Page 73 of Everest

We’ve been building something real since then. And I don’t just mean the time spent behind closed doors. It’s more than that.

A while back, I bought some land just outside the city, several acres of quiet, bordered by woods, with a small lake. It’s peaceful out there. Wild and untamed land. The kind of place that muffles the world. And ever since, we’ve been sketching ideas, dreaming out loud, and watching the bones of our future take shape.

And fuck, if that doesn’t scare the hell of me in the best possible way.

I’m halfway through a pile of crawfish, potatoes, and corn an hour later when I hear a vehicle coming down Pop’s long driveway. A dark sedan pulls up slowly. I glance at my woman, and she’s noticed the car too. The driver steps out, walks around to the passenger side, opens the door, and her mom, Faye, steps out.

“Mom?” London says, her voice mixed with surprise and confusion. She moves fast, jogging across the yard toward her, and I sit back, watching them embrace. “How are you here?” London asks her mom as they walk back slowly with Faye’s nurse, Mary.

“Kallum set it all up, sweetheart.” Faye winks at me.

Mary steps up. “Since she is having a good day, her doctor approved a day pass.”

Getting Faye out here was a long shot because there’s no way of predicting which days will be good. Alzheimer’s is a fuckingcruel disease, and since being with London, I’ve witnessed what it can do. But right now, her mother knows who she is and where she is. And that’s what truly matters.

Faye scans the table, then looks around the yard, taking in all the unknown faces she has around her. “So, these are the outlaws I’ve been hearing about?”

Promise laughs, walks up, and hugs Faye. “In-laws, if Everest plays his cards right.” She pulls back. “It’s good to see you.”

Faye smiles at Promise and touches her cheek. “It’s good to see you too.”

London leads her mom around, introducing her to our family. They invite Faye into the mix with open arms as if her being here has always been this way. Luna offers Faye a chair, and Tequila pours her a cold glass of sweet tea.

I watch the moment unfold, grateful that my woman and her mom are creating a new memory London will have to hold on to.

And all I can think about is that this, right here, is what life is all about.

This is what we fight for.

What we sacrifice for.

I get up to grab a beer when I hear another engine rolling up the dirt drive, a white SUV this time. It stops at the edge of the grass. The driver’s door opens, and out steps my old man, tall, broad, with gray hair and full of grit, dressed like he just stepped out of his garage back home. He shades his eyes, scanning the yard, until he spots me. Then the passenger side opens, and my mom climbs out, wearing a bright, big smile, one I haven’t seen in a year outside of FaceTime.

“What the hell…” I smile and look back at my woman.

Her smile says everything. She did this.

I cross the yard and wrap my mom in a hug that damn near breaks something in my chest.

“Kallum, sweetie, I can’t breathe,” Mom squeaks.

I loosen my hold and look down at her beautiful face. “What are you doin’ here?”

“That beautiful woman of yours flew us out.” Mom’s face beams with excitement, her voice thick with emotion.

Dad grabs my shoulder, rough and solid like always. “You look good, Son.”

I pull him in for a hug, and he pats my back. “Missed you, Pop.”

My old man clears his throat. “Missed you too, Son.”

I stand there for a beat, just my parents and me, grounded by the people who made me. And I have one person to thank for it. I turn, locking eyes with London, who is walking toward us. When she’s within arm’s reach, I pull her into me. “Thank you.”

She shrugs, wearing a smile. “Figured you could use a reminder of home before you start building our own.”

I kiss her forehead. “You know how much you mean to me, right, babe?” I pull back, staring at her for a beat, still amazed that she’s mine.

London grins. “You’re so obsessed with me,” she teases.

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