of their last kiss. She moved her hand to his cheek and stood on her tiptoes to touch her lips to his.
    Ty wrapped his arms around her, exhaling a sigh of relief as he pulled her closer and kissed her. “Thank you,” he whispered. “I was beginning to regret that promise I made in the treehouse not to try anything. I thought it would kill me for sure.”
    Cat giggled. “You did look like you were suffering.”
    “I felt like I was drowning.” Then he lowered his mouth to hers in the kind of slow kiss that had her leaning into him, wishing time would stand still. Too soon he pulled away and helped her into the vehicle. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”
    She took a deep breath and smiled. “Uh-huh, sure.”
    He slid his hands into his pockets. “Drive safe, Catherine.”
    A few minutes later she parked her truck in front of her house. Her mother’s bedroom light was on. A load of guilt dropped onto her shoulders. Hopefully her mom