Page 31

Calla

I’m lying on something soft, and I can smell the scent of my boys around me. If I didn’t remember vividly what had happened to me, I’d be able to convince myself it had all just been a horrific nightmare.

My head is pounding, and my whole body aches. I don’t know whether it was physical exhaustion, panic, or the thinness of the atmosphere—all I know is that it completely overwhelmed me, and I nearly fell… or rather, I did fall.

I’m reluctant to open my eyes, tempted to just sleep a bit longer. I let out a small moan as I shift slightly to get more comfortable. I slowly drift off, listening to the sounds of my boys’ voices as they talk quietly around me.

I know they’re worried about me—I can tell from the tones of their voices—but the feeling of tiredness is too strong to fight against.

I eventually wake up again, this time surrounded by the warmth of two bodies lying close to mine, the weight of a hand on my waist, and warm breath on my face and the back of my neck. I shift a little, careful not to disturb them as I move.

It’s dark, and I can’t see who is lying on either side of me, but the even breaths tell me they’re both asleep. The tents are barely big enough for three of us, so the other two must be in the other tent.

I slowly sit up. The movement makes my aching muscles throb, and my head spins again. I don’t know how long I’ve been out, but I’m fairly certain that it’s dehydration causing the dizziness this time.

The hand that was on my waist falls into my lap, and the fingers flex and tighten around my thigh as a low groan reaches my ears.

“Calla,” he says sleepily, and I instantly recognize Clyde. “You’re awake. Are you okay?”

“Thirsty,” I tell him, my voice a little raspy due to the dryness of my throat.

He groans again as he rolls over and grabs something from above his head. “Here, drink this.”

I fumble to take the bottle from him, listening to the sound of the water sloshing inside.

Unscrewing the top, I take a few large gulps, sighing as the cool liquid wets my mouth and soothes my throat as I swallow.

“Thank you,” I say in a more normal voice, then drink a little more before putting the cap back on and setting it down beside him.

“Where are we?” I whisper, keen not to wake the other sleeping boy who’s lying next to me.

“Still up the mountain. We found a place to set up camp for the night before we go back down tomorrow.”

I nod, although I know he can’t see me. “Is everyone okay?” I ask.

“Jesse and Billy are a little dinged up. Me and Doc are fine, though. We’ve been more worried about you. What happened?”

I look down at my lap. “I think I fainted. Umm, I don’t do well with heights,” I admit embarrassedly.

“Why didn’t you say so before? You could have stayed at the hotel instead of scaring the living daylights out of us by falling off a mountain.”

“I didn’t want to miss this. I came here to spend time with all of you. I didn’t expect the fear to hit me as hard as it did. That, along with the altitude, I guess it all just got the better of me.”

Clyde ’s grip gets tighter, and I wince a little as his fingers dig in more firmly. “You put yourself at risk for us.”

My voice cracks. “I know, I’m sorry.”

The sleeping bags rustle as he sits up and pulls me onto his lap. He wraps his arms around me and buries his face in my neck. “Don’t do it again, okay?”

I laugh shakily. “I promise. But, scared or not, I still want to reach the top of this damned mountain with you all.”

Clyde chuckles, and it vibrates against my skin.

“See how you feel in the morning. You might change your mind when you see how high up we are now.”

My stomach drops at the thought, but we’ve already come this far, so it seems a waste to turn back partway through.

“You’re not hurt anywhere are you? Jesse said he couldn’t tell if you hit your head or anything when you fell. And we couldn’t see anything when we checked for injuries.”

“I ache all over, but I don’t think it’s from that,” I tell him.

His warm sigh on my neck makes me shiver, and he lifts his hand to brush my hair out of the way as he presses a kiss on my skin.

“I’m glad you’re alright. And I’m glad we had all the ropes to keep us together, otherwise we’d have lost you.”

He squeezes me tighter to his chest and kisses me again. I can’t stop the gasp as his lips brush the sensitive part of my neck, and he groans.

I’ve never seen such a tender side to Clyde before, and it makes me realize just how much the worry for my safety has impacted on him.

“I promise I’m okay,” I reassure him, lifting my hand to stroke his cheek.

He lifts his head from my shoulder and nods. My heart races as his breath blows softly against my face, and I lean closer to him. He closes the distance and kisses me deeply, a sense of urgency in the action as he moves one hand up to tangle in my hair and the other sits on my lower back.

The sleeping bag shifts, and as a cool draft hits my skin, I become very aware that I’ve got no clothes on.

I break the kiss and lean backward, out of reach of his mouth.

“You undressed me while I was unconscious!” I scold, lightly slapping him on the shoulder.

His chuckle fills the tent. “You’re definitely not feeling yourself if you’ve only just realized that. However, me and Doc were completely well-behaved gentlemen. We were taking care of you and making sure you weren’t injured anywhere. Afterward, we tucked you straight in your sleeping bag.”

“ Calla? ”

Doc ’s husky, sleepy voice cuts through the darkness.

“I’m here, and I’m okay,” I tell him, guessing he needed to hear the words as much as Clyde did.

“It’s so good to hear you say that.”

The relief is palpable, and I’m happy I could give him that after causing so much worry.