Carolina Isle (Edenton 2)

“Too many hours,” Gideon said. When he tried to get up, he stumbled and nearly fell into the pit, but Ariel put her body in front of his and steadied him.

“What happened to you?” R.J. called up.

“He fell down some rocks,” Ariel said. “I think David may have carried him back to his cabin.”

“Where is David now?” R.J. asked.

“I don’t know,” Ariel said, pushing on Gideon to get him away from the edge. “How do we get them out?”

Gideon pulled a big metal winch from his pack and a heavy nylon rope. “I’ll tie this onto the middle of the tree, put a rope through here, then I’ll pull R.J. up.”

Ariel looked at the tree. Standing upright, she was sure it would look enormous, but lying down across an open hole it looked like a tightrope with branches. “You’ll fall,” she said.

“That’s a chance I’ll have to take.”

She put her hand on his forearm. “The only knot I know how to tie is a shoelace. Show me what to do and I will do it.” When he started to protest, she said, “If you do fall, it’ll be just me here to get all of you out and to go find the twins. If I fall, there’ll still be you and R.J. to look for them.”

Gideon didn’t argue, just demonstrated a solid knot to use to tie the winch to the tree. “Keep your eyes on the tree,” he said as he tied a rope onto her waist.

Ariel kept twisting about to look at the narrow tree. Could she do it? The more she looked, the weaker her knees felt.

“So who’s this beautiful man you’re searching for?” Gideon asked.

“You’re too young to know and it doesn’t matter anyway because I’m going to kill him the minute I see him.”

“Oh, yeah?” Gideon said. His face was inches from hers and his arms around her as he tied the rope about her waist. “I could think of worse ways to go than to be killed by you.”

“I am not Phyllis,” she said coldly as she moved away from him and toward the tree.

“Indeed you aren’t,” Gideon said, unperturbed by her coolness.

Ariel didn’t like his insinuations, didn’t like his flirting, and didn’t like his levity in the face of the situation. She was so angry at him that she was halfway to the center of the tree before she realized it. When she looked down and saw R.J. and Sara far below her, she froze.

She looked back over her shoulder at Gideon.

“In those pants you look as cute as Phyllis,” Gideon said, leering at her. “Are you sure you didn’t grow up on King’s Isle?”

“I’m from Arundel, North Carolina,” Ariel said and there was so much pride in her voice that R.J. laughed.

“That’s right, honey,” R.J. called up to her. “You tell him.”

Ariel reached the center of the tree and looked back at Gideon in triumph. He was rubbing the side of his head but he was smiling at her.

“Okay, baby,” Gideon said, “now straddle the tree like a man and tie him into a knot.”

Ariel sat down on the tree, looked down at R.J., and said, “Who is this child?”

“I don’t know, but I plan to find out,” he said softly.

Ariel concentrated as she tied the winch onto the tree, then threaded the rope through the pulley as Gideon had shown her. Cautiously, she made her way back to the young man, then helped him pull the rope with R.J. on it up to the top of the hole.

When R.J. stepped onto land he grabbed Ariel’s shoulders and kissed her hard on the mouth.

“Hey! I saw that!” Sara called from below. “He’s mine, cousin.”

“Oh?” Ariel asked, looking at R.J.

“We talked about some things,” R.J. said sheepishly.