Ryan had promised me forever then enlisted and found someone else, and in a flash, our marriage was toast. I wasn’t about to put myself or Ethan through another heartbreak. My life was built on caution now, although I didn’t want to be alone for the rest of my life.
“Maybe after Ethan starts college, I might consider dating again. But not a man in uniform.”
Her expression softened. “How is Ethan doing, by the way? Does he remember the official divorce date?”
The mention of my son had me smiling. “He’s so into football that I doubt it.”
“You’ve done a hell of a job with him. Honestly, I don’t know how you managed to raise a son while Ryan was deployed, go through four years of college, and graduate with honors.”
I’d had the help of Mom when she lived in Pine Valley. But I wasn’t in the mood to rehash my life.
I pointed to where a sheer wall of sandstone stretched into the blue sky. “We should probably continue to the caves.” It was approaching noon, and I had errands to run before dinner.
No sooner had we started on the trail toward the caves than a climber yelled out several swear words, which echoed through the canyon.
Both Lila and I stopped short as a climber below swung wildly, boots scraping the rock face for purchase.
“That is so dangerous,” I mumbled.
“Yeah,” she said. “I never had any interest in climbing to my death.”
Above him, another climber shouted, “You okay?”
“Rope’s caught!”
My heart jumped. “Come on,” I said, already moving. “We should get to the bottom in case he falls.” Not that we could do anything but call for help.
“You’re always rushing to help people,” Lila mumbled behind me. “You know we are not rescue people.”
My instincts as a mother and teacher always led me to be ready to help in any way I could.
Halfway down the winding trail, the man lost control and dropped several feet, slamming the rock face like a rag doll.
“Holy shit,” I breathed out.
“He’s going to die,” Lila said in a shaky tone.
I froze, calculating the distance to the ground, which could kill him if his rope or the anchor gave way.
Pebbles rained down as the climber above him lowered himself to help. “Catch the ledge.”
The dangling man flailed once, twice, then managed to grab onto the ledge.
I exhaled hard and pushed forward, nausea rolling through me as I ran for the canyon floor.
Memories of Ethan trying his hand at rock climbing assaulted me because my son had fallen from a ledge in this very canyon. The only reason Ethan had lived to tell about it was he’d barely gotten ten feet off the ground. But as a result, he fractured his arm.
By the time I was at the bottom, the second climber had reached the one in jeopardy.
Lila, out of breath, sidled up to me with her phone to her ear. “I’m getting Sheriff Hayes’s voicemail.”
Devil’s Hollow was twenty minutes outside of Pine Valley, so the sheriff or any of his deputies might not get here in time. We might have to call Search and Rescue.
The two climbers seemed to freeze in time.
I began praying, something I did on repeat because of my adrenaline junkie son who regularly put himself at risk. But teenagers had that infallibility complex, as if they could do anything. Though, the two men above weren’t teenagers.
Foot by foot, I held my breath as the climbers made their way down the rock face, drawing closer to us.
