Part 5

Gus pounced again and dug his nose into Ben’s hands. “Yeah, Gusser! You know this one is for you, don’t you?”

“Is he really going to be okay in that thing? I’m scared it’ll freak him out.”

“Atlas rides in it all the time and loves it. Now hold him still while I put it on him.”

“You know Gus doesn’t sit still for anybody.” Tiff hugged Gus but was knocked down like a bowling pin as Ben wrestled him into the harness. The dog danced and pounced again as if Ben was the key to happiness.

“See?” Ben said. “He loves it. Now for you.”

As Ben cinched the harness around her, Tiff stared off into the valley. The straps squeezed her legs like a straitjacket. “This is fun,” Ben said, brushing his lips to Tiff’s as he reached around her waist. “You should get trapped on mountains more often. Why the hell did you choose today to attempt Spirit, though? The weather is nasty.”

“Since when has weather dictated when we hike? Anyway, it had to be today.”

Ben stopped fiddling and flipped his goggles up. His soft eyes stared into Tiff’s. “Okay.”

With a final adjustment to the harnesses, Ben nestled Gus between him and Tiff. “The helicopter is going to lift right away. Gus will stay between us, and I’ve got you both. Enjoy the ride; not many people get to experience the mountains this way.”

With a final rub to Gus’s head, Tiff nodded and looked across the valley.

“Come to my place once we’re on the ground,” Ben said. “I’ll make dinner and Gus can have a snooze in front of the fire. You can spend the night, too.”

A smile crept into Tiff’s face as Ben tested the carabiners.

Ben looked up at the helicopter hovering over them and gave the pilot the signal. As the straps bit into Tiff’s groin, Ben yelled, “And maybe after dinner I’ll propose to you.”

“What?” Tiff shouted, her eyes growing wide as she was lifted into the air. “What did you say?”

As the distance between their feet and solid ground grew, Ben pulled Tiff close, squeezing the dog between their bodies. The helicopter swept away from the mountain; Tiff gasped as they were carried over the plunging valley. They swung on the line with nothing but wind to reach out to, air to lean up against, and empty space to hold.

Tiff looked at Ben – an anchor in a storm. As she craned her head to look up, a flash of vertigo grabbed her. The single rope that suspended them over the mountain range blurred and doubled. Squeezing and opening her eyes, she glanced down at Gus, his tongue hanging out in a doggy smile as he took in the vista.

“What did you say?” Tiff yelled, trying to find Ben’s eyes behind his goggles. Ben smiled and pulled her closer.

“Ben!” A pocket opened in the clouds and a beam of late-day sunlight pulled Tiff’s gaze from Ben’s smiling face. The sun illuminated a patch on the side of the mountain, and a flash of light glinted off a silver container lost on a ledge.

Blinking back tears, Tiff found her voice again. “What did you say?” But her words were carried away, swirling with ashes that danced all around them.