the list?” And why did it require visiting Sin City? Most of the guys he knew would have winning the jackpot in strip poker or skinny-dipping in the Bellagio fountain on their Las Vegas bucket list.
Christine blushed bright pink and looked away. “I’m not telling.”
Could her list be just as naughty? No, Christine was too innocent, too much of a lady. She might try to rock a sexier persona but she was a good girl. He didn’t know many good girls. What would they want out of life? Probably a husband, kids and a house with a picket fence. The idea sounded claustrophobic to him.
“Become a rock star?” he teased. “Find the end of a rainbow?”
“No,” she said with a laugh. “I was eighteen when I put the list together, not six! They’re a list of experiences. I wasn’t thinking about milestones like graduating high school or getting a driver’s license. When my friends were looking at colleges and deciding their career paths, I was planning to backpack across the globe. But I had to put some of those ideas on hold when my dad walked out of our lives. I stayed to look after my mom. You know how it is.”
Travis nodded as if he understood, but he didn’t think he would have done the same. He had been desperate to break free from his grandmother’s strict rules and debilitating fears. When she had died, he had left town after the funeral. He didn’t know where he was going to go, but he knew he was not going to end up like his grandmother. He wanted freedom and nothing was going to tie him down.
“By the time Mom got remarried and moved away, I was dating someone who hated traveling.” She rubbed her hand over her face, took a deep breath and gave a determined smile. “But now, nothing is holding me back from completing my list.”
Travis watched her closely. Christine didn’t seem to realize that she had given herself away. She had stayed home. Was she still going to pretend that she was a world traveler?
Why had she stayed home? Travis would never have made that choice. Did Christine love her ex-boyfriend so much that she had given up something she enjoyed? It occurred to him that Aaron was making the same choice to be with Dana. Travis couldn’t imagine loving someone so much that he would ignore the wanderlust that drove him.
“So you came to Las Vegas to cross something off your list. And sky jumping isn’t on it.” He wanted to see that list. It would give him more insight into Christine. “You know, we can go back to the aquarium so you can swim with the sharks.”
Christine shook her head vigorously. “Nope, can’t do it.”
“Really? All you need is a scuba certification. I’m sure you have that.”
She snapped her fingers with regret. “I’ve been so busy. Never should have allowed my scuba certification to expire.”
Travis bit back a smile. Anyone who trained to dive underwater would know that scuba certifications never expired. Obviously she was still determined to play this role. He wondered why she felt the need to pretend to be something she wasn’t.
“What?” she asked as she watched him with suspicion.
“Nothing,” he said. “I’m just glad you don’t need any experience to free-fall.”
She went pale. “Yeahhh...” The word dragged out of her. “Isn’t that great?”
Travis noticed she was beginning to shake. “Christine, are you afraid of heights?”
“No,” she said. “I’ve done some rock climbing.”
He held her by the shoulders and bent his head so he could meet her gaze. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” he said. “You have nothing to prove.”
“No, I’m doing this.” Travis recognized the determination in her voice. She would regret stepping away from this challenge. “Why aren’t you suited up? I thought you liked this kind of thing.”
She was right about him. He’d rather climb, jump or run than stand on the sidelines. He needed to push himself to the limit and prove he wouldn’t let fear control him. But he wasn’t letting anything happen to Aaron’s emerald. “I did a free fall once into the water. Without restraints.”
Christine’s mouth dropped open. “On purpose?”
“I didn’t plan it. It shredded my clothes.” And he wasn’t going to tell her about the broken bones and lacerations he got from the fall. “Let’s just say it was the better option at that time.”
All of her attention was focused on him. She stared into his eyes, hanging on to his words. “I would love to hear all about it,” she said quietly.
Christine wanted to know every detail of his travels and mishaps. On the way to the sky jump, she didn’t just want to know about the tallest mountain he’d climbed. She wanted to know how he kept going in the face of danger and failure and how it felt to accomplish his goal. No one had asked him that before.
“And I would love to see that bucket list of yours,” he replied. What did she hope for? What did she dream about?
Her eyes twinkled at his insistence. “That’s not going to happen. There is no comparison.”
What did she want to do that could only happen in Las Vegas? What could make her shy about revealing it? Did she want to be a showgirl? Learn illusions from a famous magician? “Then tell me what one thing you’ve crossed off your list.”
“I would but the statute of limitations hasn’t expired,” she answered primly.
“Christine Pearson?”
Christine flinched, startled, when she heard her name called. She slowly, almost reluctantly, turned to the man who was looking for her. “Yes?”
“You’re up next.” The guide motioned at the jump platform outside the windows. “Mr. Cain, you can wait with her.”
Travis saw Christine’s balance wobble as her legs threatened to buckle. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her close. “Christine,” he said huskily in her ear, “why do you want to jump?”
* * *
WHY DID SHE want to jump? Christine stared at Travis as she considered the question. Was it because she wanted to become an exciting person? Was it because she just wanted to do one stupid thing to tell her friends?
Or was it because she needed to stop making excuses? She made choices knowing it meant she didn’t pursue her interests. She had placed other people and goals first. She had delayed her dreams of travel to be there for her mother and, later, for Darrell. She didn’t know why she did it, but she had no one to blame but herself.
And because she had stayed in Cedar Valley, she had a job, a home, and belonged to a close community. She was fortunate and she knew it. It took years to get where she was today. She had invested so much time and energy and she didn’t want to give that up.
And yet...it felt as if it wasn’t her life. It definitely wasn’t her dream. She knew she should be grateful, but she wanted more. Something else. She felt she was too young to feel so old. That if she didn’t do something now, she would never break free from the routine and predictability.
She
