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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 wastheopinion 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.
