Page 3 of A Mountain to Climb

Walking back into our room . . . scratch that . . . this is just my room now.

Walking back into my room, I shut the door and sit down on the bare mattress.

What am I going to do now? I’m thirty-one years old and have to now raise my son alone. What do I tell Connor?

Speaking of Connor, he should be getting up from his nap soon. I open the door that connects to his bedroom and just look at him for a minute. What kind of mother would just walk out on an innocent child? He’s only two years old.

Kicking off my boots so I don’t make too much noise, I walk into his room, kneel next to his bed, and place my hand on his tiny back. He squirms a little, so I freeze, but he just rolls over and is still out cold. Now, I can see his handsome face. The older he gets, the more everyone says he’s a miniature version of me. We have the same sandy blonde hair and crabby attitudes. The only difference is that he got blue eyes from his mother. I hope that’s the only thing he inherits from that bitch.

Knock knock.

I turn my head and see my little brother, Brick, standing in the doorway. I drop a kiss on Connor’s forehead and stand up, pointing Brick back into my room and shutting the door behind me.

“Did I see Roxy loading her things and leaving? Tell me I was seeing things.”

“Nope. You saw right.” I sit back on the bed and run my hands over my hair. It’s starting to get long and I need a haircut—another thing I’ll have to figure out on my own again.

“Where the hell is she going? Is she coming back?”

“What the hell’s with all the questions, Brick? I don’t fucking know where the bitch is going. She was packing her shit when I came up to check on Connor. And no, she’s not coming back.”

“What are . . .” he starts, and I stand to take a swing at him for asking another question.

He holds up his hands in surrender.

“I don’t know what I’m gonna do, so you can skip that question. I don’t know much, but I do know I’m all that boy has now and he will not be unloved. I’ll raise him the best I know how and we’re better off without her.”

“I agree. You’re a great dad and he’ll be just fine.” Brick opens his arms for a hug and I take him up on it. We’ve always been a hugging family and I have no plans on changing that with my boy.

“One thing that’s gotta change is I need to move him out of the clubhouse. We’re getting a lot more members and we’re gonna need the rooms. Plus, I don’t need him walking in on any of the Brothers with a club girl.” That gets a laugh out of the both of us.

“When I was out riding the other day, I saw the new lumberyard just off the highway. They have those build-your-own cabin kits for sale. Maybe we should go out there tomorrow and see what options they have. The Brothers can help build it, so we’d just need the supplies delivered.” And he’s off. Sometimes I wonder if Brick’s brain has an off switch. He can stare at any equation and solve it in his head. And books? Don’t get me started. He can read anything and remember it forever.

“Not a bad idea. We can load up the little man and take the truck.”

“I have the perfect spot for the cabin already in mind. It can go behind the clubhouse, toward the right side. We can pave a driveway around that side, so you can drive right up to it.”

“I like the way you think,” I slap him on the back one more time, “but get back to work. I’m gonna stay here ’til Connor wakes up.”

“Later.” And he’s gone.

I try to sneak back into Connor’s room, but I make it one step and his eyes open. “Hey, buddy, did you have a good nap?”

“Yup,” he answers with a yawn.

“How about we spend the afternoon watching some cartoons?” That gets his little body wiggling so fast, he almost tumbles out of the bed.

“Reptar! Roar!” Connor runs across his room and grabs onto my legs.

“Oof! Be careful. Don’t wanna break your dinosaur legs.” I scoop him up and tickle him until he starts laughing uncontrollably. I toss him on the couch in my room, put the tape in the VCR, grab the remote, and sit down next to my boy.

I’m sure there’ll be plenty of issues that come up, having to raise my son without a mother, but we can worry about those another day. Right here and now is all about me and him and Rugrats on the TV screen. I just want to enjoy him being a kid who actually likes to cuddle with his pops.

Before you know it, he’ll be all grown up and leading this club himself. We’ll figure out the rest later.

CHAPTER THREE

MOUNTAIN

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