Love 'Em or Leave 'Em (15 page)

"Wait a minute. I'll go first."

"I want to go first"

Luke crossed his arms over his chest and pierced her with a steady gaze, as if judging her ability to make the jump.

"You've led the whole way. It's my turn. Besides, you said `no guts, no glory.' I've got guts and I want glory." She grinned at him.

"Fine, go ahead" He motioned with his hand.

"Good" She concentrated on the small leap she needed to make. As she was about to jump-

"Remember, no guts, no glory."

She froze in place. "Stop that. You startled me!"

"Sorry. You need any help up there-in the lead?"

She gave him the evil eye. "No, I don't. Now would you shut up?"

"Sure, I just thought you should-"

Ashley concentrated on the other side and took a running start. After five quick steps she jumped and landed easily on the other side. She turned back to Luke and laughed. "Piece of cake"

Her laugh became a scream as the path fell away, taking her with it.

Luke ran to the spot where the path fell away. He searched over the edge, panicked. His heart pounded in his chest.

"Ashley! Ashley! Where are you?"

Silence filled the air. Even the birds made no sound.

He scanned the foliage for a glimpse of her blond hair.

"Ashley!" he yelled louder. Luke's panic grew with each second. He studied the steep slope inch by inch. The dense foliage made it difficult to see anything. Dirt that was once a part of the path had disappeared down the side of the ravine. He crouched on the ground to get a better view below.

"Ashley!" he shouted again, feeling more desperate.

"Luke?" Her voice sounded frightened.

A wave of relief washed over him. "Ashley, are you okay?"

"I think so"

"Where are you?"

"I'm down here."

Luke thumped his head against the ground a couple of times and laughed. "I know you're down there, but where? I can't see you"

"On the side of this hill, I imagine."

Another wave of relief crashed over him. "Can you climb up?"

"I don't know. I'll try."

Luke tried to spot her as she climbed with no success. After a long minute, he broke the silence. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good, and you?"

"Ashley, are you making any progress?"

"A little. It's really slippery and there's mud everywhere."

"Can you dig in with your fingers and the toes of your shoes?"

"I'm trying."

Luke waited. He willed her up the side. Not seeing her was killing him.

"Luke?"

He tried to follow the sound of her voice. "Yes"

"I broke a nail."

"Listen, smart aleck, concentrate on what you're doing. I can't help you get up here if I can't see you."

"Men. You always get mad when you're not in control"

"Ashley?"

"Yeah"

"Shut up and move it."

"Fine, but I still say- Aaaah!!!!"

"Ashley?"

There was silence. Luke stood up, ready to climb down after her.

"Luke?"

Her voice sounded small and scared again. Relieved, he stood with his hands on his knees, head down. "Are you okay?"

"I think I'm going to need your help to get out of here. I slid farther down."

"Don't worry. Sit tight and I'll figure something out. Do you have any idea if you're on my side of the path or on the side you landed on after you jumped?"

"Umm. Hang on. I see you! Luke, I can see you!"

"Wiggle the plants around you" He scanned the side again, praying he'd see the telltale signs of leaves moving. He spotted a small tree waving. "I see you too! Don't move."

Her face looked small and vulnerable from where he stood. She was about fifteen feet below him. He examined the crevice. It was now almost five feet across. Luke backed up several steps, and without hesitating ran at full speed. He planted his foot and leaped across the open expanse. He landed on the other side and hugged the wall to his right to ensure that he didn't follow Ashley over the side.

"Did you jump across?"

"Yeah"

There was a moment of silence.

"Show-off."

"Listen up. I want you to look around and describe the area to me. What are you holding on to and where are your feet? Is there a landing you can get to?"

Luke removed his backpack and looked to see if there was anything useful inside.

"Well, let's see. There are big green plants everywhere. I'm holding on to the roots of one."

He pulled out two water bottles, a bag of gorp mix, bug repellant, matches, a jack knife, and sunscreen.

"It looks like there are a bunch of rocks higher up near you."

"Yeah, what else?" He reached farther into the pack and found a small first aid kit, a flashlight and, thank you, a rope.

"Well, it's pretty steep."

"What are you standing on?" He quickly unwound the rope to check the length. He guessed it was about twenty feet.

"A tree. Actually, it's a little tree"

He raised his head. "What do you mean? You're standing on a tree?"

"Kind of. This little tree is sticking out of the hill, and I'm standing on the base of its trunk"

"What's below the tree?"

She sounded fine, though the description of her location did not sound good. "Nothing. It's, um, a drop-off"

"Ashley, don't move. I've got a rope." A sheen of perspiration covered him. A heavy weight settled on his chest, and his heart was beating in overtime. He had to get her out of there.

"No, I'm pretty much staying right here. Not going anywhere."

"Good. Now I need you to wiggle the plant again so I can find you. Be very careful." He watched and, sure enough, he saw leaves shake. Her face peeked out pale and worried. "I see you," he yelled down to her.

"I see you too" From her precarious perch, Ashley gave him a strained smile.

"I'm going to throw this rope down. See if you can catch it." He rolled up the bulk of it and tossed it to her, only to have it become hung up on some foliage. He tried a few more times, but each time it landed out of her reach.

"Luke?"

"Yeah, Ash?"

"I thought you were a quarterback. Shouldn't you be able to throw the rope right to me?"

"Well, yes." He pulled it back up. "In a perfect world I would, but this rope isn't a football and you are not a receiver."

"Come on, big guy. Suck it up and get me the rope"

He threw again. This time the rope landed on the leaves of the plant she held on to. "How's that?"

He could just catch her saying, "About time." Obviously her fear wasn't great enough to squelch her attitude.

"Listen up. I want you to wrap the rope around your waist and tie it. Can you do that?"

"You bet your sweet feet I can. Hang on a sec."

He held the other end of the clothesline-like rope.

"Okay. I did it, but I'm not sure the knot is going to work. I wasn't a Boy Scout and they didn't teach rope tying in Brownies."

"Can you wrap it around your arm too? That should help." He gave her a minute to maneuver. "Are you ready?" he asked, impatient, wanting her back by his side, safe and sound.

"Ready"

"Great. Now hang on. I'm going to pull you up slowly. Hold on tight to the rope with both hands and use your feet to dig in and climb as I pull. Try to get some leverage to keep yourself moving. Here we go" Luke wrapped the rope around his right hand several times and pulled it taut. He pulled it slow and steady inch by inch. "How're you doing?"

"Okay" Anxiety edged her voice.

"Hang on. I'm going to reposition and pull harder." He placed his feet against a large boulder at the top of the slope. The tension of the rope burned his hands.

"You still okay?" She was about halfway up.

"Yup," she groaned.

He continued to pull the rope hand-over-hand. He felt the muscles in his arms and shoulders bulge with the strain. His panic changed into steely determination. He would get her back safely and she would be fine. He would accept nothing less.

"Stop! Stop, stop, stop!"

"What? What's wrong? Are you okay?" He held Ashley and the rope in place, gripping tightly.

"I can't hang on. The rope is biting into my hand and I need to move it. Loosen it up a little. I'm braced against a rock"

Luke stole a glance over the side and saw her clinging to the rocky side less than four feet below. Her face wore a pained look as she wound the rope around her arms and hand once again. Jagged rocks spiked the remaining distance between them.

"Okay, I'm ready"

Luke readjusted his grip and began a steady pull to get her the rest of the way up. He heard Ashley groan as she slid over the rough terrain. Suddenly, she was only an arm's length away.

"Look up, Ash. I can reach you" He grabbed her hand, rope and all. With the solid feel of her warm hand in his grasp, a weight of worry lifted off him. He breathed a huge sigh of relief. One more strong pull and she was up over the side and tight against him as he lay down on the ground, his arms firmly around her. After a secure, bone-jarring hug, he held her away to get a good look.

"Hey, what's this?" Tears filled her eyes and she shook all over. He put his hand beneath her head, weaving his fingers through her hair. He turned her face to him. "What's going on?"

Tears slid down her cheeks. She pushed them away with her arm. "The rope was slipping. I thought I would fall and ..."

"There was no way I would have let you fall." Thankful to have her safely back with him, he pulled her into his arms and cradled her. She released a deep, shuddering breath. Her body relaxed in his arms.

Without realizing what he was doing, Luke leaned forward and kissed her lips tenderly. As he lifted his mouth away from hers, he heard her soft intake of breath.

He leaned in for a deeper kiss, enjoying the softness of her mouth. The way she returned the tentative kiss melted his heart. Her hair spilled through his fingers as he held her, and he brushed his other hand against her jaw as the kiss deepened. He slowly pulled back. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Oh," she softly exhaled as if awakening from a dream.

He was in heaven.

Luke came to his senses. Reluctantly, he lifted his head and gazed into her glistening eyes. He watched as she returned from the faraway place to which she had gone.

"Girl, you are driving me crazy."

"What?" She slowly focused on him.

He smiled at her confusion. "Nothing. Let's take a look at you and inventory the damage"

Luke sat back on his knees and checked for injuries. Red marks wound around Ashley's arm from the pull of the rope. He hadn't realized how close she'd been to losing hold. Her knuckles were scraped and raw from rubbing against the side of the rocks. He turned her hands over and saw the underside of her arms, scratched and skinned. He frowned. His heart went out to her as he realized how painful her rescue had been. She'd acted so strong. He reached out to inspect her right hand, but she pulled it away and cradled it to her side.

"I landed on it when I fell."

"It's okay-let me see." He reached again, and this time she allowed him to inspect it. He gently ran his fingers up and down the length of her arm. Her skin was soft and smooth to his touch. Other than being a bit dirty and slightly scraped, it appeared to be all right. He cupped his hands around her injured one as if willing it to heal. After a few moments, he raised it to his lips and kissed it lightly. "All better now?"

"All better." She smiled back.

He finished his examination, and noticed her knees and shins were also battered and covered with blood and scrapes. "You don't look so good" He ran his fingertips lightly up and down both her legs. "You took quite a beating. I don't think your legs are going to look too good in shorts for a while, not to mention a swimsuit."

She scrutinized her legs. "I think you may be right. However"-there was optimism in her voice-"this may actually be a good thing. There are so many scrapes, I have that much less leg to shave. My morning shower will go so much faster."

Luke shook his head. No matter what happened, her spirit couldn't be broken. She was once again running at the mouth. Smart aleck.

"Well, if you think you're able to walk..." He stood up and extended a hand to help her up. "I think we should move out of here. Let's try to find this jungle paradise they told us about"

"Sounds good to me" He helped her to her feet and they returned to their expedition.

In less than thirty minutes the terrain became easier to hike and they began the descent into a small valley. They both breathed a sigh of relief when they reached a spot overlooking a clearing filled with all the amenities one would expect for the king of a small country.

"I believe we've found the promised land" Luke led the way down the hill to the haven below.

A white silk tent sat off to the side of the clearing near the base of a beautiful rock wall with vines and plants growing out of it. The sides of the tent were made of sheer netting, pulled open dramatically to reveal the centerpiece, a large bed made up with satin linens and large comfy pillows in varying sizes.

They exchanged uncomfortable glances. Each managed to keep a straight face. Barely.