“I’m fine with it. Are you hungry?”
Kenzie backed out of her parking space and followed Rescue 1 back toward the highway. “Starving.”
Back at The Cave, Megs had hot coffee waiting for them. Conrad helped unload equipment. Every rope would be washed, dried, and inspected, every piece of gear examined for wear or damage. Nothing would be loaded back onto Rescue 1 until they were certain it was safe to use again. Unloading took longer than the debriefing itself, which was over in ten quick minutes.
“Good job, everyone. We saved two lives today.” Megs bent down to run her hands through Gizmo’s fur. “You are a rock star, buddy.”
Conrad held Gabby to keep her away from Gizmo. “Thanks for letting me be a part of it, even though I’m not a member.”
Megs looked confused. “It’s against standard operating procedure for anyone who isn’t a member to participate, so of course you’re a member. You’re tenured.”
“I’m … what?”
Tenured members were those with the most experience and the greatest privileges. They were free from having to attend routine meetings and trainings and could do pretty much whatever the hell they wanted on-site at a rescue—lead climb, fix anchors, render first aid, clean climbing routes afterward, act as Incident Command.
“We made you a tenured member during your prolonged absence.”
“But I resigned from the Team.”
Megs looked over at Ahearn. “Did you get a resignation letter from Conrad?”
Quiet snickers passed through the room.
Ahearn shook his head. “I haven’t seen anything.”
So that’s how they were going to play this.
They didn’t have a letter because Conrad hadn’t sent one. He’d told Megs in person that he was off the Team—and she had ignored him.
Conrad couldn’t help but smile. “Okay, fine. I’m a tenured member.”
Megs pressed a pager into his palm. “Congratulations. We’re lucky to have you.”
Cheers.
* * *
Kenzie droppedGabby and Gizmo off with her staff at the kennel, then climbed into Conrad’s vehicle. It was six when they arrived—the start of the dinner rush. The stage area off to the right was dark. Instead of a live band, music from the jukebox played Eighties hits over a sound system.
Conrad leaned down. “This is like stepping back in time.”
“In a good way, I hope?”
He took her hand, nodded, his smile giving her belly flutters again.
Cheyenne greeted them with menus, her long blond hair piled on her head. “Welcome back, Conrad. It’s good to see you. What the hell took you so long?”
Kenzie and Conrad made their way toward the Team table in the back, but were stopped by Bear, who got up from a nearby table and stepped into Conrad’s path, his eyes wide with surprise.
“Harrison Conrad.” Bear held up his hands. “My heart rejoices in the Lord, for I delight in yourdeliverance!”
It was one of the things about Bear. He was able to express himself better when he quoted the Bible, which he knew inside and out, so he expressed himself mostly in Bible verses. It wasn’t easy for him to come up with words himself.
But Bear had gotten people’s attention, and the restaurant fell quiet. Then came the whispers and hushed exclamations.
“Oh, my God! That’s Harrison Conrad. He’s finally back from Nepal.”
“Is that Conrad?”
