Page 105 of Sinners Reunion

The girls let out a cheer as the car shoots off the edge of the canyon. Bennett pulls off his blindfold just in time to see the rear tires disappear over the edge. He jumps to his feet with a shout and throws down the controller.

Confetti cannons blast colored paper into the air, and Jim declares us the winners.

“Suck it, Ezra! I whipped your ass!” He lifts Cat into his arms and spins her around. When he sets her down, he turns to me and gives my hand a shake. “We make a pretty good team. You aren’t so bad for a geezer.”

“Let’s not forget Josie’s part in this.” I pull her into the celebration circle, and Bennett ruffles her hair.

“Yeah, you did pretty good, Carrot Top.”

Josie rolls her eyes. “It’s not even the same shade of red.”

The last car comes around the curve, and off the cliff it goes. The others start making their way to the canyon’s edge, eager to see the wreckage. I’m keen to see what remains of our racers and Cattle as well.

“Come on,” I say to Josie. “Let’s go take a peek at the mess.”

We make the trek across the hot, dusty terrain until we reach the sheer edge. Bodies, metal, and wood lie in heaps below us. Most of the others congregate a few yards away. They cheer and laugh and relive the race.

All but Ezra. He hangs even further back. His feet inch closer to the limos with every second.

“Hey,” I say to him. When he looks at me, I motion him closer. “Come here.”

He shakes his head, but I refuse to relent.

“There’s a ledge just below here,” I say to him. “You can’t fall far enough to cause injury.”

Josie looks down. “No there isn’t,” she whispers.

I elbow her ribs as Ezra finally starts toward us.

Kindra stands with the others, but she mouths thank you as she realizes what I intend to do.

Ezra gets close enough for me to grab, and I reach out and pull him between Josie and myself before he can hurry away. With a gulp, he peers over the edge.

“You’re a bloody liar,” he mutters. “There is no ledge.”

“And you’re a bloody fool for being so afraid of something so wondrous and beautiful. Even aside from the stunning disaster below us, look at the magnificence. The sunset. The rock formations carved by wind, water, and time. You can’t see any of that from back there.” I motion in front of us. “Sometimes the reward is greater than the fear. You just have to take the chance.”

I’m speaking to Ezra, but as I stare at Josie looking out at the fading sun, I’m speaking to myself a little too. My heart aches with some unknown feeling as she catches me staring and offers a warm smile.

“Sometimes you have to do the scary things,” I continue, my eyes still on her. “Especially if the end result outweighs the regret. No one is asking you to die, Ezra. We’re only asking you to try.”

Ezra takes a deep breath and looks out at the view before him. He tenses as he takes that last step forward, but he relaxes with his next breath. His toes hover at the precipice, and a bit of loose rock skitters into the wind.

I release him and stand beside him, lending him strength through my presence. “Whenever you’re scared, just remember this moment. I might have steadied you, but you walked to the edge.”

Ezra’s head jerks to the side, and he studies me hard for a moment. Only now do I realize that I said the same thing to him all those years ago as we stood on the Cliffs of Dover. We’ve walked this same path before, and he’s remembering, though I don’t see how.

Jim and I smudged this memory.

I chuckle and take a step back. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No,” Ezra says, his brow furrowed. “Just a moment of déjà vu. Nothing more.”

Thankfully, Kindra comes over and saves the day. “Well, look at you going closer to the edge than I ever would. Why don’t we just take a teensy step back.” Kindra takes his hand and pulls him away from the ledge. “That’s better. If you have plans to die, let’s wait until after I’m next in line for your hefty life insurance policy.”

As the two of them step back to watch the sunset, I pull Josie aside and lead her away from the group a bit. Jim catches my eye and gives me a nod and a sly smile. Damn him. He knows he’s won. He knows that I’ve fallen for the girl and that I’m about to do something positively barmy.

“You aren’t going to shove me into the canyon, are you?” Josie glances around, but she keeps following me away from everyone else.