Crazy for Her(94)

Right. Snakes. Just one more thing she hadn’t thought to worry about. Note to self. No leaning against rocks, no sitting on rocks, no turning one over to see what crawls out.

Eli finished his inspection and turned the light off. “It’s safe.”

Ha. Those suckers were good hiders. He could’ve missed seeing one. “No thanks. I’ll just stand here.” The Dobermans sat in a circle surrounding them. If anything long and sneaky crawled out, the dogs would surely warn her.

He shrugged, then started unbuttoning his shirt. Okay. Time out. Why was he stripping? Granted it was summer, but once the sun had set, it had turned a little chilly. “What are you doing, Eli?”

His fingers paused on a button. “I’ve got something for you.” He pushed his hand into his shirt and pulled out a cell.

Squinting, she leaned forward to see better. Hers? Dani grabbed it. Hot damn, it was. “Awesome.” Logan better have his phone on him. She flipped it open and the disappointment of seeing no bars was almost too much to bear. “No service. Maybe if we go higher?”

“I don’t know, maybe. I’m sorry I got you into this mess, Irish. Somehow I’ll make it up to you.”

“Just get me back home, that’s all I want.”

“I’m gonna do my best.” He reached into his shirt again and brought out her wallet. “Papa Herbert would’ve noticed if your purse was gone, so I took out the phone and wallet. I didn’t think you’d want them having your credit cards or personal information.”

That was an understatement. “Thanks, I really appreciate it.”

Back his hand went, this time pulling out a bottle of water. “Don’t drink it all, it’s the only one we have.”

“Jeez, you’re like a magician. You going to pull out a rabbit next?”

That got a grin. “That’s it, nothing else. Wish I’d thought to grab some cookies or something.” He held up her wallet. “You want me to hang on to this for now?”

“Sure, but I’m keeping the phone. Do you have a particular place in mind, or are we just going to keep moving all night?”

“I’ve got a place. It’s not much farther. Hold on to the back of my belt and I’ll pull you the rest of the way up.”

“Did you know you’d make a wonderful tour guide, Eli?” She grabbed ahold of him. “Let’s get to it, then.” Curious about his change of mind, she said, “You surprised me when you agreed to take me out of that place. Why? I mean, one minute you’re going to take me to that evil man you call a stepfather and the next we’re running for our lives.”

Not slowing his uphill jog, he glanced over his shoulder at her. “Did you know I’d never watched TV until I went to Asheville to find you?”

“There’s no way I could have known that, Eli, but what does that have to do with now?”

He stopped, grabbed her hand, and pulled her alongside him. “Hard to talk when I’m running, so we’ll walk the rest of the way. I’m not sure you’ll understand, but when you grow up the way I did, closed off from everything, I had no reason to doubt Papa Herbert. Then all of a sudden, I’m out in the world for the first time and things aren’t the way he said. At first, I didn’t know what to think. Was the whole world a lie and Papa Herbert the truth, or was it the other way around?”

Dani couldn’t imagine how it must have been for him. “Are you saying you learned the truth from watching TV?”

“Papa Herbert says TV is the devil’s instrument, so at first I didn’t turn on the one in my motel room.”

“And then you did?”

The same grin she’d seen on her husband’s face so often appeared on Eli’s. “And then I did. Have you ever been to Disney World, Irish?”

“Yeah, it’s a fun place.”

“I watched a show about it one night. I want to go there sometime.”

Although he’d veered off track from what she wanted to know, Dani couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. “You get me back to Asheville, and I’ll take you there.”

“Promise?”

“You have my word. I still don’t understand, though, how TV made you see the truth.”

“I guess things Papa Herbert said just started not adding up. Have you ever watched Dr. Phil?”

Dani stumbled over a root and he steadied her. “Thanks, didn’t see that. I have. Why?”

“One day, he had this girl on who had been raised in a cult. She was confused and sad, and I saw myself. Some things Dr. Phil said got me to thinking. There were other shows, too, that made me wonder if Papa Herbert had been lying all these years. Aside from all that, it was what you said about Evan, that he’d want me to protect you. I thought Papa Herbert meant for me to marry you, but he lied about that, didn’t he?”