Page 81 of Entwined Hearts

“I tried to talk her out of it.”

He pulls the binoculars down. “How hard?”

I hide behind the binoculars while his words echo through me.

“She’s the best thing that’s ever going to happen to you, and you’re letting her walk away.”

“I’m not letting her walk away,” I protest, my anger breaking loose.

But Kabir isn’t having it. “It’s impressive how well you hide shit from yourself.”

I’m about ready to throttle him, but he surprises me by placing a hand on my shoulder and fixing me with a look so fierce my toes curl. “It’s okay to be afraid, brother.”

I resist the urge to shake off his grip. He may not know everything about me, but he’s my best friend. I can’t unleash my anger on him.

“You sure you want to watch this?” he asks, his voice gentle.

I nod. Even though it’s driving me crazy to sit here, helpless, I have to be here for her.

“Okay,” he says on an exhale. He gives my shoulder a friendly shake, then releases me. After he sets his chair next to mine, he pulls two beers from his cooler. We crack the tops, then touch rims in a toast.

“To the women who make us crazy,” he says.

I try to smile, but my dry lips feel as if they’ve been frozen in a scowl all day. The cold beer soothes my throat. Before I know it, I’ve downed half.

“You and Jo climb today?” I ask.

Kabir describes the route he and Jo took on this morning I while watch Anya, then Jake, climb. More bits of rock come down, and my nerves tighten. When the hell are they going to get out from under that disaster waiting to happen? The temperature in the meadow soars, and I strip down to my t-shirt. Anya seems to be moving slower than usual. Is it because of her ankle? Or is she having some other kind of trouble? I refuse to believe she’s distracted by whatever new bit of trash talk Jake has put in her mind.

I should have confronted him. Told him to get over the past and let things go. We don’t have to be friends, but he could have the common decency to let Anya go. Hell, he already dumped her. Now he’s poisoning her with lies.

I have to fight my instincts to pace. Anya and Jake get closer to the corner where they’ll traverse away from the danger.C’mon, I urge silently. Jake takes a short fall. My heart skips a beat, but he’s quick to start climbing again. More rock comes down. This time, something hits Jake—I see his head jolt from the impact. If he hadn’t been wearing a helmet…

“They’re almost past it,” Kabir says as if reading my mind. Jo comes to say hello, but I barely register her presence before she returns to the other side of the meadow.

Finally, Jake leads the traverse pitch, moving steadily left with a series of invisible holds on the rock. He finishes the pitch, his actions swift and confident, then it’s Anya’s turn. When she finally steps out of the range of the rockfall path, I release a shuddering sigh of relief.

They’re safe.

I set the binoculars down, realizing I’m shaking. “I gotta move,” I say, placing my binoculars in my chair.

“You want company?” Kabir asks, his gaze warm.

I shake my head. “I’ll be back.”

My bare feet shuffle through the soft grass as I head for the river’s edge. There’s a path running alongside it, and I follow it downstream. The water’s gentle, cascading rush fills my ears, and its mineral-scented mist soothes my hot skin.

That was close. Too close. Any of those rocks coming down could have hurt them. Onedidhurt Anya. Why didn’t they bail? She’s hurt. What is driving her on like this?

To think that something worse could have happened to her up there makes me crazy. My shoulders tighten. Conflicting feelings clash inside me. I’ve never wanted to be with someone like this before, and I realize I’m terrified. But what’s even more terrifying is the way I’ve kept my feelings inside. How I’ve focused on everything but what matters.

Fuck. I’m an idiot.

I stride the dirt path, my toes sinking into the occasional muddy patch, but I barely feel the coolness gushing between my toes. Without my binoculars, I can only guess Anya and Jake’s location as I survey the wall. Suddenly, a loud gunshot-like explosion rips loose. I freeze, searching for the source of the sound. Then, I see a moving cloud of rock and dust sliding down the rock face.

Sprinting back to my chair, I pick up the binoculars. My pulse slams into my temples as I search the wall for Anya.

“What happened?” I ask Kabir. “Where are they?”

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