Free Cedar Hollow by Tracey Smith Page B

of the mountain?” Cassidy questioned playfully.
    “Basically.” He smiled.
    “Let’s do it.” She agreed. She saw the surprise and then admiration cross his face. He hadn’t expected her to go for it. She’d impressed him; she liked that.
    He helped her into the harness, tightening the straps around her legs and waist, checking them to make sure she was secure.
    “Ready?” He asked.
    “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
    “Okay, these are the seedlings.” He told her handing her a tray full of little wells filled with soil. Each one contained a small sprout. “They need to be planted about a foot apart. Just dig a shallow hole and scoop out each plant with your finger. The roots don’t go too deep.” He explained laying a small hand shovel on top of the tray she was holding. “I’ll lower you down to the first level. Just brace your feet against the dirt to move yourself along as you plant them. When you get to the end of a row you can lower yourself to the next level using this grip release.” He showed her how to squeeze the release. “Keep your hand on it and release it slowly.” He warned. “By the time you’ve planted each row you’ll be able to stand on that ledge down there and then just walk back up the steps on the side. Keep the harness on until you’re back up top.”
    “Got it.” Cassidy nodded, smiling to hide her nerves. Getting all strapped in was kind of fun, but now that it was time to actually go over the edge her stomach was in knots. She couldn’t back out now, he was impressed.
    “You sure you want to do this?” He asked all playfulness gone. “You don’t have to.”
    “I’m fine.” She playfully pushed against his chest and thrilled at the hard muscle she felt beneath his shirt. Damn he was rock solid.
    “Okay, here you go.” He said helping her step over the edge and slowly lowering the rope so that she began to move down the side of the hill. “Plant your feet.” He told her looking over the edge at her. She did as she was told. “You can brace the tray between your hip and the side of the hill so you can transplant the seedlings.” He kept watching as she followed his instructions. Her hands were shaking, she hoped he couldn’t see. She planted the first one then shuffled her feet sideways scooting along the edge of the mountain and planting another. He watched from up above. “Looking good.” He called down to her. She held up a thumbs up sign, not trusting her voice at the moment. “Okay, I’m going to be right over there.” He said pointing behind him. “Shout if you need me.” And with that he disappeared from view.
    Cassidy released the breath she’d been holding. She tried not to look down as she continued along the hill side planting pumpkins. Lowering herself to the next level was not as easy as it sounded. At first she released too fast and let out a squeal as she dropped abruptly. Ben was immediately leaning over the edge.
    “You okay?” He shouted anxiously. Again she held her thumb up, smiling with trembling lips.
    She planted the rest of that level without incident and began to get into a comfortable rhythm as she shimmied along the hillside. She even paused to take in the view, it really was beautiful up here. The pumpkin patch was surrounded by dense forest on each side of the stone steps that bordered it. As Cassidy admired the woods she heard something large moving through the trees to her right and wondered if they had bears in New Hampshire. She’d have to ask Ben later. She began moving a little faster, feeling rather exposed hanging over the side of the mountain like a dangling bear treat.
    Suddenly she dropped about a foot down the side of the mountain and stopped abruptly. She quickly looked down to check her grip release, it was still tightly secured. She was just about to call for Ben when she suddenly found herself free falling, the air was sucked out of her lungs as she fell backwards away from the mountain , she could see the