“You won’t,” Levi said. “Dusty will be right below you on the rope. He’s on the local search-and-rescue team and is the best of the best.”
Jane stared at Dusty. “I knew you looked familiar. You were there that night of the blizzard.”
Dusty’s smile faded and he nodded. “Yeah, and that was the closest you’re going to come to dying on my watch. You got your necklace back?”
She pulled it out from beneath the neckline of her sweater. “Yes. Thank you so much.”
“Don’t thank me, thank him,” Dusty said, nodding at Levi.
Levi’s gaze locked with and held on to hers.
“He said he’d do whatever he had to in order to get it back to you,” Dusty said. “You okay with heights?”
Jane jerked her gaze from Levi with some difficulty. She felt a little dizzy with the rapid subject change. Or maybe it was from realizing what a good guy Levi really was. “I’m better with heights than enclosed spaces.”
Dusty laughed softly in commiseration. “Say stop at any time, and we’ll get you down.”
She smiled her thanks and turned to Levi. “So I need a real live belayer, but you don’t?”
“Yes,” Levi said firmly.
Dusty nodded.
All righty then. She began to climb, with both men quietly, calmly offering helpful tips. As he’d promised, Levi was right at her side. Whenever she struggled to find the right hand-or foothold, he’d make a suggestion with a quick explanation, and though she wanted to say, “I do it!” like a toddler, she listened to what he was saying and began to understand—and get into—the rhythm.
Until she looked down to check her progress. Stupid, stupid move. The ground felt a mile away, and instantly her head spun and she thought she was going to throw up.
“Jane.”
She dropped her forehead to the rock, closed her eyes, and gulped in air. “Sorry, can’t talk right now, very busy having a panic attack.”
Levi curled an arm around her. “Breathe,” he said softly into her ear. “Just breathe for a minute.”
She opened her mouth to tell him she was already breathing, only to realize she actually wasn’t. Dammit. Her heart pounded in her ears and the muscles in her legs trembled. Logically, she knew she couldn’t fall, but mentally it was a whole other ball game.
“You’re doing great. And you’re safe, I promise.” He had an arm around her. “You can’t slip or fall. The rope has you. Dusty has you. And I’ve got you.”
I’ve got you . . .
And suddenly she was even more scared. Not at the idea of falling. Not of suddenly knowing that she was definitely going to agree to be his pretend girlfriend. Not even at the idea of spending an evening having dinner with his family—well, okay, so she was a little scared of that.
But what scared her most was the idea of him having her back.
When was the last time she could say that about a man? She couldn’t remember. Unable to help herself, she took another peek down and let out a wimpy whimper. “It’s like the blizzard all over again.”
“Except there’s no wind, no snow, and we’re not dangling seven hundred and fifty feet in the air.”
“Wait— Seven hundred and fifty? That night you told me we were at five hundred and fifty!”
“Is there really a difference?”
Good point, but she opened her eyes to glare at him anyway. His gray eyes weren’t stormy today, they were a shiny silver. And damn, he had long dark lashes that wouldn’t require mascara. “Unfair,” she whispered.