“We’re going in there?” A car sat on the track, its door open and waiting for the next passenger.

“No, no.” Logan caught my hand before I could touch the car to get in. He pointed to a narrow walkway alongside the track. “We’re going up there.”

“Up there?” The roller coaster wound in circles, and the tallest point was the highest place in the entire park. “I thought we were just going to sit in the car or something. What about a plain boring warehouse? Or haunted house? Up there looks dangerous. Does that work? Is that safe?”

“It doesn’t, but my dad had a crew come out here. It’s safe to walk on. He can’t get sued, even if there are no trespassing signs.” He pointed to one pinned on the animal barn behind us. I could hear the chuckle in his voice. “You never know what idiots might come out here, scoping to see if they could throw a party.”

I turned back to him. “Is that why you come here?”

He hopped down onto the path and held his hands up for me. I went to him, and his hands rested on my hips as he lifted me and placed me on the path behind him.

“Yeah, the first time,” he said with a nod. “Then I realized the place is too big, too dangerous for a party.”

I didn’t want his hands to leave. “And since then?”

They did, but then his hand found mine. It fit perfectly. “And since then, it’s just for me. I rigged something up here. I don’t come here often, but sometimes I do when I want to be alone. Don’t start thinking I’m a pansy. It’s a new place for me. Trust me, my usual place to go think is the bar, but I don’t know. You can see all of Cain up there. A warehouse is easy to find, but not this. Come on.” He started forward. “I want to show you something.”

BUCKET LIST

#SEXONAROLLERCOASTER

TAYLOR

We were in another world.

That was what it felt like as we climbed to the highest part of the roller coaster. I refused to look down, and thankfully the path didn’t loop-the-loop when the tracks did. My stomach couldn’t have handled that. Once we reached the top, I saw what Logan was talking about. A solitary car sat at the crest of the biggest drop. It was clean and shiny. Logan’s must’ve wiped it down. When he opened the door so I could climb inside, I saw a blanket folded neatly in the back of the two-seater.

“Nuh-uh.”

“What?”

I pointed at the car. “I’m not getting in that thing. We’ll die.”

He laughed and shook the car. It rattled against the track, but it didn’t move. He shook it a little harder, and it still didn’t go anywhere. “I rolled it up here and bolted it down. This baby won’t go anywhere, and it can’t come off the track. Only way it’ll fall is if the track goes with it. It’s safe. I promise.”

My stomach had been clenched in knots the whole trek up here. They weren’t going away, and we still had to get down. “Logan, I don’t know.”

“Come on.” He patted the car. His tone gentled. “Please?”

“Did you bring me up here to kill me?” I plastered myself against the railing.

“I brought you up for a reason, but that’s not it.”

“You rolled this car all the way up here?”

“Yeah.”

I took a step forward, then thought better of it. I pointed at him. “You go first.”

He frowned, but hopped in. The way he moved, so lithe and agile, I gasped. My stomach leaped, and I reached for him. It was reflex, but I swear, I thought he was going over. “Logan!” My heart pounded, fast and furious.

“I’m good.” He patted the seat next to him. “You afraid of heights?”

I groaned, inching into the car. Then I was torn. To close the car door or not? Should I keep easy access to the walking path and railing, or feel more secure? I took a deep breath. My fingers clenched around the door, but I shut it. Once it clicked in place, I needed a minute. I forced myself to keep breathing. Even breaths. In and out. In and out, and when the car didn’t fall or move, I started to feel a bit more secure. Just a bit.

Logan watched me. “Guess that answers my question.”

“You’re crazy.”

“I’ve been told that.”

I shook my head, but his eyes were warm, looking at me, and his dimples showed—I was already forgetting where we were. I was with him. That was at the forefront of my mind. All else was stripped away. That was the power Logan Kade had over me, and it grew stronger with each minute we spent together.

I let out a soft sigh and felt the world right itself again. I was no longer scared.

“Better?”

“Better.”

His grin widened. I caught a twinkle of something mischievous in him and only had a second to brace myself before he twisted around to reach behind the seat.

I grabbed for the bar in front of us and clutched it.

Logan laughed as he pulled the blanket from the back. He unfolded it and shook it out over his side of the car. Then he turned back to me and pulled it over our laps. The evening had started to fade, and so had the temperature. I hadn’t noticed the cool breeze until now, but once the blanket hit my lap, it warmed my legs.

“Okay. This is nice,” I told him.

“Good.” Logan pointed out in front of us. “This is why I brought you up here. Look.”

Then everything made sense—why he’d taken the time and effort to bring the car here, why we’d climbed all this way: the view. As I lifted my head and looked beyond us, I saw my hometown looking beautiful, serene, the way it used to be to me. I gestured to the town laid out in front of us. “This is beautiful. Thank you, Logan.” I looked at him now. “I mean it. Thank you. I’d forgotten that my home could be beautiful.”