Page 30 of Midnight Serenade
I shook my head. “Thankfully no. My Achilles heel is tight spaces.”
Rafe nodded, and I noticed for the first time that he was sweating. I’d never seen him sweat before. “I’m afraid of heights.”
I gaped at him, then leaned in closer so the employee wouldn’t hear us. “Aren’t you a bird shifter?”
He shrugged. “I’m in control as a bird. Here, I’m not.”
“I’d offer to ride with you, but I don’t think it’s possible with my harness.”
Rafe gave me a funny look. “I enjoy living, thank you. I’ll go alone. Who knows? I may like it as much as flying as an eagle.”
“You can do Superman too. It’d be more natural for you that way.”
He nodded just as Mama jumped off the platform, hooting and cheering as she picked up speed. By the time she approached the next platform way in the distance, she was laughing like a loon.
Had I known that my mama was an adrenaline junkie before this? I didn’t think I had.
Rafe wanted me to go next, because he wanted to guard my back, so the guy strapped me into my harness, taking a few extra moments to tug on the straps to make sure they were tight but not too tight. It wasn’t crazy comfortable—the straps dug into my thighs—but it felt really secure. As my security for the day, Rafe checked all the straps again before he would allow the employee to send me on my way. When I was cleared to go, the employee gave me a shove and away I went.
I laughed and held my arms out like Superman, gazing in wonder at the trees and treetops around me.
“This. Is. Awesome!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. I could hear Mama laughing and Rafe grumbling. Birds soared above and below me, which worried me at first, but they were masters of the sky and knew how to stay in their own lanes. I spotted some wildlife on the forest floor, but it was hard to see very wellbecause I was so high up. Instead, I just focused on the feeling of the total and complete freedom I felt as I zoomed through the trees.
Ziplining was going to be an addiction for me. I knew it instantly.
I slowed as I approached the next platform and a female employee standing there stopped me fully and unhooked all of my straps while we waited for Rafe to complete his first leg of the course. I wasn’t sure that she was supposed to unhook every strap, but she worked here, so she obviously knew what she was doing. I decided not to say anything.
Her face looked familiar to me, but I couldn’t place her, and I didn’t want to be rude and stare, so I avoided looking at her completely. When Rafe reached us, he looked me over to be sure I was okay before high-fiving Mama, whose cheeks were flushed with excitement.
“Is it as good as the real thing?” I asked, curious.
Rafe scoffed. “Not even close. But if you don’t have wings, it’s fairly decent.”
I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Show off. Let’s do the same order, Mama. You go first.”
Mama nodded, and the lady hooked her up to the next segment. Mama jumped off with a whoop and a cackle and zoomed away. The female employee turned to work on me next, and I felt a prickly feeling wash over me. Kind of like the feeling you got when someone was watching you. I casually glanced around, but no one was in sight other than Mama, long gone down the zipline, Rafe, and the female employee, who was strapping me in with rough, jerky movements.
Rafe, because he was observant and obviously in tune with me, picked up on my unease. I couldn’t explain it, but I suddenly didn’t feel safe. And I was getting weird vibes from the employee. Her presence felt dampened in a weird way, and Icouldn’t read her. I was starting to think all of this fresh air and exercise was rotting my brain.
Rafe took another look at my face and took charge. “We’re going together. We need a tandem harness.”
Frustration flashed in the woman’s expression for a moment before she schooled her expression again and got to work preparing our tandem harness.
I let out a shaky breath, nodding. Yes, this was better.
She hooked up Rafe first, as he would be in the forward position, with me behind him. She strapped me in last, checking the harness several times to make sure everything was secure, before she pushed us off the platform.
For a few moments, everything was as it had been the first leg of our course. The breeze was cooling off my heated skin, and the birds soared above us, some of them cawing at Rafe in bird brother and bird sister greeting as he passed. I grinned at the thought and then laughed. It was so cool to be a part of the paranormal world!
My initial unease had left, but I had my good arm woven through the back of one of Rafe’s straps, just in case.
At the midway point, Rafe craned his neck to look back at me. “You okay?”
I nodded like a bobble head, probably grinning like a fool. “Yeah!”
And you know how in life sometimes there was terrible irony?
Yeah.
