“Come on. You think this isn’t some random impulse?” Jack could admit he might have misjudged Brooke because she reminded him of Claudia, but regardless of that, a rational person didn’t push herself to exhaustion.
“She’s not reckless,” Kat said. “More like mule-headed. Once she gets an idea in her mind, she’s stubborn as hell, but a lot of people don’t notice because she’s not in your face about it, she’s just quiet and determined and gets things done.”
“But she can’t think she’ll make it all the way there.”
The woman was a far cry from being in top shape. He’d even go as far as saying Claudia had more chance of hiking to Everest than Brooke did, and his ex hated anything that required her to sweat or get muddy.
“She does,” Kat said. “And don’t go getting it in your mind that she’s an airhead, either. She’s clever. Probably more so than you or me. You know she’s doing a PhD, right?”
“Huh.” He frowned. “I wouldn’t have guessed that.” For one thing, he hadn’t been sure she was old enough. “What subject?”
“Art history.”
Okay, that made sense. His world realigned. He hadn’t been entirely off-base—she was a cultured, arty type.
Kat broke into his thoughts. “I hope you meant what you said.”
“About what?”
“Helping her.”
He swallowed. “Yeah, I did.” Kind of. “I doubt she has a snowball’s chance in hell of making it to Everest, but I won’t stand in the way of her coming on my trips or doing whatever training she thinks she needs, as long as she’s sensible about it.” He may not believe it was within her ability, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be the reason she lost that spark in her eye.
“Good.”
“I’d better be off.”
“See you around.”
He tipped his head to Kat and wandered outside.
During the drive, he found himself pondering Brooke’s declaration, and wondering if she had the slightest idea how much work and planning it would take for her to get to Everest Base Camp. It wasn’t the kind of thing a person just decided to do to inspire others, however noble that may be. Perhaps he needed to show her how much dedication it would take. Surely it was better she realize now rather than after she’d put her whole heart and soul into it, only to fall short.
He stopped at Café Oasis to buy a mini quiche for dinner, then went home. Taking his quiche to the outside deck, he ate alone, as per usual, turning over the situation and examining it from different angles. It seemed to him that the kindest thing to do, in the long run, would be to show Brooke what kind of targets she’d need to meet to fulfil her dream. That ought to bring her well and truly back down to earth. She needed to realize mountaineering was not a glamorous pursuit. When the quiche was gone, he grabbed his phone from his pocket and devised a list of tests. Ones that would force her to get real about things. Once he’d finished, he jotted it on a piece of paper and tucked it away.
5
The 6th of February was a public holiday, and a large number of tourists visited Haven Bay to surf, bask in the sunshine, and sample the quirky ice cream flavors at The Shack. Subsequently, many locals stayed home or went to the less popular parts of town. First thing that morning, Brooke had called her friend, Kyle, who worked at the library, and arranged to visit his place. She hadn’t seen him for a week, and needed a dose of his optimism. As soon as she’d gone public with her long-term goal of reaching Mt. Everest, she’d started having doubts.
Who was she kidding?
Yeah, she was healthier than she’d been in ages, but she was still unfit, unconditioned, and inexperienced. Just look at how tired she’d been after a short hike and a scramble through a cave. Who was she to think she could make it to Nepal? To the highest mountain in the world?
But she’d said it now. Put the words out there in the universe, and she was committed. She couldn’t take it back. What’s more, she didn’t want to. She owed it to Olivia to do as she’d said. She owed it to both of them. But before anything else, she needed to figure out the steps to take to achieve her goal. Once she’d done that, she could break them into manageable chunks. That was why she needed Kyle. Besides being a beacon of hope and never-ending support, he also possessed the kind of mind that thrived on to-do lists and deadlines.
Driving past the beachgoers, she edged around the town square and arrived at his shoebox-sized flat, which was located in a building on the fringe of the commercial area. She hopped out of her car, grabbed her purse, and let herself in. She and Kyle didn’t bother with knocking. They had no secrets from each other, and it wasn’t as if either of them liked to hang around in their underwear. Even if she had walked in and found him in the nude, it wouldn’t be anything she hadn’t seen before. The two of them had been roommates during her undergraduate. In fact, she’d moved to the bay because he’d sold her on the healing power of the sea breeze.
“Hey, Kyle.” She strolled down the hall. “Where are you?”
“In here,” he called from the living room. She followed his voice and found him sitting on the couch, a mug of coffee in his hand and a mound of bacon and eggs on a plate in front of him. He waved to her, swallowed a mouthful, and gestured for her to join him. “Do you want some breakfast?” he asked. “I made extra.”
“No, thanks. I already ate.” Besides which, cooked breakfasts weren’t really her thing. When you’d spent as much time on bed rest as she had, you learned to eat light meals so they didn’t go straight to your hips.
He shrugged and helped himself to another spoonful of eggs. “Suit yourself.”
Kicking back, Brooke looked at the TV screen. An episode of Battlestar Galactica was playing, and they both watched while he finished his breakfast. When he was done, he opened the curtains to let the sunlight in, and tugged off his hoodie, lifting his t-shirt to reveal a strip of toned abdomen that would have surprised her had she not seen his body before. Kyle might be a gaming librarian, but he was a sexy one.
“So,” he said, angling his body toward her. “What’s up?”
She reached over and grabbed his hands. “I need to borrow some of your undying optimism.”
His lips quirked. “Okay, sure thing. What am I being optimistic about?”
She inhaled slowly, then released the breath. “I’ve decided I want to hike to Everest Base Camp.”
He cocked his head. “As in, the Everest that’s located in Nepal, on the other side of the world?”
At least he hadn’t laughed in her face. “Yeah,” she said. “That’s the one.”
“And when did you decide this?”
She raised a shoulder and dropped it. “I’ve been thinking about it ever since Olivia passed away. When we were girls, we talked about going together, and thinking about that was something that got me through some hard times. We always knew it was a long shot, but now it’s impossible, at least as far as she’s concerned. It just struck me that life is so short, you know, and if I want to go, I can’t just wait around and expect it to happen.” She sighed. “Last night, I blurted it out in front of Kat and Jack, and now I’m committed.”