One Summer in Santa Fe

by Molly Evans

  “Well, if you’re climbing, your feet are planted on the ground, it’s just vertical.”

  “Your logic eludes me, Taylor. Go. I’ll stay here and guard the picnic basket or something.” The way things were going she wasn’t going to have an appetite for a picnic. Just watching them made her anxious, and they were still beside her. Every spark in her that was an ER nurse went on full alert. This was a disaster waiting to happen, and she just knew she was going to watch them splatter themselves on the ground below.

  “Okay. Promise you’ll catch me if I fall?” he asked, his eyes full of mischief as he buckled on a helmet.

  “You aren’t going to fall, are you?” she asked, her heart racing at the thought.

  “No.”

  “Then I won’t have to worry about catching you, will I?” She stepped back from them and found a seat on the ledge. “I’d rather catch some sun and watch you two.” Yep. Staying right there on solid ground. Of course, watching Taylor was pretty easy on the eyes.

  Smiling at her response, he finished rigging while an impatient Alex danced beside him. “Gloves and helmet on, kiddo,” Taylor said, and applied his own, which covered most of his hands, but left half the fingers exposed. The gloves were of worn and scarred leather and had seen better days.

  “But—”

  “No buts. No safety, no climbing.” On this, for Taylor, there were no compromises. “Safety equipment has saved my life more than once over the years. I’ll never, ever sacrifice safety for fun. Especially when I’m responsible for another person.”

  “Aw, man,” Alex said, but complied. “That’s what they say in camp, too.”

  “I’ll go up first,” Taylor said as he fastened Alex’s harness to him.

  “What’s that for?” Alex asked.

  “If you slip, I can stop you with it.”

  “Okay. I guess we haven’t gotten that far in camp yet.”

  From the ground, Piper watched as the two inched their way up the side of the rock. Now that she knew she wasn’t going to be climbing up its rough surface, she didn’t think it was as big as she had imagined at first. It didn’t mean she wanted to be up there with them, but her fears were forgotten as she remained safely on the ground.

  A profound measure of serenity folded itself around Taylor as he focused on each precise movement. He loved climbing. Sharing that love with his nephew, teaching him a sport that they could share together, somehow made it that much more important to him. The protection of the secluded canyon placed the three of them in a quiet bubble away from the city, crowds and the stress of the job. A warm desert breeze lifted their hair.

  Taylor lived for times like this and allowed himself to sink deeper into that place where he could just think and live in the moment. There was nothing as important as the next handhold, the next foothold, the next move up.

  “Uncle T.?” Alex asked, his breath panting just a little.

  “Yeah?”

  “How high are we going to go?”

  “I don’t know—why? Are you tired already?” He grinned down at the boy who gave him a look of disgust.

  “No. We’re only ten feet up. I just want to tell my class I climbed a thousand feet high.”

  With a laugh, Taylor dispelled that notion. “The big rock’s only 500 feet high. This one’s about fifty. We’ll go ’til we’re tired, then come down, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “We’ll figure out the height later.” Taylor moved up again and waited for Alex to catch up. He gave instructions and alerted him which handholds to use and which to avoid. After half an hour of climb and wait, climb and wait, Taylor thought that Alex had probably had enough. The sun was warm on his back and he reached into his waist pack for a water bottle. “Stop and have a drink of water. Your muscles probably need it about now.”

  Alex stopped, panted. “Okay.” Alex sipped his water and then returned it to his pack. “Let’s go.”

  “Let’s just rest a minute, then we’ll head back down.”

  “I want to go to the top,” he said, his dark eyes imploring Taylor.

  “Sorry. I think we’re high enough, and going down is a whole different skill set to work on. Your muscles will be too tired if we go any more.”

  Nodding, Alex looked down for his first foothold and reached for it. Taylor moved down in sync with Alex. As he watched, he noticed Alex’s leg trembling as he held his weight.

  “Are you okay?” Concern flooded him. Now was not the time to have a muscle spasm, but it often happened to inexperienced climbers who pressed themselves beyond their abilities. Taylor would have to take extra care to get the boy down safely.

  “I’m okay, I’m okay,” Alex said, and Taylor could hear the false bravado in his voice.

  “Alex,” Taylor said, his voice firm, but calm, and Alex looked up.

  His face was too red and his breathing was too fast. The exertion was getting to him.

  “Piper!” Taylor yelled for her. If anything happened, he wanted her to be on the alert.

  She rose to her feet and shaded her eyes as she looked up. “I’m here. How’s it going? You look great up there.”

  “Alex is tiring.”

  “I am not!”

  “I’m going to lower him with the rope, and I want you to help guide him to the ground.” If anything went wrong, he’d never forgive himself.

  “Okay. Will do.”

  “Uncle T.! I can do it.”

  “No arguments right now.”

  As Taylor readied the extra rope and rigging, the canyon winds stirred, tugging at his clothing and pulling at his hair. What had started out as a soft breeze had turned ugly. Gusting canyon winds were going to make this more difficult, but there was no help for it. Summer storms whipped up unexpected winds, even when the weather looked calm. Clenching his jaw, he hurried with the rope and climbed down closer to Alex.

  “I’m going to tie this to your harness so I can lower you down.”

  “This is so embarrassing,” he said in a hot whisper.

  “Why, because it’s safe?”

  “Because it’s like I’m a baby.”

  Taylor heard the shame in Alex’s voice, and he was sorry he’d put it there. “Alex, you’re no baby. This is safety, pure and simple. If you were any other climbing partner who was fatigued, I’d do the same thing, as they would do for me. We’re still fifty feet up and your muscles are too tired to continue as we were.” Taylor shook his head in disgust at himself. “I’m sorry.” He should never have taken Alex so far up, should have watched him closer. After climbing at camp all week, his muscles needed a break to recover.

  He knew better. But he’d allowed Alex to talk him into something he shouldn’t have. He’d also wanted to climb, get a little exercise and leave the city behind for a few hours. And he had been looking forward to spending more time with Piper, if he was honest with himself.

  Piper watched from below, her heart racing as she watched Taylor move down to Alex and make adjustments to his harness. Anxiety shot through her, reinforcing her decision to stay on the ground. “Everything okay?”

  “He’s coming now,” Taylor shouted over the wind that seemed to have a mind to force them into the rock.

  Taylor braced himself and even from the ground Piper could see the muscles in his arms and legs straining against Alex’s weight. Her own heart racing and muscles tense, Piper waited helplessly from the ground below. Watching. Waiting. Praying.

  “I’ll help you, Alex. Don’t worry.” Taylor would see him safely down. She knew that. But, still, she worried that any number of things could go wrong with the wind crashing around them.

  The rope slipped through Taylor’s hands as he eased the boy down. Five, ten, fifteen feet, twenty to go. The strain was getting to him and in the next instant ten feet of rope sizzled through his hands before he could stop it. “Alex!”

  Looking down, he watched as Alex slid roughly down the rock before catching a foothold. “I’m okay. I’m okay.”

  “T
aylor!” Piper’s voice cried over the wind, and he watched as she hurried forward, arms raised, as if to catch Alex.

  Damn. This was all his fault. He clenched his teeth, cursing himself silently. If anything happened to either one of them, he’d never forgive himself. Trying to control the fear that shot through him, he took a deep breath and pushed down the voice of his father that tried to berate him. Now was not the time to listen to that voice. Now was the time to keep his nephew safe.

  “Piper, can you climb up to the ledge?” he shouted down. If she could get to the ledge just a few feet off the ground, there was a better chance of Alex getting down unscathed.

  “Yes. I’ll do it.” He watched a moment as she scrambled up and then waved at him. “Go ahead.”

  Wind whipped at them, increasing in its intensity with every passing moment. Each time he lowered Alex, he became a pendulum on a string, succumbing to the fate of the canyon winds trying to crush him against the rock. Muscles screaming, Taylor focused on lowering Alex one inch at a time. He was just a few feet from the security of Piper’s arms. Relief shot through Taylor. Safety was just a few feet away.

  The rigging snapped.

  Piper’s scream echoed in his mind as Alex plunged the last few feet.

  Powerless, helpless, Taylor could only watch as the two tumbled from the ledge down to the bottom of the cliff face. Without hesitation, he released the rest of the rigging and climbed the rest of the way down.

  In minutes that passed like hours, he dropped the last few feet to the ledge and leaped down beside them, his muscles screaming from the exertion.

  “Are you okay?” He reached for Alex who sat up and rubbed his face. Overcome with emotions he couldn’t name, Taylor grabbed his nephew and folded him into a hug. “Are you hurt, are you okay?” he asked, and pulled back, running his hands over Alex’s neck and shoulders.

  Scratches and a few bumps were all he found.

  “I’m okay, Uncle T. That was awesome. Did you see Piper? She caught me.”

  Taylor turned his attention to Piper, who had taken the brunt of the fall.

  “Piper, are you hurt?” he asked as she sat on the ground, slow to get up. He ran his hands over her arms and legs. Nothing broken there.

  “My back is gonna feel this tomorrow,” she said, and sat up with Taylor’s assistance. Moving gingerly, she took in a few deep breaths. “Everything feels okay, except…” She moved a hand to the back of her head. “Ow.” She pulled her hand back and grimaced at the blood on her fingers. “Guess I hit my head harder than I thought.”

  “Let me see.” Taylor turned her away from him and pressed his fingers into her hair. Moving it aside, he felt the lump and inspected it, but it appeared to be a small laceration. “It looks okay. Maybe needs an ice pack, but doesn’t look like you need stitches.”

  Piper turned. “Good. Is Alex okay? He looked like he might have got some scrapes on that last bit.”

  Trembling, Taylor looked away from her. “He’s remarkably okay.”

  “Uncle T., I’m thirsty.” Alex shook his water bottle. “I’m out.”

  “Here, you can have mine till we get back to the car,” Piper said, and gave Alex her water bottle as she watched Taylor walk a few paces away. Crouching beside Alex, she inspected the scrapes on his legs, arms, and face, but he appeared no worse for wear. “You okay?”

  “Yeah! I can’t wait to do it again,” Alex said, and guzzled her water.

  Piper grinned. Kids were so much more resilient than adults. She pulled a few energy bars from her pack and handed them to Alex. “You’re going to need these, too. I’m going to check on your uncle.”

  With caution, she approached Taylor. He stared off into the canyon, his thoughts a mystery, but she could well guess the internal litany of curses he was hurling at himself. “Taylor?” She spoke softly. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” he said, his voice flat, and he didn’t look at her.

  She watched while he removed his gloves and noticed an abundance of deeper abrasions on his arms and legs. Removing his helmet, he tossed it onto the ground beside him. “You don’t look okay.”

  Angry eyes turned on her, and she almost stepped back from the intensity pouring out of him, but he didn’t scare her. He was hurting and blaming himself for something he wasn’t responsible for. Strong men often hurt the most. Intentionally invading his space, she stepped closer and closer until she almost touched him. The heat, the energy, the power he exuded washed over her like the canyon winds. Everything about him spoke of anger, but she knew beneath that anger was an all-consuming fear he didn’t know how to deal with. Strong men also didn’t know how to deal with fear.

  “I’m ready for my hug now,” she said, raised her arms and placed her hands on his shoulders.

  “What?” Incredulous, Taylor blinked. She wasn’t serious, was she? A hug? Now?

  “At the park the other night you said you’d give me a hug. I’m ready to collect on it now.”

  “Piper, now really isn’t the time,” he said, and swore under his breath, looking away from her. He’d nearly killed his nephew and almost maimed her.

  “Now is the perfect time,” she replied, her voice husky with emotion. Without his consent, she put her arms around his shoulders and drew him closer to her.

  Surprised by her audacity, Taylor’s arms automatically went around her and fit her body against his. The tension that had fired every muscle in his body paused. The feel of Piper against him, the way her lithe body fit against his, and the anxiety of the climb conspired to rob him of his good sense. He should step away from her, and he tried to, but when his hands touched her hips to push her away, something shifted in him, something needy broke free, and he pulled her tightly against him. Burying his face in the side of her neck, he closed his eyes and drew in a ragged breath, savoring the feel and the sweet scent of her. God. She was right. Now was the perfect time.

  “I’m sorry, Piper,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.” The women he’d taken climbing in the past had been experienced climbers, and he hadn’t had to worry about them. Today had been a disaster that he never wanted to repeat. Of all the stupid things he’d done in his life, this was one of the worst.

  “It’s not your fault. And no one was seriously hurt.”

  She squeezed her arms tighter around his shoulders and held him. The feel of her lush breasts against his chest, her hips pressed against him inspired a new kind of tension in him, and he pulled back to look into her lovely face. His gaze dropped to her parted lips and a wild hunger for her raged through him.

  Without thinking, he took her mouth with his and poured out all his fear and frustration into the embrace. Desire, hot and urgent, swept through him, matching the ferocity of the canyon winds surrounding them. Her mouth parted beneath his and the sweet thrill of her tongue gliding against his made him hunger for more. In a flash, he knew he wanted to take her home and explore every inch of her. Tunneling his fingers into her hair, he held on to her head and deepened the kiss as a dam of emotions broke free in him.

  Piper jumped and pulled back. “Ow,” she said, and raised her hand to her head.

  “I’m sorry. I got your bump, didn’t I?” he said, stepping away from her and the intensity of shocking desire that surged between them. A few deep breaths did nothing to calm his heart or the needs raging in him.

  “Yes, you did, but it’s okay.” She smiled and touched his arm. “I liked everything else.”

  That brought a slight smile to him, and he trailed a knuckle over her cheek. “Me, too. Probably more than I should have.”

  “This wasn’t your fault, Taylor. The winds weren’t something you could have planned for.” Her eyes were serious, trying to convince him, but he knew better.

  “I brought Alex here. I’m responsible—”

  “Stop beating yourself up,” she said, and gave him a quick smack on the arm. “It was an accident and we’re okay.”

  “But—�
��

  “Shh. Shh.” Piper hugged him to her, then stepped back. “I suppose we ought to collect Alex and head back.”

  For a second longer, Taylor stared at her and absorbed the effect his kiss had had on her. Blue eyes limpid with desire, lips red from his kiss, cheeks filled with color. Desire looked good on her. And it was dangerously compelling. Better to give that a wide berth right now.

  “Okay. Let’s go.” He took her hand and turned, but stopped. Alex was gone.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “ALEX!” Taylor cried, and turned to Piper. “Where is he?”

  “He was right there by the packs,” she said, and pointed a few feet from them.

  “Then where is he? Maybe he was more seriously injured than I thought.” Taylor cupped his hands around his mouth. “Alex! Where are you?”

  “Coming! I’m coming.”

  Turning, Taylor huffed out a sigh of relief as Alex came running out from behind a clump of cedar trees and straightened his clothing.

  “What were you doing?” Taylor asked.

  “I had to…you know,” he said, and turned a vibrant shade of red. “I drank a lot of water.”

  Relief shot through Taylor, and he placed a hand over his face, wiping away the lingering fear. Suddenly, the day had ceased to be enjoyable. “Why don’t we head home now? I don’t think I’m in the mood for a picnic,” he said. Without another word, he gathered the fallen equipment and began placing it into the packs.

  Alex looked at Piper with tears in his eyes that he tried to control. “Am I in trouble?” he whispered.

  “No, you’re not.” Piper reached out to hug the boy against her side. “I think your uncle was just really worried about you.”

  “I just had to go to the bathroom,” he said, and wiped his face on his arm and pulled away.

  “I know. Sometimes we adults don’t say the right things at the right times.” She patted his shoulder and cast a glance at Taylor, who continued his task. “He’ll be okay. Don’t worry.”

  Nodding, Alex kept his gaze downward and pulled away from Piper, apparently not convinced by her words of reassurance.