on TV.
He drove with that big grin of his. “We won’t get stuck.” He’s hot and psychic, who would’ve guessed?
He pulled off the main road, onto an ATV trail that led to God knows where. I gripped the roll cage above my head for emotional support. The problem was it was metal, and it was cold .
“Lighten up,” he said with a smirk and a wink. “I came out here before. You’ll like where we’re going.” He put his hand on my knee. My breath stopped. “You okay?”
“Just nervous,” I uttered, though I don’t think he heard me. He removed his hand and lowered his gearing to get over a snow-covered log. Then he pulled on the lever to put the Jeep in four-wheel-drive low.
The snow-filled landscape was so serene. Breathtaking.
We drove through a forest filled with scrawny black spruce as far as the eye can see. Branches slammed against the windshield. It kind of freaked me out, but the windshield’s really solid. I couldn’t believe he had no problem scratching up a perfectly new black Jeep! But after some huge bumps, I actually felt like I was having fun.
Of course, I was still a worried about getting stuck and missing curfew.
After about half an hour, we came to a clearing. He drove until it seemed there was no land left to drive on. That’s because there wasn’t—he’d parked us on the edge of a cliff.
“Oh my God, back up, back up!” I sank my nails into anything and everything at arms-length and pushed back into my seat. I seriously thought the Jeep would slip and roll, crushing us to our deaths. But it didn’t go anywhere, it just sat like we were floating.
Luke beamed. “Isn’t this cool? I thought you’d like it.”
Like it? I was scared stiff. My body wobbled. It wobbled worse when he opened his window and began crawling out like Spiderman! “What are you doing!”
“There’s only a foot of earth on my side, so I can’t get out through the door.” So he climbs out?
Ten seconds later he was on his hood. “There’s more than a foot on your side, you can open your door and climb on,” he said, patting the hood beside him. “Come on!”
I stared at him. Was he out of his mind? How was I to be certain the cliff would even support the weight of the vehicle?
“It’s just an overhang,” he assured me. “It’s really not so bad. Not too steep, even! Come on!”
I cringed, opened my door and looked down. There was about three feet of space, then the icy ground fell about ten feet. So it wasn’t as bad as I’d imagined. But I was terrified anyway.
I stepped out carefully and moved sideways so I could shut the door. Then I crept over to him, holding onto any part of the vehicle for dear life. There was actually several feet of ground beyond where the front tires rested. But I still worried.
He helped me climb onto the hood. We sat with our boots on the bumper, scanning the landscape. Far in the distance we saw a frozen lake surrounded by an ocean of trees. Two bald eagles screeched overhead, dancing in flight.
“You like it?”
I hate to admit it, but I actually did. I laughed. “That doesn’t mean you’re not nuts for doing it!”
“It’s kinda like skiing. We’ve been at a higher altitude than this.”
“Not sitting on the hood of or strapped into a car!” I said sarcastically.
He laughed.
“Are you sure this huge chunk of rock won’t break off the mountain?” I asked, nervously eyeing the drop.
“It’s solid,” he promised. “You can’t tell from up here, because you can’t see it, it’s beneath us. You worry too much.”
“Well, I don’t want to plunge to my death. I can see this thing crumple up like a soda can!”
“You’re a drama queen.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Hey, I know drama queens, and I’m not that bad!”
He looked dubious. “Really? Like who?”
“My friend Lilly is a major drama queen.”
He laughed.
“What?”
“You’re a drama queen!”
“No, I swear, my friend’s worse than me! Just wait, you’ll meet
He drove with that big grin of his. “We won’t get stuck.” He’s hot and psychic, who would’ve guessed?
He pulled off the main road, onto an ATV trail that led to God knows where. I gripped the roll cage above my head for emotional support. The problem was it was metal, and it was cold .
“Lighten up,” he said with a smirk and a wink. “I came out here before. You’ll like where we’re going.” He put his hand on my knee. My breath stopped. “You okay?”
“Just nervous,” I uttered, though I don’t think he heard me. He removed his hand and lowered his gearing to get over a snow-covered log. Then he pulled on the lever to put the Jeep in four-wheel-drive low.
The snow-filled landscape was so serene. Breathtaking.
We drove through a forest filled with scrawny black spruce as far as the eye can see. Branches slammed against the windshield. It kind of freaked me out, but the windshield’s really solid. I couldn’t believe he had no problem scratching up a perfectly new black Jeep! But after some huge bumps, I actually felt like I was having fun.
Of course, I was still a worried about getting stuck and missing curfew.
After about half an hour, we came to a clearing. He drove until it seemed there was no land left to drive on. That’s because there wasn’t—he’d parked us on the edge of a cliff.
“Oh my God, back up, back up!” I sank my nails into anything and everything at arms-length and pushed back into my seat. I seriously thought the Jeep would slip and roll, crushing us to our deaths. But it didn’t go anywhere, it just sat like we were floating.
Luke beamed. “Isn’t this cool? I thought you’d like it.”
Like it? I was scared stiff. My body wobbled. It wobbled worse when he opened his window and began crawling out like Spiderman! “What are you doing!”
“There’s only a foot of earth on my side, so I can’t get out through the door.” So he climbs out?
Ten seconds later he was on his hood. “There’s more than a foot on your side, you can open your door and climb on,” he said, patting the hood beside him. “Come on!”
I stared at him. Was he out of his mind? How was I to be certain the cliff would even support the weight of the vehicle?
“It’s just an overhang,” he assured me. “It’s really not so bad. Not too steep, even! Come on!”
I cringed, opened my door and looked down. There was about three feet of space, then the icy ground fell about ten feet. So it wasn’t as bad as I’d imagined. But I was terrified anyway.
I stepped out carefully and moved sideways so I could shut the door. Then I crept over to him, holding onto any part of the vehicle for dear life. There was actually several feet of ground beyond where the front tires rested. But I still worried.
He helped me climb onto the hood. We sat with our boots on the bumper, scanning the landscape. Far in the distance we saw a frozen lake surrounded by an ocean of trees. Two bald eagles screeched overhead, dancing in flight.
“You like it?”
I hate to admit it, but I actually did. I laughed. “That doesn’t mean you’re not nuts for doing it!”
“It’s kinda like skiing. We’ve been at a higher altitude than this.”
“Not sitting on the hood of or strapped into a car!” I said sarcastically.
He laughed.
“Are you sure this huge chunk of rock won’t break off the mountain?” I asked, nervously eyeing the drop.
“It’s solid,” he promised. “You can’t tell from up here, because you can’t see it, it’s beneath us. You worry too much.”
“Well, I don’t want to plunge to my death. I can see this thing crumple up like a soda can!”
“You’re a drama queen.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Hey, I know drama queens, and I’m not that bad!”
He looked dubious. “Really? Like who?”
“My friend Lilly is a major drama queen.”
He laughed.
“What?”
“You’re a drama queen!”
“No, I swear, my friend’s worse than me! Just wait, you’ll meet
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