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“OKAY.” DARIUS RUBBEDhis hands together in anticipation. “Here we are!”
Addisyn blinked, squinting in the bright sun. She fished for her sunglasses in the pocket of her jacket. Once her shades were in place, she gasped with amazement. “Oh, Darius! How beautiful!”
Ahead of her was the grandest mountain she had ever seen. Whistler Mountain, larger than life, sharper than the most impressive IMAX movie. The craggy giant looked impossibly close, its indigo shadows sprawling against the sky.
“Yeah, my current place of employment.” Darius was grinning, clearly enjoying her reaction. “Whistler Mountain.”
Addisyn was still trying to register the significance of this moment. “You mean—we’re going up Whistler Mountain?”
“Absolutely!” Darius beamed like a kid on Christmas.
Addisyn heard the hollow uncertainty of her laugh. “Well, but—I mean, don’t I need a little training or something?”
“Not a bit of it!” Darius seemed completely at ease. “You forget I’m a certified instructor and guide.” He winked. “And the Via Ferrata is really quite safe. It’s a pretty easy climb. Some of it is just hiking and doesn’t involve actual rock climbing at all.”
That sounded better. Addisyn fell into step beside Darius as the two of them headed toward the cluster of buildings at the foot of the peak. “What did you call it? V something?”
“Via Ferrata.” Darius nodded. “It’s Italian for ‘The Iron Way.’”
Addisyn tipped her head to one side. “Let me guess, because you need a will of iron to make it to the top?”
This time Darius laughed out loud. “Relax, will you? I’m not trying to kill you!” He glanced at her, and she couldn’t read the expression in his squinted eyes. “Trust me, the last thing I want is for something to happen to you.
“The Via Ferrata,” he continued, thankfully sparing her the need to answer him, “is a series of iron rungs in the rock face. So, for part of the climb, you’re basically ascending an inclined ladder.
“We’ll take that ski lift—” he pointed at thin, precarious-looking cables sagging under the weight of two flimsy-seeming gondolas—“hike a short section, and then use the iron rungs to climb the last part of the rock face. But don’t worry”—he had to have seen the look on Addisyn’s face. “We’ll be using ropes and carabiners, so you’ll be as safe as if you were at home on a big feather mattress.” He tossed a teasing grin at Addisyn as he held the door open for her to enter the climbing center.
Taking in the wood-paneled building filled with outdoor gear, Addisyn asked, “Ropes and what?”
Darius plucked a metal loop from a nearby display case and held it out to her. “Carabiners.” He showed her how one side of the metal oval hinged inward, like a miniature gate. “These clip the ropes onto your belt. They’re super strong, so the rope won’t come unattached even if you fall.”
Addisyn wasn’t completely convinced. “The rope could still break...”
Darius’s smile was pure patience. “Each piece of equipment we use here is inspected after every tour by qualified safety experts, so not likely. We’ll be wearing helmets too.” He slung a condescending arm around Addisyn’s shoulders. “Come on, girl. I climb this mountain at least twice every day, and I’m still alive! Of course—” his grin turned wickedly teasing—“if you’re scared—”
Addisyn had always been a sucker for dares, and the emphasis Darius put on the wordscaredwould have convinced her to walk into a den of lions. “Of course not!” She pulled away from his arm a bit sharply and shoved him playfully. “Scared? How dare you. Lead the way!”
No, she decided as she trailed after Darius toward what he called the “outfitting room,” she wasn’t scared. Apprehensive? Yes. Nervous? Maybe a little. But somehow it seemed impossible to be flat-out scared with his protective presence nearby. And after all, this would be a new adventure. One that might turn out, as the others had, to be ridiculously fun.
DARIUS PEERED APPREHENSIVELYover his shoulder as he plowed through the always-treacherous boulder field on the slopes of Whistler. Good grief, he’d taken Addisyn for a mountain bike ride, and now a rock climb. The idea that had seemed so brilliant was beginning to wilt in the light of day. Didn’t girls like going to malls and cutesy little boutiques and stuff like that? Addisyn was going to think he was some kind of livin’-on-the-edge adrenaline junkie. Then again, she might think he was the rugged outdoorsman, at home wrangling bears and eating raw meat and building tents out of his own socks.
He was a far cry from either of these scenarios. He simply liked being outside, breathing the crystalline air and daring his body to perform. Somehow, the mountains rejuvenated his tattered soul, made him feel closer to something—the divine, the transcendent, the God he knew was still there, just mighty far away.
Our Lord is the God of the mountains!
The words seemed to burst into Darius’s mind. He blinked, startled. He hadn’t thought of the phrase in years, though he’d heard it many times from the pulpit of his granddad’s church. The man had never gone to seminary, never been able to inscribe a bunch of letters after his name, and never captained a megachurch or worn a flashy three-piece suit. But he had the most spiritually-minded disposition Darius had ever seen. His sermons had the power to breathe grace on hurting hearts.
Darius should know. He’d sat through hundreds of them.
As part of his training, his parents had taken him to elite centers all over the world. But every time he was home in Whistler on a Sunday, he was with his granddad in church. Even in high school, when his eyes had wandered more to that cute blonde from his youth group than his granddad’s impassioned gestures, he’d still occupied a corner of a pew every time the doors were open. Back then, he would have nodded to his granddad’s sentiment.Yes, God is the God of the mountains. And yes, He is my Lord.
But now...
Well, he and God just—just didn’t see eye-to-eye anymore.
Shame burrowed through his chest, as it did every time he thought of the Deity. Or of his granddad. How he’d failed them both.
He sneaked another glance over his shoulder. He was shocked to see Addisyn actually smiling. Actually looking pleased to be there. She caught his eyes and gave him an exuberant thumbs-up, a joyful smile stretching across her pink cheeks.
