They wrapped up, and Owen put the radio away with a long sigh. “Well, I guess that’s that.”
“Eff that noise,” I said. With a growl of determination, I grabbed my food-laden bag, slung it over my shoulder, and then went to the doors.
Chapter 8
Bee
I wedgedmy fingertips between the heavy metal auto-closing doors, attempting to claw them apart. I was instantly blown back by a gust of wind before they snapped shut again. Owen lunged at me, causing the tram to rock in one direction. With his arms around my waist—the man was far too tactile—he hauled me back to the opposite side. The Can rocked back in the other direction. We tumbled against the wall, but he never loosened his grip.
“What are you doing? Are you crazy?!” His hold was like a vise, but his voice shook.
“I’m not staying here, and I am not crazy! That’s terribly offensive.” I hit at his hands, but he didn’t so much as flinch.
“That’s a twenty-foot drop or more. You would break every bone in your body!”
Why did he care about my safety so much? Why was he so determined to bring me down this mountain? It didn’t make any sense. Even if everybody else thought I was ridiculous—if they thought of me at all—at least I knew who I was and what Iwanted. I just really wanted NYNB to work. I wasn’t ready to give up.
“I don’t think it’s that high. And there’s a little ladder on the pole thing. I wasn’t going to jump down. Look, I’ll show you,” I explained, trying to get up.
He didn’t let me move an inch.
“You probably couldn’t see it anyway, but trust me,” I mumbled.
“Yes, you’ve instilled nothing but trust in me since we met,” he grumbled in my ear, not letting me go.
I suppressed a shiver as his breath tickled down my collar.
“If I climb down the ladder, it’s only a few feet drop into all that fresh powdery snow. Like jumping onto a bed,” I explained. He was too clouded by his own fears to see the situation clearly. Not like me. Thankfully, one of us was being rational.
“You cannot be serious,” he said.
“I am.”
“Then what? It’s horrible out there,” he asked, his breath hot against my ear, his voice rumbling against my back.
I straightened, and the muscles in his arms flexed.
Fine, I’ll stay contained within your rock-hard flesh prison where it’s warm and yummy smelling.
“We only rode ten minutes,” I explained. “This thing can’t be going faster than a couple of miles per hour. So that’s what, two miles tops? It’s just a straight shot back up to the mountain.”
“None of that math sounds right.”
“Give it up. You’re not getting me back down this mountain tonight. At least let me go back up.” I struggled futilely against him. Not that I was keeping track, but Owen and I had embraced a lot tonight already.
“As the crow flies,” he said, low and menacing.
“What? Nobody is even talking about birds right now. Now, who’s the insane one?” I grumbled under my breath. His bodywas still pressed hard against mine. It didn’t matter that there were all the layers between us. I was too aware of him.
“That calculation might be right as the crow flies, but you’re talking about climbing through wild, unmarked forest in a whiteout at night. That’s a recipe for death for anybody. Think about how many peaks and valleys there are. Isn’t this thing a thousand feet off the ground at one point?”
I didn’t want to speak because I wasn’t ready to admit he was right. Sometimes, my body launched into a plan without fact-checking with the brain. It would certainly be memorable if I died trying to climb my way back to the top, but not the sort of impression I was going for. The fight died out of me, and I slumped back against him.
“It’s warmer and safer in here. Walking back to the top is not an option,” he said with finality.
The plan would still happen. This was just a hiccup. NYNB didn’t have to be thrown out the window; it would only be put on hold until survival was no longer the top priority.
“Okay,” I said. He relaxed enough that I could finally move out of his arms. I probably should.
