Seeing a signal from Dan, he turned to Emily. “I’m going to do one more jump, and then we’ll go on the next one together. Sound good?”
Her smile growing more sure, she nodded. “I’ll wait here.”
Doug hurried away to grab his second rig and glanced back at the woman smiling nervously at him. Emily Everrett was one hell of a woman.
Chapter Twenty-Two
While she’d been waiting for Doug’s plane to climb to ten thousand feet, Emily looked around her. People scurried about with one job or another. Others getting ready to jump hummed about enjoying every minute of living. As Doug and the others exited the plane, their canopies creating art in the sky, she marveled at how easily he did something that so scared her. So much beauty—combined with the air of enthusiasm buzzing about—gave Emily the shot of courage she needed to follow through.
“Okay, let’s run through this again.” Doug stood in front of her in the ready area. They’d picked out a size-appropriate suit, and she was zipped up and ready. “Show me your arch.” Emily curved backward. “Good. And what are you going to do when we jump?”
She grinned up at him. “Try to kick your butt.” The first time he’d told her to do that, she’d thought he was kidding her, but then she’d realized he was completely serious.
“That’s my girl.” He gave her a high five and looked up at the clock. “Time to go.”
Her cameraman walked beside them, asking her the same things Doug had asked her when she’d told him what she’d wanted to do. “How high are we going to fly?”
“Ten thousand feet.” She hoped her voice didn’t crack.
“And how fast will we be going during free fall?”
Lord help her. “A hundred twenty miles per hour.”
“Right.” He raised his hand high in the air and waited for her to slap him back.
What was it about high fives and skydiving? She didn’t get it. Right now she just wanted to get on the plane before she changed her mind. Or worse, broke down and cried like a frightened little girl.
Outside she secured her cap that reminded her of what swimmers wore in the Olympics to help them move faster through the water. Fortunately she knew she’d be wearing a protective helmet over the cap because the last thing she wanted to do was fly faster through the air.
Doug double-checked her straps, tugged at the back of the harness and spun her around to flick her nose. “If you lose me up there, we’ll meet back here.”
Emily felt her jaw drop open and her stomach fall to her feet. As much as she wanted to scream, “Are you crazy?” she couldn’t get her jaw to move.
A smile on his face, Doug reached out under her chin and gently snapped her mouth closed. “I was kidding. I won’t lose you. We’ll be fine.”
“You promise?”
His smile widened. “I promise.”
She got in a single-file line to climb aboard. Doug kept his hands on her shoulders. Whether to keep her calm or to stop her from bolting, she didn’t know, but either way it was probably a good thing. The camera guy fiddled with his helmet-mounted camera. Had she not been so nervous, she probably would have been really intrigued by the contraption. With a camera on top and on the side, she vaguely remembered something about it being operated with the guy’s mouth. But at this point she didn’t care. Especially since those swooping birds were back and making themselves at home in her stomach.
This time there were two tandem jumpers and one sports jumper. The guy with the batsuit. “First jump?”
She nodded.
“It’ll be great. You’ll see. Like those potato chips, one time won’t be enough.”
The plastic door drew closed, and the plane rolled down the field. Sitting on the floor practically snuggled between Doug’s legs, as the plane picked up speed and lifted off the ground, Emily’s grip on his knees tightened. Doug didn’t say a word to her about his knees. He checked the tension in her straps again. Fidgeted with something on her back. Leaned forward and said, “You’re doing fine. Remember head on my shoulder, hands across your chest, arch—”
“Kick your butt.”
He chuckled in her ear. “Kick my butt, then box your arms and enjoy the ride.”
Not once did he say, stop squeezing my knees, you’re cutting off the circulation. She’d have to remember to thank him for that if she survived the next thirty minutes of her day.
“When Joe there gives the signal, we’re going to scoot forward and prep to go.”
Emily nodded. She didn’t stop nodding. She was pretty sure if she stopped nodding, common sense would kick in, and she’d shake her head and ride back down with the plane like the smart people.
Their helmets secured, Joe gave the signal, and the video guy climbed from the plane and hung on to something outside the door. The man was certifiable. Off-his-rocker crazy. Then Emily got a glimpse out the open doorway at the Earth below in the distance and immediately concluded he wasn’t the only one. Her fingers bit into Doug’s knees again.
He tapped her shoulder and leaned into her ear. “Time to scoot.”
Together, like a crazy conga line, they scooted on their asses toward the open air. The closer they got, the more she wanted to scream stop, but air couldn’t get passed her heart lodged firmly in her throat. She just needed a few seconds to get a grip. This was the thrill of a lifetime. She could do this.
Except there was no second to catch her breath. Doug was scooting them forward with no sign of stopping. Her butt was on the edge, her feet dangling out the door, and she had no idea why she hadn’t keeled over with fright. Oh. My. God. She’d never seen anything as terrifying as the Earth ten thousand feet below with nothing between her and a crash landing.
Doug’s voice broke through the haze. “Ready.”
Hell no she wasn’t ready. She wanted to stay in the safe airplane.
“Set.”
Wait, her mind screamed. She still wasn’t ready.
And whoosh. Doug had nudged them off the edge and out the door. Had she remembered to keep her head on his shoulder? Arch? Kick? Did it matter? She was out, and she felt the tug of the stabilizer cord lifting them up but didn’t dare open her eyes. Maybe, like a roller coaster ride, the sudden dips, the landing, wouldn’t be so horrifying if she didn’t see it coming.
The wind whipped at her face and pulled her cheeks back. She probably looked like a babbling fool. And then she remembered the video guy. Her eyes flew open at the same moment Doug gently pried her arms away from her chest into a box position. She knew there was no way she’d get it all correct. She’d probably forgotten to arch and kick too.
Taking a moment to look around, Doug was right. The view was breathtaking. In more ways than one. With the wind in her face and her heart in her throat, she had to focus on breathing out and breathing in. And she also wondered how the video guy managed to stay floating right alongside them. Her mouth must have fallen open. Whether from the shock, the fear or the wind, she didn’t know. But the camera guy moved closer, stretched out his hand and gently pushed up her chin, closing her mouth, the same way Doug had done on the ground. If she survived this, anyone else alive was going to think she was a drooling idiot.
Doug’s arm moved beside her and tugged on the cord. Jerking up, the free fall stopped. And, thank the Lord, the chute opened. They had the canopy with the pretty rainbow colors. Across the way another chute opened and then another. The colors had been beautiful from the ground, but, floating in the sky, the color spectrum was amazing. And so was the view.
She’d flown over the island whenever she’d gone to Oahu, but this was not the same as looking through the small window of an airplane. Nothing obstructed her vision. In every direction, nothing between her and the ends of the Earth. Wow.
Able to breathe more easily, she took in the sites below her. The crisscrossing of roads, the contrasts of topography, the black Kona landscape, the botanical greens and dry yellows. Like a blue-ribbon quilt.
Above them one of the divers spun ab
out, and Doug asked, “Want to try that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Let’s give it a shot.”
Doug yanked the canopy handles to one side; they sped in a spiral toward the ground, and air rushed out of her lungs in a scream.
“I guess we won’t do that again.”
All Emily could do was shake her head. She’d thought she couldn’t be more horrified than jumping out of the safe airplane. Spinning to Earth at high speeds literally had her life flashing before her, bringing her face-to-face with her own mortality.
“You want to steer?”
“I don’t think so.” I don’t know hadn’t worked so well for her last response.
“What if we do it together?”
She bobbed her head and placing her hands beside his on the bars, curled her fingers with all her strength. “You’re not going to let go?”
“No. We’re in this together.”
Slowly they turned to the right, aimed for the drop zone and floated down. She’d almost managed to relax when he said, “I’ll take over,” followed a few seconds later by “Time to lift and hold your legs.”
Before she could process that it was time to panic again; the ground was at her feet, and they’d slid to a stop. Unhooked from her tether to Doug, she got to her feet as the cameraman hurried up to her with more questions. “What was your favorite part? Exit, free fall, canopy ride?”
Shaking her head, she searched for words. There was no favorite part. But she was alive, and that was a good thing. A really good thing.
“Want to do it again?” Doug asked. “There’s one more plane going up.”
How badly would it screw up their already tentative relationship if she just hauled off and slugged him? “No, thank you.”
Over the terror of exiting the plane and the challenge at breathing in free fall, Emily had come to one swift decision upon landing. Living life to the max was highly overrated.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Where the hell have you been?” Angela’s voice boomed from Emily’s cell phone. “I have been calling you for two hours.”
“Sorry.” Emily took a deep breath and almost squealed. “I did it.” Deep silence hung on the line. “Angela?”
“Did what?” Angela’s voice vibrated with hesitation.
Emily laughed. Who knew what the woman was thinking. “I went skydiving.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. I flew ten thousand feet in the air and jumped out the open door into the sky.”
“Oh, my God. Your brother doesn’t know, does he?”
Emily shook her head before she remembered to speak into the phone. “No. I figure I’ll tell him after it’s far enough in the past not to give him a heart attack.”
“Good plan.”
“So why did you call?”
“Oh, well. I, uhm, had to run to the store for something and wanted to pass by your house, but—”
“Come on by. I’m pulling up now. Going to make a nice big brunch. Free falling from the sky makes a girl hungry.”
“Be there in a bit.” Angela disconnected the call, and Emily tossed her phone into her handbag.
“Sounds like we’re having company.” Doug turned the car into Emily’s driveway.
“I’m guessing she has something she wants to talk to me about. I just hope my big brother didn’t do something stupid.”
Doug’s contented expression slipped. “You think they’re having problems?”
“No. Not problems problems.”
“As opposed to…” He let his words hang as he circled the hood and opened the passenger door.
“My money is on something’s hit a snag with the wedding plans.”
“As in canceling?”
“As in the caterer is out of white chocolate macadamia cake.”
“Oh. A problem with the plans, not the relationship.”
“Exactly.” At least she hoped exactly. Her brother and Angela were perfect for each other. She couldn’t fathom anything could possibly be wrong between them.
Emily turned the key in her lock and headed straight for the kitchen. Being her mother’s daughter, she always had a fridge stocked with staples. Eggs, bread, fruit, juice, cheese, veggies. Everything needed to make omelets, stuffed French toast, pancakes or almost any breakfast request. She even had yogurt if someone was watching calories. If she knew one thing about growing boys and active men, it was they could have an appetite to put a waking bear to shame.
Before she could crack an egg, the doorbell rang. Doug opened the door to find Tim and Jennie on the other side.
“I hope you don’t mind that I brought Jennie along?”
“Of course not,” Emily called from the kitchen, wiping her hands on the dish towel. “But I’m afraid I forgot all about the computer. How about you guys join us for brunch, and then you can see what’s got the darn thing running so crazy?”
“Sweet,” the two teens answered in unison.
Jennie dropped her purse on the sofa and called out to Emily, “Need help?”
“Know how to make coffee?”
“Yes.” The single word dragged out into multiple syllables accompanied by a dramatic roll of the eyes.
Emily realized she was now officially on the wrong end of the generation gap. Single, in her twenties, and all it took was one teenage eye roll for Emily to feel ancient. “Great. Ask Tim if he wants stuffed French toast, regular French toast or just eggs?”
“Tim,” Jennie called from beside Emily.
Yep, typical teenager. At least this one continued her inquiries en route to where Tim and Doug were still standing near the door talking instead of just shouting from the kitchen.
“Don’t Rain on My Parade” sounded from her bag in the other room. “Doug, would you please get that for me?”
Still talking to Tim, Doug carried her purse into the kitchen, took a breath to kiss her on the cheek, then, without skipping a word, returned to the living room with Tim and the conversation.
“Hello?”
“Morning,” Kara said, a hint of concern in her voice. “Have you heard from Angela?”
“Yeah, she’s on her way here. Why?”
“Oh, good. She called me twice this morning, asking if I knew where you were, but I’d forgotten my phone was on Silent for court yesterday so all she got was voice mail.”
“No worries. She found me.” Phone in hand, Emily poured the egg batter into the pan with her other one. “I did it.”
“Did what?” Kara quickly asked.
Emily could feel her cheeks stretching to the limit with a smile. Jumping out of an airplane had been the single most terrifying thing she’d ever done in her life, and, though she had no intention of ever doing it again, she was damn proud of herself for not chickening out. “Went skydiving.”
“Good for you! You’re a better woman than I am.”
“That’s absurd.”
“No, it’s not. There isn’t enough money in the world to make me jump from an airplane under any circumstances. It says a lot that you did.”
Yeah. That she was crazy or stupid or both. “I’ve got the video.” Just in case she was ever dumb enough to consider something like this again, she had the proof to remind her of the fear in her eyes. Getting out of her gear, picking up the edited video, thanking everyone, she’d been thinking the whole time about why she’d done it. What possessed her to think living meant extremes? “We’ll watch it next girls’ night.”
“You bet. Catch ya later.”
“Bye.” Emily tossed aside the phone and flipped the omelet. Once again wondering what had gotten into her. Looking up at Doug, telling Tim all about the jump, and seeing Jennie working behind her to make the coffee and set the table, Emily was happy. She liked working with students both at school and on other projects. She liked helping them learn and bloom.
And, Lord help her, like her mother, she liked feeding people. Cooking for h
er wasn’t a chore. It was fun. Second to watching people’s faces contort with pleasure when they bit into whatever concoction she’d thrown together.
If she did say so herself, her stuffed French toast was way better than the acclaimed breakfast fare at Splasher’s. And she was proud of that. And so many other things. Setting aside the whipped cream cheese, Emily opened the drawer with her pamphlets for living.
She’d learned something else about life and living today. Happiness was more about balance than extremes. She loved watching Doug jump from the sky. Waiting for his chute to open and seeing the bright colors float to the ground. And then, when he was on the ground, she could revel with him in high fives and happy cheers.
Her dad had been the adventurer, her mom the nurturer. The perfect balance. Emily had been a fool to chase after something she wasn’t. And she’d be an even bigger fool if she let Doug Hamilton get away.
A few seconds spiraling to the ground could give a girl a whole new perspective on life. Firewalking. Balloon rides over the volcanoes. See the falls from an open-door helicopter. She fanned out the pamphlets for various trips, excursions, exercises, stared a moment at bungee jumping and cringed. Everything went into the wastebasket. From now on she was enjoying her life. Every slow, boring and peaceful minute. It was all hers, filled with friends and family, and she would never again let herself forget that she loved every bit of it. All the excitement she’d ever need in her life was wrapped up in one very sexy, handsome package.
The doorbell rang again, reminding Emily that Angela was on her way over. Before she could say a word, Doug had the door open, waved Angela in and, ignoring the surprised look on her face, had offered her something to drink.
“Don’t trouble yourself.” She’d gestured at him. “I know where the kitchen is.”
“Hungry?” Emily asked in an especially sweet and innocent tone.
“Don’t hand me that. First you didn’t mention you were having a party. And second you did not mention Doug.”
“French toast or omelet or both?”
Dive Into You Page 16
