Tony didn’t hesitate to take the lead at the front of the line again and everyone followed after him.
“You okay?” Tyler asked me, gently putting his hand on my back.
“I’m good,” I said, trying to smile but worrying it looked more like a wince.
“We can do this,” Tyler assured me, his hand reaching down to mine to give a reassuring squeeze before starting up the path again to catch up with the others.
I stumbled up the trail for what felt like another mile. The group naturally split into two sections—Jenn, Erica, Dr. Jay, Shelby, and Devin up front, laughing and chatting easily while Macey, Tyler, and I stayed just behind.
When we reached the second zip-line, I barely had time to panic before I was clipped in and pushed off. The jump was still terrifying, but once I was in the air, it wasn’t as bad as the first. The third platform was easier, and when I completed that line, I finally exhaled fully for the first time. Tyler was really sweet and made sure to always go either before me or directly after me, always giving a word of encouragement right before each jump.
Then we reached the fourth zip-line.
Tony clapped his hands together. “Okay, friends, this one’s a little longer than the others. We’re getting into the more intense ones now. Get ready for the adrenaline.”
“Let’s do this!” Macey yelled. She’d managed to be the hype woman the entire tour.
I couldn’t help but smile a little.
When I stepped to the edge to look at the fourth platform, I found it stretched out above an even deeper drop, the line disappearing into a thick grove of evergreens. The lake below glittered like glass. We were so high up that the lodges looked like tiny toy houses, scattered among the trees.
“Who’s up first?” Tony asked.
“I’ll go!” Erica said, unbothered. She clipped in and vanished down the line, a streak of bright pink over the blue-green trees.
Macey followed, then Jenn, Shelby, and then Devin.
That left me standing with only Tony, Tyler, and Dr. Jay.
“Who’s next?” Tony asked.
Tyler glanced at me before answering. “Dr. Jay can go. I told Hope I’d stay back with her until the last second.” He shot me an encouraging smile. “We’ve got a system going.”
Jay’s head turned slightly—just enough for his eyes toflick from Tyler to me and back again. Something unreadable tightened in his expression.
“Why don’t you go, Tyler. I can help Hope with this one.”
I felt something in the air shift immediately. And it wasn’t the altitude.
“Oh—uh—” Tyler hesitated, clearly thrown off. “It’s just, she’s been doing great, but this one’s high, and I thought?—”
“I got her,” Jay assured him.
Tyler’s smile faltered a little, obviously caught between wanting to insist and not wanting to make a scene with the boss man. Irritation burned in my chest. What did Jay think he was doing?
“Okay,” Tyler said, quickly recovering and giving me a small smile. “See you at the bottom, Hope.”
He stepped toward Tony, who clipped his harness in and sent him down the line with a push. Tyler disappeared between the trees.
“Who’s next?” Tony asked, looking between the two of us.
I opened my mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the crackling of a walkie-talkie at Tony’s hip.
Through the static reception, a voice emerged. “Hey, Tony, I need help on line two. It’s urgent.”
Tony unclipped the plastic brick at his hip and pressed the fat button on top, bringing it to his mouth. His recently bright demeanor turned suddenly serious.
“I’ll be right there.”
