Max sat down beside me and shot me a look. “Sammy, don’t start with that nonsense.” He laughed lightly.
The pilot checked to make sure that we were both strapped in. My stomach lurched when he took his position in front of the controls. The last chance for me to beg out of the helicopter stared me right in the face.
“Oh, Max, I don’t know.” I squeezed his hand tight.
“Trust me.” Max smiled at me.
If he said more, I didn’t hear it. The blades of the helicopter roared to life. I closed my eyes. I tried to remind myself of all of the amazing things that I’d accomplished—things I never thought I was capable of doing, yet they had been checked off my bucket list—which made me believe that this too could be checked off.
I felt the helicopter lift. My stomach seemed to rush up into my throat. Sweat gathered on my palms. In the back of my mind I knew that my grip on Max’s hand might lead to physical injury.
Max snuggled closer to me. Over the roar of the helicopter he managed to get a few words through. “Open your eyes, Sammy!”
I didn’t want to. I thought if I kept my eyes closed through the entire journey, I might be able to make it. But Max tugged at my hand until finally I opened my eyes. The sight before me took my breath away.
A beautiful sunrise painted across the sky, surrounded us. It was dotted with wisps of white puffy clouds. When I looked a little further I could see the lush green hills that we were flying over.
I looked over at Max. He smiled. Even though he didn’t speak, I could hear him clearly say, “I told you so.”
I looked back out the window. It was easy to see why Max had been so insistent. The bird’s-eye view of the valley below filled my vision with blues, greens, oranges, whites, and the deep browns of the rich soil. My soul was nourished in a new way.
After a few minutes the helicopter swooped downward toward a landing pad. I braced myself. I’d survived the flight but would I survive the landing?
The helicopter rocked back and forth a little but made its way down to the landing pad without incident. When I opened my eyes, I saw that we were in the base of the valley. The chopper stilled.
Max helped me out of the helicopter. We handed over our headphones to the pilot. Max slid his arm around my waist and walked me to the edge of the landing pad.
“See? Wasn’t it worth it?” He nuzzled the side of my neck.
I still felt the vibrations of the helicopter, but his arms around me eased my nerves.
“Yes, it was worth it. Thank you, Max. This is one adventure I never would have had on my own.”
“That’s the point, sweetheart. Now we get to start our adventure together. I want you to know that just because we got married, that doesn’t mean the adventure stops. It’s just the beginning.”
“Oh, I love you, Max.”
We shared a slow kiss.
It was so sensual that it seemed to stir the wind around us. My hair flew into my face. I curled up against Max as the wind whipped harder. I knew all of the commotion couldn’t be created by us.
I turned to see the chopper had lifted up into the air.
Chapter 5
“Wait, where is the helicopter going?” I grabbed Max’s hand. “It’s leaving us behind!”
“No, it’s not, it’s fine. We’re going to hike out of the valley.”
“Huh?” I looked up at the high hills around us. “What do you mean we’re hiking out?”
“Don’t worry, I have camp set up halfway up the trail so we can spend the night here. I thought you’d enjoy having the chance to make love under the stars.” He smiled.
The thought was tempting, but the high hills were daunting.
“Do you really think we can hike all the way out? What if I can’t make it?”
“I have no doubt that you can.” Max looked into my eyes. “Don’t doubt yourself now, gorgeous. We’re a team, remember?”
“I appreciate your faith in me, Max, but I’m not so sure.”
“Don’t worry—if we run into any problems, I have a way to contact the ranger and he’ll send out a team to get us.”
“Are you sure?
“I promise. This is going to be wonderful. You have to trust me, Sammy. I won’t let anything happen to you. Don’t you know that?” He looked into my eyes.
“I do.” I smiled a little. “I guess this is just a bit more of an adventure than I was expecting.”
“Don’t worry, I have a map of the easiest trail and plenty of supplies waiting for us at the first stop.” He held out his arm to me. “Ready to explore what the valley has to offer?”
“Yes. I’ll explore anything with you by my side.”
When we started to walk, I hid my concern. Sure, all of the activity I’d engaged in to get healthy had gotten me into better shape, but good enough shape for this much of a hike?
Max slid his hand into mine and pulled me up beside him.
“Together.” He smiled. “We can get through anything.”
His enthusiasm was infectious. The ground was even and the temperature was mild.
“I can’t believe you planned all of this without ever telling me about it.”
“This and much more.” Max leaned into my arm and gave me a light nudge. “You’re not the only one that can be creative, you know.” He smiled over at me in a way that made me fall in love all over again as he continued speaking.
“You know, when I saw you walk down that aisle, I thought I had to be dreaming. The thing was, I didn’t dare to pinch myself, because if it was a dream I never wanted to wake up.”
“Wow.”
“It’s true.”
“No. I mean wow, did that line ever work?” I grinned.
“Line?” He gasped. “Really, Sammy, the things that you think of me.”
“It was sweet of you to say. I felt the same way looking at you, Max. In fact, sometimes I still wonder if this is all in my imagination…the amount of time I spent dreaming of even kissing you, and now we’re married?”
“Oh, we have plenty of time on the hike for you to tell me all about those dreams and kisses.” Max nudged me again.
“Never mind.” I laughed. “I think that you get the point.”
“We’re almost to our first stop. Do you need a rest?”
“No, it’s okay, I can make it.”
Max nodded.
I was about to lean in for a quick kiss when I heard a strange rustling sound. It was not like any sound I’d ever heard before. It made my heart stop for a split second, though I wasn’t sure why.
“What’s that, Max?” I leaned closer to him.
“What’s what?” He glanced over at me.
“You don’t hear that sound?”
“What sound?”
“Sh. Listen.” I stood still. The rustling sound came again.
Max’s arm tightened around my shoulders.
“Don’t move, Sammy.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Just don’t move.”
“Max?”
“Sammy, can you promise me that you won’t scream? You won’t run?”
“Uh. I promise.” I bit into my bottom lip. I wasn’t sure that I could keep that promise.
“Okay, remember your promise, alright?” He locked his eyes to mine.
I nodded.
“There’s a very large snake—only a few inches away from your right foot. Now, I can’t tell what kind it is, but no matter what, we don’t want you to get struck. So, take a deep breath. Sammy?”
I trembled as I continued to stare into his eyes. It took all of my willpower not to scream. I started to look in the direction of the snake.
“Don’t. Don’t look, Sammy.” Max shook his head. “Seeing it is not going to make anything better. What I’m going to do is pick you up—very slowly.”
“Max, you can’t pick me up.”
“Yes, I can. Don’t argue with me. If I pick you up, then there’s no way the snake can reach you.”
“But what
about you?”
“I’m far enough away that I should be able to dodge it if it strikes. Now on the count of three I’m going to pick you up. Don’t fight me and don’t scream.”
“Okay.” I tried not to think about whether he would be able to lift me. Max had picked me up before, but I still wondered if he could pick me up and hold me up.
“One, two, three!” Max swept one arm under the back of my legs and tipped my body back against him. In the same moment he lunged away from the edge of the path. He moved about three steps before he began to stagger.
“Max, put me down—you’re going to get hurt!”
“No, I won’t. Where’s the snake?”
“It’s gone. I don’t see it.”
“Oops!” Max wobbled back and forth. Then he sat down hard on the ground. I landed right in his lap.
“Did I hurt you?”
“I’m fine.” He laughed. “I just lost my balance.”
Chapter 6
As we continued along the path Max pointed out a few things along the way.
“Did you research this trip too?”
“Yes, I did. I wanted to make sure that I could impress you.”
“You wanted to impress me?” I laughed. “That’s silly.”
“Why would that be silly?”
“Max, you don’t have to do anything to impress me.”
“I don’t have to—I wanted to.”
“But why? I adore you—no extra work needed.”
Max raised an eyebrow. “It’s good to know that you feel that way but I’m not so sure that you’re right.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re a writer. You’re an adventurer. You’re always thinking—about everything.”
“I know, I know. It’s a bad habit.” I shook my head.
“No, it’s an amazing habit, Sammy. Everything has meaning to you, everything matters. You see connections and inspiration in things. How are you not going to get bored with someone like me?”
I stopped in the middle of the path. I checked for snakes, of course, then looked at Max. “Max, I could never get bored with you. I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel like that was even possible.”
“All I know is that I want to see things through your eyes. I want you to know that even though on the surface I live a boring routine, I want to be part of your magical world.”
“Magical world?” I laughed. “I don’t think it’s magical.” I paused and looked into his eyes. I was standing in the middle of paradise, with the man of my dreams, whose focus was to impress me. “Okay, maybe it is a little magical.” I smiled as I held his gaze. “But only because you’re in it.”
“Kindness will get you everywhere.” He grinned. We shared a quick kiss. “But I mean it, Sammy. I want to be part of all this with you.”
I fell silent. My instincts were to bring up the topic of our working together again, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment by bringing any tension into it. Max knew what I wanted—for him to quit his job and take a chance with me. He clearly wasn’t interested. I didn’t want to pressure him when he had gone to all of this trouble to make our honeymoon special.
“I love you, Max. You’ll always be part of everything I do. Don’t ever doubt that.”
“You know that’s part of the reason I planned this hike. I mean, we could be in Vegas, or on a cruise ship with all kinds of activities, but I really just wanted to spend time with you. We’ve been so busy—what with the wedding and your books—that the best luxury to me was to get some uninterrupted time with you.”
“And then I started formatting my book.” I cringed. “I’m sorry about that.”
“No need to be. I know it’s important. But out here, all that matters is us and nature, right?”
“Right.” I nodded and slid my hand into his.
When we reached the first checkpoint, I was surprised to see that there was a picnic blanket spread out with an assortment of dishes and drinks waiting for us.
“Wow, what a set-up!”
“I figured we’d be hungry by now.” He waited for me to sit down and then sat down beside me. “There’s fresh fruit, muffins, water, coffee.”
“Max, this is amazing. I didn’t even know something like this was possible.” I hesitated a moment and then met his eyes. “It must have cost a fortune to do all of this.”
Max was silent for a few moments as he set out some plates.
“Max?”
“Hm?”
I shifted on the picnic blanket. “Are you sure that we can afford all of this?”
Max met my eyes. Then poured some water into a cup for me. He spoke in a calm tone. “Do you think I would have planned it if we couldn’t afford it?”
“I didn’t mean it that way. I just mean—well, you went to all of this trouble, but I don’t need all of this.”
“You deserve all of this and more, Sammy. Don’t worry about the money.”
I tried to enjoy my muffin. I really did. But my mind kept turning back to the numbers. Sure, Max made a good amount of money at his job, but he also had bills—and the wedding had been expensive too.
“It’s just that I’d like to contribute.”
“Sammy.” Max set his cup down on the blanket. “I don’t want to talk about finances.”
“Alright, okay.” I took another bite of my muffin. I looked at the beauty around me. I tried to focus on anything else. But my mind kept adding up the costs. The three days in a honeymoon suite, all of the activities, a helicopter ride, a catered hike—and from the sound of it, Max had a lot more planned. How could he afford so much? How could we afford so much?
“It’s just that, it kind of affects both of us now. I mean, doesn’t it?” I met his eyes.
His lashes tightened and his lips twitched. He blew a heavy breath through his lips.
“Really, Sammy? We can’t just enjoy this?”
“I’m not allowed to ask about our finances? We’re married now. Your debt is my debt.”
“Sammy!” Max’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding me? Do you really think I’d do something that would jeopardize our future?”
“No, of course I don’t think that. But I don’t think it’s out of line for me to ask. I mean, we are merging our lives here, Max; don’t you think I should know about it?”
Chapter 7
Max rested his weight on his hands and leaned back as he looked at me.
“Sammy, can we drop this, please?”
“You’re not going to answer me?”
“Not now I’m not. Not while we’re in the middle of our honeymoon, that we’re supposed to be enjoying. I’m not going to list every dime I have and what I did or didn’t spend it on.”
“That’s not fair. I’m not asking you to do that. But you know my finances fluctuate. My books are doing well right now, but will they continue? I can’t even get the formatting right! What if I mess something up?”
“So, you’re worried that I might not be financially stable because your income might not be as stable as you like?” He sat back up and reached for my hand. “Sammy, I would never do anything to shake our foundation. We will always have everything that we need.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t be sorry. Tell me the truth. Why are you worried? It’s not just about the honeymoon, is it? Am I not being straightforward enough with you?”
“Max, it isn’t that. As amazing as this change is, as wonderful as it is, as grateful as I am to be your wife, you have to realize that this is a huge change for me. I’m leaving the apartment I’ve lived in since college. I’m moving into a house—your house. I’m wondering about finances that I’m not used to not having control over—not that I want control. It’s just a mess of little details that keep cropping up within me.” I shook my head. “It’s more about me, not you. I guess this is just a bigger transition than I anticipated.”
“How could you be feeling all of this and not share it with me? Sammy, you have to know by now that you can
come to me with anything. We’re married now. And yes, that’s a huge change—for me, too. We have to be able to talk to each other, right? Or things are going to start fraying at the edges. No hiding things.”
“You’re right.” I nodded. “I don’t know why I didn’t tell you how I was feeling.”
He caressed the curve of my cheek and looked into my eyes. “The important thing is that you told me now. From now on, let’s try to be as honest as possible with each other. As for the honeymoon, I promise I will tell you all of the details about it, financially and otherwise, but please let it wait until after the trip, okay? I don’t want any surprises to get ruined.”
“Alright.” I smiled. “Sure. But on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“You have to feed me some of these strawberries.” I laughed.
We spent quite some time sharing the delicious food. It amazed me how much better food tasted to me after a good workout, especially in the outdoor environment.
“We have to get going if we’re going to make the next checkpoint on time.” Max held his hand out to me. “Don’t worry about all of this—someone will be by to clean it up.”
“I think I could get used to this.” I laughed.
The next part of our hike was a little harder. The temperature rose and Max and I focused on moving forward rather than talking. Sweat dripped down my back and gathered at the waistband of my shorts. It didn’t make me feel terribly attractive.
“We’re almost to another checkpoint.” Max glanced over at me. “Do you have enough water?”
“Yes, I’m fine.” I forced a smile.
The beauty of our surroundings offset the strain of the hike. I started to feel lightheaded from the heat.
“We’re almost there.” Max reached back and took my hand. “I know it’s a little steep, but we can make it. We just have to keep going.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. I used my free hand to wipe the sweat off my forehead before it could drip down into my eyes. My chest was so tight that it felt like it might burst. I knew that the path had turned out to be much more strenuous than Max expected. Even he seemed to be struggling a bit to get up over the ridge.
“Here we are.” Max stood up straight and helped me to do the same.
Single Wide Female in Love Complete Bundle: Books 1-4 Page 30