Page 29 of The Long Way Found

Then he typed, "Tomorrow night? Dinner?"

Deleted it.

Fuck it. This is ridiculous.

He set the phone on the nightstand and got ready for bed.

Jack lay in the dark, staring at the ceiling, telling himself he didn't care that Luke's response had been so casual.

They'd talk tomorrow.

Outside, the wind picked up, whistling around the lodge, which stood like a fortress, solid and safe. Jack closed his eyes and fell asleep easily.

CHAPTER 9

JACK

Afew days later, the sun over Calder Ridge was sharp and bright, the kind of Colorado day that made your eyes hurt if you were silly enough to ski without goggles or sunglasses. No clouds, mid-thirties, perfect snow conditions. The kind of day locals waited for all season.

Jack adjusted his goggles when they got off the chairlift at the top of a blue run, not the easiest, but not a double black diamond either.

He watched Luke move through the crowd in his gray-and-blue ski suit. People called out to him, "Hey, Luke!" "Looking good!" He waved back. He seemed to know everyone’s names. Even here on the mountain, Luke was woven into the fabric of this town in a way Jack had never seen before. In that gear, moving with his natural athletic grace, Luke looked like he really did belong in one of those resort ads that used to feature him. He could be used to sell anything, from instant coffee to family season passes to a romantic fantasy…

"You going to stand there and freeze, Colonel, or are we doing this?" Luke called out.

They spent the next two hours carving through fresh powder. Luke had always been the better skier, and Jack was out of practice, yet he managed to keep up somehow. After a few long runs, Jack felt a burn in his quads.

They stopped at a mid-mountain plateau where the view opened up—a jagged row of the Rockies stretching into the distance. The wind had died down, leaving everything still and blinding. Below them, the valley spread out in white, green, and brown, with the town barely visible in the distance.

Jack pulled off his goggles and squinted against the glare. He inhaled deeply, letting the mountain's quiet settle into him.

"I forgot what this is like," Jack said. "Being somewhere this… big."

Luke looked at him. "Yeah?"

"In the desert, everything's flat. Exposed. This is different. Like the mountains are holding you… I haven't skied in years. And my legs aren't happy with me right now."

"We can find some nice, easy green runs," Luke said. "You getting hungry yet?"

"Nice, easy green runs?"

"I mean, no need to wear yourself out," Luke said with a smirk.

"You're supposed to be nicer than this, Beaumont," Jack said.

"Beaumont? No one's called me that in a hundred years. I'm surprised you remember."

"Course I remember: Beaumont Luke Calder."

"Cassius John Garrison. I haven't called you 'Cash' once since you've been back."

"No one does. I'm always just Jack. Like ‘Will & Grace.’ Remember when we used to watch that every Thursday night?”

“Sure. Great show.”

They smiled at each other in the warm sunshine and crisp mountain air.

Luke adjusted his goggles and pushed off again, sending a spray of snow over Jack's boots. "Now, if you’re done stalling… Catch me at the bottom—Just Jack!"