My upcoming novel, Staking a Claim, is the sequel to Taking the Plunge and due for publication in 2023. Here’s a taster.
Kate perched on the edge of the gantry, her legs bound, looking down. Forty-three metres below, the Kawarau River surged with spring melt, swirling around a jagged rock that burst from beneath the whitewater, black and dangerous.
“You ready?”
She turned her head towards the voice, stomach clenching.
Both young men standing at her back flashed reassuring smiles. On the left, the pasty English one named Simon suggested, “On the count of three?”
She nodded, took one last glance at the galloping waters, then closed her eyes.
“One… two… three!”
Wind whistled. River roared.
“I did say three, didn’t I?”
“Uh-huh. Loud and clear.”
“And she agreed, right?”
“Yep.”
“Kate?”
Her name came dancing on the wind, teasing. She didn’t answer, her feet rooted to the gantry as if encased in concrete rather than stretchy rope.
“You didn’t jump.”
She shook her head.
“Why not?”
“I’m enjoying the view.”
“But your eyes are closed.”
“They are?” As she slowly opened them, the two men came swimming into focus.
“Shall we try that again?” asked Manny, brown eyes glinting from his swarthy, Chilean face.
She opened her mouth to agree but nothing came out.
“There’s nothing to worry about. It’s been weeks since we had an accident.”
Simon cuffed his colleague on the shoulder.
“Accident?”
“He’s kidding,” said Simon, scowling at Manny. “We’ve never had an accident. And we’ve been going since nineteen—”
“That’s right, we’ve never had an accident.” Manny’s grin was wicked. “Sometimes the people jumping have an accident, but not us. It always pays to bring some spare underpants.”
Simon dug him in the ribs.
He laughed, warm and hearty. “I’m sorry. Look, Kate, let’s try it again. You’ll be fine. Everyone’s scared their first time. But I guarantee, once you’ve done it, you’ll be back up here begging to go again.”
Kate looked beneath her feet at the rope, swaying in the wind above the raging river. “I’m not sure about that.”
“Don’t worry, you’ve got this. On the count of three again, yeah?”
She swallowed. “Okay.”
“Right then, here we go. One…”
She bent her knees and spread her toes.
“Two…”
She closed her eyes.
“Three!”
She opened them again, only to discover that the view looked exactly the same as before. The river was no closer, and the world was definitely not upside down. Dipping her head, she noted her feet were still firmly planted on the edge of the gantry.
“Umm,” said Manny, “perhaps I didn’t make myself clear, but the idea is that you jump on three. There’s people waiting, you know.”
Back on the bridge, the young woman who was next in line gave her the evil eye.
“I’m sorry. I really thought I had it that time.”
“Kate?” Evan strolled hand in hand with Corbin towards her along the bridge, a camera hanging from a strap around his neck. “What’s going on?”
She gave a theatrical groan. “I don’t know. It’s scary up here.”
“You’re not wrong,” he said, chuckling. “I was scared too.”
“You didn’t look scared.”
“Fake it till you make it. Come on, you’ve got this. You were so keen after you saw me go.”
“That all changed when I looked down.”
“Then don’t look down.”
“I tried that. I closed my eyes, but the picture in my head was so vivid that it didn’t make any difference. Even from behind my eyelids, those rocks look awfully sharp.”
“You’re not going to hit the rocks.”
“I might. What if a gust of wind blows just when I jump?”
“Wishful thinking,” said Manny. “We weighed you, remember?”
Kate stared daggers at him, but his cheeky grin refused to budge.
“Look,” said Evan gently, “if you don’t want to go, it’s okay. We can try again some other time. Right guys?”
“Yeah, of course,” said Simon.
“I do want to go. It’s just…”
“There’s no shame in backing out.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Manny gestured across the canyon to the onlookers crowded along its edge. “Look at all those people watching. I’d be ashamed if I was you.”
“Manny, you’re not helping,” growled Simon.
“No, he’s right,” said Kate. “I didn’t come all this way to turn around and go home without doing what I came for.”
“Mummy jump?” Corbin poked his nose through the railings, peering at her.
She cast her eyes around the canyon, sweeping from the bungy and cafe complex out over the raging waters to the far side of the gorge, steeling herself. “Yes,” she said, clenching her fists, “Mummy jump.”
“You sure?” asked Evan.
“Uh-huh.” Her tummy disagreed but she overruled it. “Let’s do this.”
“On the count of three?” said Simon.
She nodded, swallowing.
“Good on ya, Kate.” Evan winked at her before raising the camera to his eye.
“Okay then, here goes,” said Simon.
“One…” This time, Evan joined in the chorus.
“Two…” She rose onto the balls of her feet, knees bent, pulse pounding.
“Three…” Then pushed.
“You did say you wanted to be dunked, right?” said Manny.
“Wait, what?” She flailed, but it was too late, her body past the point of no return, slicing an arc through the crisp canyon air, the wind whipping at her hair. The river rose up to greet her as she screamed towards it, impossibly fast, and her brain barely had time to form the words ‘you bastards’ before a plume of water leapt at her, arms open to grasp her in its icy embrace.
The rope at her feet caught and stretched, the bonds tightening, her headlong plummet slowing. When the tips of her fingers touched the surface she yanked them back as if stung. The scream died in her throat and was replaced by the rush of water and a chorus of cheers from above. Hauled back up into space, she saw Evan and Corbin waving down at her. Her heart raced, the pressure in her chest so great that it crushed the coal of terror into a diamond of elation. At the apex of her bounce she screamed again, then fell, dropping with giddy joy. Her shrieks become whoops, and by the time she’d stopped bouncing she was giggling madly.
Dangling over the water like a worm on a hook, she was lowered into the boat, the crew scrambling to untie her from her bonds, the indignity of it all swept away in the sheer joy of the moment. She was congratulated and helped from the boat onto the shore, where she made her way breathlessly up the steep path cut into the face of the cliff to the rim above.
Into Evan’s arms.
“How was that?” he asked, beaming at her.
“Thrilling,” she panted. Corbin tugged at her trouser leg and she raised him up, sliding him onto her hip. Her gut did a somersault and the gas rose in her throat, making her burp. “I feel a little queasy now, though.”
“Here, come sit down.” Placing a hand on her back, Evan guided her along the gravel path to a low rock wall bordering a well tended garden.
She collapsed onto it, her legs tingling, then placed Corbin beside her. Her insides danced again, a bead of sweat running down her temple despite the chill wind. She brushed it away, and squeezing Corbin’s knee, said to Evan, “Thanks for inviting me.”
“No problem. It’s good to see you again.”
She smiled. “You too.”
Two weeks had passed since she’d last seen him. Two weeks where she’d found herself thinking about him far more frequently than she expected given the circumstances of their last encounter — far more than she wanted, truth be known. As if things weren’t complicated enough. And then he’d called, asking if she was free to go bungy jumping on Friday and her answering ‘yes’ had been uttered before her brain was even aware of what her mouth was doing. She’d been nervous on the winding drive over from Cromwell, Corbin chattering away in the back seat, but now that she was here next to him it felt… good. Really good. She liked the way he looked at her with those intense blue eyes, the wind tussling his curling blonde locks, a shadowed stubble crusting his jawline. And the hug at the rim of the canyon, his arms warm and strong around her back — she especially liked that.
A whoop from across the canyon made her turn in time to see evil-eyes plummeting from the bridge. “It looks so easy from here.” She lowered her gaze to the gravel at her feet. “I never thought I could be so scared.”
“It’s a different story when you’re standing on the edge looking down. You did well.”
“Thanks.”
“So… ahh, what’ve you been up to?”
Fantasising about your naked body entwined with mine? No: TMI. Eating more and exercising less than I should be? No, still TMI. She settled for, “Nothing much. You?”
Evan shrugged. “I dunno. Yumiko’s gone.”
Hearing the name caused another flutter in her belly. “Where?”
“Back home to Canada, so Noemie says.”
“What about Jamie?”
“Him too, back to Oz, thank God. Licking his wounds like a dog, no doubt.”
“That’s a little harsh, don’t you think? He did say he was in love with her.”
Evan gave a bitter snort. “The only person Jamie loves is himself. I’m not worrying about him. He’ll be fine, believe me.”
“But you worry about Yumiko?”
“Yeah, but she’s gone, and I don’t blame her after the way I treated her.” Sighing heavily, he added, “Anyway, it’s all in the past now, isn’t it? Time to move on, embrace the future.”
“Yes,” she said simply. But what will that future look like?
They sat in silence for a while, surveying the scene on the bridge as Manny and Simon prepared the next jumpers, a couple this time, legs bound together and hugging each other at the edge of the precipice, anticipating their leap of faith. Her belly burbled again and she frowned. Surely it shouldn’t take this long to settle.
“Mummy, I’m hungy,” said Corbin.
Maybe that was the problem. How long had it been since she ate lunch?
“Let’s get something to eat, then,” said Evan, standing. “Wanna ride?” Corbin giggled as Evan lifted him onto his shoulders. “You coming, Kate?”
She nodded but the frown stayed put. “Just give me a moment, I feel a little…” The words faded as she clutched the leg of Evan’s jeans, pitched forward and threw up, splashing vomit all over his shoes.
FREE BOOK!
A gritty and engaging story of human faults, fears, and frailty, What Friends Are For is the prequel short story to my tragicomic novel, Taking the Plunge. Introduce yourself to the characters from the novel and find out where it all begins for Kate, Tracy, Evan and Lawrence.
