“Where’s your phone?” he asked, realizing both her hands were wrapped around a branch. How had she even gotten up that high? There were no low branches on the tree. Assessing the situation, he noted a large limb snaked over from a neighboring tree. She must have gone up that way.
“On speaker inside my sweater pocket so I could hang on with both hands.”
“Smart thinking.”
“Desperate thinking,” she corrected. “Hurry up and get me out of this tree, please.”
“The things chicks will do to get your attention,” Ben mused coming to stand next to him as they studied the branch configuration to gauge how close they’d be able to get the bucket to Sophie.
“Tell Ben I heard that, and that when I get down, I’ll pray really hard to forgive him for making fun of me when I’m half-terrified.”
Ben chuckled, put
his hands on his hips and continued to stare up the tree. “Sorry, Sophie. We’ll get you down in a jiffy.”
“Sophie, I’m hanging up now since you can holler down at me if you need to. Ben’s right, we’ll have you down in a couple of minutes.”
Only, rescuing Sophie took longer than Cole would have liked.
Andrew put the truck in the best position for getting the ladder to her, but a lot of small branches were in the way. While Ben shined a spotlight on the branches, Cole cut a few of the limbs away to move in as near as possible.
Finally, he was close enough that he could reach her.
But when he stretched to help put the security harness around her waist, she didn’t budge from where she grasped the tree branch.
“Sophie? I need you to help me help you.”
Chapter Seven
Shivering, tired, so ready to be out of the tree, Sophie bit into her lower lip as her gaze dropped to the harness in Cole’s hand.
He was right there, waiting to pull her onto the ladder with him. All she had to do was let go of the branch, put the harness on and let him assist her onto the ladder. Easy peasy.
But she couldn’t let go.
She felt as if she’d been clinging to the branch for hours. Maybe she had been. Her entire body ached with cold and stiffness. She wasn’t even sure if she felt her hands anymore, or if her brain just told her she still held onto the limb.
“Sophie,” Cole’s voice was low but urgent. “You have to put the security strap on, then let me help you onto the ladder with me.”
“I—I can’t,” she admitted, wishing it weren’t true. She wanted to be on that ladder with Cole. But no amount of wanting seemed to send the signal to her hands to let go.
“I know you’re scared, Sophie, but you have to trust me.” His voice was calm, steady.
“Rescue the cat first,” she suggested, stalling for time. How could she want down so badly and still be so afraid to take the help offered? Shouldn’t she be leaping into his waiting arms?
“I’ve yet to see your cat.”
Sophie glanced toward where the animal had been. Nothing.
Horrified and fearing the worst, she glanced to the ground below. Big mistake, as it made her head spin. There was no cat fallen to the sidewalk, thank goodness, just Ben and Andrew shining a spotlight up at her.
“He was here,” she insisted, squeezing her eyes closed as she fought off the new wave of dizziness. “When I climbed up here, the cat was stuck, too.”
“Likely story. You sure you just didn’t want to see me tonight to tell Santa your Christmas wish list?”
Sophie’s gaze shot to Cole’s pale eyes, barely visible in the light. He was teasing her, probably trying to startle her out of her nervousness. She was okay with that because it was working.
Eyes locked with his, Sophie shrugged and let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Like Ben said, the things chicks will do to get your attention.” Her teeth started chattering.