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Panic surged through Sadie.
She flattened out on the bridge. In a struggle to get stabilized, she reached as far as she could and held on for dear life, but her arms didn’t go all the way around the tree trunk. Another wave of fright coursed through her. She closed her eyes and pressed her face against the bark.
It felt like tiny needles were pricking her everywhere, inside and out, from the top of her head to the tip of her toes.
The rough bark scraped against the left side of her face.
“Sadie!” Truman yelled. “You okay?”
She strained harder to hold on, a prisoner to her terror. “Can’t move.”
A minute later, Lowell shouted, “Sadie, what can I do for you?”
“Nothing, go.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, go,” she said again.
She heard conversations around her, without registering any of the words being said.
A while later, Kelly called, “Sadie, how can I help?”
“You can’t.”
“Oh, honey, I can’t leave you like this.”
“Finish the race.”
Other competitors hollered to her when they passed, all offering assistance. Paralyzed, she kept her responses short and her eyes closed.
“The last team has passed, Sadie. Do you want to stop and take a penalty?” Truman asked.
The penalty wouldn’t get her off this damn bridge. “No.”
She had to go forward.
She just didn’t know how.
Move, Sadie.
Her body refused to listen.
Time stood still and rushed by at the same time. She wasn’t certain how long she’d been immobile, but her arms and body ached from holding herself so tense.
I’m being silly. I’m strapped into a harness and safety cables.
Move!
Nothing.
This was her problem. She’d been stuck for far too long. No idea how to repair things, how to make things right, how to put the past behind her and find a way to hope for the future.
“Sade?” Zack’s voice broke through her paralysis. “Are you all right, baby?”
She opened her eyes and lifted her head. There in the twilight stood her hero, suiting up with safety gear.
“You came for me.”
“Of course.”
Of course, he’d come for her. He loved her. He wouldn’t leave her when she needed him most.
“I wish I’d finished my challenge sooner. I hate you’ve been stuck here.”
Tears stung her eyes. “I tried. I did okay until I accidentally looked down.”
“Your cheek is bleeding.”
She hadn’t noticed. “I must’ve scraped it on the tree.”
A staff member checked Zack’s safety lines and then patted his back. Zack stepped toward her. The tree shifted with his movements, but it didn’t terrify her, not with him coming her way.
How lucky she was to have this man in her life, how fortunate for her he never gave up on her.
Suddenly her mind cleared and she knew with every part of her being that he was her way forward.
He continued toward her until he stood only a couple of feet away, then he got down on his hands and knees.
She didn’t care if the microphones were listening. “I’m so sorry, Zack.”
“Don’t be. We can still make it before sunset.”
“No. I mean for everything.”
He stilled. The expression in his gorgeous blue eyes softened with understanding. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat.
“How I’ve acted has been unfair to you and hurtful. You didn’t deserve any of it. You did the right thing.”
“There was no right or wrong, baby.”
Tears trickled down her face, stinging when they reached her scratched cheek.
“After what we’ve lived through,” he said. “We can beat this crossover. I can pick you up and carry you off if you want.”
“If you do we’ll have to take a penalty,” she answered.
“I don’t care. All I care about is you.”
How could she have forgotten how much he loved her? “I’d rather try to move myself.”
“Okay. We’ll do this together. Don’t look anywhere else, only at me. Every time I move you move. Got it?”
She nodded. Slowly, very slowly, she lifted her upper body on her arms and inched her knees forward to hover on all fours. “I can’t stand up.”
“We’ll crawl. Just keep your eyes on me.” He crept backward.
Arms and legs trembling, she stared into his handsome face. She raised her right arm and knee, placing them an inch ahead.
“That’s it.” He smiled, and she wanted to kiss him and never stop. He patiently cheered her on when he had every right to be frustrated with her. Attention on him, her movements resembled a sloth as she moved when he did.
“I’m on the ground.” He stayed on his hands and knees waiting for her.
She crawled onto the grass and shakily got to her feet. They couldn’t touch while she was completing the task, but all she wanted to do was fall into his arms. “Thanks for coming for me.”
“Always,” Zack vowed.
Their eyes stayed on one another as workers unhooked their safety lines. Once free, without bothering to take off the harnesses, they took off at an all-out sprint. They passed a huge bolder, and the finish line loomed ahead, as did two mountains in the distance where the sun still barely shone through the opening between them. People cheered when they spotted them. She pumped her legs as fast as they would go.
“Hurry!” Kelly’s yell roared over the others.
“Our final team is in!” Gemini screamed as they streaked past her. She continued talking into the microphone, facing three cameras.
Sadie slowed, turned toward her husband, and threw her arms around his neck. They held each other as they caught their breath. She pulled slightly away and placed a hand over his heart. Unsure what to say first, she remembered the old couple they’d helped from the wreck. She admitted, “I committed my first strike.”
He wiped some blood from her cheek. “No. No strikes.”
She moved her arms to surround his trim torso and held him close. Together, they watched the last of the sun descend behind the mountains. Suddenly, the dark sky illuminated. A trailer off to the side had multiple spotlights situated on top shining down on the crowd.
“Sadie.” Gemini had moved to a makeshift elevated stage. She motioned for Sadie to join her. “Please tell us what happened. We saw Zack take off when Kelly mentioned you were stuck on the bridge.”
Reluctant to leave Zack’s arms, yet knowing they wouldn’t be filmed much longer, Sadie quickly kissed him and hurried over. Gemini held the microphone in front of Sadie.
“I’m terrified of heights. We planned for Zack to perform the high elements. That’s why he went to skydive, and I hiked. It dawned on me I was continually going upward on the hike, but I figured a path would lead down somewhere. When I realized I’d have to cross the canyon, I put my anxiety aside and started across. I did well until something startled me, and I jerked the rope handles. My body began to bob from side to side. The harder I tried to stop it, the more off balance I became. Then I accidentally looked down. I dropped onto the tree trunk, clutching it with my arms, praying not to fall. I’m sure our amazing cameraman Truman got it all on video.”
She searched the audience for him. Upon spotting him, she pointed.
He raised his hand. “I got it.”
“Don’t send me a copy of that footage.”
Truman laughed, as did the others.
“As many pep talks as I gave myself, and although people offered to help, I just couldn’t move. I was stuck. After being frozen for a while, I realized my predicament mirrored my life in every way. I couldn’t go backward, life doesn’t allow it. And I couldn’t figure out how to move forward.” She took a deep breath. “Life can be cruel. No question about it. Cruel and relentless. Stopping us in our tracks and leaving us wondering how to move.” A chill shuddered through her. “I’d like to explain why Zack and I separated.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Zack called.
“I do.”
He frowned and shook his head.
Sadie faced the crew and the other racers. “As much as we wish it was different, things happen that are out of our control. We want to fight it, blame someone, anyone. The sad truth is some things can’t be explained, understood, fought, or made right.”
“There is no footprint too small to leave an imprint on this world.” ~ Unknown