“I think I’ll join him, if you don’t need any help,” Kate said.

Roy shooed her on, and Kate climbed the two flights, dreading the rooftop experience but wanting to catch up with Brody. They hadn’t had an opportunity to discuss his majors since he dropped by her office.

She found Brody leaning on the widow’s-walk railing, high above the landscape. He greeted her as she slipped into her chair against the chimney chase.

“Great day, huh?” he asked.

Kate forced her eyes from him. The blue of the sky melted into the expanse of ocean, its unending vastness interrupted only by the colorful dots of sails. The sun burned hot, and the breeze chopped at the water’s surface. Kate’s fists tightened around the chair’s arm, its edges cutting into her palm.

“Beautiful.” She tucked her feet under the chair. Why wasn’t it getting easier to face her fear of heights? She’d thought she could overcome it if she only forced herself up here every week.

Her mind went back to the first time she’d felt the fear. Ironically, it hadn’t been her own life she’d feared for at the time. Her mom, belly filled with alcohol, had climbed out her bedroom window and onto the sloped roof of the porch. Kate had come home from a friend’s house to find her teetering on the edge.

“Mom, don’t move!” Kate ran upstairs, down the short, narrow hall, and into her mom’s bedroom. The wooden sash was thrown open and the curtains fluttered in the night breeze.

“Mom, come here.” Kate climbed out the window and took slow steps down the slope. Her mom’s blouse rippled in the wind, and for a moment, Kate thought it would be enough to blow her right over the edge. She grabbed her mom’s hand. “Come on, Momma.”

Kate didn’t know how frightened she’d been until they were safely inside the house. Only then did she realize her heart felt as though it was going to burst through her ribs.

Now her heart pounded in remembrance. Ever since that day, heights had frightened her.

This was not helping. She needed to focus on something else.

Brody shifted, drawing Kate’s attention, and she remembered her purpose in coming. “I’ve been wondering about your career path. Have you given it more thought?”

Brody leaned his weight against the railing. Didn’t he realize it could give way? If it did, he’d hurtle three floors to his death. Okay, maybe just a broken leg, but still. Kate’s palms grew clammy; she felt dizzy at just the thought.

“It’s all I think about,” Brody said. “Other than girls, that is.” He flashed a smile, revealing a dimple she hadn’t noticed before.