Page 68 of The Magical Tea Shop

She shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. “No,” she breathed.

“I’ll pull you up and back.”

“I can’t.” She turned to glance down and immediately turned terror-filled eyes back at Jaxon.

He kept his voice steady, encouraging. “You won’t. I won’t let you. I’m really strong. Here, take one of my hands.”

The root she hung onto with her right hand began to creak and give, dirt scattering. Her left-hand grip tightened on the rock face, her fingernails breaking. He stretched his arm down, angling until she might just be able to reach his fingers. With a determined grimace, she let go of the root and snatched at the proffered hand. She missed on the first try, and swung to the left. She squealed, and Jaxon’s heart stopped before pounding erratically. Keeping his focus on Ivy, he eased himself out farther. If the ground gave way, they’d plummet onto the rocks below.

Hands gripped his legs. “We’ve got you, Jax,” he heard Nell say. He eased farther, just a little bit farther, until Ivy could just grasp his fingers. “More,” he told Nell.

“You heard him,” she said. Jaxon felt another pair of hands. Someone else slipped a rope around his waist and tightened it.

“We won’t let you fall,” he heard Roman say.

Jaxon was hanging over the edge now, his fate in the hands of Hazard. He could hear the Roadies and the Rebels working together to help him rescue Ivy, easing him down until he gripped her wrist and she gripped his.

He heard a cheer from Joel. “You’ve got your girl. Don’t let her go.”

Jaxon pulled and kept his eyes on Ivy’s. “Focus on me. You can do this.” He gave her wrist an encouraging tug, and she let go of the rock face with her other hand. For one chilling instant she swung perilously, and if it weren’t for the community holding onto Jaxon, he knew they would’ve tumbled into oblivion.

Jaxon grabbed Ivy’s other wrist and began to pull her up as the others pulled him back, a combined team effort pulling them free from danger.

They weren’t in this alone. He had Ivy, and the community had him. They all pulled and eased Ivy up and over the side.

She crawled the last little bit and, both on their knees, Jaxon pulled her into his arms. She clung. Nothing ever felt so right. She belonged in his arms. He belonged with her.

“I’ve got you. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.” He couldn’t stop repeating himself. “I’ve got you.”

“I know,” she answered, humor in her voice along with something else. He leaned back to search her eyes, expecting gratitude, but it was so much more. Love for him shone from her eyes. He hadn’t lost her. His heart stuttered and steadied. He smiled, and she smiled, and while everyone milled around shouting instructions and sounding important, the two of them gazed at each other.

“I couldn’t let you fall.”

“You didn’t.”

“I love you.”

She smiled the smile that warmed him all the way from his head to his toes. Ivy Wayland was sunshine personified. “Love you, too. Don’t leave me.”

“Never,” he breathed, and drew her in for a kiss to seal his promise, while Montgomery did his happy little dog dance all around.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Ivy sat witha blanket around her shoulders. The wind hadn’t let up, and kites flew overhead but only in the roped-off safety arena with parents alertly supervising their children. Ivy perched on a wooden picnic table in the gazebo Jaxon had designed for Cliffside Park. She sipped tea from a large pink mug with Hollister’s Bakery displayed on it in giant letters. Holly had fussed over her—as had her parents, until she had successfully waved them away. They had finally got the hint that she wanted to be alone with Jaxon.

Many of the others, the Roadies and the Rebels together, had left for a drink at Toby and Mac’s. The pillars were already discussing the tale of the rescue of Ivy Wayland. Ivy was simultaneously thrilled and dreading the retelling, certain that it was destined to live on in Hazard lore.

Vendors were packing up their tables. Holly had a steadfast helper today in the form of Rebecca, but it was clear Becca preferred the tea shop to the bakery. It might be time to hire a helper, but first she needed to come clean to Jaxon. “I have a confession.”

“A confession? Don’t tell me you jumped off a cliff because you couldn’t live without me.” He grinned and tugged on a lock of her hair, still loose around her face.

“Oh, no. Not that. I would never admit to that.”

“Let me guess, you thought you were a kite.”

Ivy pinched her lips together and shook her head. His jovial mood was wonderful, but it wasn’t making this any easier.

“Hmm, okay, how about…”

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