Free A Bridge to Dreams by Sherryl Woods Page B

morning.
    Moments later Brad lifted her into the gondola and followed her in. Filled with anticipation, Karyn held on to the side and peered down, then up into the vast interior of the cloth balloon. The tethers were removed, flames shot up heating the air and they were off. Theirs was the second balloon to rise slowly from the ground. More cumbersome than she’d anticipated, it quivered and jostled them until it was fully aloft. Then it floated, drifting through the morning sky like a colorful cloud.
    Karyn’s breath caught in her throat as the earth fell away. Eyes wide, she clung to Brad’s hand. It was only when they’d been in the air for several minutes that she shifted her gaze from the panorama below to Brad’s face. He was watching her intensely, his eyes mirroring her excitement.
    â€œHappy?” he asked quietly.
    â€œI’ll never forget it,” she said, touching a fingertip to his cheek. It was morning-shave smooth and warmed at once beneath her touch. “Thank you. No one has ever had such a special vacation.”
    â€œIt’s been special for me, too. Seeing things through your eyes has reminded me how important it is to stop and find the joy in living again.”
    â€œI’m glad, if I’ve given you that,” she said. Their gazes met and held, unblinking, searching. Yet another timeless moment was captured forever in her memory. Then she remembered that she’d brought along her camera. She could fill her scrapbook with images of Brad and years from now, when life seemed tedious and mundane, she could look at the photos and remember magic.
    As Karyn tried to break away, Brad held her hand more tightly. “Up here, you can’t run away,” he teased lightly, though there was an intensity underlying the words that she didn’t fully understand.
    â€œI’m not going anywhere,” she said, sidestepping wherever he was heading with the pointed remark. “I just wanted to get my camera from my purse.”
    With an indulgent amused expression, he watched as she took the inexpensive camera out and aimed at the distant fields below, then at the magnificent balloon above.
    â€œNow you,” she said, positioning him where she could capture his dimpled smile.
    â€œNow one of us together,” he insisted, turning the camera over to the pilot. He pulled her back against his chest and they faced the camera. Just before the shutter clicked, he tickled her so that the snap captured her gasp of surprised laughter.
    â€œI think that’s the one I’ll carry with me always,” he said. “Maybe I’ll have it blown up and put on the wall in every one of my offices.”
    â€œFirst you have to get the negative away from me,” she reminded him.
    â€œNo problem.” He reached over and with no effort whatsoever plucked the camera out of her unsuspecting grip and tucked it into his pocket.
    She lunged after it before she realized the precarious balance of the gondola. When it dipped and swayed, she fell against the solid wall of Brad’s chest.
    â€œYet another way to get you into my arms,” he said delightedly, holding her tightly against him. “I’ll have to remember it.”
    Little did he know that he could get her into his arms with just the slightest hint that he wanted her there. He would never know the power he had gained over her in just a few short days. She would walk away from him with dignity, her pride intact, even if her heart was in pieces.
    The whole day was a collage of such moments, a sudden burst of melancholy counteracted by carefree laughter, heart-stopping embraces followed by breathless chases that always ended in yet another embrace, another fiery memory.
    After the balloon ride they toured half a dozen vineyards and ate their picnic lunch with the warmth of the sun beating down on their shoulders and the warmth of the wine curling seductively inside.
    Karyn stretched out lazily on