FRAGILE: A Billionaire Romance (Part Two) by Kimberly Malone Page A

ground, and I smile in relief as I help Jason walk to the park ranger before turning and giving Eli a hand the rest of the way up and over the edge. He crawls on the ground on his hands and knees, panting, and I untie the rope around his waist. I lift his shirt just a little, wincing as I see where the rope around his waist rubbed his skin raw when it had jerked to a stop, and I rub his back gently.
    “Nice work,” I say to Eli. He just nods his head, still taking deep breaths.
    More police, EMTs, and firefighters swarm the area, and Jason and Eli are inspected multiple times. Besides Eli’s rope burns, Jason and Eli only have a few scrapes and bruises. Jason is grinning from ear to ear, as his two friends hug him and give him hell for scaring them.
    A woman, who I guess is Jason’s mother shows up, and she smothers Jason in a hug. I see them pointing at Eli and I, and I take a step to the side as Jason’s mother rushes over. She’s wearing scrubs; she must have just rushed over from work. I don’t blame her in the least.
    “Thank you,” the woman says to Eli. She gives him a hug, tears in her eyes. “Thank you so much.”
    “You’re welcome,” Eli says.
    “I’m so grateful.” The woman hugs Eli again and then turns and hugs me. “You are wonderful, wonderful people!”
    “Oh, I didn’t do anything,” I say—although I hug her back.
    “You kept the fence from falling on them,” one of Jason’s friends says.
    “Thank you, thank you,” Jason’s mom says. I give her a smile, but then I step back to give Jason room as he approaches.
    The boy is sporting a few gauze patches and gives us an embarrassed grin. “Thanks, man,” Jason says. He holds a hand out tentatively to Eli, and Eli shakes it.
    “You’re welcome. Take care of yourself now, Jason,” Eli says.
    “Wait! Can I get your name and number?” the woman asks. She looks between Eli and I. “I want to send you something.”
    “No need,” Eli says. He steps back, disengaging himself, and gives them a small smile. “No, please, I don’t want anything.”
    “Me either,” I add when the woman looks at me.
    “Okay. Thank you, thank you so much,” the woman says again.
    We stay long enough to give a report to one of the policeman, the other hikers praising Eli—and even me—throughout the report for our quick thinking although I don’t feel like I did much. As soon as we’re finished, Eli and I collect up our stuff, and Eli begins wrapping his rope back up. I can tell by the way his hands are moving, swiftly and fluidly, that he’s in efficiency mode, as if he’s trying not to think about something.
    Maybe he was more scared for Jason than he’d let on, and the adrenaline is still pumping? It certainly was scary for me. I set my hand on his shoulder and massage his back again. His muscles are still tight, and I hear him breathe out slowly at my touch.
    Eli and I wave at everyone one last time, excusing ourselves, and we head back down the trail. The parking lot, previously empty but for a few cars, is full of vehicles now, many of them police cars and a couple of ambulances and firetrucks. Our cab driver that we’d called right before the incident is waiting at the back of the lot, staring at everything with wide-eyes.
    “What’s going on up there?” the cab driver asks when we get inside.
    “Just a close call, everyone’s fine though,” Eli says. He glances at me. “I was going to take you out for dinner, but after such excitement, perhaps we should call it a day?”
    I smirk, knowing that Eli’s referring to a couple of different events. And granted, after that scary incident, I’m exhausted. However, I can tell by Eli’s eyes that something very specific is bothering him, and he wants the chance to retreat. I’m frustrated, but I concede.
    “Sounds good.”
    Eli gives the cab driver my address, and the driver takes off down the road back into Atlanta. Our ride back is quiet. At first I want to blame it on Jason’s