Pushing Her Boundaries by Julia Rachel Barrett Page B

away from him.
    Mace set the penlight down. He swiveled from his chair and sat on the edge of the bed. He didn’t touch her. His fists clenched involuntarily. It was hard to be this close to Maggie without touching her. “What’s wrong?”
    Maggie sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest. Her face was a mere shadow in the dimly lit room. “I can’t…I can’t remember the color of my napkin.”
    Mace burst into laughter. “What?”
    Maggie pressed her knee against his hip. “Quit laughing at me. I can’t remember the color of my napkin. Weren’t you listening at dinner? Patty said we have to remember the color of our napkin so we’ll know where to sit for breakfast. What color is my napkin, Mace?”
    “Oh god, you little idiot. You’re worried about that? I have no idea what color your napkin is. I don’t know what color my napkin is. I wasn’t paying attention to a single word that came out of that woman’s mouth.”
    “What are we going to do, Mace? How will we know where to sit?”
    Mace laughed again. “We’ll just wait for everyone else to sit down and then we’ll take the two remaining seats. It’s no big deal.”
    “No, Mace, it is a big deal.” He could hear how close to tears she was.
    “Maggie…” Mace laid her back down on the bed and rolled over her so that he was on the side nearest the railing. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against his body, cradling her. “I don’t believe you’re worried about the color of your napkin. What’s really bothering you?”
    A quiet sob escaped her. “I don’t…I don’t like these people, Mace, and I have a bad, bad feeling about this trip. Robert keeps repeating that he grew up here, that he knows more about the Boundary Waters than anyone, but no matter how often he says it, I don’t believe him.”
    Mace swallowed his laughter. He didn’t think there was anything to worry about, other than the giant annoyance factor that hovered around Robert and Patty like a black cloud, but Maggie seemed really upset. Smoothing the short curls from her face, he pulled her closer. “It’ll be okay, Maggie. I promise.”
    She turned in his arms and faced him, her tempting lips close to his. “You promise?”
    The urge to kiss her almost overwhelmed him, but he held perfectly still. “Yes, Maggie, I promise.” Unable to stop, he ran the pad of his finger back and forth along her pouting lower lip, wondering if she’d pull away. She didn’t.
    “Promise me something else,” she whispered.
    “Anything.”
    “If something bad happens, you’ll get us out of there.”
    Mace looked into her eyes, wondering if she was joking. She was dead serious. “Maggie, I swear to you that if anything goes wrong, I will get us out of there.”
    She pulled her hand from beneath the blankets and touched his face with light fingers. “Thanks. Sorry, I’m not usually like this.”
    “Like what?” He kept his voice soft, soothing. His hand caressed the small of her back.
    She sighed. “Emotional. Weepy. Nervous.”
    “I know, Maggie. It’s okay. I think you just need some sleep. We both do. Close your eyes.” He reached over her to switch off his penlight. As he did so, she grabbed his arm.
    “I know I said I didn’t want to share the bed with you, but would you mind staying right here? I think I’ll sleep better if you…well…just be careful not to fall over that railing. Maybe keep an arm around me so I’ll wake up if you get too close to the edge…please?”
    Mace kissed her forehead. “I’ll stay right here. And I swear I won’t fall over the railing. I’m just shutting off the light. Okay?”
    Maggie nodded. With a yawn, she lay back on the pillow. Mace shut off the light and Maggie snuggled against him, reminding him once again of a warm, cuddly, little kitten. When she let down her guard, she could be very sweet. Mace had discovered that beneath the prickly exterior was a very vulnerable woman. After a few moments, he felt her body