Page 49 of Your Soul to Keep

I turned to Gabe, searching for the words to express what I was feeling.

Tipping my chin up to look him in the face, I stopped short. I pointed at his helmet, my voice shaking with laughter. “What is that?”

Focused on harnesses and safety, I’d barely looked at Gabe. Now that I had, I didn’t know how I could have missed it.

“What?” he challenged with a grin.

I pointed at the sport camera strapped onto his helmet, barely able to get out the words. “You big nerd!”

He guffawed and pulled me into a tight hug, swaying us back and forth. “I’m so fucking happy to be here with you.”

At his words, I relaxed into his hold, my smile stretching my cheeks.

His chest vibrated with a deep chuckle. “And you look like a bobble-head.”

“Rude!”

He grinned and took my hand. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” I groused, though I thrilled at the adventure.

Before every challenge, Gabe checked my harness and attachment, ensuring I knew I was safe before sending me out over suspension bridges and floating stairs.

At some points, he went first then came back, told me how it was before following along behind me.

When I was comfortable, I went out first and he took my back.

We weren’t the only ones up there, but I was pretty sure I was the loudest. Those floating steps swinging in the wind were no joke.

For the first few challenges, I held onto the cables so tightly, the muscles in my hands began to cramp.

The freaking platforms between the challenges were smaller than I expected, each one marking a shining achievement. After swinging over the safety nets on a moving staircase, all I wanted was to make it to that platform. But standing still, with nothing to focus on made it worse.

It wasn’t until we got to the tightrope that my knees began to knock together.

Gabe took my hand in his and gave it a little tug. “I’ll take you across.”

Eyes wide, I assessed his face for any hint he was joking. “Promise?”

“Always.”

I peered over the platform at the nets below which were also far too high off the ground.

He dipped his knees to catch my eye. “Don’t look down, Shae-baby.” When he stood to his full height, my eyes remained on his. “Eyes on the prize. If that’s too scary, keep your eyes on me. I’ll be your way forward.”

He edged onto the tightrope.

Backwards.

“You’ve done this before,” I grumbled.

“I could do it in my sleep,” he admitted. “I’ve got you, Shae-baby.”

He held my hand the entire way across.

When we got to the platform, I closed my eyes and dropped my head back in relief. When I opened my eyes, my mouth fell open in wonder. So close to Heaven, I could have touched the sky.

And I relearned an important lesson: what goes up, must come down.

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