Page 44 of Mountain Impact

Isolde thought self-consciously of her butt in the tight black leggings she was wearing, and of how large it must look to Drake, who stood right below her.

“You’re overgripping, Isolde,” Drake said calmly.

“What the hell does that even mean?” she groaned.

“It means you’re clutching those holds with a death grip. Relax, the wall’s not going anywhere.”

Of course, him telling her to relax had exactly the opposite effect. If she’d been overgripping before, now she was about to crush the rock with her fingers.

Moments later, her fingers started cramping.

I’m going to fall.

“I’ll catch you,” Drake said.

Isolde hadn’t even realized she’d spoken the thought out loud.

That’s even worse. If I crush him, I’ll never―

“Jump, Isolde, I promise I’ll catch you.”

She wasn’t planning on jumping, but just then a fly landed on her left hand. She stupidly moved her right hand to swat it away―at least she was no longer overgripping―and ended up falling backwards.

Right into Drake’s arms.

He caught her effortlessly, laughing.

Jamie clapped.

“It’s my turn now, Uncle Drake!”

“You remember what I showed you last time?” Drake asked.

“I remember,” the boy replied, looking up at the rock with a calculating expression on his little face.

No surprise, the boy was a much better climber than her. She watched him scale up the wall like a pro.

“That’s high enough, Jamie. Come back down,” Drake said sternly.

Jamie laughed, a sound full of happiness and joy. After what the boy had gone through just a couple months earlier, hearing him laugh like this―even if she was pretty sure he was laughing at her―was worth the trouble of coming up here.

“You did great, Jamie,” Drake said. “Take a look at this picture I took.”

In the picture, Jamie was high on the wall, looking for his next handhold. You could see him really thinking about his next move.

“Can we send it to my parents?”

“Of course,” Drake said, and started typing away.

“They’re coming back next week, you know?”

“I know.”

“I’ve missed them a lot. Tess tells me they’re going to bring me with them next time.”

Drake laughed. “They’ve missed you too, little guy.” He dug into his backpack for some snacks and water and passed them around.

He’ll make an amazing dad.