Page 38 of Take My Name

While he double-checks Maisie’s good to go, I put on my gear.

“Y’all ready? Who’s first?” Asher asks.

“She is.”

Maisie narrows her eyes like she wants to murder me, but she should’ve known I’d want to make sure she gets to the other side safely. There’s another staff member waiting for us over there.

Once Asher clips the harness to the cable and double-checks everything, I lean into her ear and whisper, “Don’t forget to scream my name.”

She turns her head, our faces inches apart, and I shoot her a wink.

“Just for that, I’m gonna beat your time to the other side.”

“Game on, city girl.”

I back up out of the way as Maisie grabs the handle and inches closer toward the edge.

“Bend your knees and lean back,” Asher reminds her.

“Oh my God!” she screams the second she steps off, and Asher and I burst out laughing. “Warren!”

I might’ve forgotten to tell her there were some updates since she was on it last and we made the cable longer.

“She sounds like she wants to kill you.” Asher chuckles.

“Oh, trust me, she does.”

I wait for the confirmation she’s made it across before I get into position andtake off.

It takes less than thirty seconds before I meet her on the other side. Jake grabs me before I crash into the pole, then unhooks me from the handle.

Her conflicted expression either means she had a blast or she’s ready to push me off the mountain.

“I knew you’d scream my name,” I tease Maisie once I’m next to her. “You have fun?”

Her fingers grip around the belts of the harness as she glares. “You didn’t tell me it was a longer line.”

I scratch my cheek, holding back a grin. “Slipped my mind.”

“Mhm.”

“Ready to go again?” I ask, motioning for her to get back into position so Jake can hook her back up.

“Fine,” she breathes out the word, but I’m fairly certain she’s trying not to smile. “At least this time I know what to expect.”

She screams again, not my name this time, but it’s funny nevertheless. Jake gets a kick out of it too.

We end up going back and forth three times before calling it quits.

“What’s that?” I point to her face when we walk toward my truck.

“What?” She brushes her cheek.

“I think I saw a smile.”

“Dammit, Warren,” she says, laughing this time.

“Admit it, you had fun.” I nudge her with my elbow.