Read Online Rainsinger by Barbara Samuel, Ruth Wind - Free Book Online Page A

revolution in PCs was a relatively recent movement. “It’s a lot of fun. There’s so much to do you wouldn’t believe it.”
    “So I’ve heard. But I think I’m going to have to bypass the computer revolution. It happened when my back was turned, and now they’re just too complicated for me to understand.”
    “No, you’ve got it wrong. What happened while your back was turned is they got easier.” In a sudden decision, he stood up. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
    “That’s okay.” She waved a hand. “I’m really too—.”
    “No, you aren’t.” Playfully he grabbed her hand and tugged. “Come on.”
    She capitulated, allowing herself to be led into the living room and to his elaborate computer setup. Daniel nudged her into his chair, grabbed a second one from beside the desk and sat down next to her. “You turn it on by pushing that red button,” he said.
    “Don’t you have to work?”
    “I’m sick of working today.” Their bare arms brushed as he leaned close to turn on the screen. “This is a lot more fun.”
    “You know, I’m like Pigpen. Everywhere I go, messes follow. I’m bound to screw something up here.”
    “No, you won’t. It’s pretty hard to do any damage at your level of expertise.” He smiled at her, aware in some dim part of his mind that he was enjoying her closeness very much. She smelled faintly of dust and sweat, and deeper of the talcum she used. From this position, he enjoyed a nice view of an ever-so-slightly freckled breast. A little dizzy, he gave her instructions to get to the main directory.
    To start with, he showed her a game and the word processing program, but she seemed a little awed by it all. With a flash of insight, he remembered something that caught a lot of computer-phobics: bulletin boards. He clicked the icon for one of the easiest national boards, complete with fancy graphics and all kinds of directions and help screens.
    “What’s this?” she asked, cocking her head as the sounds of a number being dialed came from the machine, followed by the strange, high-pitched sound of the modems connecting.
    He grinned. “My computer just talked to another one a long way away.”
    “Wow.”
    “This,” he said as the brightly colored screens for the service came up, flashing a welcome message, “is the world of communications. E-mail. Bulletin board. Go ahead and push a button. Anything you want.”
    Her hands stayed frozen in her lap. “What do all those little symbols mean?”
    He’d made a mistake, he realized, in putting her in the driver’s seat the first time out. It scared her to touch the keys. She really was afraid of messing things up. “Let’s trade places.”
    “I’d like that better.”
    She pushed her chair back, and her hair brushed his chin. The whisper-light sensation electrified his nerves. He tried to move out of her way, but they both put their feet down at the same time and bumped knees. A chair fell backward and they both reached for it. Her arm and his met, wrist to wrist, and Daniel froze, willing himself to stop acting like a hormonal adolescent.
    Even if that was how Winona made him feel.
    Her cheeks were flushed as she bent to pick up the chair, and she murmured, “Sorry. Told you I’m clumsy.” She didn’t look at him.
    Daniel didn’t move. He wanted to capture that chin and kiss away the telltale flush under her skin. What an unusual woman she was. He’d noticed she was always confident when in the midst of something, like cooking or playing basketball. Her body was graceful and well trained, and there was confidence and power in the way she moved.
    But whenever the man-woman hunger rose between them, she grew shy. It was plain she had not had much experience with men, and he had to wonder why. What had kept her so naive?
    As if she sensed his thoughts, she looked up. “I’m not usually as awkward as this anymore,” she said in a breathy voice. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately.”
    And then he