He’d have nothing to grab onto but skin. West might take his head off after finding out about this.
“Okay, hold still,” he said. Grabbing her phone from his pocket, he shone the light up the shaft and only managed to see legs and lots of flannel from the jacket.
“That’s it!” she cried. “You’re going to have to cut me out!”
He flinched. That would be harder than trying to muscle her out. “I’ll just push you up further and that’ll get the nail to let you go.”
“No!” she cried. “I tried that and my hips got stuck. I’m already wedged in here. If I go up any further, you’ll never get me out.” Her voice broke. She was panicked out of her mind.
“Okay, okay, relax. You’re going to be fine. I’ll get you out. Where does the nail have you?”
“At my back! My lower back. It’s just twisted through the jacket though, so… at least…” the rest of her words were lost in anguished shrieks.
He scanned over the shaft with that cellphone light first, not seeing any sign of a nail on the outside. Ugh. He was really going to have to get nice and close to Eva, wasn’t he?
Steeling himself, Cole wedged his foot against a beam to the side to get better leverage. And then taking a deep breath, he wriggled his hand through the tube to find her jacket. She yelped when he accidentally got the skin at her back. “Sorry,” he muttered. He was going to rip that nail out as soon as he could find where it was. His fingers brushed past the catch on her jacket. That’s where the nail had her. He bunched at the fabric, hearing the rip. “Sorry,” he repeated, but he didn’t mean it. He tugged again, harder this time, tearing her jacket free.
Now for those hips.
“Can you move at all?” he asked.
“No,” she moaned.
He tried to figure out his best strategy that didn’t end with Trout forcing him to marry her after they were all through. His eyes traveled over her legs, and he finally settled on her knees. She let out a gasp when he wrapped his hands around her soft skin. “You ready for this?”
“I guess!” she cried. “Don’t tell West about this, okay? He already thinks that I can’t take care of myself.”
Their lack of communication was getting disturbing, but considering his hands were all over her legs, Cole decided it was for the best. “He won’t hear it from me.”
Those words were beginning to sound familiar.
He wrenched at her legs and she let out a shout, but she didn’t budge. “Are you okay?” He didn’t want to hurt her.
“Yes! Yes! Just get me out.”
He put more muscle into it and yanked again. Sounds of distress followed his every movement. This wasn’t working. His hands went back into the chute and he grabbed the ends of her jacket. Maybe if he got that off or managed to slide her out that way? He jerked at the flannel and he felt her drop. The next instant, he saw her messy blonde hair fly out of the tube with her.
Her legs knocked him off balance. His knees buckled and he lost his footing on the beam just as she slid under him. Barely having time to think, he grabbed at her arms, trying to slow their descent.
Nothing did.
They both slid down the hay chute together and landed hard on the ground below.
Hay crackled beneath them and billowed out, even as Eva let out an “Oof.”
Oh, no, no, no. The poor girl had completely absorbed their fall. She was caught under him. Cole could barely see her after losing her phone somewhere beneath them, but her nose was in his neck and all that silky hair was against his chest. He tried to get off her. She grunted when his knee landed into her leg.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He was only half aware of what he was saying. He’d never apologized to someone so much in his life.
Cole was only glad that she couldn’t see his face. He knew he was red because he was burning up. Trying to disentangle himself from this embarrassing situation, he finally slid his arms under her back and rolled her to the side. She let out a gasp for air.
“I didn’t crush you, did I?” he asked.
“No… no…” She released a shaky breath, and it got caught on a snigger. “That was so… cool.”
He froze. She had to be kidding right?
“It could’ve been so much worse,” he said. “You’re lucky you got away with only me landing on you.”