Page 69 of Finding My Charming

It all started coming together. This was why Sherrie loved him so much. She saw the hardworking, independent man he was. Luckily, now I did too.

There were two guys about Dallin’s age waiting for us at a waterfall. I couldn’t decide what shocked me most, though. The fact that we’d turned a corner and the most magnificent waterfall I’d ever seen appeared, or happening upon these guys. Dallin had told me we’d meet up with his friends, but I thought we’d pass them on the trail. I didn’t realize they’d be here.

Why were they waiting for us? I tore my eyes away from the falls and studied the guys. Tank tops, board shorts, and running shoes. Something here doesn’t add up.

“Hey, Dallin!” the taller, blond one called out when he noticed us. “The lines are ready for you guys.”

I looked at him then Dallin then at the third guy. What lines?

That was when I noticed the harnesses around their waists. Oh no.

Dallin waved at them and smiled back at me. “Ready to rappel?”

“No.”

I eyed him and the other two. This didn’t seem very official. Where was the supervisor? Park ranger?

“Okay, Elle. This is Eric.” He gestured to Blondie then the shorter guy. “And this is Willie. They’re both trained in this and take tour groups rappelling all the time. They know what they’re doing. All we have to do is lean back and enjoy the ride.”

The shorter guy laughed and waved me over. “It’s perfectly safe, Elle.”

I narrowed my eyes at him in what I was hoping was an intimidating look. “No way.”

Dallin found my hand and gave it a tight squeeze and pulled me in to face him. His eyes were staring into my soul, and I knew he could see the rising panic. “You’ll be fine. This is my favorite thing to do in my spare time, and I wanted to share it with you. I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t want to you have time to come apart. Let’s just get the gear on.”

I numbly followed him and lifted my feet when I was told and let him and Blondie tug and tighten the harness until they were satisfied. Dallin slipped his on with ease then spoke a few hushed words with his friends.

The waterfall. This time I was seeing it as the deathtrap it really was. We were at the top, and it went down about another sixty feet. Not as bad as it could have been, but still high enough that it would definitely do damage if someone fell. Hopefully, that someone wouldn’t be me.

Before I could have another thought about it, I turned to the guys. “Let’s go.”

Dallin stuttered before stepping forward and hugging me. “Thank you,” he whispered before kissing me on the cheek.

“Willie is going to be your belay, so he’s going to head down first then control your speed from the bottom.”

Willie gave me a sixty-second tutorial in rappelling terms and directions, then without warning, he was over the edge and kicking off the cliff as if he was playing in a vertical bounce house.

Once we got the signal from the guys at the bottom, Dallin positioned me and wished me luck. After watching Eric and Willie go down, I was actually excited. It looked way more fun that I’d been imagining and knowing someone was controlling how far down I could drop made me feel better.

The fall lasted forever yet ended in the blink of an eye.

When my feet touched the ground, I let out a victorious cheer and high-fived the guys.

“That was the best!”

Dallin was laughing at me while undoing his harness then stepped out of it and over to me to get mine off. “I’m really glad you liked it. You were so brave.” His face was only inches from mine. I was still high on adrenaline, so I didn’t think before grabbing his face and smashing a kiss onto his cheek.

“I think that was the scariest thing I’ve ever done, but I can’t wait to do it again.”

“Me either.”

Chapter 22

i floated into the office on Monday on cloud nine. Things with Dallin had been better than I could have ever imagined — near perfection.

Sherrie took one look at my face and shook her head while looking back down at her computer. Her smile mirrored my own. “It’s probably fair to say that your little plan worked out.”

I sat down in my chair next to her and began settling in for the day. “That would be correct.”