Graham would climb anywhere—indoors, outside—and on any surface—sandstone, granite, ice. He’d climb with anyone—trad climbers, sport climbers, a first-timer, or a world champion. Give him a rope and a harness and he’d be there.
He’d camp, hike, and mountain bike anywhere, too.
In the winter he enjoyed skiing, though it was the adventure he was least experienced with.
Point being, he spent his free time pushing his body in a multitude of dangerous pursuits, and he didn’t see that ending anytime soon. He didn’t have to think about anything except strategy and how his body moved, and the associated risks never held him back. Especially not when it came to climbing—his favorite—the higher and more difficult the better.
Today wouldn’t be one of those since they were taking Tyler, but still. There was always risk. So Claire had a point, and he didn’t see that changing until he was too old to get out of bed.
Graham picked up Noah on his way, and Tyler had planned to meet Chris at the store and ride with him to the canyon.
“Hey, man,” Graham greeted through the open window.
Noah tossed his gear in the back before settling into the passenger seat. “Morning.”
They rode the first half hour in comfortable silence. Noah, who was quiet at baseline, was even less inclined to converse early in the morning.
When they skirted the outer limits of Boulder, Noah took a long drink of coffee and turned to Graham.
“We’re taking a beginner out today, you said?”
“Yeah. His name’s Tyler. Chris met him at the store and learned he was new to town, so he brought him out mountain biking with us last week. Tyler said he likes to climb, too, but doesn’t have a lot of experience.”
“That’s cool. We haven’t taken it easy in a while. Might be kind of nice.”
“I told Chris we’d meet them at the usual spot. He said he’d pick the climbing routes. I’m assuming we’ll stick with single pitches with a top rope today.”
“Fine by me.”
As they neared the park, Graham felt the telltale hum of excitement spread through his marrow. The day was almost perfect—sunny and warm, even if it was a touch windy. A few wispy clouds dotted the blue sky, and hopefully they’d get lucky and the rain he’d seen forecast in the afternoon would head south.
When they met up with Chris and Tyler, Graham introduced Noah to the new guy. The coffee must have finally kicked in because Noah engaged Tyler in friendly chatter as they walked to whatever face Chris had picked out to start the day.
“Graham said you just moved here?”
“Yeah, about a month ago.”
“What do you think so far?”
“Love it. I’ve always wanted to live close to the mountains. My girlfriend’s still back in Arkansas, though, so that part sucks. She’s looking for jobs up here, so hopefully we won’t be doing the long-distance thing for long.”
“I don’t know how people do that,” Graham put in. He had enough trouble keeping things going with women who lived in the same city as him, let alone several states away.
“It’s not easy,” Tyler admitted. “It helps knowing it’s temporary.”
“And for the right person, it’s worth it,” Noah added.
Graham shot him a good-natured eye roll. “You would say that.” He glanced at Tyler. “Noah’s wife has him wrapped around her little finger.”
Noah appeared unbothered.
“How long have you been married?” Tyler asked.
“A little over a year.”
“Nice. Don’t they say the first year is the hardest?”
“I don’t know, but it’s been pretty damn incredible if you ask me.”
Graham groaned.
“Just wait,” Noah said with a laugh, “one of these days you’ll get it.”
“Don’t hold your breath,” Graham muttered.
Noah was as loyal as they came and apparently still held out some fantastical hope Graham might settle down someday.
Unlikely.
A few minutes later Chris stopped in front of one of the routes popular for beginners. It wouldn’t last long, but they’d come early enough they had the spot to themselves.
Climbing was one of the few things worth getting up early for.
Graham dropped his helmet, ropes, and shoes and uncapped his water while Chris told Tyler about the climb.
“I’m not sure if you’ve done multipitch routes, but just to be on the safe side I thought we’d start here. It gets a little awkward halfway up, but the bolts are in good spots and it’s relatively even. We’ll set up a top rope for belay.” Chris glanced at Graham. “Wanna handle the anchor?”
“Sure.”
“Climb it or you can get to the top on foot if you head around the north side.”
He’d rather climb but it would be faster to hike, and they’d be waiting on him. He tossed his water to the ground, grabbing the equipment. He headed toward the path Chris pointed out but paused when Noah called out to him.
“Take your helmet for when you get up there,” Noah said, holding it out. “Just in case. It’s a decent height.”
Graham didn’t argue, looped one finger through the strap, and got moving. The mountain air filled his lungs as he hiked, the sounds of nature surrounding him.
Right on cue, he thought about Nathan.
Sometimes he wondered how different he might be if his best friend hadn’t died. He and Noah would have had an extra man on every climbing trip, for one.
Would Graham have been a godfather by now? They’d been at Nathan’s bachelor party the night of the accident, which meant he’d have been married for a decade and, knowing Nathan, would probably have had a kid or three by now.
Like Noah, Nathan had always been the relationship type. Neither had held the same casual, no-strings-attached dating style Graham maintained—one of the few things Graham and the Agnew brothers differed on.
Noah wasn’t the kind of friend who pushed his opinions on anyone, so even if he joked Graham would settle down one day, he’d leave well enough alone if Graham asked him to. He let people be who they were and accepted them as such. Nathan, on the other hand, had always been sure his was the opinion and wouldn’t stop until he’d made his case. Repeatedly. About women and anything else.
Would he have sold Graham on the idea of matrimony eventually?
Unlikely.
Graham brushed the thought away when he reached the top of the climb. Mostly because the guys would be able to see him from below and to avoid Noah yelling at him when he got back down, he put on his helmet. He grabbed four carabiners, a sling, and the rope and approached the edge.
Glancing down, he saw Chris and Tyler adjusting their harnesses. Noah glanced up and yelled something.
“What?” Graham called down.
“Anchor yourself!”
Shit. Usually if he placed a top rope he did it after climbing up and placing several pros along the way to catch him if he fell. Since he’d come up on foot he wasn’t on belay and had no safety net.
Leave it to Noah to keep him in line.
Just as he spun around to double back to where he’d dropped his gear, a strong gust of wind whooshed past, knocking him off balance.
His foot slipped and his arms flailed, seeking purchase and finding none. His stomach plummeted as his back hit the rock and gravity took hold. Graham had one last thought before pain shot through his body and everything went dark.
If I survive this, Claire’s gonna kill me.
7
Claire always tuned in at the mention of firefighter injuries. But traumas from the plethora of outdoor activities Denver and surrounding areas were known for?
Not so much.
They were just such frequent fliers in the ER she expected at least one per shift. Which was why when she heard Ruthie take the call about a climber coming by ambulance with several injuries, she’d caught very little other than to hear the patient would go straight to the trauma bay upon arrival.
Must be pretty bad, then.
Claire sat in front of her computer to chart and catch her breath for a few seconds. Two of the three patients currently assigned to her were high maintenance and she’d been running around for the last three hours getting medication, bringing ice chips and warm blankets, and providing written information on various potential medical conditions.