MICHAEL DEAN GAZED UP OVER the gentle curve of Stone Mountain and tried to puzzle out how he was supposed to climb the smooth rock face. The mountain looked nothing like the vertical pitches he’d climbed at the gym. His guide called the route Rainy Day Women, and she’d tried to warn him away. But the 5.10 didn’t scare him. He’d had no trouble muscling his way up higher rated pitches at the gym. He’d been training, and he never backed down from a challenge. It was his thing.
He had the upper body strength to hang from the rock until he found a toehold, but there just didn’t appear to be any hand or toeholds on the rock in front of him. The mountain had a deceptively shallow slope, which should be easy, until he scanned the face and realized there wasnothingto hold onto. Aside from a few gentle divots that looked like the indents of giant raindrops, the sheet of granite was smooth.
Making sure to keep his grip on the rope running through the carabiner clipped to his harness, Michael focused on the guide and tried to concentrate on where she put her hands and not on the way her butt looked as she worked her way up the rock face. He should have gotten a guy to guide him. It would have been much less distracting than the brown-haired beauty who’d asked him more than once if he was sure he wanted to attempt the climb. He was a grown man. He needed to do better. His sisters would beat the crap out of him for even thinking about switching guides because she was a woman. He wasn’t all that happy with himself.
Amanda Southerland was one of the highest rated guides in the area, and in a few minutes, she was going to reach the top of the pitch and expect him to follow her. He had no idea how he was going to do that. He couldn’t see what she was using as holds. Keeping her body off the face of the rock, she curled her fingertips around an imaginary grip and smeared her foot against the rock. She’d told him about that before she started up the pitch, but he hadn’t understood what she meant until he saw her do it. Stretching her leg in a move that reminded him of a dancer, she pressed her toes against the granite.
He’d never be able to do that. In a million years, he’d never be flexible enough to stretch his leg like that. He might be a whole lot stronger than her, but it wouldn’t give him any advantage at all. An image of him sliding down the surface of the mountain like a bad cartoon character jumped to the front of his mind, and he fought the shudder. There was no way he was getting out of this situation with his pride intact.
Amanda dipped her fingers into the bag of chalk clipped to her belt and grabbed an invisible hold. Extending her leg over the surface of the rock, she reached with her toe for something he couldn’t see. It was beautiful, graceful, and completely beyond his skill set. He was having serious regrets at ever insisting she take him up this climb when she swung her body up the rock, reaching for the edge of one of the shallow divots. Her fingertips skimmed the surface, fighting for purchase as the pebble-sized knot she’d been standing on broke free.
“Falling!” she shouted.
He had just enough time to tighten his grip on the rope linking them together before watching helplessly as she slid down the rock face. Even the way she fell was graceful. He hadn’t understood why she’d made him tape his palms until he watched her skim the surface of the rock, using the taped heels of her hands and the toes of her climbing shoes to keep from getting brush burned as she fell. She looked like one of those water bugs that somehow managed to stay afloat on the surface of the water.
It was more like magic than gravity, and he was so mesmerized, it caught him momentarily off guard when the rope caught and gave a gentle tug. Instead of the hard jerk he expected, it felt like holding a rubber band with a slight bounce as the slack played out of the system, and she came to rest against the granite. For a moment, he thought she managed to escape without even bruising her pride.
There was no way in hell he could do what she did. He ran through every excuse he could come up with to get out of making his own attempt, but there wasn’t anything that didn’t make him sound like a quitter. And he needed to beef up his climbing skills. He’d just gotten a contract to coach a new corporate client and rock climbing was part of the course.
“Thanks,” she said, flashing him a smile. A shakier one than the one that had already managed to work its way into his thoughts.
Repositioning her hands on the rock, she pressed her foot against the granite and froze. She gasped, and the line went tight.
“I’m sorry,” she said, peering over her shoulder at him. “It’s my ankle. I need to rappel down.”
If she cried or even looked like she was in pain, he’d feel like a complete ass. As it was, all he could do was hold the rope as she pulled her protection and descended. He schooled his face so he wouldn’t show grateful he was that he wouldn’t have to make the climb himself. In a few moments, she touched down, landing gently on the ledge beside him. She favored her left leg, and he hurried to offer her a hand, which she refused.
“I’ve got it,” she said, step-hopping over to the pack she’d left off to the side at the bottom of the climb.
Feeling less than useless, he watched as she lowered herself to the ground and untied her laces. She winced as she slid her foot out of the shoe, and he took a step closer, not sure what he intended to do but unable to just stand by and watch when she was in pain. Digging around in the pack, she pulled out an ACE bandage and started to wrap her ankle. He finally managed to unstick himself and dropped to his knees in front of her.
“Here—let me help.” Not waiting for her answer, he gently lifted her injured ankle and rested her heel on his thigh so he could wrap it.
“Tighter, please,” she said.
She sucked in her breath as he pulled the bandage tight, but she didn’t make a noise. He concentrated on getting her ankle supported, making sure the bandage was tight enough to help keep the swelling down until he could get her off the mountain. He glanced around the four-foot deep ledge, wondering how he was going to do that. She was small. He could easily take her piggyback if there was some way to hike down. He didn’t have any illusions about trying to climb with her. If she’d shown him anything, it was his limits as a climber. He had the strength but he lacked the finesse. Hauling himself up the bolted-in handholds at the climbing gym hadn’t prepared him for Stone Mountain. Or the woman sitting in front of him.
He turned back to face her and found her carefully working her injured foot into her hiking boot. He reached for the laces to help but she held her hand up to stop him.
“I got it,” she said, shifting out of his reach.
With the same grace she’d used on the rock face, she stood without putting weight on her injured foot. If he tried that, he’d be hopping around like a fool and probably end up on the ground again. She simply took two hops to the base of the climb and started pulling the rope down to them, winding it over her arm as she went. Slipping the rope from the clip in his harness, he scrambled up to help but by the time he reached her, she had the rope at a neat coil by her feet.
“I’m sorry. I can’t climb anymore today. I’ll make sure you get your money back for the day when we get to the shop.”
He had a moment’s regret. He liked watching Amanda climb. Beyond the obvious reasons, the ones his sisters would smack him for, he recognized she could teach him things he didn’t know. Then he heard her instructions and gave his head a quick shake to clear it, sure she’d misspoken or he’d misheard.
“Wait, repeat that?”
“I’ll help you rappel down and follow after,” she said, looking at him like she worried he might not understand the words.
“No,” he said, the crease in his brow threatening to set up permanent residence.What was with the woman and not wanting to accept help?
“What do you mean, no? I’ve done it dozens of times. That’s how this works.”
“You’re hurt. I’m not going to leave you up here alone.”
“Oh please.” She’d started to look exasperated.
