Page 83 of Fall to Me
“Oh, that’s nothing compared to some of the other stuff we do. Wait until this summer. We all go base jumping as a family.”
“Like into water?”
She shakes her head giggling. “No. We have the whole outfit and everything. You actually soar through the air like a bird . . .”
“More like a kite,” Aspen corrects.
“It’s the coolest thing,” River adds.
I stare at them for a few seconds, my stomach becoming queasy at the thought of River freefalling from a tall structure.
I must turn a shade of green, because Aspen bursts out laughing. “We're fucking with you, Carter.”
“I may be an adrenaline junkie, but I’m actually afraid of heights,” River giggles. “Anyway, I’ve raced every year for over fifteen years, except for last year; I know what I’m doing. And before you even say anything, it’s not about the money; it’s about the bragging rights.”
My cell rings as the boys mount their bikes. I take the device out of my pocket as I walk over to Cal. The name scrolling across the screen stops me in my tracks. I look back to River. She’s joking around with Hannah and Aspen, but she looks at me, so I silence the call and hand the device over to Cal. I’ll return the call in a few.
I turn to her, tilting her chin up with my fingertips. “I don’t know if I can handle you getting back on that bike.”
“Carter—”
Pressing my fingers to her lips, I silence her. “I want to make a deal with you.”
“A bet?”
“No. A deal.”
She looks around at her family as they watch us with curiosity.
“I’m listening,” she says, eyeing me skeptically.
“If I win this race, you let me declare you the automatic winner and we don’t race each other. If I lose, you can race in the final for those bragging rights.”
I can tell by the look on her face, she doesn’t want to agree, so I sweeten the pot. “If you agree to this deal, we’ll pay for all four of your cousins’ college tuitions. No matter the cost.”
“That’s a lot of money.”
“We have a lot of money.” I shrug a shoulder.
I don’t miss the confused expression River gives me at the word “we”. She turns to look at her cousins. They all watch tosee what she’ll say, their eyes practically begging her to agree to my terms. I know her uncles do well, but sending all four of their kids to college practically all at once will probably be a hardship for them.
Am I playing dirty? Yes.
Do I care? No.
I’m doing everything in my power to keep my wife safe, yet here she is putting herself in danger. River hesitates before holding out her hand.
“Deal.”
Thank fucking God.
We shake, and I place a kiss on her lips, then strut over to the bike tucked between Hayden and Hayes. Tucker sits on a bike at the end with a big smile on his face.
“You’re going down, Uncle Carter,” Tucker cackles.
“We’ll see, buddy,” I say to him, then turn to Hayden. “Tell me about the track.”
He runs me through where to go, and I start the engine, ready to race without a helmet because I don’t have one and River’s won’t fit me.
