Operation Breathless (7 page)

Gabe took her in. Her words sang affirmation through his spirit. “Read minds much?”

She chuckled, her face still directed toward the sun. “Remember, Gabe, rehab is a time consuming, step-by-step process. I think God gives us just enough victory to keep us going, and just enough tribulation to keep us humble. Layla is a victory today. Chelsea—well—she may not be a victory yet, but I refuse to write her off. I can’t. She’s a work in progress. Let’s keep on hoping and praying.”

Despite the countless tragedies he’d witnessed during his time in Detroit, nothing filled him with greater hope and determination than that solid declaration of faith. Gabe cleared his throat and shook free of wistful desires—and that heart-melting warmth.
This isn’t going to last. It can’t.
“If you keep hoping, then I will, too.”

She opened those bottomless, chestnut eyes of hers just long enough to peek at him and deliver a smile powerful enough to stoke the embers of his bleak, embattled spirit.

Against his better judgment, Gabe’s heart took flight.

****

The second half of their field trip began at the head of Sawmill hiking trail where Gabe split the kids into pairs and detailed their next event—a trust walk.

“This hike is about recognizing dependence. It’s also about being safely guided.” While he spoke, he walked from twosome to twosome, distributing long, thin swaths of cloth. “Step one? Decide who’s going to be the leader. Next, tie the blindfold over the eyes of your partner.” Nervous titters erupted. Gabe kept moving. “Oh, c’mon—get over it, people! Those of you who are blindfolded first, have no fear. You’ll get your chance to lead. We’re about to embark on a pretty long journey. Everyone gets a chance to lead…everyone gets a chance to trust. Just like in real life.”

Once again, Susanna admired the way Gabe took charge. He was a natural. His focus on helping the teens earned her respect and gratitude. She surveyed the kids, noticing a couple things straight away. First, Layla horsed around with Kaitlyn. Layla seemed to enjoy the idea. Second, Chelsea wore inappropriately tight, low-slung blue jeans paired with a too-small, long-sleeved graphic tee. Chelsea’s closed off stance simmered with hostility, and that broke Susanna’s heart.

Still, she prayed.

“What about you, Mr. Peretti?” One of the Tabernacle kids piped up, returning Susanna to the moment at hand. “You put this together. You should have to do it, too!”

“Fair enough.” Gabe’s gaze zeroed in on Susanna. “I’ll need a partner, though. And, remember, other adults are keeping watch over you guys, so, behave!” The warning roused a few playful groans and defensive quips. Her breath wedged deep in her chest. Belatedly she noticed the final blindfold he held. Obviously, he had already intended to participate…which most likely meant… “Susanna, my dear, would you join me, please?”

The kids cracked up. Susanna decided to stand her ground. She cocked a hip, folded her arms across her chest and gave her antagonist a playful smirk. “Oh, no,
my dear
. You first.”

“OK. After all, it’s a long hike.” Despite the conciliatory remark, Gabe made chicken noises as he approached, which judging by the laughter, the kids loved. He handed her the blindfold.

“You could tie this on yourself you know.”

“Maybe—but that wouldn’t be nearly as much fun.”

Susanna gave up the pretense and laughed along with everyone else who egged them on. She clucked her tongue and sighed heavily, putting on a show since the kids seemed to enjoy their banter. Gabe turned his back and bent down far enough for Susanna to position the cloth.

Despite a gliding circuit of energy, Susanna watched after Layla and Chelsea. Separate partners led them, yet she petitioned:
Come on, Lord. Please let them see who You are. Help them grasp Your power and provision. Help them recognize flash over…

Gabe slid his fingertips down her forearm and laced his fingers through hers.

Substance.

Unseeing and reliant upon her care, Gabe’s gesture sent a penetrating shiver through Susanna’s body. They moved forward in tandem, but Susanna trembled, lost to everything she felt for Gabe Peretti. How had so much emotion overcome her—and so quickly?

At the halfway point of the hike, everyone paused to change leaders. Susanna stood silent while Gabe removed his blindfold and tied it carefully into place over her eyes. She felt a brush of air against the skin near her ear then Gabe whispered. “If you do well today, your next trust test will involve heights and fire. Ready for that? By comparison, this should be a piece of cake.” His rumbling chuckle concluded that bit of teasing, and knocked Susanna further off center. Unable to connect visually with the world around her, a fine hum lit her senses. His warmth and the spice of his scent still adorned the material.

Unexpectedly this exercise jarred her carefully-maintained composure. Sinking into a place governed by a cloak of black and an intimate one-to-one connection, Susanna found herself assailed not just by dependence, but an acute sense of longing.

“Something held your attention before we paired up. Mind my asking what?” Gabe’s question cut into the void.

In an odd way, the closed off world she inhabited became liberating—freeing up the guarded, more cautious part of her soul. “I was thinking about Layla and Chelsea, and friendships between all the kids.”

“And what else?”

“You’re not going to let me off the hook, are you?”

His chuckle tickled the insides of her ears. “Nope.”

Darkness gave her the courage to reveal herself—a bit. “I was thinking about you. You need to keep this up. Think about contributing to youth programs when you…you know…when you leave. And go home…” Her words drifted to an awkward stillness interrupted only by crackling leaves and branches and soft insect chatter as she stepped slowly ahead.

“There’s a log in front of you.” His warning caused her to freeze. “Step up and over. It’s just a bit higher than your ankle.”

His hold on her waist went snug, and he supported her arm more firmly. Gabe’s voice was steady and low—assuring. Seeking added guidance, she held on to his forearm. Suddenly shy, Susanna stiffened against his gentle movements forward and dependence on what would only be a temporary source of support. She swore she heard the soft hiss of a sigh.

“Relax your body. Don’t fight so hard, Lovely Lady. Don’t be afraid to lean on me.”

But leaning on you could be habit forming.
Leaning on you is a luxury I can’t afford. You’re transitory. I’m still trying to understand what I’m feeling and cobble it into some form of sense and logic.

His hand was sure and steady in hers; his arm felt natural and good around her waist. Susanna moved past the log and continued on.

“Here comes a slight bend in the road, to your left. Come with me.” He exerted gentle pressure and his voice slid through her, satin moving over skin. “And don’t worry about what’s ahead of you, Susanna. God’s already there.”

A thirst overtook her senses—a thirst not just for things physical but for everything about the man. This exercise served only to intensify her reaction to Gabe Peretti, to sharpen her focus until nothing remained but her emotions, his voice, and a yearning so powerful it pulled Susanna under.

He tucked his fingertips through her clenched hands and drew her to a standstill. “Relax those fists.” He worked them open. “Stop being afraid of the unknown. Trust is about receiving as much as it is about following someone else’s lead.”

A lump formed fast and hard in her throat. She needed to snip through all the conflicting emotions with sharp mental scissors.

“Where do I go next?” Susanna whispered the words, forcing her hands to relax in his. A fine tremor worked through her.

“For now, I want you to just go still. Feel. What do you hear? What do you smell?”

Susanna wavered, going warm and weak. “I smell…damp earth. Grass, maybe. I hear water bubbling…almost like it’s sparkling. Are we near water?”

Very slowly, Gabe slipped the cloth away from Susanna’s eyes. When the real world invaded, an odd form of vibration, like the hum of a tuning fork, sang on a line between them.

“Welcome to Boykin Springs.”

Susanna paid fleeting heed to the naturally formed stone steps that broke the line and fall of a riverbed streaming down and away at a powerful clip.

“I think I’d like to come back here to fish someday.” Gabe stuffed his fingertips into the front pockets of his blue jeans, studying the formation of rock, water, and land. “Maybe I can land some largemouth bass…or go boating through Lake Caddo’s cypress swamp. Have you ever been there? It’s fantastic.”

“Maybe someday.”

She turned away and walked ahead. Storm clouds claimed her spirit because that was just the problem—there wouldn’t be a someday. She battled need. She battled a desperate sense of wanting. Most of all she battled the idea that Gabe would never become a permanent part of her life.

6

Gabe liked to think of tonight’s date with Susanna as
Operation Breathless
.

In the week since their hike, she had become remote and shuttered. His departure for Detroit would occur in under a week, and the deadline loomed over them both.

He hoped tonight’s excursion would change her mood. He wanted this date to be a thrill and a complete surprise for her. Oh, she knew they were going out, but that was it. She had accepted his invitation listlessly, and all he would say to embellish was that they were going to escape together.

What he wanted to do was lift her up. Literally.

“I still don’t get why you’re being so secretive. I certainly can’t run away now.”

True enough. She sat next to him in the front seat of his rental car, and he navigated away from Angel Falls toward open, flat farmland that seemed to roll on forever. Gabe reached for her hand and held it tight. “Let’s just say I’ve given you hints.”

“When?”

“At lunch a while back.”

Susanna nearly cracked a smile. “That’s no help. We’ve had lots of lunches together. Which one do you mean?”

“Think ham and cheese. And soup.”

While she slanted him a look, studying and pondering, Gabe gave her a great big smile and she laughed quietly. “Sorry, I’m clueless. We both like ham and cheese. And soup.”

She was almost into the spirit of the evening. Almost, but not quite. Gabe shifted his gaze between the two-lane road ahead and Susanna. As instructed, she wore a heavy winter coat and gloves. It was going to be cold outside. He admired the way she left her deep brown hair to float free around her slim shoulders and that beautiful heart-shaped face.

Gabe turned in at a long gravel drive that curved toward a white wood farmhouse. A barren field bustled with activity. The tract of land surrounding the home was full of equipment and people at work. It also provided the giveaway for what they would be doing tonight.

Susanna gasped. “No way…seriously…?”

While she goggled, Gabe stopped the car and reclaimed her hand to deliver a kiss to the back. “Yes, seriously. Stay put.”

He rounded the vehicle and opened her door. Susanna emerged wearing a look of childlike awe. Immediately a soothing balm warmed his spirit.

“We’re actually going to take a ride in a hot air balloon?”

Gabe extracted a pair of tickets from the deep pockets of his winter jacket. “That’s what these say.”

Half a dozen nylon envelopes were in varying stages of inflation; their vibrant colors filled the space of the field. Burners hissed and fired as hot air expanded the giant bags.

Gabe touched Susanna’s arm, pointing toward a balloon that featured swirls in every shade of blue imaginable. “According to the pictures I received, that one’s ours.”

Swept into the scene, Susanna rested a hand against her chest, taking in the riot of shapes and rainbow of colors. “I’m amazed, Gabe. This is incredible. I can’t believe it!”

Operation Breathless
, he thought with a satisfied nod,
is well under way.

****

“Mr. Peretti, Miss Daniels, welcome aboard. Climb on in and we’ll prepare for takeoff.” Their pilot, a warm-spirited fellow of middle age with silver hair and crinkly smile lines around his eyes, put Susanna right at ease.

Bracing against wicker and wire in order to steady herself, she prepared to climb into the tan basket. A pair of strong, steady arms came around her—one near her knees, one at her waist. Giving a soft shout of surprise, Susanna realized Gabe’s intent the instant he lifted her off her feet and placed her gently inside, not relinquishing his hold until she was carefully settled. Shyly she diverted her eyes, wondering if the connection she felt to him was as transparent as she feared. Her pulse thundered beneath her skin. Could he hear her heart pound? While she fought to regroup, Gabe joined her.

“Folks, I’m Cal,” the pilot continued. “I’ll be at the controls today. Let me take you through a few things before we get started…”

Following a bit of pre-flight instruction, the gondola lifted off.

With a bit of a start, Susanna grabbed tight to the edge of the basket. Her stomach fell away, awash in the sensation of leaving the ground. Gabe stepped close, snuggling against her side and keeping a secure hold of her waist. After that, they began to drift in restful silence, against an endless current of gentle air. Fire literally breathed through the burner, providing an assuring sound as the mechanism continuously filled the gigantic dome of nylon that towered above their heads.

“This one is really going to be tough to top, Mr. Peretti.” Susanna grinned, looking way up into a clear, purpling sky. Oxygen and heat mixed and flowed, continuing the process of lifting them away. Adjusted to the sensation of floating, Susanna looked over the edge of the gondola, leaning against it as she studied patchwork plots of land, the homes and roadways they drifted over.

Gabe reached out to touch her cheek, which drew her gaze to his.