Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Unfortunately, that hitch in her breath said something different.
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, no use denying it.
But it was totally unrelated, she told herself.
It could be nerves. But the prickle of awareness?
The one she hadn’t felt in eight years that was fast becoming a daily need?
Affecting her that way made her hate him, that is, when it wasn’t lighting her up with excitement.
She was walking over to hand him his coffee when he looked at his phone. It must have been something bad because he frowned at his phone. She headed back to the counter, not wanting to disturb him, but he followed her.
“You’re one lucky Little sprite. I have to take care of something, but we’ll be going to the alley as soon as I’m done.
” Taking his coffee from her hand, he reached over the counter and cupped her chin in his hand.
She braced herself for a curt warning to behave, but instead, he kissed the top of her head.
She stood there dumbfounded while he picked up his coffee, held it up in an imaginary toast, and returned to the mantle to deal with whatever was more important than her at the moment.
She didn’t know whether to be relieved or insulted.
He leaned against the mantle, texting, his coffee on the shelf beside him. With nothing else to do, Tazzy returned to work, grumpier than she’d been all day. She should be happy that he was distracted. Hell, she should be ecstatic.
That’s what her brain was telling her. So why was her heart sending pulses to her sex, telling her something very different?
The late lunch rush ended over half an hour ago, so all the customers had left. She wiped the tables, stealing clandestine glances at Jaxon. Argh! She was such an idiot.
How could one man make her feel both so comforted and so irritated at the same time?
When Tazzy made it back behind the counter, Georgia was waiting for her.
Bumping Tazzy’s hip, she grinned. “Girl! You can no longer talk about how dangerous my bucket list is. First, you dump a drink in Jaxon’s lap.
And now you’re arguing with him and smoking a cigarette?
Talk about taking your life into your own hands.
” Georgia’s face lit with mischievous glee.
Tazzy froze, mid-wipe. “Don’t be so loud. He’ll hear you.”
Georgia cocked an eye at her. “Lap Frap. That’s all I’m saying.”
Tazzy groaned. “I’m never living the lap frap down, am I?”
“Nope,” Georgia said. eyes sparkling. “And…speaking of danger that’s fun, I found the perfect thing for our next bucket list adventure.”
Tazzy wasn’t sure why Georgia automatically included her in these adventures. She’d never joined in before.
But Georgia was on a roll. “Nighttime cave rappelling! We can use glow sticks for light. I did my research this time, and Mammoth Cave will be perfect. It’s only a five-hour drive. I mean, come on. It’s practically begging us to do it.”
Tazzy’s brow furrowed. “I’m sorry, what? Never mind, let me get this straight. You want to slide down a rope, into a deep cave, at night, using glow sticks?”
Georgia grinned wider. “Yep. I’ve already rented the gear. We even have time to practice before we go. Then, the fun will begin!”
Tazzy stared. “I feel like you’re not putting enough importance on the 'at night, in a cave, with glow sticks' part. Actually, I think you’re insane.”
“Insane is a valid life choice.” Georgia winked. “We’ll be fully prepared before we go, okay? Besides, we have the perfect place to practice.”
Tazzy hesitated. Jaxon would kill her if he knew she was even considering Georgia’s crazy scheme. That settled it.
“Okay. I’m in.”
Georgia looked stunned. She squealed out, “Really? That’s great.” Grabbing Tazzy’s hands, she began to do a move Tazzy had come to call Georgia’s happy dance.
“What’s going on, Sprite?” Jaxon called out from the fireplace.
“Nothing. Nothing at all. Just… excited about—” She held up the towel she had used to wipe the counter— “these… these fantastic rags. The counter is so shiny. Like so, so shiny.”
Just kill her now. Did they make online classes for lying? He didn’t believe her, obviously. Luckily, his phone buzzed again, and he looked away.
Tazzy pulled away from Georgia and glared. “Stop acting crazy. You’re going to give us away.”
“Me!” Georgia whispered back. “I’m not the one who’s telling him we’re excited about a dishrag.”
Tazzy looked at Jaxon again. He held up his phone with one hand and his pointer finger on the other. But he had that knowing Daddy look in his eyes. This was not going to go well.
But, hey, maybe he didn’t suspect anything. Old Tazzy would never have agreed to something as crazy as Georgia’s bucket list adventures.
Jaxon didn’t know New Tazzy, not really. New Tazzy didn’t let her fears rule her. New Tazzy was powerful and strong. Fear of heights? She was over that. Probably. The same with her fear of the dark. This was going to be great.
“Where are we going to practice?” Tazzy asked.
Georgia pointed up.
Tazzy’s gaze followed Georgia’s finger, not understanding at first what she meant. Then Tazzy got it. “The roof?” she whispered a shout. “Are you crazy?”
“Yes! It’s the perfect place to practice. The shop’s dead right now. It won’t pick back up for a couple of hours. Come on, there’s no time like the present. It’ll be great!”
“Wait, now?” Tazzy's stomach churned, her mind racing to think of something else, anything else, that she had to do. But she’d already done everything there was to do around the shop, thanks to the nervous energy she had from Jaxon being her constant shadow for days. So, technically, this was his fault.
“What about Hutch?” she asked, grasping at straws. “He’s right there in Vivi’s office. Don’t you think he’ll hear us clattering around on the roof?”
“Not if we practice on the other side of the roof. Besides, he’s busy going over the financials for Books-N-Brews.
And before you say it, Jaxon’s still texting on his phone, so he’s busy, too.
He won’t notice if we sneak out. And even if he does, he’s not going to look for us on the roof. Let’s go.”
Georgia had a point. Why on earth would Jaxon think to look for her on the roof?
You can’t practice rappelling by staying on the roof.
She had no idea who Jaxon was texting. But honestly, if she disappeared while he wasn’t paying attention, that just meant he wasn’t a very good bodyguard.
Her urge to fall into step with Georgia’s plan had nothing to do with her feeling hurt and angry that he’d been ignoring her for almost an hour. That would be crazy.
“Are you sure you want to do it now?” Tazzy repeated in one last-ditch effort to stave off the inevitable.
“Yes, now come on. Follow my lead.” Georgia tugged Tazzy toward the hallway instead of the back door in the kitchen.
In a voice much louder than necessary, Georgia said, “Well, Tazzy, since we’re alone, we might as well go check the inventory in the supply closet. There’s no way we can get into trouble in there, since there are no doors or windows.”
It took all Tazzy could do to stifle a groan. How did Georgia ever get away with anything? She glanced at Jaxon. Apart from standing a bit stiffer, he didn’t appear to have noticed Georgia’s melodramatic performance.
Pretending to go to the supply closet, Georgia opened and slammed shut the door. Then, channeling their inner cat burglars, they slipped back through the main room, out the back door, and headed for the roof.
It took a couple of jumps before Georgia managed to grab the fire escape ladder and pull it down.
Minutes later they were standing in front of a pile of rappelling gear that was already there.
Just how long had her bestie been planning this?
. Better question, how long did they have before Hutch or Jaxon figured out what they were doing?
If… no, when they got caught, Georgia was going to be in a world of trouble, and her backside would probably be in a world of pain. Luckily, since Tazzy didn’t have a Daddy anymore, she didn’t have to worry about that. Yeah, she was the lucky one. Only she didn’t feel very lucky.
Tazzy stared down at all the ropes and harnesses, and something that looked like a two-fingered brass knuckle with a loop of tubing on the bottom, she couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure this is safe?” Her voice trembled, and her heart raced just from being on the roof. “I mean, that rope looks pretty thin.”
“Safe is boring,” Georgia laughed. “We can be safe when we’re old. Trust me, we’re going to be fine.”
Georgia’s eyes were bright with excitement, so Tazzy didn’t point out that if they did stupid stuff, they might not ever get to be old. Besides, Georgia was too busy fastening a harness around Tazzy’s waist.
Georgia looked up long enough to assure her, “Trust me. You’re going to love it.”
The likelihood of that was somewhere between slim and none. Not that it mattered. It wasn’t like she could back out now. She held out her arms as Georgia connected all her gear and threw the rope over the edge of the roof.
“Okay, from what I learned on YouTube, you’re supposed to guide the rope with your right hand, and pull the rope tight with your left.”
Fear clawed at Tazzy’s throat. “What does that even mean?”
Georgia’s brow furrowed. Tazzy took that as a bad sign. She felt like she was in a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon, and she was about to leap off the roof with a bedsheet for a parachute.
“Well, we ran the rope through the thingy the same way the guy on the video did. Other than that, I’m not exactly sure. One video I watched said to make sure both ends of the rope are touching the ground.”
Tazzy peered over the edge of the roof and wished she hadn’t. The ground looked like it was at the bottom of a yawning abyss. This. This was why she’d always taken pictures of Georgia’s shenanigans instead of joining in.
Maybe falling was for the best, because if she survived, Jaxon was going to kill her. She took a deep breath and focused all her attention on not dying. “On three?” she asked.
“Three,” Georgia answered, her voice sounding as strained as her rope.
Tazzy stepped to the edge and slid her right foot off the roof.
“Wait!” Georgia said. “You don’t just walk off the roof, silly. Have you never watched a Mission Impossible movie? You squat down and lean back. That way you can—”
Tazzy snapped. “Die, Georgia. That’s the way we die.” Starting over, she squatted at the edge of the roof. Then, God help her, she leaned backward.
It took a few tries, but soon enough, she had both feet propped against to building.
“I did it!” she called to Georgia. “Not bad.”
Georgia didn’t answer. Tazzy looked up to find Georgia having difficulty holding her position with the rope. Whether from the irony of that, or Tazzy’s exhaustion, or the sheer terror of the situation, Tazzy began to laugh. She was about to suggest… she had no idea what… when it happened.
Tazzy slipped, dropping three feet and crashing into the wall, banging her knees on the rough brick. Oh God! She was going to plummet twenty-five feet and splat on the ground like a water balloon.
“Jaxon!” Without hesitation, she screamed for the only one who could save her. His name tore from her chest, leaving her gasping for air.