“Wow, JoJo,” Max said, “I don’t like the sound of that.”
She grinned. “What? The part about putting a couple holes in him?”
He shook his head. “No, the part about somebody breaking into your apartment while you’re in it. You should speak with Gunny and RJ and ask them if you can stay the next few nights here at the ranch.”
JoJo pressed her lips into a thin line. “I already did. I’m staying.”
“Good. Otherwise, I would have to camp out in your apartment parking lot.”
Her brow furrowed. “You’d do that?”
Max nodded. “I would.”
“Again,” she said, “why?”
“I don’t know. I think you’re pretty special and sassy, and I’d hate to see you get hurt.”
She wadded up her foil wrapper, rose to her feet and put it into the cooler. She retrieved a small bottle of water and started to toss it to him, then rethought it and handed it to him instead and got another one out for herself.
JoJo shrugged. “It works out for the best anyway, for me to stay at the lodge with everybody coming in this weekend.”
Max nodded, glad that she was going to stay. That way he wouldn’t have to park out in that parking lot, and he could keep an eye on her while she was at the ranch. “Do you think it was Roy trying to get into your apartment?”
“I can’t think of any other suspect. I don’t know if I’ve pissed off anybody else.” JoJo pinched the bridge of her nose. “That’s why I try to be nice to the bar patrons, even when they’re jerks.”
“Well, I’ll work in the bar with you tonight and keep an eye out to see if there’s anyone there who acts suspicious.”
She dropped her hand to her side. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know I don’t, Max said. “But I’m your friend, and I’ve got your six. How much farther will we be traveling on this trail with the guests?”
She stared up a hillside. “Probably up to the old mine, and then we’ll turn around and come back. I think that’s far enough to take the others. Although, there is a really pretty bluff area that I’d like to take them to so that they can see the view from there.”
“You lead, I’ll follow,” he said.
She climbed aboard her four-wheeler and took off.
He did the same, following her. They made it up to the old mine where she made a circle in front of it. Without stopping, she pushed on, climbing higher up the mountain.
When they reached the top of a ridge where the ground leveled off, she got down off her ATV and walked toward the edge of a cliff.
Max killed his engine, jumped off and hurried after her. He hadn’t been near the edge of a cliff since he’d fallen. Seeing JoJo so close to the drop-off made his heart pound. It shouldn’t have. How many times had he stood at the edge of a cliff, looking down, judging the route he would take and where he would anchor his ropes to descend? He caught up with her before she got to the edge. He started to reach out for her and remembered how she’d reacted before.
“JoJo,” he said.
She turned to face him. “Yes?”
He thought how ridiculous he’d sound by saying don’t get too close to the brink, but he’d rather do that than have her fall over. “Be careful,” he said instead.
“Always am,” she said. “It’s an over three-hundred-foot drop to the bottom of the gorge here.” Her brow furrowed. “Does it bother you to get close to the edges of cliffs since your fall?”
He sighed. “I haven’t rappelled since then, nor have I climbed any mountains. For me, personally, I’d probably be okay standing by the edge of the cliff.”
She smiled. “But it bothers you that I’m standing so close, doesn’t it?”
He nodded. “In the past, I was eager to try my hand at cliffs like this and to teach the young soldiers how to navigate them. Both up and down.”
“And now?” JoJo asked.
He shrugged. “I really don’t know. I haven’t tried.” He touched a hand to his leg. “I don’t know how this will hold up.”
“You obviously liked mountaineering, or you wouldn’t have done it for so long.”
He smiled. “Believe it or not, I have a fear of heights.”
Her eyes widened. “Seriously? Isn’t it kind of hard to be someone who climbs mountains and still have a fear of heights?”
He nodded. “It forced me to confront my fears. I always felt stronger afterward. I beat my fears when I met the challenge.”
JoJo’s brow furrowed. “So, confronting your fears helps make you stronger?”
“It did in my case,” he said, “but then I got cocky.”
“Is that what happened?”
“I got complacent about checking my gear. I assumed it was all in good working order. When you’re stepping over the ledge, it’s not a good time to discover a key piece of equipment isn’t in good working order. Not when you’re two-hundred and fifty feet above the bottom of a cliff.” He stared out across the mountains. Blue filled the sky, in stark contrast to the ragged peaks. It was hard to have bad thoughts when you were surrounded by so much beauty.
“Will you ever climb mountains again?” JoJo asked.
“Probably, if my body cooperates.”
“Will your leg ever fully recover?”
“Probably not,” he said. “The doc thinks I’ll always have a limp. And it will take a lot of effort to build back my strength. But I’m working on it.”
She tilted her head, her gaze meeting his. “And then you’ll confront your fear again?”
He nodded. “I will. Have you ever thought about challenging your fears?”
It was as if the light in her eyes shut off. She turned away. “I think it would be easier to climb a mountain.” In other words, she didn’t want to talk about it. “We should be getting back. Our guests should be arriving soon. We might want to be there when they do.”
And just like that,
