“Connect Four was always so cutthroat with you,” I say, grinning. “Glad that hasn’t changed.”
I order two wine flights, and we settle into a corner to play. True to her word, Sierra wipes the floor with me for the first two rounds.
“Let’s make this interesting,” I say. “Every loss earns thewinner one question. The loser has to tell the truth.”
Sierra snorts. “This sounds like a terrible idea.”
“Fun questions only. Scouts’ honor.” I hold up four fingers in a V.
“I’m pretty sure that’s a Star Trek thing,” she says, laughing. “But fine. Let’s get a glass of this third wine option first.”
The next battle commences after I get us each another glass of wine. When my fourth chip drops into place, I slap the table in triumph.
“No!” Sierra cries. “Dangit. I thought you were trying to go vertically.”
“Ha!” I drum my fingers on the table. “What got you into rock climbing?”
“Ooh, good question.” She takes a sip of her wine. “A friend invited me to a climbing gym, and I was hooked. It’s fun.”
“That’s it? It’s fun?” I tease. “Don’t tell me that’s all you like about it. And don’t say it’s a good workout—there are plenty of other exercises and sports out there besides climbing.”
“Fine.” Sierra takes another slow sip, giving herself time to think over the question. “I like that there’s not one right way to do things. I can slow down, think. Find a better approach. You know how, in rock climbing, you can’t just focus on the next move? You have to be strategic and consider how each move affects the ones that follow. Like if you choose the easier of two path options, but the next move has a huge reach that makes you fall—whereas the harder option would’ve been more manageable in the long run.”
She pauses to take another sip of wine. “A friend of mine used to say it’s a lot like chess. You can’t have blinders on and focus only on the immediate problem; you have to consider how each move flows into the next and how the whole gameplays out. Even if it doesn’t seem obvious at first, there’s a way to succeed, to get to the top. I just have to use my mind and be open to new possibilities.” She stops, looking suddenly uncertain. “Gosh, that sounds so hippie woo. Maybe not the most eloquent way to say it. I was never much of a poet. But…there it is.”
Quiet pride spreads warmly through me. She’s grown so much. “Don’t get bashful on my account. I think what you said is beautiful. Another game?”
Sierra wins the next round. “Do you climb anywhere besides in your cave? And if so, favorite place to climb around here?”
“Isolation Canyon is the closest and the best. I’ll take you. The next day we’re off.”
“Sounds like a date.” Sierra freezes, her hands rising to cover her pink cheeks. “Sorry, too much wine. It always makes me a bit too flirty.” At my quirked eyebrow, she blushes deeper. “And a bit too honest. Jesus.”
Her lips have darkened from the wine, turning a luscious, soft pink color. My mouth goes dry at the thought of tasting them.
When I win the next round, I flounder for a minute. Her eyes are sparkling, her expression soft from the wine. “Are you dating anyone?” I blurt. What I wanted to ask was,Did you ever fall in love with someone else?Because I never did.
“Naw,” she says, mimicking me again playfully. “I don’t really date anymore. I think men can kind of tell what kind of girl I am.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know.” She takes another big swallow of her wine. “People sense my bad-girl aura. Good guys don’t want the taint to rub off on them, so shitty guys are the only onesinterested in me.”
I rear back like she’s slapped me. I feel dumbfounded. Angry. Hurt. And simmering underneath all of it, ashamed. Because she isn’t wrong. I was that shitty guy once. “I—”
“Another round?” she says as she locks the board into place.
“Sure.” I’ve lost my focus now, and it’s embarrassing how quickly she wins the next game.
“Another win!” she crows with the ego of a grand master. “Okay, your turn. Why are you not on a yacht somewhere? Seth said you found millions of dollars’ worth of gold in the cave. A cave, might I add, on land that belongs to your family. I know you totally had the right to keep it. What’s the deal?”
I turn a red chip over in my hand. “It didn’t feel like it belonged to me,” I say finally. “I found it by accident. Don’t get me wrong, it was super tempting.”
“That’s it?” she says, mimicking my response to her rock-climbing question earlier. “Come on, Logan. This was your game, remember?”
“All right,” I say slowly. “At the time, I thought you were dead. I remembered how much you loved this place, how you wished Sagebrush could just catch a lucky break. I mean, I wasn’t a total angel. I set aside a portion of it for my parents’ retirement and invested in mapping out the cave. Oh, and a down payment on our house. The rest went into a trust for Sagebrush.”
Sierra blinks at me, her mouth open in surprise and confusion. “You thought I was dead?”
