Lynn was suspended on the side of the house as if she were doing her damnedest to act out a scene from Spiderman. Clinging to a metal eaves trough, she dangled twelve feet off the ground, her long brown hair rustled by the night breeze as she craned her neck and peered down.
Even in the darkness, the fear in her eyes was visible. And the determination. She was working it out, considering the logistics of jumping, and his heartbeat accelerated with both pride and panic.
“Parker?” Her overjoyed voice wafted from above.
“Hey, babe, fancy meeting you here,” he called out in a dry voice.
“Yeah, I got bored being indoors. Thought it would be fun to scale the side of the house.”
Her sarcasm brought an ill-timed laugh to his lips.
“Don’t you dare laugh,” she huffed. “I’m freaking out here! I thought I could make the jump, but Dean says I’ll break my neck if I try.”
“You won’t if I’m there to catch you.” Parker rolled up his sleeves as he strode toward Dean and Jack, who greeted him with somber nods.
Dean lowered his voice. “I would’ve climbed up and gotten her myself, but…look at the eaves trough, bro…”
Parker glanced up with a frown, choking on a curse when he glimpsed what Dean had spotted. The bend in the metal, near the edge of where the gutter met the downpipe leading to the ground.
Shit. The eaves trough couldn’t support Lynn’s weight for much longer. It could come crashing down any second.
If the precarious bow in the gutter hadn’t been there, he would have encouraged her to shift toward the downspout and shimmy her way down, but no way was he risking any movement on Lynn’s part.
The decision was jerked from his control as a loud screeching noise sounded, the edge of the metal under her fingers slowly peeling away from the wall.
“Parker!” Her voice quivered with fear.
He shot forward into position. “Lynn. Sweetheart. Let go.”
“I’m…scared.”
God, so was he. Of fucking up again and hurting her. Of not making the right decisions at some future point and seeing disappointment in her eyes.
But this? This moment he could fix. “Let go and trust me. I’ve got you. I promise.”
For one horrid second the metal jolted free, and he thought she’d be tossed to the side, away from where he waited to save her. But she let out a little cry, cut off as she opened her hands and fell rapidly.
Dean and Jack stood ready as backup, but it was all Parker’s responsibility now, arms extended toward her plummeting form. He timed it perfectly, clasping his hands around her and swinging her with a twist that brought her safely against his body, her feet dangling just off the ground.
She tangled her arms around his neck, and then, halle-fucking-lujah, kissed him like she was never going to let go.
Spontaneous applause burst out behind them, and Lynn smiled against his lips. She eased away even while she kept her fingers wrapped around his jacket collar. “Can’t take them anywhere, can we?”
“We should take them home.”
“God, yes. Take me home.” Her eyes widened. “But first… We need to talk immediately, but after we…come on.”
She dragged him at a near run back around the building and to the front door, the rest of the crew following close at hand. “You forget something?” Parker asked.
“Yes. Suz—my stuff is upstairs, along with my handbag. Could you ask Henry to show you where it is? Oh, and here…” She pulled a wallet from her back pocket and passed over a wad of bills. “Tell him I’m sorry I’m not staying to meet his wife, but he should take her out for a nice meal on me.”
“Deal.” Suz tilted her head toward the house. “Colter, you’re with me. Back me up, and if anyone tries to jump us, do your thang.”
“My thang?” Dean smiled as he moved to her side, double-checking for Parker’s approval before grabbing her by the hand.
“The big, bad Ranger thang. I long to swoon over your manly moves.”
Dean rolled his eyes. “The only thang about me that makes you swoon is that I promised to buy you H?agen Dazs once we found Lynn. So let’s haul ass. I need some Rocky Road, stat.”
Parker turned Lynn to face him, examining her carefully. “Did he—?”
“Nothing. Except—” Her teeth went straight into her lower lip, and Parker’s temper flared.
“What? What did he do?”
She seemed to be debating. “Nothing to me, other than bringing me here after I said not to. And then I said he could, but only because he threatened you and the guys. He said he was going to go to the media with proof that would ruin DreamMakers’ reputation because you and I started dating.”
“So?”
Lynn caught him by the hands. “I know how much DreamMakers means to you, and I couldn’t let him drag you through the mud.”
“Fuck DreamMakers,” Parker snapped. “Is that why you didn’t kick his balls off the first chance you got?”
Her expression was growing steadily lighter. “I wasn’t in danger, and you’ve worked so hard and—”
“You’re what matters, Lynn. We can handle some negative publicity, and if the entire thing turns to shit, we’d deal with that as well. Good God, I can’t believe you didn’t know that.”