“Let’s go.” He wiped his hands on his trousers and offered her his hand.
She let him pull her up, then she tried to glance down, but the drop made her so dizzy she had to grab the side of the lookout wall to steady herself. She knew her face screamed vertigo, but she didn’t care. She was too darn scared. “Oh God...”
His hands steadied her.
She opened her eyes and looked at him instead of down. “What do I do?”
He didn’t respond right away; he just watched her. Suddenly she felt like a specimen. Then his expression changed. He paused and he let his gaze roam slowly, from the top of her head down to her feet. All that sweet concern and kindness she’d seen before disappeared, replaced by his cocky, male grin of a man who is ogling a woman’s figure.
“You can grab my neck, Hallie-girl... and then wrap your legs around my waist, just like your brothers...Those prison pants of yours ought to make it simple.”
She wanted to smack him. She stood a little straighter. “They are not prison pants. I told you before. It’s called a reform dress or bloomers.” She stuck her nose in the air. “And you’ll have to think of some other way to get me down. I am not wrapping my legs around your waist.”
Kit crossed his arms and then appeared to be estimating her weight, like one judges a side of beef. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he suggested, “Well... you could grab onto the ratlines and then step out on the rope webbing. I’ll climb on behind you and we’ll descend together...” his grin widened, “like spiders.”
Sure, Hallie thought, and I’m the fly. She eyed the ropes. They weren’t tight, so she would have to grab hold and then get her feet on them while they swayed. She didn’t want to do that. “No.”
“Well then, I guess we’ll stay up here.” Kit sat down on the platform and crossed his legs at the ankle. He patted the empty spot next to him. “Have a seat. The afternoon breeze should come up soon, and it will get good and cold up here.” Kit smiled. “But don’t you worry, Hallie-girl. I’ll keep you—and your bloomers—warm.”
The hunger in that smile set Hallie’s mind spinning, and the thought of spending any time with Kit, especially in the small confines of theSea Haven’s crow’s nest when he had that goat-randy look on his face made her say, “Get up. I’ll go.”
Hallie inched nearer the edge of the platform and looked below.
“Don’t look down,” he ordered.
Hallie swallowed and obeyed; her fear superseded her pride.
“Here,” he said, “give me your hand.”
She placed her left hand in his. Taking a deep breath, she grasped the ratlines and stepped onto the rocking ropes, keeping her eyes scrunched shut. Immediately she felt Kit’s warm body against her back as he straddled her frame on the ropes.
“Good girl.” His breath was hot against her ear. “Now move one hand down to the next rope, and then the other—that’s right.”
Hallie followed his commands.
“Now you can step down. I’ll be right behind you so you can’t fall.”
She knew he was right behind her. With each step his body, male, hard, and protective, brushed against her own. The breeze picked up, sending the rich, exhilarating scent of tobacco swirling around her. Caught in his magnetic web, she continued to do as he patiently instructed, not realizing that his voice had lost all its cocky tone.
When her feet touched the solidity of the deck, she finally opened her eyes and swayed slightly. She sat down hard on the main hatch, relieved and exhausted, her head spinning. The children huddled around her, and she met Kit’s gaze over their excited blond heads. “Thank you,” she said sincerely.
“I need to talk to you,” Kit told her.
Hallie got up. “I don’t feel like arguing over the ship, and I have to find Dagny.” She started to walk away.
“I’ll give you theSea Haven.”
She spun around. “What did you say?”
“You can have the ship. But there’s a condition.”
Hallie was skeptical. “What condition?”
“I want you and the children to move to my home.”
“Live with you?” Hallie asked, amazed, appalled, and a little excited.
“With my aunt. I’ll stay on Lee’s ship until I can make arrangements somewhere else,” Kit explained.
