Sliding Down the Sky Read Free Page B

specialists in as many months. She hated being prodded and poked. This wasn’t just a passing whim, and she wasn’t going to roll over and surrender. She was a fighter. Six years ago, I’d sat beside her hospital bed after the accident and told her that the doctors said she’d never walk again. A little over a year ago, I’d helped her walk down the aisle, wearing braces beneath her wedding dress. Giving in wasn’t an option, and Jack had to know that even better than I did. They were as stubborn as each other, but I couldn’t see any middle ground here. Judging by the look on Jack’s face, I was willing to bet he couldn’t either.
    “You said women with her level of injury do it all the time, right?” I said.
    His frown deepened. I got it. He wasn’t going to risk losing her again. But would she see it that way?
    “How long have you known her?” I said, leaning forward. “Don’t you think she would’ve known exactly what the risks were, before she even made the appointments with the specialists? She’s probably been researching this for the past few months. Hell, she probably has fact sheets printed out, for God’s sake. The specialists appointments weren’t for her dude, they were for you.”
    “Your point?” he snapped.
    I held my hands out, palms up, in a gesture of surrender.
    “I’m just saying she’s stubborn, not crazy. She’s going into this with her eyes wide open. She knows the risks, but she also knows they can be managed. She knew you’d be scared, that’s why she arranged the appointments. She wanted to reassure you.”
    “Reassure me?” he spluttered. “How about terrify me! This whole… thing… it’s not worth it, not to me. I don’t care if we don’t have kids – we can adopt, or do whatever it is people do in our situation. What’s the point of trying for a family if I lose her in the process? She’s my family, and if she… “
    He hung his head and ran a trembling hand through his short, dark hair. His frustration hit me like a punch in the gut, leaving me speechless for a few moments. He was right, but so was she. For once, I was happy not to be in his shoes.
    “Have you thought about the message you’re sending if you tell her you don’t want this?” I asked carefully.
    He frowned, obviously not following my train of thought.
    “You’re saying this is something she can’t do because of her injury ,” I clarified. “ You’ll be the one pulling the rug out from under her, not the doctors.”
    He groaned, leaning his head back against the booth and squeezing his eyes shut, as if trying to magic the problem away.
    “This is a freakin’ nightmare,” he mumbled, opening his eyes again and staring blankly over my shoulder.
    I was right, and we both knew it. Ally wouldn’t understand that his love for her was the reason he didn’t want to go through with this. She’d only see her failure. She’d think she was less than whole, less than capable. After everything she’d fought to regain, he couldn’t take this away from her. It would devastate her.
    “Look, I know you’re scared – “
    “You’re kidding, right?” he shot back, his green eyes burning into me. “Scared doesn’t even begin to cover it. I’m in an impossible situation here. We either do this and I risk losing her, or I tell her I don’t think it’s worth it and she thinks I’m some kind of monster. Damn right I’m scared – wouldn’t you be?”
    “Absolutely.” I nodded slowly, trying to be the voice of reason.
    It felt strange. He was the reasonable one, I was the impulsive one, and that had always been the way it was with us. But someone had to calm him down and get him to think this through, and I didn’t see anyone else here to do it.
    “This is just another stepping stone, another obstacle to conquer – one of the many. You need to put her first here, because you owe her that. Stop conjuring up worst case scenarios. You know this isn’t gonna be easy, for either of