Page 72 of Tinder Embrace
"Easy, Davis. The skies are gentle today. We’re tied to the SUV, so we’ll only go up as far as the tether allows."
He squeezed, cutting off circulation in my fingers, and I winced. "Do you want to hop out? I can always do the test on my own."
"No." He let go of my hand, easing some of my worries, but his jaw remained taut.
"Bee-gonia's burner checked out fine," I soothed, running a hand down his arm, frowning at the tension that hardened the muscles beneath my fingers. "You trust me, don't you? I wouldn't let you get hurt, Davis."
Maybe it was a rotten thing to do, calling on his trust, but it had the desired result.
Davis's gaze met mine. "I do trust you," he said, heaving a sigh.
"If you're not comfortable, I can do the flight on my own," I assured. "Do you want to stay for now?"
He gritted his teeth and nodded. He humbled me with his trust. I’d had no idea he struggled with heights. Yet he’d still volunteered to fly with me. The rush of love for him nearly knocked the breath out of me.
"We'll go up to about ten feet. If it's too much, we'll land again, and you can hop out. Easy-peasy."
"Deal."
I pressed the handle on the burner, trying to give us enough heat to rise without popping up higher than the limit I'd given Davis. The burner roared, and we lifted until we hit the threshold I'd promised.
Grasping Davis's hands in mine, I squeezed, watching him carefully. "What do you think?" I asked.
His color was better, but my stoic farmer could still be hard to read.
He took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly, and released my hands, peering over the side of the basket.
Jo stood a few feet below us, ready to provide her weight if I landed to let Davis out. She waved up at us, and I heard Davis sigh.
"Let's go higher," he said.
"You sure? It’s not a meatloaf moment?"
He shook his head.
I gave us enough heat to rise fifty feet and paused. I was proud of him for facing his fear, but there was no reason to push it. He’d offered to come to support me, and I’d never repay that by hurting him.
"You good?"
Davis tilted his head. "It's surprisingly gentle. Not that different from an elevator."
I grinned. "And when I'm not running the burner, very peaceful," I said, gesturing to the ground below us as we rose.
“What do you think? Ready for a real flight?” I asked.
“Sure.”
We drifted down, and I detached the tether, passing it to Jo. “Davis and I are headed out. Thanks for crewing, Jo. See you on the ground?”
Jo and I exchanged final instructions, and she waved as we rose, untethered. Davis gripped the basket, and I slid a hand over his, squeezing. “You okay?”
“I’m with you.”
My heart melted at his simple answer. The trust he offered.
I focused on flying, listening to Bee-gonia's burner for any issues. Slowly, my shoulders relaxed, as I gained faith that whatever hiccup I'd had last time wasn't going to repeat itself.
We flew over fields and houses, most of Campfire still snug in their beds this early on a Saturday morning. Birds twittered in the trees as the sun rose higher over the mountains, bathing the town below in gentle light.
