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They finished searching the room and turned up nothing.
“Let’s hope she dropped it out here.” Eleanor put her hand on the door and pushed.
It stuck.
“Oh no,” she said, panicking a little and shoving on the door.
It did not budge.
“‘Oh no,’ as in this is very bad, or ‘oh no’ as in something really terrible has happened like the door is stuck again, only both of us are on this side of it and no one’s on the other side to lift up the latch and help get it unstuck?”
“The second,” Eleanor said, using her fingers to try to find the little depression in the door that she had described to Franklin. “Hopefully when we got it unstuck earlier, it was all you, not me.”
He laughed. “I’ll take credit for that, but I’m right with you there.”
She chuckled, even as her heart beat fast. It was one thing to be stuck in the shed for the duration of the snowstorm, but it was a completely different thing to be actually stuck, as in they couldn’t get out. Especially considering that it was dark, cold, and her last text to her sister had been telling her that she was fine and not to worry about her, even if she couldn’t get through since her cell phone was almost out of battery.
“I found a place to get my fingers in. Are you ready?” he asked after a few seconds.
“Yeah. I have mine in the depression below the latch.”
“All right. On the count of three. One, two, three!”
At first, she didn’t think they were going to get it, because nothing happened when she lifted up, then as they lifted and pushed, the door broke open, and they both stumbled forward.
He ran into her, then reached out to grab her to keep her from falling. Which she appreciated, since her finger was still in the depression.
“My finger’s stuck,” she said, explaining why she hadn’t moved out of his way.
“Oh no. Did it twist?” he asked as his hands came down and one landed on her arm. It slid down to her finger, where it stuck in the door depression.
“No. It’s just—” She moved a little, shifting toward him, to get her arm in the right position so she could twist her finger out.
He moved as she bumped into him, and her finger came free.
“Sorry about that.”
“It’s perfectly okay. I’m just glad you got it out. Does it hurt?”
“Not really. Just a little ache. It didn’t break or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I was thinking earlier tonight that my night couldn’t get any worse. That was after my brother spilt his drink on me and I got a phone call with some bad news. But then I got kidnapped, and worse than being stuck in this shed during a snowstorm would be if you had a broken finger the whole time.”
“Yeah. That would be pretty awful, because I’m betting that the care package Sally left, if we can find it, doesn’t have pain pills in it. That’s not exactly something that screams romance.”
“I’m betting you’re right.” Although, he didn’t sound as sure as she did. Maybe because he didn’t know exactly what would be in a romantic care package to begin with.
He shifted and brushed against her. “Sorry.”
“You know, that’s probably going to happen a good bit, especially if there aren’t any candles and we end up in the dark. Just assume that if you run into me, it’s okay. I’m not expecting you to be able to see me in the dark.”
He laughed a little. “Thanks for being so understanding. Same for you.”
“Now, if you step on my toes, that’s a completely different story.”
He laughed again. “My toes stick out further than yours do, so you might want to be careful with what you’re saying there.”
“Are you saying I’m clumsy or that you are?”
