“Why is that a bad thing?” he asked, his tone teasing. He still hadn’t laughed. Thank the heavens for Kyle Pride.
“Because I don’t know if I can do it,” she whispered.
“Of course you can,” he said, as if it were really that simple. “You, Brooke Griffiths, can do anything.”
She laughed, the sound weak. “Be real, Kyle. I can’t even run a mile without stopping for a breather.”
“So you’ll start small and work your way up.” He grinned. “Jog half a mile and walk the rest.”
Already, his optimism was infusing her. Her lips curved up.
“That’s it,” he encouraged her. “That’s my girl. Now, tell me, if this were a project you had to do for your thesis, where would you start?”
Her brows knitted together. “I’d break it down, set deadlines for each component, and then take bites out of that cookie until I’d eaten the whole thing.”
He nodded. “So, what are you going to do?”
Reclaiming her hands, she pumped her fist. “I’m going to do my research and make a plan. Thanks, Kyle.” She gave him a quick hug. “Are you going to be my research buddy?”
“Hell, yeah. I’ll grab my computer and let’s get to work.”
Two hours later, they were sitting side by side on the couch, and Brooke had a complete packing list for Everest, which included things like thermal socks, a low temperature sleeping bag, hiking boots, and a hydration bladder. Before now, she’d never even realized that different sleeping bags suited different temperature ranges. They’d also figured out the best time of year to make the trip, and the dates brought the realness of her mission home. Made it feel like something that could actually happen. She stared hard at the screen. October to December, that’s when she was hoping to be ready. If not, she’d have to put it off until the following year.
“All right.” She rubbed her palms together. “Let’s see how hard this is going to be.”
Kyle’s fingers flew across the keyboard. “I’ve found a complete itinerary published by National Geographic. It looks like you need to be able to walk an average of five hours per day, consistently uphill, for about two weeks, carrying your pack.”
Brooke exhaled, her breath whistling between her teeth. A one-hour uphill hike with no bag had exhausted her. “I’m so far from being able to do that, it’s insane.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Am I crazy?”
Kyle squeezed her knee. “You’ll get there.”
“But I’ll need help. Jack has already promised to assist, but I think it’ll take more than just him to get me there.”
“That’s unlike Jack. You must have been quite persuasive.” He emailed her the link and shut off the screen. “But you don’t need to worry. You have all your friends behind you. We’ll get you there, Brooke. In fact, let’s get started on your exercise program right now, with a walk to The Shack.”
She giggled. “You want to battle the tourists for ice cream?”
“I don’t want to,” he said. “But for you, I’m willing to try.”
She snorted, then clapped a hand over her mouth, mortified. “Oh, my God.”
Laughing, he offered her a hand. She grabbed it and let him hoist her upright. As they left his home, her spirit felt lighter, and her steps were springier.
She was lucky to have a friend like Kyle.
“Is this your first time?” Jack asked the couple who’d booked him to take them rock climbing.
“It is for me,” the man—who was slender and balding—replied. “Cameron has been climbing a few times.” He grinned wryly. “You might be able to tell, she’s the athletic one in our relationship.”
Jack glanced at Cameron, a fit brunette who carried herself with confidence. Yeah, he’d been able to tell. Cameron wouldn’t have been out of place working as a guide herself, whereas Darrell, her boyfriend, had a computer tan. Jack studied the woman. She was the kind of person he should date. Someone authentic, who cared more about personality and having fun than maintaining appearances. So why wasn’t he attracted to her? Besides the obvious—that being the man he was fitting into a harness. Cameron was the antithesis of Claudia. Of Brooke too, if he were being honest. He shook his head. It seemed he was destined to desire women who’d only hurt him.
Cameron laughed. “Darrell agreed to come because I’m learning squash so we can play together. He had to return the favor.”
Jack glanced between them again as he checked Darrell’s helmet. It was no business of his, but the couple seemed ill-suited. He doubted they’d last long. They were probably in the honeymoon stage, when they found their partner’s differences endearing, but he knew from experience that wouldn’t last forever.
“Do you climb often?” he asked.
“Maybe half a dozen times each summer. Not a heap, but enough that I don’t get too rusty.”
“So you’ll be comfortable without much of my help.” He checked her harness anyway, because this was his business and he was responsible if anything were to go wrong.
“Yeah,” she agreed. “I probably could have taken Darrell out on my own, but I wanted to relax and enjoy myself. We’ve been together for long enough now that we thought it was time to try each other’s hobbies.”
“Oh.” His brows shot up. “How long have you been together?”
“A little over five years,” she said. “And there are some things we enjoy together, but we thought it was time to shake things up a bit and do things we wouldn’t usually do together.”
Huh. So he’d been mistaken. No honeymoon period here. Was it possible they’d managed to maintain a happy relationship despite their differences? Or were there tensions simmering beneath their smiling exteriors that they kept hidden from view?
“Fair enough,” he remarked.
Once they were ready, he steered them to the rock face he preferred beginners start on. “Show me what you’ve got,” he said to Cameron. She rubbed chalk on her palms and moved up the rock, as agile as one of the lizards that darted across the surface from time to time. He nodded approvingly. “You’re okay to get yourself back down?”
“Yep.”
He turned to Darrell, wondering once again how he’d managed to woo—and hold onto–a woman who was clearly different to him.
“Isn’t she amazing?” Darrell asked, admiration in his voice.
Jack didn’t answer. “You ready to give it a go?”
Darrell nodded, his jaw squaring with determination. Jack explained how to begin, then kept an eye on him as he falteringly climbed the first two feet. Then he seemed to get stuck. By this time, Cameron had abseiled down the cliff and stood beside Jack.
“There’s a handhold to your right,” she said, and Darrell clung to the rock with his left hand while his right skimmed the surface, searching for a place to grip. He found the spot she mentioned and held on, digging his foot into a crack while he edged upward.
“You’re doing great, honey,” Cameron called. “There’s a hollow about half a meter above your left foot.”