The Challenge(25)

“You’re a brave man, Tom. It takes a lot of guts to walk out on a life like that.” She could guess that he’d been successful there, and his ex-wife still was.

“I hurt Beth,” he confessed to Anne. “I hurt Juliet too when I left. I hate that part. Fishtail is a long way from New York. We have to work out a better visitation schedule. I need to see more of Juliet than a weekend every six weeks, with me staying at a hotel in New York. I’d like to have her spend time with me here, but she’s going to be busy in high school, starting in the fall, and it’ll be hard. Her mother wants her in New York. She wants her to go to a ‘killer school,’ so she gets a great job, and has a big career one day. I want more than just that for her. Maybe she can have both worlds, with me here,” he said quietly.

“She’ll figure it out for herself. They all do. I see that with kids here all the time. Some stay and love it, others can’t wait to get the hell out and head for a big job in the big city. And others fall in love with all this later in life, and they find their way here from a very different place, like you. I think we all end up in the right place in the end.”

“I hope you’re right,” he said with a sigh. They were all exhausted waiting for good news that hadn’t come yet. He picked up the stew for Marlene. “I’ll drop this off on the way to the airport. It’s going to be tough. Beth is even more pissed at me now. She thinks I’m a total loser because I gave up on New York. And now I let Juliet slip through my fingers. She thinks I’m completely irresponsible. Maybe she’s right.”

“They all slipped through our fingers,” Anne reminded him. “And we keep a close eye on Peter. I think they just got distracted and were having too much fun. The mountains here are beautiful, but they can be treacherous. We can’t forget that, and I think they did. Who knows? Maybe they thought it was some kind of challenge, to see how far they could go. Boys are like that. They love a challenge just for the sake of it.”

He smiled. “That’s what happened to me in New York. I got so caught up in the challenge that I never noticed that the prize wasn’t worth a damn. Now I know.”

“So will they, when they come home,” she said quietly, and he kissed her cheek. He knew that in this ridiculously small town of four hundred people, he had found real friends. They were going through hell together, but at least they weren’t alone.

“Pitt is a lucky man,” he said to her, and he knew that Pitt was well aware of it. She was lucky too. “I hope I find a woman like you when I grow up. If I ever do.”

“You are grown up, Tom. You just need a woman who wants the same things you do, now that you know what you want. And good luck with your ex-wife.” She smiled at him and he nodded.

“She’s going to beat me to death when I pick her up at the airport.” He was expecting it. “And maybe she’s right. I hope we get good news by tonight.”

“So do I. Give my love to Marlene.” He took the stew and waved as he went out the door, and put the ranger radio in his pocket, so he could keep listening.

“See you later.”

Pattie was just arriving at the Pollocks’ as he left, and they waved at each other. It was comforting sharing the experience with friends. They all had so much at stake, but at least he knew for sure now that Fishtail was home.



* * *



—

Marlene was grateful for the stew when he dropped it off. There was a sign on the door not to ring the doorbell, so he knocked gently and she came to the door and smiled when she saw him.

“Thanks,” she whispered and beckoned him in. “I didn’t want to wake Bob,” she explained.

“I figured. Anne said to give you her love.”

“No news so far,” she echoed what he already knew.

“They’re tucked in somewhere. They’ll find them sooner or later,” he tried to reassure her, but they were all afraid that it might be too late when they did. The mountain could be cruel.

“After tonight, Noel will have about another twenty-four hours left in his pump, and I don’t know what kind of food they have with them. That makes a difference for him too. Thank God Justin is with him. He knows what to do, if they can’t get help.” She had even more to worry about than the rest of them, with Noel’s diabetes putting him at greater risk.

“How’s Bob?” he whispered.

“The same.” They had been through hell for the last year, and now her sons were lost on a mountain. It was one of those times when you just had to keep going, there was no other choice.

“Do you need anything?” he asked her, and she shook her head. “Why don’t you try to get a little rest, while he is. When was the last time you got some sleep?” He was genuinely concerned.

“Last year?” she said with a grin.

“At least lie down until he wakes up. I’m heading to the airport to pick up my ex-wife. She’s ready to kill me. She blames me for letting Juliet go up the mountain with the boys.”

“You let them go to the waterfall. None of us knew they’d head up the mountain. They’ve been to the waterfall a million times before. You can only control so much with kids. In the end, they do what they want. And most of the time they survive it.” She’d been telling herself that all day.