She kissed him back, turned towards the cliff, and paused. “Are you sure about this?” she asked over her shoulder. Her pink climbing helmet slipped a little, and she straightened it.
He knew what she was asking. Technically, he shouldn’t be participating in any form of extreme outdoor recreation. His contract spelled it all out. However, tonight was about making this special for Tilly. To be in her world, and then invite her into his for as long as they both shall live, was … His plan was as perfect as her lips and as beautiful as her tan legs. “I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.” He hoped she remembered he’d said that one day when she was telling their children their engagement story.
Tilly shivered as if a cold breeze had swept through the canyon. “Okay, then.” Her hand reached for the first hold and he stepped back to give her room and belay. He’d only belay for the first half of her climb, and then he’d go up behind her. The anchors, drilled into the cliff by the forest service, would be their safety net.
Brayden watched, amazed at her concentration and physical abilities. He could throw a 98-mile-per-hour fastball, but she moved like a gazelle. She clipped onto another anchor, already halfway up the face. “Okay, that should do it if you want to start climbing.”
She couldn’t hold him back if she tried. He attacked the climb, moving fast, anxious to get to her. The higher he got, the more adrenaline pumped through his veins. The team doctor would freak out at his heart rate. It wasn’t the muscles he was using; it was the thrill of being so close to proposing—to seeing the look of love in Tilly’s eyes as he declared himself utterly lost for her. Not that he would ever say that in the locker room …
He hooked up to the next anchor, leaning heavily into the warm rock. This rock face was to the north, so it was cooler than the west-facing side. Which was good, because his hands were coated in sweat. He wiped one on his shirt and then the other, changing handholds. He’d gained some ground on Tilly as she worked sideways towards her next anchor point.
He wipe his head with his left hand, and his right hand slipped. He grunted, scrambling for the handhold, his calves suddenly straining as they took the full weight of his 6-foot-5-inch frame.
Tilly’s head whipped his direction. “Bray?” she called.
He lifted his head to look at her, and the world tilted. The skyline above spun around, and he couldn’t breathe in. “I—” His answer was ripped from his throat as he fell.
Tilly screamed. And swore.
He smiled even as he was falling. It took a lot to get that girl to curse. He pulled on his rope, bringing his fist to his butt cheek, and the anchor caught him.
“Brayden?” Tilly called down to him.
“I’m fine.” He lifted a hand. Dangling from the anchor was no big deal. He just needed to find a hold and get back on the wall. He grabbed once at a small ledge, the sound of his fingers scraping dirt off the rock loud in his ears. His grip wasn’t firm and he jerked again, his shoulder feeling the pull. He kicked off to the left, his shoes slipping over the smooth rock face, trying to gain some inches on the climb. His harness clanked and the rope strained. The next thing he knew, he was falling through the air.
The only sounds he heard were the rushing of air and then the cracking of bones when his body hit the ground. He gasped, needing oxygen. As his chest expanded, he moaned. The general numbness was a blessing; at the same time, he wanted to get past it and evaluate. But then, had he fallen that far? He lay on the rocks at the bottom of the cliff, staring up at Tilly as she scrambled back along the thin lifeline. He couldn’t hear anything, couldn’t feel. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Tilly slipped, fell, and slammed into the wall as the anchor caught and held. Her cry of pain broke through his barrier of silence. His mind spun over the last few seconds, trying to figure out what had happened. Tilly rappelled down, her feet landing with a soft thud that he swore he could feel.
Her face filled the sky above him. Man, she was beautiful. He was the luckiest son of a gun on the planet.
“I need an ambulance,” she said into her phone.
Was she hurt? She’d hit the rocks pretty hard, and there was blood dripping from under her helmet. He should tell her it was all going to be okay. Today was going to be the best day of their lives.
Darkness closed in. He needed to ask her to be his wife—before the sun eased out of the picture. That was the plan. He had a plan.
The shadows suddenly grew longer. Strange how that happened. The sun dropped behind the mountain quickly. Or maybe it just felt fast because he was outside of time.
His heart began to pick up speed. He was going to miss it. Miss his chance. Miss it all.
Chapter Two
Tilly
There was a boulder on Tilly’s head. The heartbeat in her skull testified to the weight of it. She didn’t feel any other part of her body. It was almost as if the only part of her that existed was her head, and the only reason it existed was to pound.
She mentally pushed against the pain and the rock, straining her muscles in the process. She needed to get out from under the weight, needed to see sunlight and feel the brush of the warm desert breeze on her arms.
Suddenly, the weight was gone and her eyes fluttered open. A black-and-white clock on the wall read 3:18. Her eyes fluttered shut again and she wondered if she was in a dream. It shouldn’t be light at three in the morning. It had to be morning; she was too tired for it to be the middle of the day.
Her body slowly came into existence, and with it the understanding that something was wrong. Her shoulder killed, and she couldn’t move her arm. Some sort of restraint kept her from lifting it to scratch at her nose.
She slowly turned her head, afraid the boulder would return if she moved too fast, and opened her eyes to stare at the belly of a woman in blue scrubs.
That wasn’t right.
She and Brayden … Her eyes flew open and a shard of pain sliced through her skull. “Brayden?” she yelled. The sound that came out was too small for all the feelings that were screaming inside of her.
