“T-terrifying. Just as I thought,” I said through a shaking jaw before pressing my face into his shoulder.
“Now, look straight down,” Charlie said, his voice steady. “I have you.”
I glanced up to his face and was met with an encouraging smile. I could smell leather and woods and the freshness of his shave; then I pulled back and leaned ever so slightly forward.
The view took my breath away.
White foam from the incoming sea crested the sandy shore. We were higher than the trees. Higher than crashing waves and flying birds.
We were limitless. Infinite. A part of something so big, so wide, so all-encompassing, we mattered about as much as a single blade of grass. A piece of the most beautiful landscape in the world breathed with life right in front of us.
“Charlie.” I covered my mouth with a hand. My fear seemed to wash away with the rolling waves far below us. “Oh my goodness, Charlie. Look at that.”
He laughed. “You see?”
“I have never seen anything so beautiful in all my life,” I said, taking a single step closer. Charlie kept firm hold of my hand.
“Look at the sea hitting those rocks, how the water soars and sprays,” he said as he pointed out in the distance.
I watched the sea rise in and out with each wave, heard the roar of the water. Birds flew above, seeking fish and a drink. Life moved and grew and changed.
Charlie and I stood on the edge of the cliff in silent appreciation, connected by our hands and our thoughts. Time seemed to stop, and I forgot to be afraid.
We walked a few paces for a different view. I pointed out something swimming far in the distance, and Charlie noted a couple of birds fighting on the shore.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
“I do not want you to let go of my hand,” I said, tightening my grip.
He grinned. “But you are happy?”
I nodded. “I am very happy.”
He started to move behind me. “What if—”
“Charlie.” I tightened my hold. “Charles Winston, don’t you dare leave me here alone.”
“What if I just moved behind you?”
I turned with him, but then I realized my back faced the cliff and I could step off and fall at any moment. I reached out for Charlie, who took my hands but kept me at a distance.
“I will be right behind you.”
“No,” I begged. What would happen if I slipped? He’d never reach me in time. “No, no. I cannot do this. I am too afraid.”
He held my hands between us. “I disagree. You are, without a doubt, the bravest woman I have ever met. You do not need my hand, nor anyone else’s, to stand tall and face your fears. You have proven that since the day I met you.”
Emotion tightened my throat, and I raised my chin. I did not believe him, but I wanted to. I wanted to prove I was as brave as he thought I was. I wanted to be the woman Charlie saw when he looked at me.
He placed his hand on my shoulder, and gently, slowly, he turned me around to face the cliff. The waves crashed tumultuously against rock and sand, rising higher on the shore. Charlie released my arms, and I took a step forward to steady myself against a sudden, fervent wind that took my breath away. I froze, unsteady and rife with anxiety, but I pushed air through my nose, trying to focus on the beauty and endlessness of the scene in front of me.
I hadn’t realized how tightly I held my middle until Charlie’s voice sounded near my ear. “See?” His voice was filled with pride. “Now let your shoulders relax. Let go, completely.”
His arms wrapped around me, and my stomach clenched as heat and thrills swirled inside me at his touch. He unwound my arms and carefully placed them at my sides.
I resisted the urge to draw back my arms and hold myself tight. Instead, I fisted my hands and dug my feet into the ground to keep from feeling like I was falling—or floating—away.
“Close your eyes and feel the wind.”
