Page 77 of The Falcon and the Foe

“Yeah.” Zipline Bro shrugged. “It should be fine.”

“I’m not looking forfinehere.”

“Twist it in the back to tighten.”

“Helmets twist?”

Russ twisted a knob located above my neck. The helmet closed in with a vice-like grip.

“Okay. That’s good,” I said before my brains became jam.

“You’re all set, Dude.” Zipline Bro gave my harness a final tug and tapped my helmet, a coach sending his player onto the field.

“I’m a little too old to be called Dude, but thanks,” I said, but Zipline Bro was already onto the next adventurer and paid me no more attention.

Russ led us to a bench to wait with the others. He massaged my hand with a protective thumb. “Don’t worry. This is going to be fun.”

The cognitive dissonance was too much. “How are you excited for ziplining? Why did you recommend we go ziplining? You’re obsessed with staying safe. You freaked out when your son tried to climb a tree.”

“Because nobody dies from ziplining. It’s technically the safest mode of travel.”

“That actually makes me more nervous.”

“Malcolm and I used to go ziplining before Quentin was born. Anytime we went on vacation, we’d find a place to zip. We’ve done it over forests and lakes and cornfields.”

Itmeaning ziplining, I reminded myself.

A wistful smile flitted on his lips before he caught himself. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I, uh, it’s probably in bad form to talk about my late husband with my…” He waved his hand at me to cover his loss of words.

“Co-scout leader?”

We both knew that wasn’t right, but what would I call myself? Fuckbuddy seemed too crass. Friends with benefits sounded like a misnomer because we weren’t really friends.

Russ tugged at his harness to ensure it was extra tight. “This is one of many reasons why I don’t date. You’re not supposed to bring up a former lover around guys, but it’s difficult because I shared years of my life with him.”

“Malcolm’s not a former lover. You two were married and had a child together. He seems like a cool guy.”

His face lit up in surprise at the compliment, then went wistful again. “He was.”

“He was married to you, so he must’ve had the patience of a saint.”

Russ smiled through memories so obviously flashing across his face. “Malcolm was the adventurous one, the impulsive one. He tried to get me to go skydiving for the longest time, but that’s a bridge too far for me. One time, I was at a conference, and before I’m about to give a talk on the future of integrated sales operations, I get a text. It’s a picture of him mid-air skydiving, giving me two thumbs up.”

I threw my head back and laughed, followed by Russ. Howls of laughter that caused other zipliners to gawk. I wish I could’ve seen his reaction back then. Mr. Control Freak had his hands full. Malcolm seemed awesome.

“Again, sorry for bringing him up.”

“Don’t be sorry. We’re not on a date,” I assured him, and myself. “We’re just…”

A dangerous pause lingered between us.

“Co-scout leaders,” he said quietly.

“Yeah.”

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