To Protect & Serve (15 page)

“See, the four stars in a box and then the three together in the middle? That’s Orion. Man, Haley would love this. She was always so nuts about this stuff.”

“You’re not into stars?”

“I never really thought about it. Actually the only ones I’ve ever really seen were the ones in Haley’s books. But this is so awesome.” Slowly her hand fell from the sky, and it landed right on top of his. An instant of hesitation, and he felt the decision run across her palm, then she went still.

“You know, I always thought the point of life was to get ahead,” she said after several long minutes had slipped by. “But I’m beginning to think I was wrong.”

He dropped his gaze over to her, sitting there, still looking up at the stars, and her face was softer than he had ever seen it. Gently he turned his hand over on the gearshift, and when hers came back down to meet his, the mesh was flawless. An inch at a time he shouldered his way across the seat until the rest of her was a breath away. “Does it get any better than this?”

“I wouldn’t know how.”

By the time they were back in the fire station parking lot, it was after eleven. It was strange because since she’d been in this parking lot the last time, life had become far simpler for Lisa. His hand, her hand, and that was it.

“So, what’s up for tomorrow?” he asked, looking across the seat at her.

“Work,” she said softly. It seemed so far away. “You?”

“Sleep tonight. Work ‘til Saturday morning. Oh, joy.”

A pause as the night held them in its embrace.

“And Saturday?”

“A day off for a change. Hallelujah,” he said.

“Hmm, a day off. I don’t think I even remember what that's like anymore.”

He laughed.

“So you’re not doing anything Saturday night then?” she asked.

“Saturday night?” He swung his gaze to her suspiciously. “I don’t know. What do you have in mind?”

“Mind? Oh. Nothing. I was just asking.”

“Oh,” he said, and his spirit seemed to dip back to his side.

Her brain said she must be completely nuts for even contemplating asking the question in her head; however, her heart simply wasn’t listening anymore. “You ever try rock climbing?”

“Rock climbing?” His eyes widened in surprise. “Uh, we don’t exactly live near many rocks.”

“No, not real rocks. The fake ones over at the Rock Gym.”

“Oh, yeah, Dustin and I went there once. It’s pretty cool.”

“I’ve always thought that looked like fun. Maybe we could…” Then she glanced over at him. “But if you don’t want to, we could always do something else.”

“No, it sounds like fun.”

Although he tried to hide it, she saw the yawn. “You really need to get some sleep. You’re making me tired.”

“Yeah, that CPR stuff is more exhausting than you’d think.” A moment more and he smiled, released her hand, got out, went around, and opened her door. Something about that simple act seemed so thoughtful. She got out, and in six steps they were at her car. She knew the night was over; however, in all her years on earth she had never been with a single person she simply did not want to say good-bye to—until now.

“You just want to meet over there?” he asked as she leaned on her car door.

“Okay.” The traffic noise descended around them. When she glanced at him, he looked more nervous than her stomach felt. “So, I guess this is good night.”

“Yeah, guess so.”

A second and then two. She waited, but he never moved. As slowly as she could, she pulled her keys out and opened the door. If he would just reach out, stop her, pull her into his arms, she wouldn’t have even protested, but he didn’t. The door was open, and she looked back at him, gaze down and hands in his pockets. “Saturday? Six or so?”

With the smallest of smiles, he nodded. Gingerly she folded herself into the seat, and he took hold of the door. “Drive careful.”

“You too,” she said, and for one split second she thought he might lean in and kiss her; however, as quickly as that thought went through her brain, it was gone as he stepped back and shut the door.

How many times had she wished the guys in her past would just leave her alone? Now that she had one that she wanted to kiss her, he just closed her door. Something about that made no sense.

As she pulled into traffic, he was still standing there, watching her drive away.

“Have a good evening,” Lisa said, Saturday afternoon at 4:30 as she strode through the outer office, her hair in a ponytail and sweats gracing her frame.

Sherie’s face dropped in surprise. “Where are you going?”

“Rock climbing,” Lisa said as excitement pulled a smile to her face. “See ya.” And she left her secretary open mouthed, staring after her.

By the time he yanked the electric blue pullover and black jeans on Saturday at five, there were so many emotions swirling around in Jeff’s body, brain, and heart that he couldn’t catch even one of them long enough to analyze it. Excitement was there, but so was dread, and fear, and the certainty that somehow he would find a way to mess this up.

This wasn’t really a date, he told himself. Well, it kind of was, but if he thought about the implications of that too long, he was sure his brain would completely short circuit. Running a quick comb through his short, black hair, he pulled the chain from the dresser, put it on, and looked down at the cross. “You’re going to have to help me with this one, God. ‘Cause I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“Do you know how insane this is?” Lisa asked as she stood, strapped to a hard nylon cable at the bottom of a jutted beige-brown structure, curving its way up a side wall that loomed two stories above them. That wall looked much taller than it had in the brochure she had picked up months before, and the music blaring on the speakers sounded like a night club gone mad.

“Hey. This was your idea,” Jeff said, sliding the spotter’s harness around his waist.

As she readjusted her own harness, Lisa’s gaze snapped to the glint of the gold chain at his neck. Between that cross and the electric blue shirt curving right along with his muscles, she knew the wall was going to have a hard time holding her attention.

“Well, next time, talk me out of it,” she breathed, wondering what part of her said this was a good idea.

One more cinch and he grabbed the rope between them. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Her gaze traveled up the rock, and then she shook her head. “I’m not. Let’s go home.” She turned from the wall although she was still strapped to it.

However, she hadn’t taken even a step when he grabbed her shoulders to stop her. “Hey, now. No chickening out.” Laughing softly, he turned her back to the wall. “Now, get up there.”

Exhaling slowly, she took a step forward, reached up for the first handhold and laid a foot on one lower. One pull and she was up six inches from the ground. That wasn’t so bad. She reached for the next one, and wound her foot around beneath her to find a support. Up.

“Cool,” he said from behind her, and she felt the slack go out of the rope. “Looking good.”

At that moment, it entered her mind what he was actually looking at and still holding on, she glanced back at him. “Hey, now, keep your mind on the rocks.”

“It was.” Then he laughed. “Well, mostly.”

She reached up. Two more movements, and she was a full four feet off the ground. “Would now be a bad time to tell you I’m afraid of heights?”

His laugh jumped to her ears. “I think you should’ve thought of that before now.” The laughter faded. “Just don’t look down.”

“Don’t look down,” she said to herself. “That ought to be easy enough.” A hand, a foot, a hand, a foot, and she reached the first big jut. “So, how does popcorn and a movie sound?”

“For tomorrow?”

“No. For right now.” Her body was climbing even as her mind tried to find something else to think about.

“Have you ever heard the term concentration?” he asked as the slack disappeared from the rope. “You might want to try it sometime.”

“Have you ever heard the term scared to death?” One hand reached up to the little rock she could barely get to as her knee arched onto the jut. The only good thing was that if her own body failed her, she knew his wouldn’t. The only bad thing was, what her body really wanted to do was turn around and look at his holding her there.

“You’re doing good. Don’t stop now.”

“How tall do you think this thing is anyway?”

“I don’t know. Forty-fifty feet?”

“Really?” She started to look at him, but her hand didn’t quite have hold, and it slipped off, sending her crashing into the hard surface. “Ow.”

“You okay?”

“Crud,” she said, holding on with one hand as she shook her other hand and examined her nails. “I broke a nail.”

“You want to come down?”

She looked up and then down. Halfway. There was no halfway in her vocabulary. “No. I made it this far. I’m not quitting now.” With renewed determination, she reached up and grabbed a support. “Do you have any idea how sore I’m going to be in the morning?”

“A little?”

“Yeah, a little,” she said as her foot found another hold, and her gaze slipped up the side of the rock that now angled just enough backward to make her stomach turn. Pushing that away, she willed her arms not to fail her. One grab, two. She could see the top now, it was only a few hand holds up. The pull on her arm muscles was unbelievable. It felt like 5 G’s of torque stretching every fiber.

“Who’s dumb idea was this anyway?” she asked the ceiling above her. There was only one more hold to the ceiling. She could see it, but her body was already stretched to its limit. As she clung there like Spiderman, she looked around trying to see a way to get to that last one without having the ability to fly. Her arms were screaming at her to just go back down, but that one more hold taunted her.
Just one more
.

“What’s wrong?” he called from far below her.

“I’m just not…” As she stretched for the last hold, her foot slipped away from its mooring, and her body spun away from the wall dangerously. “Ahh!” A hand, a foot, and suddenly the only part of her attached to the wall was one hand stretched far above her.

“It’s okay! I’ve got you!”

The rope around her tightened as her body screamed in fright. Frantically she lurched for the hold above her as panic shrieked that she was going to fall if she didn’t get a hold of something.

“Lisa! It’s okay. I’ve got you. Let go.”

Her heart dropped right through the center of her chest. How far had he said she was above the ground? It felt like miles. Finally her hand found the other hold. She grabbed onto it, but when she forced her other arm to retake the other hold, tears sprang to her eyes. There was no strength left in it.

“Listen to me,” he called from below, concern bleeding through the words. “Just let go. I've got you. Lisa, let go.”

And then what? I crash to the ground? No way.
She reached up to grab the support again, but sharp pain screeched down her arm with the effort. How many handholds were there on the way back down?

“Hello, am I going to have to come up there and get you?” he asked. “Because I will, you know.”

Humiliation crowded through her. If her arm just didn’t hurt so badly, she could make it back to the ground on her own.

“Lisa, let go.” This time it was a command, not a request. Then his voice softened. “I promise I won’t let you fall.”

Squeezing her eyes against what would happen next, she released first one foot, and then the other slipped from its hold. For one small moment the rope jerked, and her heart jumped into her throat. But in the next heartbeat she was floating downward as peacefully as if she was on a cloud. Small jerks and only that as she slowly drifted to the ground. The closer her feet got, the more her shoulder hurt, and she reached up and rubbed it gingerly as tears stung her eyes.

Two seconds after her feet hit the mat, he was next to her. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she said furiously as she beat the tears back. “But I didn’t make the top.”

“Well, you got back down in one piece. That’s what counts.”

Annoyance with herself seeped through her as she looked at him. “I think I’ll just go grab something from the snack bar. You can find somebody to spot you.” Her hands were working to unlock the harness at her waist and chest, but her right arm hurt every time she so much as moved it.

“That’s okay.” With no hesitation, he reached over to help her, and in two clicks she was free. “I’m not really in the mood to go up tonight anyway.”

“But…”

Quickly he let his own harness down to the floor. “What do you say? How does a hot dog sound?”

An instant of embarrassment, and reluctant gratefulness washed over her. “Wonderful.”

Seated across from her in the little booth, Jeff looked over at her—exhausted and clearly in pain when she moved—he couldn’t quite figure out why she had suggested the outing in the first place. On top of that, he wasn’t at all sure he should ask. “How’s the fingernail?”

She pulled one hand up to display the jagged white over red index nail. “It’s been better.”

“How’s the shoulder?”

Her gaze fell to the table as her opposite hand reached up for it. “Sore.”

The question tracked across the middle of his forehead. “You know, we could’ve just gone to the movies or something.”

“I figured you’d be bored at the movies.”

“Bored? I love the movies. Besides it’s better than you getting hurt.”

Slowly she shrugged. “I just thought this looked like fun, but I either never had time, or I never had anyone to go with.”

He swirled the water in his glass. “Your friends didn’t want to go?”

“What friends?” she asked, and the admission in that question pulled her gaze down.

“Your friends,” he said as he leveled a questioning gaze on her. “You know the people you hang out with.”

“The people I hang out with are the three people who work for me, and I don’t think they’d consider me a friend.”

“But surely you have… I don’t know… college friends, high school friends—something?”

Back and forth her head moved, and his heart fell at the sad look on her face.

“I’ve had a few friends, here and there, but I guess I never made the time to really hang on to them. Most of them I don’t even know where they are now.”

“But you go out surely?”

“On business,” she said, and he saw the cringe. “Or with Haley once in awhile, but that won’t be happening much anymore.” He watched as she leaned over next to the wall, her ponytail swinging gently over her shoulder. “I wanted to get ahead, so I put all my energy into making the company a success.” She laughed. “Bad thing is, it’s still a disaster, and what do I have to show for it?”

If he could’ve put his arms around her, he would have.

“Number 76,” the speaker above them said, and Jeff looked up.

“I’ll be right back.” With a swipe he collected their food from the front counter, and angled his way back over to the table where he set her hot dog and fries in front of her. “You need ketchup or mustard?”

Without looking up she nodded, and he turned back for the condiments. When he came back, he could see by her face that it was time to talk about something else. “Have you ever dropped mustard on carpet?”

She glanced up at him as if he’d just dropped there from Mars.

“No, seriously.” He worked putting ketchup on his plate before holding up the little bag he had just opened. “You want some?”

Slowly she nodded.

“I was making a sandwich at my apartment one time, and I dropped a whole jar of mustard, and now there’s this horrible yellow stain right under one of the bar stools. I’ve tried everything, but I think that thing is part of the carpet now.”

“Did you try vinegar?” Lisa asked, taking one fry out of the basket.

“No.”

“You should’ve just put some vinegar on it and laid a towel over it.”

“That works?”

“It’s supposed to. I read that somewhere. I always thought it was a good thing to know, but I think you have to do it right away before it sets.”

“So, it wouldn’t work now?”

She shrugged and winced with the movement. “You could try it. What’s it going to hurt?”

His glance chanced down to her uneaten food. “You not hungry?”

“Oh.” She looked at the hot dog with chili still lying whole in the basket. “I’m not sure how to pick it up.”

He thought for a second. “Sit tight.” Quickly he jumped up and went to the counter where he retrieved a small plastic fork. When he returned, he slid her basket over and cut the hot dog into
eight portions. Then he slid the basket back and laid the fork with it. “There. That ought to help.”

She reached in
not bothering with the fork, grabbed one small bite from the end, and popped it into her mouth.

“Better?”

Her eyes danced with gratefulness. “Much.”

Later as she lay between the cool sheets and took the heating pad off her shoulder, Lisa smiled as the memory of him waltzed through her head. He still hadn’t kissed her, but in reality he had touched her far more deeply than anyone who ever had. As she closed her eyes, the feeling of floating, supported by the anchor of him drifted over her. It was a feeling she could get used to.