That made her smile, but the smile quickly faded. “It must have been hard for your dad to let the two of you go, especially after losing the baby, too.”
Conrad nodded. “He loved my mom, and she loved him, but she couldn’t take the subsistence lifestyle. He knew he couldn’t live in the city, so he let her go. He was always the perfect gentleman to her, never even raised his voice.”
“Did you see him again?”
Conrad nodded. “Every summer, he made the long journey to town to get me. Then he’d hire a bush pilot to fly us to the homestead with supplies. I spent summers with him, learning how to set up a fish wheel, how to smoke salmon, how to hunt ptarmigan, elk, and moose, how to build and fix things. I loved it.”
“I guess the outdoors is in your DNA. What do he and your mother think of your climbing?”
“My mother hates what I do. Last time I saw her, she laid into me, told me I was just like my dad.” She’d said a lot more than that, crying and shouting in his face that he would probably die in the wilderness one day just like his father.
Conrad hadalmostproved her right.
Kenzie caressed the sensitive inner surface of his fingers with her own. “What about your dad?”
“My father died when I was sixteen. He was supposed to pick me up for the summer, but he never came. My mom sent a pilot to check on him. They found him long dead on the floor of the house he’d built. An autopsy found that he’d died of sepsis from a ruptured appendix. If he had only radioed for help … I don’t think my mother will ever forgive him. She sold off his dogs and buried him at the homestead next to the baby.”
Kenzie’s eyes filled with sympathy. “God, Harrison, that’s terrible. I’m so sorry.”
Behind him, the door to the café opened with a jingle.
Kenzie looked over, smiled. “Hey, Esri.”
Conrad reflexively pulled his hand away, instantly regretting it, the loss of contact leaving emptiness. “Hey, Esri.”
Esri walked to their table, her cheeks red from the chill and exertion, a Peruvian wool ski hat pulled over her short dark hair. “Hey, Kenzie. Hey, Conrad, welcome home. It’s great to see you.”
Conrad had known they’d run into someone he knew sooner or later. That was the price for walking out his front door. Scarlet was a small town, after all. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Esri. He just didn’t want her pushing him to get therapy.
“It’s good to see you, too.” Remembering his manners, he pointed to one of the empty chairs at their table and stood. “Want to join us?”
“No, thanks. I’m just here to grab a chai. I’ve been out hiking, and it’s cold out there this morning. It looks like fall is finally here.” Esri looked straight at Conrad.“I heard you stayed for a while at the Tengboche Monastery.”
Conrad sat again. “I was there for about fifteen months.”
“I have ancestors on my father’s side who were monks there.”
Whatever he’d expected her to say, that wasn’t it.
“Amazing. Small world. Do you have any relatives there now?” He might have met them or shared a meal with them.
Esri shook her head. “The last was my father’s uncle. When you get some time, I would love to talk with you about that experience. I’ve never been there, but I’ve always wanted to visit. I’ll treat you to coffee. How does that sound?”
Conrad didn’t have an objection to that—provided Esri didn’t use it as a pretext to psychoanalyze him. “Sure.”
Esri’s face lit up, and she pulled out her smartphone. “How is tomorrow at ten?”
“What’s tomorrow?”As if you have anything going on.
“Sunday,” Kenzie and Esri answered in unison.
“I’ll have to bring Gabby. I’m fostering her for Kenzie for a while.”
“That’s fine with me.” Esri bent down to pet the puppy. “She’s a doll.”
“She’s the smartest puppy in her kindergarten,” Conrad blurted, instantly feeling like an idiot.
“I bet she is.” Esri stood again. “I should let you two get back to your conversation. It’s great to see you, Conrad.”
