Page 37 of Shared By the Mountain Men

She gave me a quick run-down. Via ferrata involved climbing up a mountain face using iron rungs that were drilled into the rock, like a ladder. Climbers wore a harness, and were always clipped into a safety line.

“That’s all I need to hear,” I said, slapping down my credit card. “I’m in.”

“We have three guides on retainer today,” she replied. “I’ll call them and see if they’re available to go this afternoon.”

I read the information on the wall while she made her phone calls. “You’re in luck!” she finally said. “The third guide I called is available. We’ll just have to watch a short informational video on safety while he prepares.”

Suddenly, I remembered something very important. “My ankle,” I said, sticking my leg out where she could see. “I sprained it a few days ago. It hurts to hike, but I’ve been able to hike and do other activities.”

She frowned down at my wrapped ankle. “Hmm. It shouldn’t be a problem. You won’t be able to do any of the freeform climbing, but via ferrata is exclusively on iron rungs. And if it ends up being too much, you can quit at any time.”

She took me to a back room and played a video for me to watch. It was all basic stuff: be careful, don’t go if you’re afraid of heights, always ensure your safety line is clipped in before you move. I wasn’t afraid of heights—on the contrary, Ilovedthem. I’d been skydiving twice before, and had always wanted to go bungee jumping or ziplining, but had never had the chance. This was exactly the kind of thrill I was looking for, the kind I would never find back in Toledo.

The cost was higher than I was prepared to pay for a single activity, but I did havesomemoney saved up for supplies and whatnot for the remainder of my hike. This was money well spent, though. If it meant I had to eat only peanut butter sandwiches for the next four weeks, then it was worth it.

When the safety video was done, the girl escorted me back to the front of the building. “Your guide just pulled up. His name is Ash. Don’t let his appearance intimidate you—he’s one of our best climbers.”

“Ash?” I repeated.

The door behind me opened.

19

Melissa

I turned to see Ash The Enormous Human walk into the climbing office. He was carrying two helmets and harnesses, and froze when he saw me.

He snorted, but said nothing.

“This is Ash,” the girl behind the desk said. “He’ll bring you back here in about two hours. Have fun, and don’t forget to be safe!”

His physical presence in the room, towering over me, gave me pause. Did I really want to do this? With him? Noah insisted he was harmless, but he was as intimidating a man as I had ever seen. And I would be trusting him with my life.

“You coming?” he rumbled in a voice like thunder, holding the door open.

I followed him outside to his truck. He put his arm across the back of my seat and twisted to look behind as he backed out of the parking space, then drove out onto Main Street.

“Jack put you up to this?” he asked.

“I saw a poster in the coffee shop,” I replied. “Why would Jack put me up to anything?”

He grunted, the muscles in his arm going taut as he clenched the steering wheel, but said nothing else. In fact, he remained completely silent for the entire ten minute drive to the climbing site.

He handed me the gear, and I stepped into the harness the way the safety video had shown. Next came the helmet, followed by a pair of synthetic gloves that would give me a better grip during the climb.

Ash stepped close to me, into my personal space, taking hold of the helmet strap and tightening it until it was snug against my chin. “Any questions?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I’m ready.”

He looked down. “Ankle okay?”

“I think so.”

He stared at me for three seconds, his dark eyes completely unreadable. Then he gave my helmet a little smack, the way football players did, and led me over to the climbing area.

It was a sheer cliff, almost perfectly vertical. I had to crane my head to look at the top, which was at least a thousand feet straight up, blocking half the sky. Staring too long gave me a little bout of vertigo, so I returned my eyes to the rungs at my level. There were two paths that ran parallel up the cliff, each with a vertical rope that was drilled into the rock every five feet.

“Three sections,” Ash said, clipping into the path on the right. “You’ll lead while I follow.”

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