Page 17 of Sheltered

FIVE

Blaze

“Are you kidding me?”

The disbelief and excitement with which those four words were communicated made it impossible not to smile.

Of all the things I’d done in my life that I’d found thrilling—and there had been a lot—nothing I’d done had ever felt like this.

I couldn’t begin to quantify the feeling it gave me to know I was going to have a day with Harlow where I’d give her an experience she hadn’t ever had before.

From the moment I realized just how much of her life had been focused on work and that she wanted to start seeking some adventure, I knew I wanted to be the one to give it to her.

When we discussed everything at dinner last night, the only request Harlow had made for our day together today was that we do something outdoors. The spring weather had arrived, and she was keen on getting out to enjoy the warmth and sunshine.

So, after discussing it at length and learning just how much she hadn’t had the opportunity to experience, I thought it was worth doing something particularly bold for our first adventure. I wanted this to be something she’d never forget.

Judging by the list of things she hadn’t ever done in her life and claimed she wanted to do, I decided to take her ziplining.

When I picked Harlow up this morning, I hadn’t shared where I planned to take her. Now that I’d just pulled into the lot and she realized what we were going to be doing today, it seemed she could no longer contain her excitement.

I drove to the far end of the parking lot, pulled into a spot, and twisted my neck to look at her. “I am not kidding you.”

Harlow was grinning from ear to ear, practically bouncing out of her seat. “This looks like it’s going to be so much fun. I can’t wait.”

“I think we’re going to have a blast.”

“Have you done this before?” she asked.

My lips twitched. “There isn’t much on your list I haven’t done before.”

Nodding, she replied, “Yeah, I guess that’s pretty easy to do.”

Jerking my head in the opposite direction, I asked, “Are you ready?”

I wasn’t quite sure how it was possible, but Harlow’s grin grew. “I’m so ready.”

“I’ll come around to get your door.”

Barely a minute later, I was holding Harlow’s hand in mine as we walked across the parking lot toward the registration building. I loved the feel of her soft skin against mine, even if she was practically skipping beside me.

Harlow and I finally made it to the building, where I paid for our time, and we got our harness systems. We were then moved through to the next stage of the process, which consisted of getting a quick lesson on how to use the harnesses on the tree and rope courses, as well as a brief rundown of the rules. There was heavy emphasis on the dos and don’ts, since folks would essentially be climbing trees and could get seriously injured if they didn’t follow the specific instructions.

While I did pay attention to what was being said, I’d already done this before. So, I found myself keeping my focus on Harlow, and the look on her face was priceless. She was so happy to be here, doing something fun.

I was so caught up in her that before I knew it, the instruction session had ended, and we were free to start our ziplining adventure. Though the emphasis and most of the appeal were on ziplining, that wasn’t all we would get to do. Harlow and I would be able to sample a number of different courses with varying levels of difficulty. The courses consisted of a variety of rope, cable, and wood configurations between tree platforms that would challenge us with swinging log steps, rope ladders, aerial tightropes, and more. The highest point on the most advanced course was more than forty feet off the ground, so I thought Harlow would find it exhilarating.

Since this was Harlow’s first time, we started with the easiest adult course to make sure she’d be able to get the hang of it.

We stood at the bottom of the first tree, which had several wooden steps affixed to it, along with the cabling system beside it, to hook ourselves onto. I pinned my eyes on Harlow and said, “Ladies first.”

She pulled the corner of her bottom lip in and bit down with her teeth as she smiled. “I’m nervous,” she confessed.

I reached out for her hand, gripped her fingertips softly, and squeezed. “Don’t be. This is going to be fun. I promise.”

Nodding, she said, “Okay.”

“Do you remember what you need to do?”

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