Turning his eyes back to the road, he let himself simply enjoy the purr of the powerful engine as he turned onto the two-lane highway. There wasn’t a car in sight, and there usually wasn’t until one reached the freeway. The ranch was a fairly lengthy drive from Billings, and the area was sparsely populated.
“Zero to sixty in under four seconds,” Max said absently to himself, driving slowly as he contemplated the road ahead of him and got the feel of the new vehicle.
“Well, let’s see it, Grandpa. Tear it up. Just watch for deer,” Mia said happily, sounding more than ready to see him speed it up.
Max accelerated, the car responding with a roar as the powerful engine shot the vehicle down the pavement, the horsepower beneath the sleek hood making the speed climb rapidly.
Forty miles per hour.
Fifty miles per hour.
Sixty miles per hour.
“Damn, it really does,” Max said loudly enough for Mia to hear over the wind and the engine.
His wife simply laughed, a loud whoop that kept him accelerating until he felt like he was flying. He pushed the vehicle as far as he dared with his wife beside him…but later, when he was alone, he’d test it more. But not with his entire life sitting beside him. He might be loosening up, but he wasn’t stupid. Slowing back to a little above the speed limit, he desperately wished he could find the words to say to Mia. It wasn’t the gift of the vehicle that moved him, but the fact that she wanted to make him happy.
“Turn up here. The next right,” she instructed him excitedly.
Max didn’t ask where they were going. He still didn’t care. He turned right and Mia directed him through a few more turns before she had him pulling into a dirt parking area.
After he got out of the car, he caught Mia just as she was about to hop out of the convertible, grasping her around the waist and swinging her over the door, savoring the feel of her body against him. He let her lower her feet to the ground, not sure if he wanted to let go.
“This is one of my favorite spots. I want you to see it,” Mia told him as she grabbed his hand enthusiastically and pulled him along behind her, leading him down a footpath.
Bemused, Max let her lead, enjoying the view from behind.
They didn’t go far before they started walking up a steep incline that ended in a spectacular view. Surrounded by evergreens, the elevated spot provided the perfect view of several mountain ranges and the feeling that one could see forever.
Max saw the drop-off warning as he came up next to Mia, putting his arms around her waist as he looked down at a good one hundred foot vertical drop right below them.
“I love it here,” Mia said softly. “I used to come here when I was really lonely.”
The vulnerability in her voice tugged at Max’s heart. “How often was that?” he wondered aloud, resting his head against her hair, hating the fact that Mia had ever been lonely. But he knew exactly how she’d felt.
“Every day,” she admitted sadly, covering his hands that were resting around her waist with hers and sighing contentedly. “There wasn’t a day that I didn’t miss you.”
Max tried to swallow the lump that was swelling in his throat, unable to express in words exactly how desolate he had been without her. Failing to find the right verbalization, he turned her in his arms and tipped her face up, lowering his mouth to hers with a hungry groan. She tasted like mint, mocha coffee, and sunshine, and Max indulged decadently, his tongue entering and retreating, savoring every flavor of Mia. She opened and merged her mouth with his, releasing a tiny moan that almost made Max completely lose it. Kissing Mia was like drinking, but never completely quenching his thirst.
She’s mine.
And Max was determined never to screw that up again. Pulling his lips from hers, he told her in a graveled voice, “I love you. I missed you so much I didn’t feel like I was alive anymore. I need you, Mia.” No more bullshit, no pretending like he didn’t crave her constantly, like he didn’t long to claim her all the damn time.
No running away. Not anymore. Not for either one of them.
She pulled away panting, her breathing audible. “Your kisses are dangerous,” she said in a teasing voice, skipping backward as she smiled at him.
Mia had no more than spoken the words when the earth began to crumble beneath her feet. Max lunged, realizing she was too close to the edge of the cliff, but his hands came up empty as Mia plunged downward, disappearing before he could get a good grasp on her sweater.
All Max heard was his wife’s horrified scream, and then she was gone.
Chapter 13
Mia trembled as she clung to the bush protruding from the side of the cliff, her feet precariously placed on what had to be a small ledge made of the jagged rock that formed the large precipice.
Breathe, Mia. Breathe. You aren’t dead…yet.
Trying to shake off the momentary paralysis caused by the terror of the fall, she tried to assess the situation. And it wasn’t easy. Hanging perilously, with very little between her and a very long, deadly fall, didn’t exactly help her to clear her head.
“Mia!” Max’s tortured bellow brought Mia back to reality.
Slowly tilting her head, she could actually see Max’s head above hers, the proximity of him comforting. His anguished gaze met hers as she carefully let go of the bush with one hand and reached out her arm. Max lowered his body and reached for her, but there was still too much distance between them.
So close, but not close enough.
“Fuck. I’m coming down,” she heard Max say harshly.
Panicked, she gripped the bush again. “No, Max. Go for help.” The vertical drop would kill anyone who fell. She’d looked down on this view enough times to know there was nothing but rock beneath them. There were very few decent handholds on this rocky cliff, and she was clinging to one of them, the rocks beneath her feet unsteady. “You can’t climb down. You’ll go down. Please.”
Mia no longer cared if she plunged down the cliff, but she could not bear to see it happen to Max.
“Like hell,” Max replied rigidly, swinging his lower body over the edge. “You can’t hang on that long.”
No…she probably couldn’t. The bush was the only thing keeping her on the face of the rocks. The ledge under her feet merely took some of the weight from her arms. “Max! Damn it. Stop.” Seeing him start to carefully descend made her heart skip a beat, the organ stopping for a torturous moment as he found unpredictable footholds.
“You’re not f**king dying here, sweetheart. Not today. Not on any day. I just got you back,” he replied, his voice guttural and raw.