certificate by the ticket booth. The whole setup is looked over by an engineer at least once a day. Why, if you just look at the thing yourself, you can tell it’ssturdy. I bet a hundred people have jumped today alone, and not a one’s had a single complaint.”
Victoria stuck her thumbs in her pockets, gazing pensively at the scaffolding that supported the platform.
Roan had promised her he wouldn’t jump, and he couldn’t change his mind now, or she would never trust him again. But if she changed her mind about it first …
“You know,” she said slowly, thoughtfully, “maybe this thing’s not so crazy after all.”
Yes! he said silently.
“If a twelve-year-old kid and a grandmother can do it with hardly a blink, it couldn’t be all that bad. And it’s inspected by an engineer.…”
“Then you don’t mind if I give it a whirl?” he ventured to ask. “It’s up to you. If you really don’t want me to, I won’t.”
“Well, actually … I was thinking maybe I would try it.”
“What?”
“Well, why not? Aside from chasing tornadoes, which really isn’t all that dangerous, I’ve never done anything very exciting. I’ll bet Amos would get a kick out of hearing about—”
Roan couldn’t describe the horror he felt at the realization that he’d convinced Victoria Driscoll to do something so crazy. She was an intelligent, cautious woman, and after spending a couple of days with him she was talking about plunging hundreds of feet with nothing to protect her but a rubber band. Was he that rotten an influence?
Abruptly he looked at his watch. “I don’t think we have time,” he said, suddenly all business. “That waiting line at the bottom of the platform is pretty long, and we don’t want to miss those tornadoes. I have enough shots of this.” He started packing up his cameras and lenses.
“But, Roan …”
“Anyway, it doesn’t look like that much fun. And did you see how much it costs? Thirty bucks for thirty seconds worth of terror. Big deal.” He practically dragged her back to the van and stuffed her in.
As soon as they were on the road again, he allowed himself a sigh of relief.
“I don’t get it,” Victoria said, shaking her head. “One minute you’re itching to try bungee jumping, and the next you’re convinced it’s all a big bore. What gives?”
“Nothing gives. It’s just that, after watching it for a few minutes, I decided it didn’t look all that great.” And he would not, could not be responsible for causing another human being to take a risk with her life, even a small one. Accidents did happen. People had been killed bungee jumping. If anything were to happen to Victoria …
He’d already caused the death of one innocent young woman. And not just any woman, but one whose safety he’d sworn to protect. After it was all over and the numbness had worn off, he’d barely found the will to live. And sometimes, when he lay in his bed in the dark of night, he still wished he’d died instead of her.
As Victoria concentrated on her driving, Roan studied her at leisure. Friends? That was pure delusion. Hefelt far more than mere friendship for Victoria Driscoll. What a tragedy that he was so utterly wrong for her.
There were all sorts of reasons she was beyond his reach. For one, Amos would freak if Roan took advantage of the situation. And two, he could not possibly give Victoria the time and attention she deserved beyond the next twelve days. As soon as this trip was over, he was scheduled to travel to Switzerland to make a documentary on the Olympic training program there, and maybe get in some skiing. From there it was on to Guatemala, where they were digging up a Mayan city, and then, who could tell?
If he were honest with himself, though, all of Uncle Amos’s objections, and all of the logistical problems in the world couldn’t have stopped him from pursuing Victoria. Not even his promise to behave himself would hold him back for long.
But one
Victoria stuck her thumbs in her pockets, gazing pensively at the scaffolding that supported the platform.
Roan had promised her he wouldn’t jump, and he couldn’t change his mind now, or she would never trust him again. But if she changed her mind about it first …
“You know,” she said slowly, thoughtfully, “maybe this thing’s not so crazy after all.”
Yes! he said silently.
“If a twelve-year-old kid and a grandmother can do it with hardly a blink, it couldn’t be all that bad. And it’s inspected by an engineer.…”
“Then you don’t mind if I give it a whirl?” he ventured to ask. “It’s up to you. If you really don’t want me to, I won’t.”
“Well, actually … I was thinking maybe I would try it.”
“What?”
“Well, why not? Aside from chasing tornadoes, which really isn’t all that dangerous, I’ve never done anything very exciting. I’ll bet Amos would get a kick out of hearing about—”
Roan couldn’t describe the horror he felt at the realization that he’d convinced Victoria Driscoll to do something so crazy. She was an intelligent, cautious woman, and after spending a couple of days with him she was talking about plunging hundreds of feet with nothing to protect her but a rubber band. Was he that rotten an influence?
Abruptly he looked at his watch. “I don’t think we have time,” he said, suddenly all business. “That waiting line at the bottom of the platform is pretty long, and we don’t want to miss those tornadoes. I have enough shots of this.” He started packing up his cameras and lenses.
“But, Roan …”
“Anyway, it doesn’t look like that much fun. And did you see how much it costs? Thirty bucks for thirty seconds worth of terror. Big deal.” He practically dragged her back to the van and stuffed her in.
As soon as they were on the road again, he allowed himself a sigh of relief.
“I don’t get it,” Victoria said, shaking her head. “One minute you’re itching to try bungee jumping, and the next you’re convinced it’s all a big bore. What gives?”
“Nothing gives. It’s just that, after watching it for a few minutes, I decided it didn’t look all that great.” And he would not, could not be responsible for causing another human being to take a risk with her life, even a small one. Accidents did happen. People had been killed bungee jumping. If anything were to happen to Victoria …
He’d already caused the death of one innocent young woman. And not just any woman, but one whose safety he’d sworn to protect. After it was all over and the numbness had worn off, he’d barely found the will to live. And sometimes, when he lay in his bed in the dark of night, he still wished he’d died instead of her.
As Victoria concentrated on her driving, Roan studied her at leisure. Friends? That was pure delusion. Hefelt far more than mere friendship for Victoria Driscoll. What a tragedy that he was so utterly wrong for her.
There were all sorts of reasons she was beyond his reach. For one, Amos would freak if Roan took advantage of the situation. And two, he could not possibly give Victoria the time and attention she deserved beyond the next twelve days. As soon as this trip was over, he was scheduled to travel to Switzerland to make a documentary on the Olympic training program there, and maybe get in some skiing. From there it was on to Guatemala, where they were digging up a Mayan city, and then, who could tell?
If he were honest with himself, though, all of Uncle Amos’s objections, and all of the logistical problems in the world couldn’t have stopped him from pursuing Victoria. Not even his promise to behave himself would hold him back for long.
But one
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