Deborah and Pete took their queue from Lee Ann, and got to their feet to stand with Kelly. They, too, thanked Lee Ann for inviting them to the party. Deborah took Kelly’s arm. “Let’s go find our coats,” She suggested, and maneuvered Kelly safely around David and out of the living room.
They headed off to the guest bedroom/office near the front door, where most of the coats had been tossed on the foldout sofa bed. Kelly glanced over her shoulder as they walked across the hall, and was relieved to see that David had remained on the couch talking with his mother, and showed no sign of following them.
Seeing David safely occupied and judging that the office was reasonably safe from prying eyes, Steve slipped in behind them and gave Kelly a reassuring hug. “You okay?” he asked.
Kelly rolled her eyes and made a face at his concern. “Puhleeeze! He’s not the first inebriated idiot to make a pass at me at a party!”
“Hmmm.” Steve frowned in mock concern. “I’m not sure how I feel about that statement.” He glanced at Pete and Deborah, who were buttoning their coats. “You going back to the Graham’s house with Deborah and Pete?” He asked
She shrugged. “Retreat seems the better part of valor tonight. He’s too drunk to reason with, and it will just make everyone uncomfortable if he keeps this up. We’ll hang out there until you’re done here.” She smiled a little sadly. “Tell Gracie that I am sorry I couldn’t stay and watch her open presents.”
Steve smiled and kissed her on the nose. “I will. And I’ll be along as soon as she’s tucked into bed.” He wrapped her in a bear hug. “See you soon,” He promised. He released her and turned to head back to the living room to join his daughter. Instead, his eyes met David’s, who lounged carelessly against the doorframe. He looked from Steve to Kelly.
“That’s what I thought,” he growled in disgust. “You never can resist trying to steal my girlfriends, can you?”
Ch 42
What Friends Are For
They stood at the base of the rock wall. Not the Knife Edge, or even Indian Face. Not even a particularly high wall. Even so, a sheen of perspiration dampened Steve’s forehead and upper lip. And the back of my neck and my armpits…! Steve noted mentally, acutely aware of how his body was reacting to the thought of his attempting to climb to the top. His hands – no, his whole body – was shaking. He felt dizzy and weak kneed.
It was March. There were still patches of snow all around them, but here in this ravine, the sun shone directly on the rock wall most of the day. It wasn’t an ideal time of year for rock climbing, but spring would be upon them in just a few more weeks. Steve knew that he needed to overcome his vertigo, and soon. Even so, he didn’t particularly want to be here.
At least he was with Pete, Steve reasoned. Pete would understand this phobia he was dealing with. Chuck on the other hand…Chuck expected Steve to be able to handle rock rescues. For all his easygoing appearance, Chuck took his lead ranger position seriously, and made his team train constantly for all sorts of rescue situations. It was why Chuck always seemed so laid back. He was confident they could handle almost any rescue situation that came along.
Training would begin again in mid April, as soon as the last of the frost had come out of the ground most of the snow melt was gone. If he wasn’t ready to do his part by then, Steve had no doubt Chuck would push him off the cliff and leave him dangling in harness until Steve was forced to climb out on his own. So, reluctantly, he had cajoled Pete into accompanying him on this trial run. Pete was such an encourager that Steve figured if he did nothing more than sit in his harness a few times, Pete would be content that he had made a start.
And right now, Pete stood beside him, waiting patiently, his concern for Steve apparent in his intent brown eyes. At the moment, Steve didn’t like Pete very well. He didn’t like anyone to see him shaking with nerves.
“This is embarrassing,” he muttered, looking anywhere but at the solid wall before him.
“No,” Pete contradicted him. “It’s normal. People who have lived through plane crashes are seldom in a hurry to fly again any time soon.”
Steve wiped his sweaty palms on his shirt. He looked down at the sturdy nylon harness he wore. The climbing shoes, the helmet; all the equipment was so familiar to him, and once such a source of enjoyment, yet he desperately wanted to strip it all off and cast it into a blazing fire!
Pete surreptitiously watched Steve’s expression change from trepidation to revulsion to barely controlled panic as he rechecked the equipment. For the first time, his certainty that Steve could overcome his phobia of rock climbing, and eventually even rappelling, wavered. This wasn’t just a casual case of nerves!
Pete smiled at Steve, projecting a level of confidence he didn’t feel. “The skill is still there, Steve. You are a natural climber. It will come back. You can do this!”
“Easy as falling off a log,” Steve rejoined through gritted teeth. “Only the falling part isn't what I’m having problems with- it's the landing....”
“But you can get past it. You just need to start trusting yourself.” Pete affirmed.
Steve looked up the cliff and then looked away, instantly unnerved and nauseous. His voice wavered. “I – I can’t do this right now.”
Pete looked at the sky and counted to ten. “Okay," he said at last. We’ll give you a couple of minutes, and then we’ll try again.”
Steve tugged on the harness as if it was pinching him. “Are you sure the equipment is good?” He asked doubtfully.
“Steve, the equipment is fine. Besides, the equipment didn’t fail you. You were attacked. It’s not the same thing.”
Steve stood by the wall and looked up again. Sickness washed through him and he looked away. “I’m not going to be able to do this,” he said flatly.
“You can!” Pete insisted. “You know how to do this. Don’t think so much about it, just do it.”
Steve reached up again, but once more imagined himself plummeting toward the rocks strewn around him.” He backed away and shook his head. “I don’t want to do this today. Maybe tomorrow…”
“Oh for heavens sake!” Pete exclaimed in exasperation. “You win! We won’t climb it!”
Relief flooded Steve. “Really?”
“Really,” Pete said emphatically. “But since we are here and NOT climbing, practice hooking and unhooking from the rope.”
Steve glared at Pete in irritation. “I don’t have a problem with snapping on, just with heights.”
Pete crossed his arms. “Humor me. I took the time to set up the ropes and to hike out here with you. It seems that you could do that much without whining.”
Anger flared in Steve’s face. “Whining? I don’t…I’m not!...” He set his lips in a thin line. “Fine,” he muttered.
Steve grasped the rope and hefted the D ring. “Snap on, snap off. There, satisfied?”
“Do it again.”
Steve rolled his eyes, but snatched up the rope again. Snap on, snap off.
“Again.”
Steve repeated the movement in icy silence.
“Again.”
Steve exploded. “This is pointless! Why are you making me do this?”
Pete shrugged, unmoved by his outburst. “It worked for the Karate Kid.”
A long silence followed.
Steve’s cheeks flushed red and his eyes narrowed. “Are you making fun of me?” He asked quietly.
Pete ignored the question. “You’ve quit shaking,” he observed just as quietly. “Now, put some weight on the rope.”
Steve realized that Pete was right. Guardedly, Steve grasped the rope and leaned back. A wave of dizziness swept through him and he closed his eyes, clenching the rope with his hands until his knuckles turned white.
“It’s all right,” Pete reassured him. “Try it from ‘snap on’.”
Wordlessly, Steve snapped free, took a few deep breaths, then he reached for the rope.
Several tries later, familiarity and repetitive movement dulled his senses, a
nd he found himself braced against the rope and staring at the cloudless blue sky above, his body nearly relaxed.
“Hey, Daniel-son! Quit slacking and take it up a couple of feet.”
Steve thrust down the tremor that ran through him as he visualized himself falling from halfway up the cliff wall. He swallowed. “I thought you said we weren’t climbing.”
“We’re not. You are. One inch at a time, if necessary. And just as an incentive, the pack you carried out here is empty. I left all the food and camping gear at the top of the wall when we anchored off earlier.”
Steve turned in stared at Pete in astonishment. “You’re way tougher than I thought you’d be,” he groused.
Pete did not smile. “Which is why you wanted me to come on this ‘test’ climb instead of Chuck. I’m not stupid.” Pete stepped close to Steve and his voice grew hard and intense. “You figured you’d end up chickening out, and because I’m your Christian friend, you figured I’d have more compassion. I’d feel sorry for you and let you fail. But since I am your friend, that’s the one thing I’m not going to let you do! Now quit stalling and move up five feet.”
The afternoon wore on. Eventually Steve was climbing the rock wall, struggling to calm his erratic breathing. Keep moving. He reached tentatively for the next hand hold. It took all of his will to drag his body up. He blinked and looked up. The top was an easy thirty feet above him. He was barely twenty feet off the ground! Steve set his jaw and willed his hands and feet to search for the next hold. His foot slipped, sending a drizzle of pebbles down on Pete’s head. He flattened his body and clung desperately to the wall, unable to open his eyes for several minutes.
Eventually he heard a scrabbling noise near him. Slowly he opened his eyes. Pete had climbed in just a couple minutes what had taken him an hour to achieve on his own.
Pete’s face remained impassive. “Move your right foot about six inches higher, and to the left.”
Steve nodded and let out a jagged cleansing breath. Slowly he lifted his right foot and found the crevasse in the rock that Pete had directed him to.
“Good,” Pete praised him. “Now the left hand.”
“Where?” Steve gasped.
“Feel for it,” Pete ordered him calmly.
Steve gritted his teeth. He moved his left hand up, feeling with his fingers for a crack or fissure.
He looked at the sun, which was closer to setting than he wanted to think about. The air was chilly, and he knew that as the winter sun set, it would only grow chillier. His stomach growled hungrily. Lord, get me through this! He prayed fervently, taking a few more cleansing breaths before moving his left foot up the wall. What was it Kelly had told him last fall? One small step at a time… He found a footing and thanked God. He reached out with his right hand and again thanked God as his fingers seemed to melt into the rock as if they remembered on their own how to move up the cliff. He felt braver. Almost without pausing, he shifted his weight and moved a foot up into a higher notch in the rock. He reached quickly for the next fissure, the next crevasse, finally beginning to feel as if the rock beneath him was an old friend, long absent from his life. He glanced at Pete, whose impassive face was now bursting with pride and excitement as Steve gained confidence and momentum.
At last they pulled themselves over the top and Steve felt as thrilled as if it was the first time he had accomplished a climb. He lay on his back, wanting to scream or yell with happiness, but he was really too tired to move…
There was a click and suddenly he was surrounded by trumpets blaring…ta dada da da da da da da! He lifted his head. The Rocky theme song??? Pete was standing and waving an MP3 in the air. Grinning, Steve leapt to his feet and raised his arms in triumph as the music swelled around him. Gonna fly now… Pete laughed and joined in the victory dance. As the strains died away, they collapsed back on to the ground.
“Thanks,” Steve said.
“No problem,” Pete smiled good naturedly, and clicked off his MP3 player. “I’m just glad we got to use that one.”
“Why?” Steve asked with a frown, suddenly suspicious.
“I had an alternate selection if you quit on me at the bottom.”
“Oh yeah? What?”
Immediately the air was filled with the ‘chicken dance’
Steve made a face and chucked a pebble at Pete. Pete switched off the MP3. They were silent for a moment. Steve stared up at the sky. “Pete? Thanks for sticking with me.”
“No problem.” Pete replied, picking up the pebble and bouncing it off Steve’s helmet. “That’s what friends are for. They both lay back on the rock and stared at the sky. Steve’s belly growled loudly. Steve sighed. “I’m famished!” But he continued to lay on the cold rock, still too tired to retrieve their food packs.
Pete broke the silence after a long moment. “Steve? I… lied about all the food being up here. If you want to eat supper, we’ll need to rappel back down.”
Ch 43
Alyssa
Alyssa slumped in the camp chair with her bad leg stretched out on the built-in footrest. She wanted to curl up like a cat with her legs tucked under her, but the ever present aching throb where the bones had mended together in her thigh, as well as the mild stiffness from her broken ankle and twisted knee, precluded acting on the desire. The doctors had made it clear that, while she was doing well enough for someone who had tumbled down a cliff, it might be months or years before she would take movement for granted. Years! It had only been six months, and she was already discouraged and sick of the endless hours she was forced to do physical therapy at the hospital. She had gotten pretty good at ducking out of it at home, though.
She glared with disgust at the white line on her leg. Alyssa hated the scar where they had operated on her leg because of the compound fracture, and the whole idea that her thigh was held together with pins weirded her out sometimes. Most of the time, she managed not to think too much about how the fall had changed her life, but being back in the park today for the first time since it had happened had her out of sorts and ill tempered.
She swatted a swarm of mosquitoes that had just settled on her arm. Was it possible that there were more of those bloodsuckers than usual this spring? She wondered irritably. The weather for early June was much too warm. She was itchy from sweating and itchy from the mosquitoes, which seemed intent on relieving her of a couple of pints of blood this afternoon.
Despondently, she flipped the pages of a magazine, barely glancing at the stories and articles. She had pretty much read this one through, but she liked one of the articles showing spring haircuts, so she had brought it with her rather than risk leaving it for her mother to toss out while she was gone. Alyssa stared at the picture again, trying to imagine herself with a short bob. Her mother would freak if she cut off all her hair! Unconsciously, Alyssa smiled at the thought.
Behind her, a twig snapped and a shadow fell across the page. Alyssa looked up and snapped her gum loudly.
“Took you long enough,” she observed.
“Sorry, I just came on duty twenty minutes ago. I got here as fast as I could.” Steve looked around. “Where’s your Aunt Kelly?
“Hummph,” Alyssa grumbled and flipped to another page. “Is this how you greet all your visitors to the park now?” She raised an eyebrow and waited expectantly.
Steve cleared his throat, and put his arms behind his back like a schoolboy. “Welcome to Hanging Rock State Park,” he rattled off. “I’m Ranger Williams. How long will you be visiting us?”
Alyssa reached into her cup holder and held up a folded check. “That’s better. Aunt Kelly said to give you this,” she told him, not bothering to look up from her magazine.
“Oh,” Steve responded in disappointment. “Where’d they go?”
Alyssa flipped another page listlessly. “They’re hiking to the lower cascades,” she said in as an indifferent tone as she could muster.
“Bummer,” Steve replied, understanding her attitude. The hike was relatively short, but the t
rail was steeply pitched with several large rock ledges to maneuver. Alyssa’s leg was not ready for that kind of stress yet.
Steve observed Alyssa for a moment. He had been to their house a few times now, and conversation with her was always difficult. Perhaps this was an opportunity to spend some quality time together…
“So,” he said slowly, “You wanna make the rounds with me – meet and greet the campers? Or would you rather just hang out here by yourself and catch up on your summer reading?”
Alyssa shot him a dirty look and started to blow him off, but the truth was, she was deathly bored, and it would be a couple of hours before Aunt Kelly and Megan got back… absently she swatted at another mosquito a frown of indecision wrinkling her forehead.
“Tell you what,” Steve coaxed. “We’ll close the windows and run the air conditioner. No bugs, and no sweat, what more could a girl ask for?” Steve held his breath, waiting for her reply. In the six months he had known Alyssa now, the best conversation he had had with her had been in the back of the truck while she was in semi-shock and he was intent on keeping her talking as they made the harrowing drive from Hanging Rock to the waiting ambulance. Things had gone downhill from there.
The offer of air conditioning and a bug free zone seemed to tip the scales in his favor. Steve scribbled a note for Kelly as Alyssa tossed the magazine onto the picnic table and levered herself out the chair. She was almost to the truck before the stiffness in her bad leg had worked itself out enough to walk normally.
Steve winced, remembering the pain of the endless exercises and therapy he had endured himself last year. Today, he could walk and bend his leg with little memory of the damage it had suffered, but he knew just how much determination had been necessary to reach that goal. Did Alyssa have that kind of determination? And if not, were her parents pushing her to do all the exercises? Somehow, Steve doubted it very much.
Once at the truck Alyssa could not suppress a grin of delighted surprise in meeting her front seat companion. “I know you!” She cried out happily, opening the door and wrapping the dainty red Irish setter in a bear hug.
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