Page 54 of The Long Way Found

Luke glanced toward the sound and pulled a flashlight from his backpack. “No. It’s blocked off about 15 yards ahead.”

They stepped further inside together. The air changed instantly. It was cold, damp, and metallic, and still, with no wind. Their footsteps echoed, accompanied by the sound of water dripping somewhere.

Luke shone his light around.

“Not much to see, really,” Luke said. “Kids used to dare each other to come up here. Remember Billy Hawkins? He got cocky one time and went past the barrier. Broke his leg. I helped carry him out.”

They stopped where the tunnel widened slightly, the ceiling low enough that Jack had to duck. Luke switched off the flashlight.

“It’s so dark,” he said. “Crazy, huh?”

“Okay,” Jack said. “That’s enough of that.”

They turned back and stepped into the warm sun. They sat on a slab of rock near the entrance, jackets shrugged off, backs against stone that had soaked up the morning heat. The wind was blocked, and the silence was broken only by the distant sound of a truck on the highway.

Luke pulled a protein bar from his pocket, broke it in half, and handed Jack the larger half without comment.

“You always do that,” Jack said.

“Do what?”

“Give me more.”

Luke smiled. “You look like you burn calories just by thinking. And you’re always thinking.”

“That obvious?”

“Sunday morning, you were in the zone.”

“Sorry.”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No, I…I move on to the next thing too quickly sometimes. Did I rush you out?”

Luke resisted the urge to shrug it off and instead said, “Yeah, you did.”

“I was mentally going through my list of things to do, and I wasn’t thinking beyond that. My fault. I apologize.”

“Thank you, but…,” Luke said, trying to be more direct about his. “Don’t shrug me off next time. You could say you need some space if that’s it. You know, I’m not used to spending so much time with anyone, either, but I don’t shut down.”

“You’re right,” Jack said. “I’ll do better.”

They ate while watching clouds drift across the valley. From up here, Calder Ridge looked small and contained, tucked into its bowl like it couldn’t belong anywhere else.

Luke leaned his head back against a rock, eyes half-closed. “So, you asked about how I went from these hills to the Hollywood Hills…”

Jack shifted slightly, giving him his full attention without pushing. “I’d like to hear it, but you don’t have to⁠—”

“I know,” Luke said. “I want to.”

He took a breath. “I was in New York right after I graduated. I went to try to see you… You might not know about that.”

“No, I don’t think I do,” Jack said.

“Yeah, I had this crazy teenage idea that I could go to West Point and see you, so I flew to New York —”

“Wait, you never came to West Point.”