Chapter 16
Avery Hunter’s Reporter Notebook: Check for a safety stop when falling for your husband.
Warren was twitchy as we followed the group into the woods for our next activity.
I tried to catch his attention, but his jaw clenched as he avoided meeting my gaze.
Maybe he was mad at me for the robot thing after all.
I glanced down at the forest floor, watching for tree roots and trying to regain my composure.
We came to the edge of a clearing, the gentle rustle of leaves whispering through the trees.
Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy above, casting dappled patterns on the ground, where a carpet of vibrant green moss mingled with fallen leaves.
Last night’s rainstorm left a freshness in the air with a hint of damp wood and early wildflowers.
“This is our ropes course,” Gerald announced as we circled him. “We will take turns with our couples going through the obstacles. One will maneuver the course high above while the other belays from the ground.”
“We also have our helper Dominic nearby to be a backup,” Zelda added, pointing to a tall, dark-haired man standing next to a stack of helmets and harnesses.
Dominic was beautiful in an Eat, Pray, Love vacation fling sort of way.
Dark skin. Dark hair. Blue eyes. And a mouth built for sin.
He was about ten years younger than me and an inch shorter than Warren.
If this had been last week, I might have been tempted to flirt with Dominic, but for some strange reason that I secretly knew but didn’t want to face, Dominic wasn’t doing it for me.
“Who would like to go first?” Gerald asked.
I chuckled as I watched everyone study the fallen leaves on the ground. I grinned at Gerald. “We’ll go first!”
“Avery!” Warren hissed.
“Relax,” I said under my breath as we walked toward the camp host. “I’ll go up. You stay down here. You’ll be fine.”
Dominic squinted his eyes, sizing me up for a harness. “You will attempt first, yes?”
“Yes,” I answered.
“Avery?” Warren grabbed my elbow and dragged me a few feet away from Dominic. “We do not even know this man. You are about to put your safety into his hands.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Your hands too, Not-Chubby-Hubby.” I pinched his taut waist for good measure and stepped back toward Dominic.
The man held open a harness for me to step into, pulled it up my legs, and adjusted the straps until it fit snugly around my bottom half.
I threaded my arms through the top part of the harness and allowed Dominic to snap closed all the fasteners.
He tugged on everything and handed me a carabiner attached to a rope, nodding to the rope ladder to the side. I clipped the helmet onto my head.
“This is how to get to the course,” Dominic said. “Shall I assist you?”
“No,” Warren growled. “I shall assist her. After I double-check her harness.” My husband barely left room for the Holy Ghost between us as he stepped closer to tug on all the clasps and parts of the harness.
Then, he yanked on the rope and carabiner three times before reluctantly stepping back. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I jumped out of a plane on Sunday,” I reminded him. “This is a piece of cake!”
“You skydive?” Dominic’s blue eyes lit up.
“Yep. Just went two days ago.”
“Then this will be easy peasy for you.” Dominic turned to Warren.
“For your part, you will belay for her. That means you feed out or take in the slack as she progresses through the course. This rope,” Dominic said as he handed the belay end to Warren.
“Is for you to hold onto. I’ll give you some gloves.
That way, it won’t rip the skin off your hands if she falls, and you have to activate the brake. ”
Warren’s jaw dropped. “Why would she fall?”
I placed my hand on his arm and forced him to look at me. “Warren. It’s fine. I’ve done these before. The only reason I’d fall is if I take a wrong step or am not paying attention to what I’m doing.”
“I do not like this,” Warren murmured.
I stretched up and kissed him on the cheek. “I love that you’re worried. Fear not, husband. I shall make this ropes course my bitch before you can even count to a hundred.”
Warren glared up at the course.
“Fine. Maybe count to five hundred.” I didn’t give him a chance to raise any more objections. I turned back to the ladder, double-checked my rig, and grabbed the guide rope. Once Warren tugged on the gloves and had a good grip on the belay and brake, I began to climb.
At the top, everything was so peaceful. The birds were chirping, the scent of the forest was heady, and a slight breeze brought fresh air to my heated skin.
I paused at the beginning of the wood and rope suspension bridge to take it all in.
It was lovely up there, but I almost wished Warren had climbed up with me so I could share it with him.
Speaking of my newly minted husband, I leaned over to see where he stood. His face was pale, but his green eyes were locked onto my position. His muscles were tense as he held onto the belay rope. I smiled at him. “Hey, Warren! Are you ready?”
He nodded but said nothing.
I tested the wood plank in front of me and briefly wondered if the Ringles checked out the equipment this morning before we came out here. That storm last night had been a doozy and may have loosened knots or chains. That would be a liability nightmare.
A laugh bubbled out of me. I was starting to sound like Warren.
I stepped onto the first plank. It held.
The bridge swayed slightly under my weight, but that was to be expected.
I loosely ran my hands on top of the guide ropes as I stepped from plank to plank.
I quickly reached the other side, stood on the safety platform, and glanced down at Warren.
“Good job, Avery,” he squeaked. He didn’t look as pale as when I climbed up here, so I chalked that up to a win.
I gave him a thumbs-up and pointed to the next obstacle.
This square rope net would require me to crawl on my hands and knees across.
I peeked through the open squares of the net and discovered a safety net underneath, ready to catch me if I fell.
That is, if Warren didn’t catch me first. My face heated as I thought about falling into his arms and checking out how happy he was to see me after he first yelled at me about my safety. He would definitely do that.
I tugged on the rope net to see how much give there was.
It seemed okay, so I grabbed two rungs, placed my knees on two more, and slowly maneuvered across the grid.
I didn’t look down, not because I was afraid of heights, but because Warren was.
I knew this had to be difficult for him, but he was there, ready to catch me.
It was a nice feeling.
I was so caught up in how I felt about Warren being there for me that I didn’t notice that one edge of the rope net wasn’t completely attached to the frame on the other side.
The net began to have more give until I closed in on the end.
My eyes widened as I watched the rope slip out of the frame and quietly disappear from under me.
The world stopped for a split second as I fell.