Climbing High Read Online Free PDF Page B

utter amazement. The women he’d climbed with in the past didn’t give a guy a vote, and several times he’d seen climbers put at risk by one who refused to recognize they weren’t up to the job. Siree, it appeared, played fair, knowing any accident would have a lasting effect on him. “That goes both ways,” he said gruffly, his throat aching for some inexplicable reason. “You think I’m up to it?”
    Her laugh echoed off the rock cliff opposite. The sweet sound stole the tiredness from his body and sent euphoria soaring through him. “We go then. It’s about a two metre jump, but the curved front of the roof appears quite dimpled, especially if we land right of center. We swing on, we pivot up and over.” His hand moved, tracing the maneuver in the air. “Come up here. Position yourself while I make my pivot. I’ll hang onto the roof and wait for your jump in case you get in trouble.”
    Waiting for her to get in position and land would put extra strain on his arms. And losing momentum by hanging still would make his arque onto the roof a lot harder. She didn’t bother to point out the greater risk. He’d made the choice knowing, if she missed her mark, he would have only one chance to catch her. One look into those brilliant blue eyes and she knew nothing she said would stop him from trying to help her if she needed it. She slid her hand into the groove he grasped and levered herself even with him.
    He let her rest a few minutes in the upright position. Both of them regulated their breathing. Siree pictured the maneuver over and over in her head, building an imaginative rhythm for her swing. She swallowed thickly when a flash of what could go wrong sizzled across her mind.
    “Did you ever hear how I came to name my company, Siree?” His smile challenged and supported her all at once.
    “I assumed you used your initials.”
    “Nope. Just a coincidence. I must’ve been eleven the first time I got in a really tight spot. I’d climbed up a steep cliff behind our town with a couple of friends. It had rained a few days earlier and we got onto a vertical that gave way and dumped us on our butts on a narrow shelf, with no way up and no way down and no help coming because we hadn’t bothered to tell anyone where we were going. It was coming on dark and looked like more rain so it wasn’t like we could just sit around. One of my friends had twisted his ankle and the other refused to move. I figured nothing would happen if I didn’t make it. A narrow ledge—I’m talking scary narrow here—ran off to the side and below us. If I could get to it, I would be back on firm ground and could find plenty of toeholds to the top. If I didn’t, I’d take a forty foot dive onto serrated rock. I looked at my buddies and knew they depended on me. ‘Jump, damn it,’ I screamed at myself and leapt for that ledge. My chances were slim to none, but I landed and managed to hang on. My friends were rescued.” He chuckled. “I think we were all grounded for a month.”
    The warm tenor of his voice held Siree spellbound.
    “It was a defining moment in my life. Whenever I got in a tight place again, needed to risk everything to make something happen I’d say those words and do it. JDI. Jump, damn it. They’ve served me well.” He looked steadily into her eyes. “And here we are again.” Back to the wall, he gave her a brilliant smile, let go with his forward hand and feet and swung himself in a wide arc across the expanse of space, dropping toward the roof. He landed, slid lower, found purchase and hung by his fingertips, waiting for her to hit the rock beside him. She knew if she miscalculated, his chance of grabbing her was almost impossible. She moved into position for her jump as he took off. Sweating back to the cold stone, she had only a second to feel relief when he landed. The faster she acted the less risk for him. She took a deep breath, let her right hand go, pushed off with her left toe and launched herself