Page 30 of The Long Way Found

By the time they reached Luke's house, the sun had dipped low, leaving the peaks shimmering against the purple sky. The transition to the outdoor hot tub was bracing—icy mountain air clashing with 104-degree steam rising in thick plumes.

Submerged in the churning water, Jack studied Luke as he approached. His physique was perfectly symmetrical, his skin flawless.

"Nothing," Jack muttered as Luke got in.

"Nothing what?"

"No marks. No scars," Jack said, gesturing toward Luke's shoulders and chest. "Perfect skin."

"Sunscreen, Jack. And not being in a war zone." Luke's gaze dropped to Jack's scarred torso.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. "Did I push you too hard on those last runs?"

"I'm feeling it," Jack answered.

"Yeah? Where are you feeling it?"

"Quads. Lower back." Jack rotated his neck. "Everywhere, basically."

Luke sat on the edge of the hot tub behind Jack, massaging his neck and shoulders. "You're tight."

"You're good at this."

"You'll be sore tomorrow," Luke said.

"Worth it. A chance to ski with Luke again in Calder Ridge? No question."

Luke kissed the top of Jack's head.

"You know what's funny?" Luke said as he worked down Jack's knotted back.

"What?"

"We're built completely different. You're all lean muscle. Sinewy. Like a fighter."

Jack took Luke's hands in his own and turned him around in front of him. Luke straddled Jack's lap, and his hands returned to rubbing Jack's broad shoulders.

Jack's hands locked around Luke's waist. "I was a fighter. Broke my nose in the ring and got this,” he said, pointing to the scar on his lip, “in a bar fight in Kandahar. Functional strength for fighting. I know it’s not pretty.”

"It is pretty—well, no, not exactly pretty," Luke said, his fingers tracing a scar near Jack's hip. "Alluring, for sure. In a dangerous kind of way. All these battle wounds."

"Not you."

"I have scars, too," Luke corrected quietly. "You just can't see them."

Jack's thumb brushed Luke's cheekbone. "I know."

“People see you and think, there’s a hero. They see me and think, That guy has it so easy.”

“That’s not what I see,” Jack said, his hand still on Luke’s waist. “I’ve had friends who got sober and others who couldn’t. But… what you did—coming back here, building this life, staying sober for fifteen years—takes real courage.”

Luke said, “I don’t think about it like that.”

"Maybe you should," Jack said softly.

Luke's eyes met his. Neither of them spoke for a moment. The hot tub bubbled around them, steam rising into the cold night air.

They looked into each other's eyes, holding that gaze. Luke felt the question hanging between them: Is this really happening?