“Oh, Donna?” I called her back before she had gone too far.
“Yes, dear?”
I looked at the ground and swallowed the lump in my throat. “Th-thanks. For this. For all of this. For Noah and me. It was more than I could have ever expected or known I wanted.”
Her eyes became glassy. She strode toward me and pulled me into the most caring and motherly embrace I’d received since my own mom had held me.
“Always.”
She turned and walked away. Family . . . it really was the cornerstone or foundation of who we are.
“Turner,” I warned.
“Before you say anything, just hear me out.”
“No. No, no, no. And I mean absolutely not!”
“Annabelle, you’re getting worked up over nothing.”
His “nothing” was certainly something. I was currently standing in front of a building that had a sign on the outside that said: Touch the sky, and fall to the earth.
What. The. Fuck.
“This isn’t nothing, Turner Brooks. Did you actually think I was going to bungee jump?”
“No, but I thought maybe if I asked nicely enough, you might.” He gave me puppy eyes. Which was a new one for him.
“There aren’t enough words in the English language that would explain how crazy I think you are right now. Today of all days you want to do this?” He was certifiable.
“Listen.” He stepped forward and grasped my face with both hands. “You know I have my reasons behind everything I do. I knew you were going to fight me on this one, but you need to hear me out.”
My eyes darted back and forth between his. “I just watched a baby being buried today, I’ve been crying my eyes out for days, I have a headache, and now you want me to fling myself off a platform, attached to a cable and expect that it acts like a rubber band? Turner, this is way worse than some zip lining course.”
“Kind of, but again, I have my reasons for asking you to do this. At least come to the top with me and see what it’s like from up there.”
Nerves were setting in. So was anger. “For fuck’s sake, the view is probably just as I’m picturing. I don’t need to go up there to see it.”
He released me and started toward the lift. I called after him but he ignored me. Bastard knew I’d follow just to keep bitching at him. And I did exactly that the whole ride up. I had no clue what these things were called—we were on a platform similar to what we were on when we did the zip line. An electric lift raised us up as high as it would extend. It was really windy up there and I gripped the rails. I had a harness attaching me to the railing as a safety measure and the man who brought us up was giving us instruction for when we jumped. I heard nothing. My heart was in my throat and I wanted to puke. Could this headache get any worse?
“Annabelle?” Turner was standing there looking concerned.
“Huh?”
“Did you hear anything I just said?”
I was sweating so much, it was dripping down the side of my hair line. I shouldn’t be sweating. It was cool outside, and being this high up it was even cooler.
“Were you talking?” I asked confused.
He brought his blue eyes down to my level. “Look at me. You’ve been through a lot. Today was not a good day, and there are a lot of things at play right now. But I needed you to know something.”
“What’s that?” I asked inquisitively.
“I’m here, Annabelle. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. The past two or three months we’ve been getting to know each other I’ve come to the realization that I’ve been taking life for granted. Being a doctor, I’ve not noticed just how out of touch I have been, which is why I think I’m always looking for the next big thrill. You are my thrill, Annabelle. I look forward to seeing you every day. I love our crazy back and forth flirting. I love how you push my buttons and I make you step out of your comfort zone. But I love even more that you trust me enough that you do it.”
As if I hadn’t cried enough today. “Turner,” I softly spoke his name.
“I know you think today isn’t a good day to do something like this, but I think it’s a perfect day. Want to know why?”
“Why?”
“Because you need to know that life keeps moving. The longer you sit back and watch as things happen around you, you’re not living the one that you were given. I don’t want to see you live in fear that something awful is going to happen. And every step you take . . . I’m right there with you. You jump off of this thing, I’m jumping too. Hell, we can go together and I’ll hold you the whole way. You are no longer alone.”
I sniffed. “Turner?”
He cleared his throat, knowing he’d just made the grandest speech of all speeches. “Yeah?”
I didn’t want to think anymore, I just wanted to act. “I think I’m falling in love with you.”
The sun was setting over some hills in the distance and the light was reflecting off of his vibrant blue eyes. He beamed even brighter than the sun and gave me a blinding smile. “Good, ‘cause I think I’m falling too.”
I was taken aback. I wasn’t expecting him to reciprocate. Not at all. I simply wanted him to know where my feelings stood. Warmth was taking over my body, and I stepped into the protection of his body.
“We hooked up to this thing?” I asked over my shoulder.
The guy who had ridden up with us gave me a thumbs up. I don’t think he wanted to intrude on our moment.
“What are you doing?” Turner asked.
“Take the leap, Turner.”
“Right now?” he said surprised.
“Now. Don’t make me say it twice.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Without hesitation, he put his massive arms around me, asked the guy if we could go like together and next thing I knew, we were free falling. I had no idea how long we fell for. Seemed like minutes to me, but it was only seconds. We jerked hard when we reached the end of the line, and flew back up a little over halfway of the distance that we’d fallen. We bounced back and forth and swung like a pendulum several times. This was nothing like race car driving, or zip lining, or driving a Jeep, or, hell, even sex. Bungee jumping was straight up insane.
But falling in love was an absolute leap of faith. There was no comparison. I’d found something in this man that was communicating to my cold and closed off heart, and he was busting down those walls faster than I could keep putting them back up. He wasn’t going to let me win this battle. Not now, and maybe not ever. And you know what? I was okay with that.
I hadn’t made a single sound the whole time we were flying through the air, but as the machine lowered us to the ground I started laughing. I laughed hysterically. No doubt Turner thought I’d gone mad.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, an amused expression on his face.
I shook my head, laughing even harder because we were hanging upside down and we both looked ridiculous. “Oh, just all of this. Today should have been the second worst day of my life, and somehow you made it okay. You showed me I’m a part of a family again, and now you’re teaching me how to live. Where did you come from, Doctor Brooks?”
He smirked. I knew a smart ass answer was on the tip of his tongue. “From snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails. And of course good genetics.”
I chortled. “Always arrogant.”
“Wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t.”
“Hmmm, yes, I know.”
When we were set on the ground, we both stood on our feet and regained our balance. I used his chest as a place to steady myself.
“Can we do this again sometime?”
I don’t think he could be any more shocked than he was right now. “I suppose, if you really want too.”
I nodded. “I do. But on one condition.”
“And what’s that?”
I reached up on my tippy toes and kissed his soft lips. “That you fall with me.”
He smoothed my hair back and placed a kiss on my nose. “Always, Annabelle. Always.”
With that I knew I was okay. I had loved, lost, and been loved. I was a part of something huge, and my life wouldn’t be wasted sticking to the sidewalks. Turner Brooks was my future, and I planned on living it to the fullest as long as was by my side. I had a feeling that was going to be for a very long time to come.