After the Climb (River Rain 0.50)

“Thanks for listening,” she whispered.

He gave her a squeeze. “You’re welcome.”

“Thanks for knowing there was something wrong and pulling it out.”

“You’re welcome for that too.”

“And thanks for sharing honestly I was annoying you with the Imogen Swan stuff. I’ll back off doing that.”

He turned and kissed the side of her head.

Then he said, “Do you. If I get irritated, we’ll hash it out. But we will hash it out, Gen. Okay?”

“Okay,” she mumbled, resting her weight into his side.

“When do the Cardinals get here?” he asked.

“What?”

“I’m only assuming, since you made enough to feed a football team.”

She made a “puh” noise and pressed her hip into his.

He grinned at the meat.

He stopped grinning when he heard a door go up in the garage.

“Is Chloe coming back tonight?” Gen asked, because clearly, she’d heard it too.

“No, but regardless, she had the opener for your door, something you now have.”

“You mean, my daughter had my spot before me?”

He shot her a smile as he moved to the garage door.

He opened it.

And sighed.

Because in Gage’s spot in the four-car garage, folding out of his youngest son’s orange Subaru Crosstrek hybrid was not only Gage.

But Sully.

It was Friday night so no class on the weekend.

But for fuck’s sake, his oldest lived nearly two thousand miles away.

Apparently, Gage was up from Tucson.

And he’d swung by Sky Harbor on his way.

“Please tell me my eyes are deceiving me,” he called.

“Whose Cayenne, Dad?” Gage called back, eyeing the Porsche.

“Did the global satellite network fail so you couldn’t call me?” Duncan asked.

“Is she here…like, now?” Sully asked back, eyeing Duncan.

“She is but you weren’t supposed to be,” Duncan pointed out.

“Holy fuck, Sul, we’re cock blocking Dad,” Gage declared.

Duncan checked to see if the lock worked on the door.

“Thank God I fixed my mascara,” Genny whispered from behind him.

From where he was still barring the door against his own flesh and blood, he looked over his shoulder at her.

She appeared as if she was in pain in an effort not to laugh.

“Are you gonna let us in, Dad?” Sul asked.

He was turning back to see them both right there, with their hulking bags, likely filled with laundry they were going to call Bettina and beg her to come on a Saturday to clean, when he heard Gage sniff.

“Dear Lord in heaven, what is that smell?” he demanded, then bowled through his brother and his father to achieve entry.

Sully came in behind him.

“Son two, or Gage, who fortunately thinks mostly with his stomach rather than other parts of his anatomy,” he introduced.

Genny giggled.

Gage had forgotten about the smell of garlic and meat cooking and was staring at Genny with his mouth hanging open.

“He’s also slick and real good with the ladies,” Duncan joked.

“Holy cannoli,” Gage breathed. “You’re like, seven thousand times more beautiful than in the movies.”

“Well, wow, thank you, Gage,” Genny replied warmly.

“Dad,” Sul said under his breath, elbowing Duncan in the ribs.

“And this is son one, Sullivan, or Sully,” Duncan said.

Gen reached out a hand. “Nice to meet you, Sully.”

He took her hand. “Real cool to meet you, uh…”

“Genny,” Gen filled it in.

“Right, Genny,” he said, pumping her hand.

Gage shoved him out of the way and stuck his hand at her. “Yeah. Genny. Hi. Gage.”

She took it and shook. “Hi, Gage.”

“I get it, people take pictures of you eating at El Gato. You don’t even have to be famous. If I saw you at El Gato, I’d take a picture of you,” he stated.

“And again, thank you. That’s so sweet,” Genny said, now not shaking, but Gage still was.

“Let her go, son,” Duncan said low.

Gage did and popped back like a cat who’d been confronted with a cucumber.

“God, you are such a dufus,” Sul said, again under his breath.

“Shut it, Sul,” Gage bit out.

“Then cool it, Gage. Jesus. She’s just a human.”

“A gorgeous one.”

“You’ve seen gorgeous women before.”

“Not in our kitchen.”

“All right, we’re done with this,” Duncan decreed.

“Good I made plenty,” Genny noted, looking at him even as she skirted his sons to get to the meatballs, a twinkle in her eye.

“Yeah, good,” he agreed, because his boys could pack it in, they loved food, and they’d love her (more, apparently, when it came to Gage) the minute they tasted it. He looked between his sons. “But, as much as I love you and pine for any time I can spend with you, I’d still like to be let in on the secret of why you two are here without you sharing that with me.”

“We decided you needed, like, moral support,” Gage said, having dumped his bag, he was following Genny like a puppy.

He turned to his eldest.

And got what he expected.

The honest story.

“We were worried,” Sullivan said quietly. “That maybe you weren’t saying something. Like, you know, it was clear she was real special to you. But then we didn’t see anything on social media.”