Page 5 of The Edge of Never

Their head tipped back as their eyes landed on me again. I felt a wee bit hot beneath my collar at their intense examination of my face.

This close-up, I noticed the light dusting of freckles across their face. If I was in the habit of finding other people attractive, you could call them pretty, but I hadn’t been interested in anyone since Jenna died. If I was honest, it was before then. I didn’t look at people that way. And the thought of another relationship made my skin crawl, anyway.

“Uh, thank you. I’m Kit, by the way.”

“Thane,” I said automatically, even though Callan had already introduced me to the entire group earlier.

They kept staring. I realised I hadn’t let go of their hand. Dropping it abruptly, I took a step back, finding being in their personal space a wee bit unnerving. Those eyes of theirs were going to be a fucking problem. I wanted to stare into them to discern the exact colours, but that would be creepy, so I refrained.

“Ye okay noo?” I asked when the silence had gone on for too long.

“Yeah, just not used to this ice axe business… and the snow, I’m not used to that either.”

I wondered why they were here if they had no experience with winter mountaineering. Despite this being a beginner course, many in the group had prior experience in snowy conditions.

“Ye wanting some help with it?”

“I mean, you were busy with those two, so it’s okay.”

They waved at the couple behind us. I glanced at them before my gaze landed back on Kit.

“Ye can join us.”

“Oh. I guess that’s true.”

“Ye dinnae wannae?”

Kit shrugged.

“I kind of came here to get away from people.”

I could completely understand the sentiment. People were a pain in the neck. I tolerated very few of them.

“Let me show ye noo, then.”

It was my role to assist the group, so I wanted to make sure Kit knew what they were doing. That was the point of the course.

They didn’t object to my demonstration of how to hold the axe properly. I waited while Kit mimicked me, correcting them when their technique was wrong. It took a few more tries before they handled it right.

From that brief encounter, I knew Kit would be a problem. Their struggle with getting their crampons on their boots further solidified my suspicions. Callan, thankfully, took the lead on that issue, but I could see the cogs turning in his head as he helped them.

As the day came to a close, and the group left the room, he arrived next to me with a pensive look on his face.

“Ye think the day went well?” I asked.

Ruairí was busy tidying up the room, leaving me and Callan alone in the corner.

“Aye.”

“But?”

Callan shook his head and scraped a hand across his chest. Then he turned to me.

“Am thinking Kit needs a partner. They’re taking longer than everyone else tae master the necessary skills. It’s no bother. We all need an extra hand from time tae time.”

Before his next words were out of his mouth, I knew exactly what he was going to say. And I wasn’t happy about it. Although I had no issue with Kit, Callan knew I had no patience when it came to people in general. Before Jenna’s death, you wouldn’t have caught me getting irritated so easily. Now was a completely different story.

“I want ye tae give them a bit of extra time tomorrow when we go oot in the hills tae put their skills intae practice.”

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