by Lisa Daniels
“Sucker!” she shouted, her legs working furiously to try to finally beat her friend in a race.
“Oi! Cheater, that’s not fair!” Silas started running faster, but his foot caught on something and he was barely able to keep himself from falling. Cursing his luck, he regrouped and took off after Cora.
The race was close, but he managed to beat her by a couple of steps. They were both leaning over, panting and laughing as the rest of the group caught up to them.
Jason patted Cora on the back as she stood up. “Interesting strategy for rock climbing.”
Cora shrugged and smiled at him, “That wasn’t about rock climbing. This was personal. Someday I will beat you.”
Silas stood up, his hand on the back of his hips. “Sure, and someday the sun will rise from the west.”
Sticking her tongue out at him, Cora blew a raspberry and imitated him, “Someday the sun will rise from the west. Like you even know which way is west.”
Silas wrinkled his nose at her. “It’s that way,” he said, pointing north.
Cora sighed and grabbed his arm. Turning it 90 degrees to his left she smirked, “That’s west, genius.”
“At least I can run.”
“Yes, because having longer legs was definitely something that you had control over.”
“Way to belittle my victory,” he pulled his arm away from her. “You are just being a sore loser.”
There was a laugh behind them, as well as a heavy sigh. Cora turned, knowing that it was Ryland who sighed – he never had much patience for their back and forth. Expecting the person laughing to be her brother, Cora was surprised to find someone standing beside Ryland that she didn’t know.
Ryland noticed her look and said, “You were so excited about the climb that I didn’t have time to introduce my cousin.”
Cora paused for a moment before walking forward with her hand outstretched. “Hello, Ryland’s cousin. I’m Cora the Explorer.”
The man gave another chuckle and took her hand. “Doesn’t quite suit you, but from what I’ve heard you aren’t one to shy away from adventure.”
“Of course not. Deep River is a small town. The only way to stay out of trouble with the law and not be bored is to go out and do stuff.”
“Lots of people spend time online and play sports.”
“Boring,” she said, letting go of his hand. It was difficult, but Cora was making sure not to stare at the man. Even if Ryland had said the guy was related, it was very obvious by looking at him. He was not quite as tall as Ryland, but his shoulders were a little broader, his hair a beautiful chestnut brown, and his eyes were almost black instead of the startling blue of his cousin’s. Other than that, the two looked incredibly similar.
“I would argue with you, but based on my own experiences I can’t honestly say that I disagree. I'm Emery, by the way.”
“Emery.” Cora scratched the back of her head. “Certainly a different kind of name. I like it.” She smiled at him, making sure that she didn’t let her eyes linger. Clapping her hands, she moved toward the rock face. “I think it’s time to get a move on. We don't have too long before it’s going to get too late to start. Given the time, we are just barely going to make it up before midafternoon.”
“Hey, speed climber, it’s okay if we don’t reach the top today.” Jason came up beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Where’s the fun in that? I didn’t come here to fail. I came here to climb rocks and kick ass. Now let’s get it in gear.”
Emery laughed as Jason gave her a playful slap on the back of her head. The look on his face let her know that he knew what she was doing, but she just ignored it. All that mattered to her was getting done and getting home. She gave his shin a light kick. “None of that, Mr. Hot Stuff. It isn’t my fault that you haven’t stayed in shape. If you came to visit more often you wouldn’t need to be embarrassed about your declining skills.”
“Hey, who said I haven’t been staying in shape?”
Jason’s reaction was exactly what she knew it would be. Giving his stomach a little pat, she leaned over like she was talking to it, “Don’t worry, little one, you will be safe. You can keep him down here if–”
Jason pushed her back a little, “Stop that, you brat. I am going to kick your ass and you’ll have to make dinner for the next week. ”
“Oh, you are on, brother. I hope you learned to cook while you were out on your own because when I cream you, that’s exactly what I’m going to demand.”
“Not happening.” Jason had begun removing his stuff. The others watched in amusement as everyone began to prepare for the climb. The siblings smack-talked each other, keeping the group entertained. Cora noted that it was just the five of them. Though she would have preferred if it had just been her, Jason, and Silas, she didn’t mind having someone she didn’t know along. Ryland’s cousin seemed like a good guy, and there was no threat of him trying to talk about their last adventure.
It may not be so bad after all, she thought as she began her climb.
“So how rough is this climb?” Emery was beside her getting started as well.
Cora looked at him for a second, “Oh, it isn’t too bad. Most of the hard part is down here. Once we get up a ways, it’s mostly just walking on ledges – more hiking than climbing.”
“That should be interesting.”
“Yeah, we can’t do anything too challenging given how late it is. The sun will be gone by 6 pm, so we have to make sure to be back here before that happens.”
“Will that be enough light?”
“It shouldn’t be too bad, as long as we are basically on the ground by then.”
“You doing alright over there, Cora?” Silas was already moving up the face on the other side of Jason.
“Just fine, Silas. Focus on your work and I’ll take care of mine.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Oh, don’t give me that.”
The five friends talked as they moved up the rock face. There were a couple of missteps on the way up, but the climbers quickly recovered. When they reached the first standing place, it became obvious that the rest of the climb was going to be a little more difficult than they had remembered. Some rocks higher up had been knocked out of place and were now blocking the larger parts of the walking section.
Cora volunteered to go up first, and despite a few arguments, she knew that she would get her way in the end. As the smallest and lightest of the group, it would be much safer to have her go first.
Jason muttered something about hoping she wasn’t too disappointed with toast and eggs for a week, but she waved him away. “Don’t worry about it. This changes everything. Should make the whole thing that much more interesting.”
Emery looked around, “I think that it would be a good idea for two of us to go. What if there is something up there?”
Ryland held a hand up to shade his eyes. From where he sat, he looked up at his cousin. “Like what?”
“That’s the point of having two people going. There’s no telling.”
Ryland shrugged, “I’m alright with that. Who should go?”
Before the other two could say anything, Emery spoke up, “I suggested it, only makes sense for me to go. If no one objects.”
Silas and Jason looked at each other, then at Emery. Jason shrugged, “I don’t object. Just be warned that she’s a handful.”
Emery grinned, “I'm not worried about it. She has proven herself to be rather competent so far. A little smack-talking isn’t going to hurt me either.”
Silas smiled, “That’s what they all say. Good luck, buddy.”
Cora rolled her eyes, “You guys are terrible. I’m heading up.”
“Here, I’ll help.”
Together, the pair worked to establish a new route up around the boulders in the way.
An hour later, they had made a good bit of progress, and were nearing the next standing place. Suddenly the sound of a gunshot rang out around them. Everyone began lookin
g around trying to figure out where the shots were fired from. Ryland stood up and leaned over the edge. “I’m pretty sure that came from close by.”
Cora watched the guys below her and Emery. Jason spoke up, “I don’t think that they are likely to pose a problem for us.”
Ryland and Silas shared a look before Ryland turned to face Jason. “I’m afraid that one of us is going to need to check it out.”
Silas stepped forward, “Oh no, you don’t. This is not a one-person job.”
Ryland looked up at Cora and Emery. She waved down at him, “We are almost there. If you need to go, take Silas with you. If you don’t, all he’s going to do is whine until you get back.”
Ryland smiled, “Yeah, I think you are right. Emery, will you be alright?”
“I’ll be perfectly fine.” Emery’s dark eyes were scanning the horizon. “I think I see movement out that way,” he pointed away from them. “Be careful.”
“This really isn’t a good idea.” Jason seemed upset with the sudden turn of events.
Silas clapped him on the back, “Sorry, but we have to. Keep an eye on them.”
“No, no. Someone has to make sure you two are fine. You okay with that, Cora?”
A part of her was upset that her brother was leaving her to run off with the rest of the group, but she wasn’t surprised. “Go ahead.” She didn’t trust herself to say anything else. Moving her hands up, Cora pulled herself higher.
Jason’s voice reached her, “You sure?”
Her eyes cast back down, Cora gave him a shrug and nodded, “Course. I’m going to keep going, but I don’t think that you guys are going to make it at this point anyway, so you may as well head back once you are done investigating.”
“Alright. Be careful, Cora. See you at the bottom.”
For a moment she looked down and saw the guys preparing to head back down. Keeping her emotions to herself, she worked her way up a bit more.
Emery was watching her, but he didn’t say anything as she set her jaw and didn’t try to hide her annoyance. Thinking that he couldn’t see the look on her face, Cora said cheerfully, “I guess it’s just you and me. I think we can make it, as long as you can keep up. Of course, if you want to head back, I won’t stop you.”
“Ryland has it under control, so no need for me to head back. As far as keeping up with you, that won’t be a problem. But what about your brother?”
“What about him?” She hid the bitterness as best she could.
“You going to make him cook for a week now?”
“Better believe it. In fact, he’ll be cooking for me as long as he stays here.”
Emery chuckled at the way she said it. Cora smiled and looked over at him. “Come on,” he told her. “We had better get moving if we want to reach the top so we can rub it in their faces.”
“I’m all for that,” Cora said with a nod.
Chapter 3
In the Wake of Distraction
At first Cora and Emery were relatively quiet as they worked their way up. When Cora saw the other three reach the bottom and start to head off, she muttered something under her breath.
Emery had caught up to her and was staying beside her as they worked their way up. “I take it that this entire trip has turned out to be a bit of a letdown for you.”
“What makes you say that?” She kept her eyes on her work as she was not interested in talking.
“Well, it was completely obvious that you weren’t happy that Ryland was here.”
“Oh, did he tell you that? You shouldn’t listen to–”
“He hasn’t said anything. I don’t know what happened, but it is obvious that you are very upset. And I don’t think that it is just about our climb.”
Cora smiled and looked over at him. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just having a bit of a rough time. I’ll be alright.”
“You know, you are rather pretty. I would like to see an honest smile on your face, though. That one doesn’t suit you.”
The smile fell from her face and Cora raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really. Fine, if you don’t want me to smile, it’ll save me from faking it.” She hoped that would be enough to get him to shut up.
“I had a brother like you. Hid his emotions, always tried to come across as fine. Not quite as lively as you appear to be, but he almost always came across as cheery. We were in a big family, making it a bit harder to focus on a single individual.”
“How big is your family?” Cora wanted to ignore the conversation, but something about the tone in the man’s voice kept her interest.
“I’m the youngest of nine.”
“There are nine people in your family?”
“Eleven if you count my parents.”
“Your mom had nine children?” Cora was stunned at this revelation. She thought that having such a huge family was a thing of the past. No one had so many children in this day and age.
“Yeah. My brother, Anders, was the fifth born. Right in the middle, so he never really got any attention from my parents. He was really close with one of our sisters, Theresa.”
“At least he had someone to talk to.”
“It didn’t end up being a good thing. See, she was a bit of a troublemaker, and he was constantly bailing her out. It ended up being a really bad thing for both of them.”
“Wait,” something had just dawned on her, “Silas and Ryland are cousins. So you must be related to Silas, too.”
“Not directly. They are related on Ryland’s father’s side. Ryland and I are related on his mother’s side. So I’m not related to Silas by blood. Still, we do hang out some during the family gatherings.”
“Oh, so you go to those?” Cora was pleased that the conversation was veering away from wherever Emery had been steering the conversation.
“Yeah, it’s kind of mandatory.”
Cora looked over at him, “I’ve heard of family reunions, but even for a small town like Deep River, families don’t tend to stay together for a month or two every year. What is it about your family that you guys are that close?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“You can just say you don’t want to talk about it.”
“So could you, but unlike you, I am not trying to avoid talking about something. It really is complicated enough that most people wouldn’t believe the truth.”
“I don’t mind you avoiding talking about something but I do mind you trying to imply that I’m avoiding something.”
“You’ve done nothing but avoid talking about your past since I met you. I know that you’ve fooled Ryland because that guy is so straight-laced and focused on being responsible that he can’t imagine anyone else thinking differently. It’s a damn good thing that Serenity is like him because it would never work otherwise. They would be incapable of communicating. He could only make you unhappy.”
“I think you are underestimating him. He could make any woman happy, and Serenity is ludicrously lucky.”
“I quite agree that he could make most women happy, but I specifically meant you. He didn’t even realize you had a crush on him. You know that, right?”
“What?” Cora stopped climbing and looked over at the stranger climbing beside her.
“I’m not sure that Silas really knew how you felt about Ryland either. You are quite good at hiding how you feel. It almost hurts to watch you.”
Cora felt her cheeks flush at the way he was suddenly analyzing her. “What are you, some kind of shrink or something?”
“Not at all. Like I said, I had a brother like you. I learned to notice when someone was acting for the world. If you were to go with Ryland to Hollywood, you would be an overnight sensation because acting is all you do. But you would be absolutely miserable.”
“Of course I would be. Can you imagine not having any privacy? I don’t know how Ryland does it.”
“You got me there. He went along with it because that is what his parents chose for him, and he keeps doing it because it allows him to do the thi
ngs he feels need to be done. I admire his sense of responsibility. The problem is that it is also his weakness, and I worry that he’s going to burn himself out.”
“Maybe Serenity will be able to ease some of that.”
“She already is, but there is only so much she can do. Ryland really isn’t built to be the leader, and he was never meant to be either. He was supposed to support the leader.”
“What are you talking about? What leader?” Cora looked over at him, completely lost in what he was saying.
Emery shrugged as he smiled, “Family stuff, so don’t worry about it.”
“If you aren’t going to explain it, then don't talk about it.”
“I’m sorry, I sometimes get caught up in my thoughts and my mouth does its own thing.”
“Well, since you’ve been analyzing all of us, let’s talk about you.” He frowned at her. “It’s only fair. And don’t worry, I'm not about to press you on things you don't want to discuss.”
“Alright. What did you have in mind?”
“What do you do?”
“I’m a graduate student at WSU.”
“What subject?”
“My BS is in chemistry, but I switched to English for my PhD. Science is great, but I like being able to make up the answers. Knowing how things work can sometimes spoil the magic behind them.”
Cora gave him a look of disbelief. “That’s a rather strange thing for a scientist to say.”
Emery shrugged, “Perhaps. So what is your focus?”
“I don’t have one.”
“Oh, that’s right. You and Silas never really thought that much about your future and now you are just kind of staggering through. I take it you don’t care much for science.”
“It’s okay. I mean, I always enjoyed botany.”
“You could make a career out of that, you know.”
“It doesn’t really pay.”
“You can start your own business, a nursery or something, and then you can do everything you do now, keep hours that you enjoy, and that bubbly personality that you front will maybe become a little more real.”
“I don’t know if I believe you when you say you aren’t in psychology.” He shrugged at her again. “How old are you?”