He was in serious trouble now. He was almost in love with this woman, and afraid he was nothing more in her mind than a teacher in mattress action. Or wall action. Or floor action. Maybe he just had to make her never want to live without him. Impossible? Hardly. He had the tools to satisfy …
Chapter Twenty-Five
Her heart seemed to be exploding, and Savvy gripped Ashton’s hand in abject terror. She had her limits, and there was just no way she was going to do what he wanted. Not this time. No freaking way!
But she was trying to move on — trying to get over her fears. She’d picked up a lot of them during her unhappy childhood. But the fears she was more interested in getting over were irrational fears, not fears that made perfect sense.
“I don’t think I can walk across this thing, Ashton.”
“Yes, of course you can. Aren’t you the one who told me that you weren’t going to live in a world of phobias anymore?”
Why in the world had she told him that? He was taking it far too literally.
“I know I did, but I didn’t mean to conquer all of my fears. Because I really sort of like life. Do you think I want to plunge however many feet that thing is above ground to my certain death?”
“Thousands, even millions of people have crossed this with no one plunging to their death. The view is spectacular from the middle,” he said. He tugged her hand a bit, trying to get her to move, but he wasn’t forcing her. He was letting her know that it was her decision, even if he was going to push her a little.#p#分页标题#e#
She wasn’t budging. Yes, she was adventurous, and she loved to hike and loved to be on the ocean and loved trying new things. But she wasn’t a fan of heights. It wasn’t entirely rational, and she got that, but¸ dang it, she was afraid.
They were currently standing at the entrance to the Yukon Suspension Bridge, which goes over the Tutshi River. Whitewater raged along rapidly fifty-seven feet below, and it was reaching up menacingly to snare its victims. Yet Ashton had been trying to get her to cross the dang bridge for the past fifteen minutes.
They’d spent the afternoon and early evening driving the nearly two-hundred-mile round trip from Skagway to Carcross Corner and back. She’d witnessed the famous Dead Horse Trail, the William Moore Bridge — another one she wouldn’t cross — bears, sheep, moose, mountain goats, and some of the most scenic views imaginable.
A great moment had been when they’d stopped in Liarsville — her favorite name for a town ever. They’d walked hand in hand through the Gold Rush Trail Camp, and she’d played tourist and bought a few cheap souvenirs before they hit the road again.
They’d talked for hours, laughed, and this was when she’d admitted to him that she wanted to be a braver person, that she didn’t want to live her entire life saddled with fear. Dang, one minute she was telling him that, and the next he was hell-bent on ensuring she try to beat those fears quickly. And now Ashton was threatening to ruin her amazing day by trying to get her to cross this damn bridge. Did he not understand basic psychology on getting people past phobias?
“How about this?” he said in his smoothest voice. “You can grip my hand tight, and if you are seriously freaked out after walking ten steps, we will turn around and I’ll leave you alone.”
She processed his words, and it did feel like a good compromise, but she just didn’t want to see the view. Wasn’t that what the Web was for? Still, she hated letting her fears rule her. That wasn’t a way to live.
“Fine. But if we die on this trek, I will haunt your soul to the end of eternity, Ashton, and that’s a promise.”
The man was smart enough not to laugh at her, though she did see his lips twitch. Her eyes narrowed even more, and he managed to deep-six that budding smile. Smart man.
Savvy knew that her nails were digging into Ashton’s hand, but no matter how much she told herself to loosen her grip, it wasn’t happening. However, as she focused on putting each of her feet in front of the other, she realized that she and Ash were halfway across the bridge, and though she could swear they were really rocking the thing, it felt quite stable.
Ashton tried to speak to her, but she just shook her head and picked up her pace. The sooner they finished this, the sooner she’d be able to say she’d faced another fear, had conquered it, actually, and then she would be done.
Ashton tried to stop and admire the view, but she wasn’t having any of that silliness. She practically ran to the other side of the bridge, and before she could think about it, she grabbed his arm and moved swiftly back to where they’d begun.