Jaxon didn’t know New Tazzy, not really. New Tazzy didn’t let her fears rule her. New Tazzy was powerful and strong. Fear of heights? She was over that. Probably. The same with her fear of the dark. This was going to be great.
“Where are we going to practice?” Tazzy asked.
Georgia pointed up.
Tazzy’s gaze followed Georgia’s finger, not understanding at first what she meant. Then Tazzy got it. “Theroof?” she whispered a shout. “Are you crazy?”
“Yes! It’s the perfect place to practice. The shop’s dead right now. It won’t pick back up for a couple of hours. Come on, there’s no time like the present. It’ll be great!”
“Wait, now?” Tazzy's stomach churned, her mind racing to think of something else, anything else, that she had to do. But she’d already done everything there was to do around the shop, thanks to the nervous energy she had from Jaxon being her constant shadow for days. So, technically, this was his fault.
“What about Hutch?” she asked, grasping at straws. “He’s right there in Vivi’s office. Don’t you think he’ll hear us clattering around on the roof?”
“Not if we practice on the other side of the roof. Besides, he’s busy going over the financials for Books-N-Brews. And before you say it, Jaxon’s still texting on his phone, so he’s busy, too. He won’t notice if we sneak out. And even if he does, he’s not going to look for us on the roof. Let’s go.”
Georgia had a point. Why on earth would Jaxon think to look for her on the roof?
You can’t practice rappelling by staying on the roof.
She had no idea who Jaxon was texting. But honestly, if she disappeared while he wasn’t paying attention, that just meant he wasn’t a very good bodyguard. Her urge to fall into step with Georgia’s plan had nothing to do with her feeling hurt and angry that he’d been ignoring her for almost an hour. That would be crazy.
“Are you sure you want to do it now?” Tazzy repeated in one last-ditch effort to stave off the inevitable.
“Yes, now come on. Follow my lead.” Georgia tugged Tazzy toward the hallway instead of the back door in the kitchen.
In a voice much louder than necessary, Georgia said, “Well, Tazzy, since we’re alone, we might as well go check the inventory in the supply closet. There’s no way we can get into trouble in there, since there are no doors or windows.”
It took all Tazzy could do to stifle a groan. How did Georgia ever get away with anything? She glanced at Jaxon. Apart from standing abit stiffer, he didn’t appear to have noticed Georgia’s melodramatic performance.
Pretending to go to the supply closet, Georgia opened and slammed shut the door. Then, channeling their inner cat burglars, they slipped back through the main room, out the back door, and headed for the roof.
It took a couple of jumps before Georgia managed to grab the fire escape ladder and pull it down. Minutes later they were standing in front of a pile of rappelling gear that was already there. Just how long had her bestie been planning this?. Better question, how long did they have before Hutch or Jaxon figured out what they were doing?
If… no,whenthey got caught, Georgia was going to be in a world of trouble, and her backside would probably be in a world of pain. Luckily, since Tazzy didn’t have a Daddy anymore, she didn’t have to worry about that. Yeah, she was the lucky one. Only she didn’t feel very lucky.
Tazzy stared down at all the ropes and harnesses, and something that looked like a two-fingered brass knuckle with a loop of tubing on the bottom, she couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure this is safe?” Her voice trembled, and her heart raced just from being on the roof. “I mean, that rope looks pretty thin.”
“Safe is boring,” Georgia laughed. “We can be safe when we’re old. Trust me, we’re going to be fine.”
Georgia’s eyes were bright with excitement, so Tazzy didn’t point out that if they did stupid stuff, they might not ever get to be old. Besides, Georgia was too busy fastening a harness around Tazzy’s waist.
Georgia looked up long enough to assure her, “Trust me. You’re going to love it.”
The likelihood of that was somewhere between slim and none. Not that it mattered. It wasn’t like she could back out now. She held out her arms as Georgia connected all her gear and threw the rope over the edge of the roof.
“Okay, from what I learned on YouTube, you’re supposed to guide the rope with your right hand, and pull the rope tight with your left.”
Fear clawed at Tazzy’s throat. “What does that even mean?”
Georgia’s brow furrowed. Tazzy took that as a bad sign. She felt like she was in a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon, and she was about to leap off the roof with a bedsheet for a parachute.
“Well, we ran the rope through the thingy the same way the guy on the video did. Other than that, I’m not exactly sure. One video I watched said to make sure both ends of the rope are touching the ground.”
Tazzy peered over the edge of the roof and wished she hadn’t. The ground looked like it was at the bottom of a yawning abyss. This. This was why she’d always taken pictures of Georgia’s shenanigans instead of joining in.
Maybe falling was for the best, because if she survived, Jaxon was going to kill her. She took a deep breath and focused all her attention on not dying. “On three?” she asked.
“Three,” Georgia answered, her voice sounding as strained as her rope.