A muscle in his neck cramped into a spasm, and Will kneaded it with his fingertips.
“You okay?” Galen asked.
“Hmm.” Will sat up and swallowed. Aged sawdust contained more moisture than his mouth. “How long have I been out?”
“Since we left the parking lot.”
“All those manly pursuits and fresh air. Damn. Used to be the only thing on my mind after a climb was cocktail hour. Now I sleep like the poster child for those Old Guys Rule T-shirts. Tell me I wasn’t drooling.”
“Only for the first hour.” Galen gave a muted smile, but a good one. Genuine.
Will cleared his throat. “What time is it?”
Galen turned the power off. “Around midnight.”
No moon, no stars, just a blanket of darkness. Ahead, a fortress of trees rose like a battalion of undead guards. Two coyotes howled; Saponi Mountain was alive with the kill.
“Once you closed your mouth, you looked peaceful.” Galen picked up the smart key and tossed it to Will. “And the unlit country roads were so tranquil. I decided to drive in circles. Let both of us zone out.”
“Hey, it’s cool. I haven’t slept like that in weeks.”
“Will?”
The kneading of his fingers sent strokes of warmth down his shoulder. “Yeah?”
“Thank you for giving me a second chance—after I was such a dick when we met. Today was a good day. I’m glad I spent it with you.”
The porch light from the cottage shone into the driver’s side, illuminating Galen’s face with a ghostly glow. The guy really should put on some weight, puff out those cheeks, but at least the gray pallor had gone.
“You’re not going to suggest a man hug next, are you?” Will said.
“Not your thing?”
Will shook his head. “I’m a non-discriminating non-hugger.”
A quiet laugh. “Did I stress you out today?”
“Only when you dyno’d over that ledge and out of view. Next time, don’t make me wait until I see your head at the top of the climb. Answer me when I call.”
“Really, you’d take me climbing again?”
“Sure. Anytime.”
Galen turned to stare out into the night. “I imagine you’re already planning your first father/son climb with Freddie.”
Will snapped wide-awake. “I haven’t thought about it.” An honest answer, because it had always been a given: One day, I’ll teach my son to climb.
Another dream lost, but today he’d also won a small, surprising victory over grief. Today he had focused on the physical and emotional well-being of another person out of choice. Dealing with the old man was not about free will, and soloing in the Gunks had been nothing more than a self-test, the desire to prove he was still alive. Today hadn’t been about proving anything, and while he wasn’t paying attention, Will found himself caring—about Galen’s safety and Hannah’s trust. It went deeper, too. He’d wanted Galen to enjoy the experience.
“It was a good day for me, too, Galen.”
“Like talking to God?”
“Yeah.” Will smiled. “I think so. How about you?”
Galen nodded. “There’s a poem circulating in my head.”
“Seriously? That’s fantastic, man.”
“I’m going to try and write it down before I go to bed.”
“And share it with me tomorrow?”
Galen nodded.
Maybe the climb had been a step forward for both of them. And maybe the incident with the ledge was as meaningless as the moment Galen decided to jump before clipping a bolt.
Will tumbled out of the passenger seat and stretched. Galen closed the driver’s-side door and then leaned onto the car.
“Tired?” Will asked.
“No. Just pensive.”
“I told your mom we’d be back by ten. Think she’s worried?”
“She didn’t text, so I guess not. She’s never been the type to wait up.”
“At least you don’t think she has.”
Hannah’s bedroom was sealed in blackness, as Will expected it to be. Even so, he pictured her sitting in the dark, waiting for her teenage sons to come home. Not wanting to fuss, but not being able to sleep until she heard the dead bolt on the front door click into place. He would have been that way if...just if.
“You want me to unload the gear?” Galen said.
“No, we’re good. Let’s deal with it tomorrow.” Tonight, Will just wanted to sleep.
The dogs waddled across the yard, tails wagging.
“Hey, ladies.” Will crouched down, and Rosie and Daisy headed straight for him.
“I guess Mom stayed up, after all.”
“Oh?” That sounded casual enough, right? Nothing lustful, nothing that announced, In my dreams, your mother’s naked.
“Yeah, she probably felt she should in case your dad needed something. She’s like that. Mom can sit up all night with a sick animal or a sick kid.”
“Or an aging dad?”
“That, too. Besides, if Rosie’s around, so’s Mom. Rosie’s her protector.”
Rosie licked Will’s hand; it tickled.
“One time a friend of mine was drunk and accidently fell into Mom’s bedroom. Rosie pinned him against the wall. Probably would’ve attacked if he hadn’t been too terrified to move.” Galen paused. “Mom?”
“Think she’s okay?” Will stood and rubbed at his stubble.
“Mom?” Galen called louder.
Will spotted her first, curled up on the cottage porch swing in a white toweling dressing gown, a pair of pink velvet slippers abandoned on the boards beneath her. Never in a millennium would he have pegged her for a woman who liked pink velvet.
He pulled ahead of Galen, which wasn’t hard—the guy moved like a turtle—and reached the cottage steps. The dogs brushed past, but Will paused to lean into the railing. She looked as young as she did in the photograph from her twenty-first birthday. Not that they needed to, but the years had slipped away. As had her dressing gown, which revealed a bare thigh and the hint of pink-and-white-striped boxer shorts. What else did she own that was pink?
“Mom?” Galen stood next to him.
Will was about to say, Let her sleep, but Hannah sat up—revealing a white lacy camisole that hinted at the outline of her breasts. The breasts he’d imagined jiggling while he moved rhythmically inside her. God help him, he gave a low moan, and before he could cover it up with a cough, an owl answered.
“What time is it?” Hannah dragged her hands through her hair and looked sexy as hell. Despite the huge brown stain over her right boob. She grabbed the collar of her dressing gown and tugged it up to her neck, and he felt like a kid caught with his hand in the bowl of Halloween candy. Had he been staring?
“I spilled coffee down myself,” Hannah said. “Waiting up for you guys.”
“It’s my fault, Mom. We would have been back hours ago, but Will fell asleep and the roads were so quiet and mesmerizing. I just kept driving. Sorry.”
“No, no need to apologize,” Hannah said quickly.
So, Will wasn’t the only one exhausted by the endless need for atonement. Although, now that he thought about it, Galen hadn’t apologized once today.
“How was the climb?” she asked Galen.
“Energizing,” Galen replied. “I’m going to head back to the house. Make some coffee and work on a poem. ’Night, guys.” Galen kissed his mother’s cheek, and Will felt something he probably shouldn’t have.
“Thank you, Will.” Her voice was husky with sleep.
She held his gaze and frowned.
“Something bothering you?” The question had slipped out unintentionally, but her stare was intense. Uncomfortably so. He shoved his hands into his pockets.
“No.” She shook her head, as if fighting off the remnants of a dream. “It’s fine.”
“My dad okay?”
“Fine.” Hannah stood and yawned.
Great. They’d established everything was fine. Except for the fact that Hannah was only partially dressed, and he was trying not to imagine her straddling him. Deep in his pockets, Will screwed up both hands into fists.
As if sharing his thought, she tightened the belt on her dressing gown. “I exhausted Jacob with a hike. He went to bed around nine, and last time I checked, he was sleeping like a baby. Or maybe not, given what appalling sleepers my two were. Especially Galen.”
“Colic?” Will said.
“Yes. Your son, too?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t meet him till he was nine months old.”
“Goodness. That’s rough.”
“Yeah. Nine months of memories I don’t have.”
Head cocked to one side, Hannah stared at him again. No way could she have figured out his secret, but she’d clearly caught a whiff of cover-up. From now on, he would say nothing about Freddie. Not one single comment would escape his lips. He would have to be even more guarded.