Tilly was waiting in her Jeep in the private parking lot behind the stadium. Country music blared from the speakers. He paused to take in the sight of her. If she wasn’t so active, she would be a stick figure, but for her, life was a workout, and she had the muscle definition to prove it. Not that she could beat him in a dead lift competition or anything; she was just curvy in a sexy sort of way. Her dreads normally fell halfway down her back, but she had them pulled up into a messy bun. It was safer for climbing, but he loved the slope of her neck and the access to that sensitive spot behind her ear. His lips warmed at the thought of kissing her there. Her olive skin was dark—a product of her love for the desert. The sun was her friend, and Tilly couldn’t seem to go a day without having a conversation with her bestie.
He got his feet to move and headed for the Jeep.
As beautiful as her body was, it was her green eyes that he fell for over and over again. They say that the eyes are the window to the soul. He hadn’t known what that meant until he’d met Tilly. Her soul shone right on through those minty green eyes, and it took his breath away.
Tilly waved to her friend Clover as she pulled in to wait for Dustin. Clover wouldn’t be waiting long. He couldn’t stand to be away from her.
Brayden knew exactly how he felt. The last few weeks of kissing Tilly good night and walking away from her doorstep were the hardest two weeks of his life. Even though she only lived a few doors down from him, the distance was too much. He wanted to hold her all night long, to wake up to her beautiful face, and to know that at the end of a road trip, she’d be the place he called home. His heart was so full of this woman that it took extra effort to breathe at the sight of her smile.
“Hey, babe.” He tossed his gear bag in the back and leaned across the passenger seat to kiss her hello. He took his time, cupping the back of her head and moving slowly, savoring each touch, each soft caress. When he pulled back, her eyes had glazed over.
She pressed her lips together and hummed. “Hello to you too, babe.” Her voice was husky and intimate. If he didn’t have a plan for the evening, he’d suggest they find a nice overlook and make out for a few hours. “You ready to climb a mountain?” she asked.
He chuckled as he climbed into the seat and buckled up. “Life’s always an adventure with you.”
“What other kind of life is there?” She lifted a toned shoulder and put the Jeep in gear.
“I love you.” He couldn’t keep from smiling.
She smiled, wrinkling her slightly freckled nose. “Love you too.”
Yes, she did. She loved him with all of her—he could feel it just as clearly as he could feel the dry August heat beat on his shoulders in the open vehicle.
They rolled out of the parking lot, waving at players and family members as they crawled through the post-game traffic.
The game had started at 12:30 in the afternoon. They were through the worst of the heat and down to hot tub temperatures instead of baking oven temps. The built-in dugout misters and gallons of ice water had helped as he’d stood on a pile of red dirt in the middle of the field throwing 98-mile-an-hour fastballs. He hadn’t complained when Juan dumped a cup of ice down his shirt after he’d come out of the sixth. By the time he’d stripped off his uniform, he didn’t know what was sweat and what was melted ice. He felt bad for the guy who had to do their laundry on days like today.
He rested his arm on the open window, letting the warm evening air brush his skin. “This is nice, ya know?”
“What is?” Tilly turned onto I-15 and accelerated. They had to shout to be heard.
“The team’s really coming together. We’re starting to feel like a family. I haven’t had that on other teams.”
“You were in the minors. If you’d gotten comfortable there, you wouldn’t have been called up.”
He nodded in agreement and settled in for the rest of the drive. It didn’t take long for them to get to the Snow Canyon exit and through the rangers’ station. Tilly flashed her season pass, and a woman in olive-green shorts with a Smokey the Bear hat waved them through.
Tilly leaned back in her seat, her body visibly relaxing. She was like that, more at home in the hills than she was in the valley. This place called to her—sang her theme song, as she’d often told him. Was there anything more attractive on a woman than knowing where her peace was found?
A half a mile up, she pulled off the side of the road and hopped out. Brayden did the same, stealing another kiss at the back bumper.
“You’re feeling frisky today.” She giggled as he moved to kiss her neck. “I like it when you guys win.”
“I like winning too.” His grin was so wide he had to stop kissing her. The secret tucked into his pocket screamed to be let out. His body argued to go to one knee right here on the side of the road. He fought against all of that, intent on sticking to the plan. They’d climb this cliff—together—and then he’d ask her to be his wife as they were baptized in the reds and golds of a southern Utah sunset.
They spent the next few minutes getting into their harnesses, checking the gear, and hauling the ropes to the base of the cliff. This was a regularly traversed rock. There were anchors sunk into the rock face for safety. Tilly did free climbs and all sorts of dangerous stuff Brayden didn’t have the skills to try.
“So I’ll hook both clips as I climb.” She always climbed first. She had more experience and had done this climb several times before. And he didn’t mind the view. Yeah, his girlfriend had a tight rear. “You just have to hook on as you go.”
He put his hand over hers, his heart racing. This was it. This was the climb that would take them to new heights—a new place as a couple. Up top, they’d be the only two people in the world. “I can’t wait to see the view.”
She grinned. “You’re gonna love it. Just remember to check your carabiner before you start to climb. Red is dead, right?”
“Right.” The carabiner had to be twisted shut like a screw to keep it from slipping as you climbed. The threads were painted red, and the phrasered is deadmeant that if you could see the color red, you weren’t secure.
She placed the rope bag on the ground. It had been coiled so that it would come out without entanglements. A knot could be trouble. He watched her movements, mesmerized by her confidence. “Okay, I’m free climbing. You’ll have to release each anchor, slide your rope through, and reattach as you go. Got it?”
He kissed her, wanting one more taste of her lips before they were separated by the climb. “Yes.” His spirit soared. They were making it all the way to the top tonight.
