Chasing Fire

lips turned up in a pretty bow.
    He wasn’t shy around women—unless he was attracted to one. He felt the wash of embarrassed heat run up the back of his neck as he approached the table.
    “And here’s your jump master,” Marcie announced, “and the owner of Zulie Skydiving. Lucas, I was just telling Mrs. Frazier she’s about to experience the thrill of a lifetime, and she’s got the top dog to take her through it.”
    “Well,” Lucas managed as the heat spread to the top of his skull.
    “If I’m going to be thrilled, I like knowing it’s with the top dog.” She offered her hand—narrow, slender-fingered. Lucas took it loosely, released it quickly, worried he might crush it.
    “Mrs. Frazier’s son bought her the package for Christmas,” Marcie added.
    “Make it Ella, since we’ll be jumping out of a plane together. He heard me say I wanted to try skydiving one day, and took me seriously, even though I believe I’d had several glasses of wine at the time.” Those lips bowed up again; the dimples popped. “He and his family are out poking around, as are my daughter and hers. They’re all excited to watch.”
    “That’s good. That’s nice.”
    “So . . .” Ella waited a beat. “When do we start?”
    “We’ll get you suited up.” Though she beamed smiles, Marcie slid a puzzled look up at Lucas. “While we do, you’ll watch a short instructional video. Then the boss will give you a little training, answer any questions. That’ll take about thirty minutes, so you’ll be familiar with the equipment, feel comfortable and learn how to land.”
    “Landing would be key. I don’t want to traumatize my grandchildren.” She said it with a sparkle in her eye.
    Married. Lucas’s brain caught up with the rest of him. With kids. With grandkids. Knowing she was married eased the shyness. Now he could just admire how pretty she was, seeing as she was off-limits.
    “No worries about that.” He was able to grin back at her. “They’ll remember today as the day they watched their grandmother fly. If you’re done with the paperwork, we’ll get you your flight suit.”
    He changed into his own while Marcie got the client outfitted. He generally enjoyed doing tandems with first-timers, soothing their nerves if they had them, answering questions, giving them the best experience possible, and a memory they’d carry for the rest of their lives. He expected this run would be no exception.
    The client looked fit, which helped. He glanced at his copy of the form and noted he’d been on the mark on her statistics. Five-five, 123 pounds. No physical problems.
    He stepped outside to wait for her.
    “I feel official.” She laughed and did a little turn in her flight suit and jump boots.
    “Looking good. I know Marcie went over the procedure with you, but I can go over it again, answer any questions you’ve got.”
    “Marcie was thorough, and the video was great. The harness attaches me to you, start to finish, which is very important from my point of view.”
    “It’s a good way to make a first jump. Low stress.”
    She bubbled out a laugh. “Easy for you to say. I guess you’re used to screamers.”
    “Don’t worry about that. I’m betting you’re going to be too happy and too dazzled by the view to scream.” He led her to a small training field. “We’ll go up to about fourteen thousand feet. When you’re ready, I’ll take you on a trip into that big sky. The free fall’s a rush, exhilarating. It’ll last about a minute before the chute deploys. Once it does, you’ll float, and listen to the kind of quiet only jumpers know.”
    “You love it.”
    “Absolutely.”
    “I’m doing this for a couple of reasons. First for my son. I just couldn’t disappoint him. And second, I realized on the way here, to remind myself I used to be fearless. Tell me, Mr. Tripp—”
    “Lucas.”
    “Lucas, how many people chicken out once they’re up there?”
    “Oh, there’s some, sure. I can usually peg them before we get off the ground.” He gave her an easy smile. “You won’t be one of them.”
    “Because?”
    “You were fearless once. You don’t forget what you are. Sometimes you just put it aside awhile.”
    The dimples fluttered in her cheeks. “You’re right. I’ve learned that lesson the last few years.”
    He showed her how to land, how to use him, her own body for a soft touchdown. He strapped the harness so she could get accustomed to the feel of it, and having his body