Free Devoted to the Blizzard: A romantic winter thriller (Tellure Hollow Book 3) by Adele Huxley Page B

given me two years before, the same day we’d gotten engaged. With all my training and general depression, I hadn’t taken many photos in recent months. The natural, rugged beauty of New Zealand lit a creative flame inside. I was so glad I’d decided to pack it.
    Bryan was incredibly patient as I paused to frame a great shot of the lake and mountains, not once complaining about the cold. When he wasn’t looking, I managed to nab a few of him, mostly hanging out on the side, unaware I was even photographing him.
    As we circled around to the main street, Bryan suddenly tugged my hand. “Come on, let’s go take a look.”
    At first, I thought he was pulling us towards an awesome, quirky bar, but I quickly realized that wasn’t what he was focused on at all.
    “Oh no,” I grumbled as we jogged across the street.
    Bryan ran off like a kid in a toy store while I stood hesitantly in the doorway. The space was huge, a dozen televisions all showing clips of screaming people bungee jumping. Already, my heart was in my throat at the thought of it. As Bryan chatted with an equally enthusiastic guy at the desk, I read the signs and posters like I was in a museum. I kept my hands stuffed in my pockets and read from a distance. Even my body language didn’t want to commit to the idea of tossing myself off a cliff.
    I read that A.J. Hackett was the first person to commercialize bungee jumping, putting New Zealand on the map as one of the premier extreme sports destinations in the world. I had to walk around a group waiting to be bussed out to a jump site. Their nervous, scared, excited faces somehow spiked my own anxiety.
    “Liz! Come check this out,” Bryan called across the room. I really, really don’t want to… I thought as I reluctantly joined him.
    Bryan had a brochure open on the desk in front as I came up beside him. “This stuff scares the shit out of me,” I whispered to him.
    “Aw, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Doin’ this for decades and haven’t killed anyone yet,” the young employee joked. His smile was meant to be friendly, but it just looked menacing to me.
    “Comforting,” I muttered.
    Bryan smiled at me and gestured to the brochure. “They have three different jumps. There’s even one just up that hill over there,” he said pointing over his shoulder. “That one you run and jump off, sort of like a swing.”
    I shivered at the thought of it. “Nope. No, no, never.”
    “And then there’s the Nevis, which is the highest in the world,” Bryan gushed.
    “Second highest,” the young guy cut in with his thick Kiwi accent. “But when you’re up there, a few extra meters won’t matter, mate, trust me.”
    I don’t think my eyebrows could’ve gone up any higher. “You’re joking, right? You aren’t seriously considering…”
    “No, not that one. This one,” he said pointing to a bridge spanning a narrow river gorge. The sales photo showed a young girl swan diving from the platform, her face contorted with a scream. “This one is much smaller and there’s water at the bottom, so it’s safer.”
    “So I can drown after I’ve broken my neck?”
    Bryan squinted at me questioningly. “You fling yourself down a mountain at sixty, seventy miles per hour almost every day, and you’re telling me this scares you?”
    I leaned my hip against the counter and crossed my arms. “You know how I feel about this. Like I said before, I’m in control. Letting someone tie a piece of elastic to my ankles and telling me to jump? No, no way.”
    “No, you’re on the edge of control. In control is on the bunny slope. Every time you go down that mountain with speed as your goal, you’re pushing that line.”
    I tried to swallow the lump in my throat as I met his eye. We never really talked about it, but I knew he was terrified to let me ski at the speeds I did. Proud, but scared. “I know, I know. Can we… I just don’t want to jump off a bridge, okay? I’m serious. And I’d rather you not,