093: Aubrey

We started pedaling again, laughing at our deviation. The trail wasn't big enough for us to pass them, but we tried all the way to the falls.

There wasn't a great place to park that many bikes, nor was there a sandy beach to relax on. The rest of the trail was a foot trail, and I saw that Ben was planning to climb part of the falls, as there was a sort of trail.

"Do you want to go up there?" I asked Rafe as we settled our bikes on the ground and eyed the boulders in the pond at the foot of the falls.

He was looking up. "It's a little dangerous."

"I'm game if you are." I told him, but I was secretly hoping he didn't want to. Heights still scared me.

His eyes slid to mine critically, and I knew he was thinking of just that fact and it warmed my heart. "Let's eat lunch here at the rocks." He loosened his day pack and we two split from the guys who were heading up and over the trail. This was still really beautiful, this falls was one of the tallest, if not the tallest I'd ever seen.

We settled ourselves, drinking bottled water and squinting around at the brilliance and the lovely roar of falling water. There was an occasional spray as the breeze created by the falls misted over us.

"It's named Basaseachi Falls." Rafe told me and I looked up at it in interest and then back at him. He was sitting with his back to it. I took his picture there, a couple of pictures and then balanced myself on the rock next to him for a selfie of us both.

"It has a story. You want to hear it?" He ate his power bar quickly and then pocketed the trash. I nodded, entranced by his relaxed interest in everything around him. "King Candamena was the ruler of Tarhuamara Sierra--- these mountains. He had a most beautiful daughter named Basaseachi. When his daughter came of age she had many suitors, but her father was reluctant to give her to any of them. None of them were good enough. So King Candamena devised a plan to force all the suitors to pass a series of tests. Each test harder than the one before it. After each test more and more suitors failed and went home, or died trying. Basaseachi was terribly depressed at her father's stringent requirements, and begged him to stop the tests, but he refused. Finally the last suitor, the one Basaseachi loved the most, fell to his death failing the final test. Basaseachi was so devastated she flung herself off the cliff after him."

Rafe glanced up to the top of the falls, so I did too, envisioning the beautiful Princess in such terrible agony.

"But a local witch, hearing of the almost tragedy, transformed Basaseachi's fall into a waterfall to preserve her sacrifice and her tears forever."

I blinked. "That's incredibly sad."

"Or incredibly stupid." Rafe said and bit into another power bar.

I hit him on the arm. "You don't tell that story to a girl and expect her not to be sad for the Princess and her suitors." I leaned into him then. "It was a very romantic sacrifice."

"Well, don't expect me to jump off any cliffs any time soon." He said and munched quietly.

"I have the feeling, my love, that your cliffs will be much higher and much harder." I gave him a meaningful eye and he leaned in and kissed my willing lips. We broke apart laughing.

"If we go back now, we can still do the zip line." He crunched his trash and stuffed it into his pocket as he pulled me up. He looked up once more. "It's an 885 foot drop."

I nodded, looking up at the guys climbing the side of the blazing waterfall, its huge white veil spreading over the rocks treacherously at its feet. I waved and Jeremy waved back.

I looked back at Rafe and smiled. His eyes were dark and almost unreadable.

"You're pensive."

"Um hm."

"You care to talk about it?"

He pursed his lips. "I'm going to let Dylan go."

"What?" I was so startled.

"Jeff told me he's been bothering you."

"But---."

"He's a dick, Aubrey. I can't have him down in the heart of Mexico bending things up the way he does. He's been a stick in my craw from the beginning. It's okay. There's this kid, one of the lighting crew I think who can play drums. I don't know how good he is."

"You can't just get some kid you don't even know."

He squished up his nose. "Or Levi." He glanced up the side of the falls again. "Unless he falls and kills himself here."

"It wasn't that big of a deal, Rafe. I don't want you to have to---."

"Stop protesting. It's up to me to protect you, and I have to do what's right for both of us. If he stays on the tour eventually I'm going to deck him. It's already in my head to do it every time I see him."

I felt guilty I hadn't told him myself, and relieved and somewhat chagrinned. I swallowed. "I ---."

"You could have come to me." Rafe said, now looking at me intently.

I sighed. "I could have, and I wanted to. But he said if I told you, he'd quit and leave you guys with no drummer."

He grunted and looked at his hands. "He's not officially part of the band yet. I pay him hourly." He shook his head. "What did he do?"

I kept my eyes on him, now, needing there to be honesty. "At the first concert, he caught me trying to come back to the green room and he forced a kiss, then---." I saw Rafe stiffen, and his hands drew into closed fists.

"And?"

I blew out my breath. "He's just been very suggestive whenever he thinks no one is looking, but today Aiden saw him, and he told me he would take care of it."

"Aiden who?" Rafe was very perturbed and quite alarmed.

"My security."

He nodded, not looking at me. He stopped nodding, then started again, having some inner dialogue going on. I felt a deep trepidation.

"It's unacceptable."

"That Aiden is taking care of it?"

"What can he do? Warn him off? It's me he needs to be worried about. Stupid---." And here he inserted a barrage of profanity so foul I instantly pressed my hands to my ears as hard as I could and closed my eyes so I didn't have to see the rage in his eyes.

When his voice and tone had died off I opened my eyes. He was looking hard at me. Contemplating.

"Rafe---."

"Look. I've been cheated on. I've done the cheating. But when a guy is making moves on a woman I've made it clear is my fiancé---. No. No." He stood and pulled his shorts down a bit. He sniffed and rubbed his finger under his nose. "Promise me if anything like this ever happens again--- with anyone--- for as long as we live---."

"I will tell you immediately."

"Thank you." He said simply. "It would be better that way. You're about to see my temper, baby and I've heard it's not very pretty."

I drew in my breath sharply. "I've sort of seen your temper." I said slowly, and then gave him my perfect attention. "That day at your parent's hot tub. You have very strong feelings when you finally let them out."

"And you're just wondering what else might be coming?"

My breath was shaky.

His eyes were dark and piercing. "Baby, I am a walking, ticking time bomb when it comes to strong feelings."

"So, you can't have anybody touching what is yours."

"Disrespecting his position and my generosity, and yeah, touching what is honorably mine."

"And you really advocate same sex marriage and gay and lesbian rights. You really can't tolerate those who don't feel the same as you, including those who might feel the exact opposite. And your feelings about the church---."

"Don't get me started."

"What else, Rafe? Are you pro-abortion?"

He blinked thinking about it. "Yes."

I nodded, my heart restricted with each tremulous breath. My stomach muscles clenched. "I am opposed."

"Yeah." He ran a hand through his hair. "What else?"

"Medical marijuana?"

He stared up at the waterfall. "I am all for it. I don't think marijuana is a drug. I think it does more good than bad, and I dare you to argue this one with me if you've never tried it yourself. That's like somebody telling me that having a baby is bad if they've never had one."

"I'm against it."

"So, you're thinking we are direct opposites?"

"Maybe. I guess we should take a little time to talk about these things."

"How about with the group? I might not get as freaked out if it's in a group, and I can hear others opinions as well."

"I agree. Let's have a driving debate."

"You sound suspiciously as if you've already done this."

"I have. It's a road trip thing in our family. My dad deliberately brings up controversial subjects and purposefully makes us take a stand."

"Great idea. And we agree that at the end of the debate, we are still getting married and still in love."

"Still in love. I reserve the right--- for both our sakes---."

"Get out." He blew out his breath. "That's BS, and you know it. At the end of the freaking debate we agree to kiss and make up and never go to bed angry."

"For our whole lives. And you promise to carry on this tradition even in our own family."

"With Chloe and Noah?"

I swallowed, forgetting we had said those names once.

"You thought I forgot."

"I forgot."

"How about a little Jackson? I like Jackson Troy."

"Love it."

"Well, we agree on that." He hopped off the boulder and turned to help me off.

"And Harper." I said.

"For a girl?"

"Yes, and Charlotte."

"Hell, yes."

"And Lucas."

"Emily."

"Okay." He pulled me into his arms and looked into my eyes. "You're promising to give me seven kids?"

"Absolutely."

He threw back his head and laughed. "I love you."

I grinned, throwing back my head and I howled our own howl, the howl we'd howled that first night. He grinned and joined me. Against the canyon walls the guys howls came rushing back at us from above. We howled again in delight.

"What about Kinsley?"

"I have a niece Kinsley." I said.

"Juliana?"

"I have a sister-in-law, Julie."

"Is she your favorite?"

"Maybe not." I said in embarrassment. It seemed a little disloyal to Julie, but her name wasn't my favorite.

"Sophia?"

"You want eight?"

"Yes."

"Then sure, but that's uneven, girls outweigh the boys."

"Ethan?"

"Nephew."

"Jayden?"

"Nephew."

"How many freaking nephews do you have?"

"A lot. I told you I have twenty-four siblings. I'm the youngest."

He pulled my ponytail and then we got on our bikes and rode back down to make the zip-lining ride before it was time to head back.

********