Colin smirked and kissed his nose. “Did you think our honeymoon was just a vivid dream?”
David sipped his cognac. “If evenoneof you starts riverdancing, I’m leaving. Just sayin’.”
Several hours later,only Colin and Nate remained. David had slipped quietly away, carrying his brandy glass, the moment the first notes of “Baby Got Back” echoed through the room. Joshua had hung in longer but threw in the towel when Nate began to warble “We Are the Champions”—for the third time.
Colin was sprawled on the couch while Nate stretched out on the floor, legs extended under the coffee table. He lifted his arm, his hand containing a can of Murphy’s Irish Stout. “Hooray! Weare the champions, my Irish friend. Our better halves can’t seem to handle our extraordinary talent.”
Colin chuckled, then reached to one side to ruffle Nate’s hair. “Tonight was fun. Thanks, buddy.”
Nate leveraged himself to his knees and turned to face his friend. “You OK, Irish?”
Colin nodded. “I’m fine.” He shot Nate a glance. “I’ve been in a bit of a funk. Just… work stuff. But being up here always helps.”
“Josh has been worried about you.”
Colin huffed a soft laugh.
“Yeah, I know. Josh isalwaysworried about you.”
Colin’s nose wrinkled. “Well, he’s a bit of an overthinker.”
“And then some.”
“But at least hethinks.”
Nate nodded, then laid a hand on Colin’s arm. “But, just so you know, I’m available if you ever need to talk, but don’t want to um… throw Josh into overthink mode.”
Colin wrapped an arm around Nate’s neck and pulled him close enough to kiss the top of his head. “Thanks, buddy. I may take you up on that.”
“I mean, I know Josh will jump up and down and scream: ‘I’m the guy!’ but sometimes talking stuff over with David opens up a can of worms that I’d rather leave sealed.” He squeezed Colin’s arm. “Just sayin’. I’m here for you.”
“I know that, Nate,” Colin murmured. “And it means more than you could know.”
The following day,with the karaoke machine back on the shelf, the four friends climbed onto their mountain bikes and spentthe morning challenging each other as they biked through the rolling hills surrounding David’s cabin. Colin, as always, set a furious pace but slowed and waited when he saw that his companions were winded and falling behind.
When they finally reached him, everyone grabbed their water bottles and collapsed onto nearby logs, rocks, or leaf-covered ground.
David took a long swallow, then pointed toward a ridge just above where they sat. “I’ve been up there, and the view is spectacular. If you guys aren’t too winded fromthis guy’s”—he paused to give Colin a gentle punch—“Tour de France tryout, we might want to hike up there and take a look.”
Joshua dipped into his backpack and handed each of them a protein bar. “Here you go. This might refuel us enough to get us to the ridge.”
“I needed this,” Colin said, accepting a protein bar from Joshua. “I needed to wear myself out physically.”
“Instead of wearing yourself out emotionally?” Joshua suggested, then snickered as Colin gave his arm a fake punch.
“Put your damned shingle away, Doctor Abrams!”
“Done!” Joshua replied with a cheeky grin. “And it’sCampbell-Abrams!”
“Well, you don’t have to be a shrink to know that vigorous exercise releases endorphins,” David commented.
Nate barked a sarcastic laugh. “And god knows this hyperactive Irishman has wrung enough endorphins out of us to turn us into overcaffeinated golden retrievers.”
As the group collapsed in laughter, Colin tossed his wrapper at Nate’s head. “That’sIrish setterin my case, Natey-baby. Irish setter!”
They finished their water and clambered up the hill to the ridge just above. As David had promised, the view offered a magnificent panorama of the Blue Ridge Mountains: rollingwaves of blue and green stretching into the distance, their soft silhouettes layered like brushstrokes against the hazy afternoon sky.
Sunlight streamed through drifting clouds, scattering gold across the treetops, and a breeze stirred the leaves with a gentle rustle as if the mountains themselves were whispering. Below, a patchwork of forested hills dipped into hidden valleys, and far off, a ribbon of distant river shimmered in the light.
