Read Online Falling for Hope by Natalie Vivien - Free Book Online Page B

 
    Chris, Amy and Irene went to the
far edge of the trail, leaning against the sheer rock wall, tightening the rope
around their wrists.   Amy’s heart raced,
and the rain was so cold, she was shaking.   If they slipped—and they could; the mud under their feet offered no
traction—Hope could plunge to her death.
    “I’m ready!” called Hope, her voice
sharp with forced cheerfulness.   Irene,
white as a sheet, glanced to Chris and Amy and nodded once.
    “All right.   We’re going to pull you up now!” she called,
and the three women dug in their feet and pulled .   Slowly—excruciatingly slowly—they began to
drag the rope up, its rough surface burning their fingers.   Amy’s breath came in short little bursts as
she and Chris and Irene leaned toward Hope’s weight, scraping their heels
against the rock and pulling backwards as hard as they could.   There was no tree nearby to loop the rope
around, and there was no possibility of rest until Hope was safe and
sound.   They heard Hope scrabbling
against the mud as the rain continued to pour down all around them.
    That’s when Amy realized that they
were beginning to slide.
    “Hold on!” she called out
desperately, and Irene leaned toward the rock wall, but Chris was beginning to
slide quickly now, aiming for the edge of the cliff, her hiking boots unable to
gain any purchase against the mud that slicked the trail.  
    “Guys, are you all right?” called
Hope from somewhere beyond sight.   Was
it Amy’s imagination, or did she sound much closer than Amy had figured Hope
would be at this point?
    “Never been better!” Chris grunted,
almost sitting down on her behind as she hauled back on the rope with all of
her might.   “But you can get your ass up
here anytime you like!” she called, and they heard laughter from over the edge.
    Chris managed to shove herself
backward a little, digging her feet into the mud, and Irene and Amy pulled
harder, gaining a little more rope.
    Amy saw a movement, then, over the
edge of the cliff, and she swallowed a sob as Hope’s arm came up and over,
trying to find something to grab onto.  
    “Amy, go help her—but be careful!”
shouted Irene, and Amy, slowly and carefully, let go of the rope.   Chris grunted, the weight falling heavier to
her as she was out front, but Amy sprinted past her, falling to her knees.
    “Hey, beautiful,” said Hope
tiredly, grinning up at Amy and holding on with both arms to the ledge.
    Amy gulped and held down her tears
of relief as she took Hope’s right arm and pulled back.   Hope scrabbled up and over the earth to lie
flat on her back, safe, and then all four women crawled away from the edge and
collapsed in the deep mud on the trail.
    “Oh, my God, that was fun,” said
Chris with a drawl, and the other women laughed weakly as Hope gathered Amy
into her arms and kissed her, long and deep.   They were cold and wet and covered in mud, but Amy put her arms around
Hope and drew her close, closer still.   Though she might live to be a hundred years old, she knew she would
never again have such a lovely kiss as this one.
    “Listen, Hope…” said Chris, when
Amy and Hope drew apart and lay side by side in the rain and the mud, too
weary, suddenly, to move.   “I’m really
sorry that I was such an asshole.   It
was really stupid.”   For a moment, Chris
seemed to be at a loss for words as she stared down at her hands in her lap,
playing with the end of the rope as she twirled it around and around her
fingers.   “Did you know that Melissa and
I—”
    “Yeah,” said Hope tiredly.   Chris glanced up, but Hope smiled at
her.   “She told me.”
    “What did she say?” asked Chris in
a whisper.
    “She said that you and she were
really good together,” said Hope, leaning back on her hands.   “And that the two of us weren’t.   And that was okay.   I’m just…sorry.   That you
never got to…”   She trailed off, bent forward
and sighed, her elbows on her