Page 50 of Broken on the Mountain
I grin and pick up the pace.
The clearing opens up around us, mist from the falls cooling the air and clinging to our skin the closer we get. The water spillsdown over the rocks, crashing into the crystalline pool below with a sound that drowns out everything except the pounding of my heart.
The ridge we're standing on is a good fifteen feet above the pool—high enough to make my pulse kick, low enough that I've jumped it a hundred times without hesitation.
I drop the pack, strip off my shirt in one smooth motion, and grin over my shoulder at Piper.
"Field test, round two. She can wave like a local, but can she jump like one?"
Her eyes go wide, flicking from me to the water and back again. "Nope. That's a negative. I am not hiking back soggy, Ranger."
"I'll carry you." I move to the edge, toes curling over the smooth stone.
She crosses her arms, trying to look stern and failing spectacularly. "You are such a menace."
I don't answer. Just strip down to my boxer briefs, take a deep breath, and without another thought… I dive right in.
The water hits like a cold slap ofholy shit what was I thinking, but I surface laughing, slicking my hair back and treading water in the deep end.
"Come on, Chicago!" I scream from below.
"I told you to stop calling me that!" Piper screams back at me, her voice echoing down the wall of rock and water beside me.
But to my surprise, she's already yanking off her beanie and unlacing her boots, muttering under her breath about reckless mountain men and poor life choices.
Then, with barely another thought, she jumps.
"FUCK YEAH!" I shout, splashing water with my fist.
She lands with a splash, then surfaces shriekingandlaughing all at the same time. I swear that sound could fix every bad hour of my life.
I paddle over and she's gasping, hair plastered to her face, eyes bright with adrenaline and joy.
"That wasinsane!" she shouts, grinning so wide it splits her face.
I swim closer, giving her space but staying near enough to catch her if she needs it. "You wanna do it again?!"
"I really do!" She treads water, spinning in a slow circle,stillsmiling. "God, this is freezing. Why is this so freezing?!"
"It's pure snowmelt, baby. Jamie Striker says it builds character swimming here."
"I have plenty of character, thank you very much."
I laugh, and we float for a few more minutes, the falls thundering behind us, the sky impossibly blue overhead. Then I see her start to shiver, and I haul us both toward the rocks.
"Come here."
I pull her out first, then follow, grabbing the spare flannel from the pack and wrapping it around her shoulders. She's shaking, teeth chattering, and I rub warmth into her arms, her thighs, her calves, murmuring nonsense that sounds suspiciously like worship.
"Thank you, Chase," she says, teeth still chattering.
I look into her eyes. "What for?"
"This."
She says it so simply, so vaguely… but… I understand.
I tuck her against my chest, and we sit there, dripping and glowing and alive. She sighs, head on my shoulder, listening to the water and my heartbeat.
