Chapter 19
From where she stood at the old shoreline, Thandie looked over the heads of the guests about a thousand times to see if Grant was going to join them for the nature walk. After brunch was cleaned up, they had all gathered in the barn to walk down together, but Grant didn’t show.
Perhaps he’ll run me over again, she thought with a giggle.
Thandie had been looking forward to this activity since she first conceived of it all of five days ago. Botany was her passion, and she finally had a chance to use her skills properly. Squatting down to the ground, she moved some long grass away from a tuft of small purple flowers that hugged the rich soil. “Come look at these,” she said to the group.
“What are we looking at here?” Daisy asked in a spry tone, and crouched beside Thandie. “These are the prettiest little flowers, aren’t they Brent?” Brent grunted in agreement.
“These are called Vinca, or Common Periwinkles. It’s an invasive species in North America, but aren’t they pretty? They bloom here for most of the year, and they even have medicinal uses,” Thandie said and picked a small bloom. She tucked the flower behind Daisy’s ear and winked. “Just don’t eat it. Unlike other flowers that are edible, this one will make you sick.”
Daisy stood and showed off her pretty prize. “Like it?” Brent nodded and gave her a quick kiss on one cheek.
“How do you know about all this stuff?” Anne asked and picked a periwinkle for her own hair.
“I’m a botanist.” No further explanation was needed.
Before heading out of view of the barn, Thandie scanned the pathways for any sign of Grant. Once they continued down the old shoreline, it would be hard for him to catch up or find them. But the path was deserted. Though her shoulders slumped with disappointment at his absence, part of her was relieved she would have more time to process her feelings before seeing him again. She knew they would need to talk about the kiss and her unexpected attraction towards him, but she had been too tired after returning to her cabin to stay awake and think on it. Once morning came and she began prepping for the nature walk, she was too busy to think about the way his warm lips had hugged hers so.
Seeing no one, they headed south, and she continued pointing out what she knew of the native northeast plants, insects, and birds. Luckily, with all the rain, the countryside was teeming with interesting things to speak on.
A dashing robin flaunted his slate-blue wings and rusty underbelly as it darted along the ground in front of her, and grasshoppers soared above the swaying grasses in the wilds along the trail. As she was never out of facts, Thandie used her keen sense of her surroundings and drew attention to anything she felt the others might find stimulating.
She paused. “Everyone, take out your binoculars and focus them just below the pines there. You’ll see a group of deer.”
The weather could not have been better for the activity. The best weather by far this week, she thought. The temperature was in the mid-sixties and a steady, gentle breeze spread fragrant fresh air around the property. A jumble of little white and yellow butterflies pollinated flowers and fluttered from plant to plant, glowing brightly in the late morning sun.
“Thandie,” Margret said. “Would you be a dear and help me with these? I believe they’re broken.”
“The binoculars are not broken! You are. Now, give them here,” Anne said and wrenched the small black binoculars from Margret’s hands before Thandie could get to them. Anne turned the binoculars around and rotated the dial all the way to the other side. “Try it again.”
Margret looked through the lenses and smiled. “Well, I’ll be.”
“I mean, honestly, woman. I don’t know how you survived so long without me in your life,” Anne said.
“The deer are so cute,” Daisy proclaimed and pointed across the way. “Can we pet them?” she asked and turned to Thandie, who shook her head no.
Up ahead, the pathway split in two directions. To the right, it dipped down around a rocky outcropping. To the left, the trail narrowed and cut between a steep hillside and the stone ledge. She stopped at the fork and assessed the safety of both directions before sending any of the guests through. As it was her first time walking this trail, she couldn’t afford to take a chance on someone getting hurt.
Determining the path to her right was clear of overgrowth, she began directing the guests around the large rocks. Daisy and Brent, who had participated in all the activities so far and were the leading candidate for being the investor’s scouts, led the way. Margret and Anne rounded the rock edge next, followed by the rekindled lovers, Clara and William. The trio of older women had again missed this activity, which Thandie was now suspecting had to do little with the weather and more to do with where or when the food was being served at the various events. Buzz and his daughter, Frances, had gone into town for something, but said they would join them for supper. Fish-and-chips, last she heard.
As William went last, Thandie heard a “Psst” coming from the path to the left, the path that went between the hillside and the rocks. The path that none of the others had gone down. She took a few steps in the direction of the call and listened again.
The group had gone through and were waiting at the bottom of a small decline, and she looked back at the way they had come from. But seeing and hearing nothing, she stepped back around the front side of the stone ledge.
Another “Psst” came from the same direction as before.
Thandie, wanting to prove that she wasn’t hearing things, walked the more dangerous route around the hillside. Between the walls of rock, Grant appeared with a wild grin. His excited eyes sent her heart racing. He had the look of a mischievous boy up to no good. From behind his back, he pulled out a bundle of yellow flowers. The scraggly ends were uneven as though he’d picked the stems with his hands and not cut them cleanly.
“What do you have there?” she asked and joined him in the privacy of the narrow cut-through.
He presented the flowers to her, and she gasped in shock.
“Here,” he said and pushed the bouquet towards her again. “I thought you may like these. They glow in the sunlight and?—”
Thandie swatted the bouquet of wildflowers from his hand and took his arm, holding it straight out so that he could see the numerous swelling red bumps popping up on his skin. “There’s poison ivy in there. When did you pick those?”
“A couple hours ago. Why?” he said.
“It looks like you’re already having an allergic reaction.”
“No, I can’t be.”
“It’ll be fine,” Thandie said while shifting her head to try and meet his distant gaze. “Just about everyone I grew up with had a run-in with the stuff at one time or another.”
“I just wanted to give you something you would like.” Grant extended his arm out as he pointed to the flowers scattered on the ground. His eyes widened when he saw the extent of the bulging bumps on his arm. “Oh no.” Color left his face, and he stumbled to the side.
Thandie reached out for him and caught him by the shirt hem. She rested his back against the rockface as his breathing became rough and uneven. His reaction looked less like an allergy and more like a panic attack. She was unsure exactly what was happening, but she knew he needed help.
“Grant, look at me.” His teary eyes found hers and his breathing slowed as he matched her example. “Let me help you back to the barn.”
“Am I going to die? Are you going to bury me right here? You can put those flowers on my grave. It’s fitting, don’t you think?” His delirious phrases ran together.
“Don’t talk like that,” she said as her concern turned to fear. Not only did he require help, so did she, and she wasn’t afraid to ask for it, for once. She yelled for help and began walking him back up the trail.
William and Clara joined her after only a couple of pleas. “Clara, will you lead the others back to the barn? And Will, can you help me with Grant?” The couple helped without hesitation, and Thandie was glad for the assistance.
“What happened?” William asked as he hoisted Grant’s arm over his own shoulder.
“I think he’s having an allergic reaction to some poison ivy.” Thandie took her canteen and popped the lid off. She handed it to Grant, who took it and brought it up to his lips. “Drink,” she ordered.
Grant’s steps slowed, and he caught her gaze. “I could have killed you with those flowers. And I was trying to be nice,” he moaned between weeping and laughing.
“Drink,” she said again and pushed the canteen to his lips.
She knew he was having an emotional reaction along with the physical, and he jabbered nonsense all the way up the hill. Leo met them halfway down the driveway in front of the barn and took Grant’s other arm from Thandie. “He’s having an allergic reaction. And a panic attack. Will you get him inside and have him lie down?”
Thandie took off in a full sprint toward the office where the bin of first aid supplies was located. Glad that she had noticed it on an earlier trip to the loft, she rifled through and found the bottle of allergy medicine and cream. Meeting the men downstairs in the cucina, she kneeled beside Grant where he was lying on the floor.
“I need you to take this pill,” she said and sat him up a little.
“I don’t like sushi,” he coughed out and brushed her hand away.
The little white pill flew across the floor, and she took another one. “It’s not sushi. It’s medicine to help you feel better. Now, open up.” Thandie placed the pill on his tongue and held the canteen to his lips. She tilted the container until the water dripped out and into his mouth. His breath smelled of cinnamon, and she guessed that he had recently brushed his teeth. She grinned at the thought of how the situation could have gone quite differently had he not picked the ivy by accident. Her racing pulse could have had a more enjoyable catalyst.
“Should I call the doctor?” Leo asked.
“I don’t think it’s necessary. He’s not anaphylactic.” She pulled up Grant’s sleeve and exposed angry-looking bumps on his forearm. “This is typical contact dermatitis. I think his mental reaction is just shock. He was totally fine, other than his skin, until he saw his arm looking like this.”
William returned with damp paper towels and a small trashcan. “Here, wash the area and throw those away after.” He handed over the items and added, “I was a boy scout and I’ve seen this before. He’ll be okay.”
“Thanks, William,” Leo said. “You should go wash up since you touched him and maybe were exposed too.”
“Right,” William said. “You got this?”
Leo nodded and William departed. “Where are the others?” Leo asked Thandie as she cleaned Grant’s arm and hands.
“Clara is leading them back here.”
“A golf cart would be nice right about now.” Leo attempted levity, but she wasn’t in the mood to laugh. “I’ll go check on things.”
“Go,” she said and kept her attention trained on Grant.
The color was returning to his cheeks, and his eyes looked at her instead of through her as they had since his reaction began. She helped him sit up and leaned him against the wall under the Cucina sign. Thandie inquired with her eyes whether he was ok, and he nodded ever so slightly. She finished cleaning all the reddened skin that she could see, but the spots extended underneath the edge of his rolled sleeve.
“Can I take your shirt off?” she asked, but was already unbuttoning his mushroom-colored oxford. He didn’t protest as her hands moved under the collar’s front edge and along his collarbones. His biceps flexed under her touch and sent heat into her cheeks. Being careful not to scratch his arms, Thandie pulled each sleeve down over his hands and tossed his shirt aside. Underneath, Grant’s tight white tee-shirt hugged his chest and abs. It was too bad she had no excuse to take that layer off, also.
The rash creeped up Grant’s arm just beyond the crook of his elbow, where it had settled the worst. She cleaned the area as gently as she could, though he hissed in through his teeth several times. “Sorry,” she said and pressed a clean, damp paper towel on the bumps. “You should probably take a cool shower. And then put some itch cream on this. Do you need a doctor?”
“I need you,” he slurred and laid his head back against the wall.
“You do?” she whispered in disbelief and assumed he had misspoke. More delirium, she thought.
She’d seen skin reactions like his before when she grew up living in the country. Farmers were always getting stung or bitten by something. He would be fine, she knew it, but he would be exhausted from the rush of adrenaline wreaking havoc on his system.
“Should I help you back to your cabin?”
She knew what his answer would be, and she wanted him to say it.
“That would be nice. Thank you, Thandie.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
“It’s your job,” he reminded her as he stood.
There it was. The tit-for-tat that she had grown to love participating in very much. Seeing him near passing out, and in obvious distress, had left her feeling utterly ridiculous for having questioned her feelings for him earlier that day. She had been afraid to talk to him about the kiss. A kiss! It’s not like he proposed or something, she thought.
It was evident now, more than ever, that she liked this man very much. But their timing could not be any worse.
At that thought, thunder splintered across the old lake, carrying a tempest on its back. Thick clouds darkened the sky outside the barn and replaced the bright, clean air with an ominous green hue. She needed to get Grant to his cabin before the skies opened up. There was no way she was getting stuck out in another downpour.
Standing, Thandie crossed her wrists out in front and took each of Grant’s hands in hers. “There’s a storm coming.” She braced one leg in front and one in back and pulled him upright. “We need to go.”
More thunder rumbled low across the shallow valley. The delicate crystals of the chandelier shook above their heads, and a blinding light filled the space for a split second. She didn’t have time to close her eyes or shutter her ears to the booming sound. Before things got any worse, Thandie took Grant’s arm, and they made their way outside.
In the meantime, Leo had intercepted the guests and was directing them back to their own cabins. Everyone except for Margret and Anne, who were coming up the path towards the barn and aiming for Thandie and Grant.
Margret jogged ahead. “Is he well?”
Thandie nodded. “He will be. But I need to get him inside before the storm hits. I should be up to the barn in a little while. I hear the chef is preparing a traditional fish-and-chips tonight.”
“What a treat,” Margret said with excitement sparking between her clapping fingers.
“Get inside while you can,” Thandie said.
“I agree, ladies,” Leo chimed in. “Get indoors.”
Thandie and Grant continued to his cabin, passing her own on the way. She thought to stop by and grab her coat, because she hadn’t needed one until now, but the thunder cracking overhead had them moving with urgency towards the Bear Cabin. Grant’s cabin. Sometime between periwinkles and poison ivy, the weather had turned, though she hadn’t noticed with all the commotion. As though the pressure for her to put on a fantastic week for The Foundry wasn’t enough, she highly suspected that the weather was purposefully throwing a wrench in her activity plans.