Chapter 40
Chapter forty
Zac
The grumble of Tabitha’s stomach was almost as adorable as the sheepish embarrassment on her face. Zac chuckled and flipped open his pack.
“I hear you, I hear you,” he teased while pulling out a bento box. If he didn’t get food in her soon she’d surely descend into a case of the grumpies. And while Zac knew her version would be aimed at herself rather than him, he wanted her great mood to remain for the rest of the climb.
Tabitha’s eyes glinted as Zac pulled open the lunch box that he’d packed full of all of her favorites that morning. At least he hoped they were still her favorites. He’d eat anything, but he knew his tabby cat was a bit more selective.
Shit. He had to quit thinking of her that way. She. Wasn’t. His.
She accepted the container, stuffed full of almonds, sharp cheddar, dried apricots, olives, and dark chocolate chips with a smile on her lips.
She hesitated, but quickly dug in as he nodded.
The olives first, so typical. With her first bite, her eyes rolled back and Zac suppressed a groan as the tip of her pink tongue flicked at the corner of her mouth.
He wanted nothing more than to fling the box aside and be the one to lick the salty goodness from her lips himself.
But of course, he wouldn’t.
Too much hung in the balance.
Over the next half hour, they rehydrated and polished off the contents of the snack container and the rolled up tortillas smeared with peanut butter that Zac had brought to bulk up their lunch.
“I’ve got to stop or there will be no going up for me for a while,” Tabitha chuckled as she popped the final dried apricot into her mouth. “I hope we didn’t eat everything.”
“Nope.” Zac held up a bag of trail mix, pepperoni sticks, and a couple of apples before tossing them back in his bag.
Tabitha smiled then directed her attention to the view from where they sat on a couple of boulders.
He followed her gaze. They had the best seats in the house.
From the ledge they could see the Wenatchee River snaking its way between the trees, winding as though it were playfully chasing after Hwy 2 in an effort to keep up.
The sun sparkled off the rapids, which could be heard from where they were.
Not as crushingly as if they were at the edge, but more of a steady shushing sound to act as a backdrop to the rest of the area.
Birds, rustling trees, buzzing bugs, the random passing car, all played in tune to the steady thrum of his heart.
“It’s stunning up here,” Tabitha said, taking the words right out of his mouth.
He dared a peek and was rewarded with a glimpse of something even more beautiful than the view outward.
With her face turned up to the sun, she soaked in the radiant warmth.
A pleasant smile graced her full lips as a few whisps of auburn hair flicked around her face.
How he craved to sweep those escaped strands behind her ear, if only to touch her for a moment.
Honestly, he’d rather liberate the entire mass from her tidy braid and let it flow free about her sun-kissed shoulders.
But of course, he wouldn’t. She seemed lighter as though freed from the worries and concerns that pressed down on her shoulders, and Zac was certain he was catching a glimpse of the Tabitha from when they’d first met. “So beautiful.”
“You’re not even looking.” She gestured out above the treetops and mountains that surrounded them.
“But I can see just fine.” His voice had taken on a raspier than normal texture, like his heart had risen into his throat.
“Zac,” Tabitha said, pleading, though not in a way that begged him to continue. The single syllable was a reminder of the situation. Of the connection that would never be allowed to flourish. That there was a definitive end to being in her presence.
It sucked but he got it, and instead of saying anything, he simply nodded and rose to prepare their gear for the rest of the climb.
“I promised I wasn’t going to spew any beta at you—” Zac began.
“Then why does it sound like you’re about to do just that?” Tabitha asked with her hands on her hips waiting to climb. Her helmet was clipped firmly in place and her figure eight knot perfectly formed.
He leveled a serious scowl on her before continuing. “But I do want to remind you of the choss about three-quarters of the way up.”
“As if I would see a rock with a red X sprayed on it and think ‘that looks like a solid hold.’”
“We remind everyone when we do this route. Regardless of their badass rating.”
“Consider me reminded.” She smiled wryly. “Anything else, my guide?”
“No. Cheeky,” he muttered playfully.
“Then let’s do this.” Tabitha appeared to vibrate in excitement, the refueling having the desired effect. The next route was the trickiest and one where she’d be able to use those years of cultivated skills and truly shine.
After exchanging the proper call and response she began her ascent.
Steady, methodically, she placed fingers and feet in perfect positioning as though she’d climbed the route a dozen times.
She moved as though she were dancing up the wall.
So much grace in a single woman and Zac was floored—as he always was while observing her in her element.
Her dirt-smudged calves flexed as she balanced on the toes of one foot and reached the heel of her other for a perfectly executed heel hook.
Those little black climbing shorts clung to her thighs and ass, allowing a perfect view of her flexing hamstrings and glutes.
Her lean muscles flexed and pressed against the smooth skin of her shoulders and arms. Chalked fingers found solid purchase on a blip of a flake.
Zac recalled skipping that hold altogether because it was so small and he was tall enough to reach the next, more substantial, hold.
Not her, though. She might be tall enough to skip it with those mile-long legs, but she always wanted to climb the route as the setter had envisioned it.
As she breezed past the first crux of the pitch, Zac fed her more slack so she could loop the rope through the bottom clip of the quickdraw.
She moved past the midway point and approached the spot with the loose boulder.
Fortunately, since Tabitha was such a preparer, she knew exactly where it was and executed the maneuver perfectly to avoid it.
Zac watched as she elected to use the hold a few inches away from the boulder, another little one, but nothing she couldn’t manage.
Zac took up a bit of slack and prepared himself anyway, remaining ever watchful.
Which meant he saw exactly when that little hold broke away from the rock face under Tabitha’s weight.
“Rock!” Tabitha yelled as she peeled off the wall and fell about six feet.
Zac hopped as she fell, providing her with a soft fall rather than a jarring jerk she would have felt if he had remained stationary.
At the same time, he tucked his chin slightly, just in time as the bit of granite popped him on the head.
It bounced off the protective shell of his helmet and landed innocuously on the dirt at his feet.
“You ok?” he called up to his climber.
“Yeah, fine.” Her voice had a startled wobble but nothing that betrayed more than the usual shock of taking a fall while climbing. “You?”
“I’m good. Hooray for helmets,” he shouted back.
Tabitha chuckled. “Sorry about my good aim.”
“Your attempted assassination has been thwarted.”
“What was that?” she hollered down.
“I said, your attempted—oh fuck it. Never mind.” The jokes could wait, especially since some of the nuance would get lost in all the yelling. “You good to keep going?”
“Yeah. Gimme a second. Gotta find another way.”
Made sense. She’d just—accidentally—removed the next hold, so she’d have to figure out the next move to get past it. “Take your time.”
After a brief wait, she began chalking her hands again for another attempt.
“Climbing,” she announced.
“Climb on.”
As Tabitha regained the vertical progress she’d lost in her fall, she neared the spot where she’d come off the wall. With that hold gone, she shifted her weight in the opposite direction, opting to use the break as a toe hold.
Clever woman.
Once again, she looked so stable, so solid in her movements that Zac was shocked when her foot slipped and slammed into the large rock with the red X painted on its face.