Gaffe Out Loud by Christy Barritt

Author:Christy Barritt [Barritt, Christy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: River Heights
Published: 2018-12-22T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

“Joey!” Jackson yelled.

My arms flailed in the air, and I reached for something to catch myself. There was nothing. Only the sky. The hot-Jell-O atmosphere.

And me in the middle of it. Suspended. Yet falling in slow motion like I was in some kind of Looney Tunes show.

Until my hand hit something.

Wood.

A post from the deck.

Somehow, my fingers managed to grab it, and my body jerked to a halt.

My heart stuttered out of control. I was dangling from the deck.

Two stories stretched below me. Two stories. That would be enough to crush some bones. Hurt my head.

Kill me?

I didn’t know. And I didn’t want to find out.

Jackson’s face appeared above me. “Joey, I’ve got you.”

He reached for my arm with both of his hands. But my grip was slipping.

I knew I should have done more upper body workouts.

“Can you grab onto me?” Jackson asked, determination in his gaze and his cheeks red with exertion.

I didn’t want to let go. But my arm ached. My muscles wanted to give up. And death seemed imminent.

I flung my free hand up and grabbed Jackson’s arm. Once I had a grip there, I slowly released my other hand and reached for his wrist. I squeezed my eyes shut, halfway expecting to fall.

But I didn’t.

Jackson had hold of me. That look of steely determination lined his face.

“We’ve got this, Joey,” he said. I had a feeling he was talking about more than just saving me from a crushing death.

He jerked his arms and lifted me with a heave.

Then, in what seemed like one fluid motion, he pulled me again and propelled me upward until I landed on top of him on the deck.

We both gasped for air as we lay there. I was still alive. In one piece. Safe.

That had been close. Too close. I never wanted to feel like I was on a Looney Tunes show again.

“Are you okay?” Jackson asked beside me, his arm still around me.

I did a brief mental evaluation. “I think so.”

“You’re shaking like a leaf.”

I was. The shock of adrenaline had taken a toll. “I know. I can’t stop.”

Jackson held me as we lay there still. It was like neither of us could move. We had to recover from my near death.

Or maybe not death. Maiming? Near disabling?

I wasn’t sure how far it could have gone. I was just grateful that it had only been a scare and nothing more.

Finally, Jackson pushed himself up on his hands and let out a breath. He stood and walked over to examine the deck. As he squatted beside the post where the railing had broken, he let out a grunt.

“What kind of sound is that?” I sat up so I could watch him. Not only because he was a lovely sight to see, but because I wanted to read his body language—his estimation of what had happened.

Had the home inspector somehow missed the fact that the railing wasn’t safe? What exactly had just happened?

He studied the wood. The sight of him being so close to the edge of the deck made me dizzy.

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