Mountain Challenge (Mont Blanc Rescue #9)

Chapter 1

1

Ry

“ A re you both sure that’s okay?” Alex asked. “I’m sorry it’s all happened so quickly. I’ll help you find a new housemate, of course.” Ry exchanged a quick look with Hugo before they both burst out laughing. “What?” Alex asked, looking affronted.

“We’re not laughing at you, mate,” Ry explained. “We’re laughing with you.”

“Really? Because I feel like I’m not in on the joke,” Alex said.

“Ry and I have had a bet going on this for a while now, is all,” Hugo answered while shrugging into his uniform jacket.

Ry looked around, looking for his own jacket, which was nowhere to be found. Shit. He and Hugo had an evening shift starting soon.

Finally, he saw it, on the back of one of the kitchen chairs. He’d forgotten to put it away once again. Though he’d been doing his best now that he was living with his colleagues, he’d always been messy with his personal things. The exact opposite of the way he behaved at work. But then, he was the team medic. Being organized was one of the most important parts of his job.

Alex took a step forward. “You bet on my moving out?”

“Yes,” Hugo said unapologetically. “The same day we met Yvette.”

“Yeah, mate, we knew your life as a single man was over long before you did.” Ry was almost sorry to give his friend such a hard time about it, when the truth was, Alex and Yvette made a great couple. But the temptation was hard to resist.

Alex’s forehead crinkled as he processed the news. “Okay. So you had a bet going on how soon Yvette and I would move in together. Who won?”

“Hugo did,” Ry said, sighing. “I had hopes you’d hold out longer, to tell you the truth.”

“You make it sound like it’s something bad.”

Ry raised his hands, palms up. “No, no. Yvette is great, and for some unfathomable reason, she likes you. I’m certain the two of you are going to be very happy together.”

“Your voice is shaking, Ry. Why are you so afraid of relationships?”

“Me? Afraid? I’m not afraid. I think relationships are great.”

For other people.

“Right. Except Ry’s idea of a long-term relationship is seeing the same woman twice,” Hugo laughed.

“That’s not fair,” Ry said. Maybe that’d been true in his early twenties, but now, in his early thirties, he was more mature. He’d had plenty of third and fourth and probably even a few fifth dates.

“Are you still seeing the optician?” Alex asked, curiously. “She seemed nice.”

Sophia.

She was nice.

Really nice.

“Uh. No. We … we broke it off last week.”

On their third date. She’d wanted something more regular than Ry was comfortable with. Something exclusive.

“You know, Ry, one day those surfer boy looks of yours will not work on women anymore, and then you’ll be sorry.”

Ry had heard multiple variations of this warning before, most often during his weekly call with his mother. She still lived in Perth, and she wanted grandchildren more than anything in the world. Thankfully, Ry's younger sister had stepped up to the plate and recently given birth to a beautiful baby girl, so hopefully that should take some of the pressure off him.

He sighed. “Come on, mate. I’m happy you’ve found love, but that doesn’t mean you need to push married life on the rest of us.” Particularly on those of us who have no intention of ever settling down.

Hugo chuckled. His friend was also happily single. A dwindling club among their colleagues. It wasn’t even like Ry had anything against long-term relationships. Hell, his parents had been married for thirty-five years, and still couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Ry had seen it work for other people as well, and he was honestly happy for them. That kind of thing just wasn’t for him.

Ry loved women, and women generally loved him right back, which made it easy enough to find one who was looking for the same thing he was looking for—fun without fuss or commitment. Because the one thing Ry loved more than women, was his freedom. He’d emigrated from Australia to Europe looking for adventure, and he’d found it. Adventure, and a job with Chamonix’s Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne . He wasn’t about to risk that freedom by tying himself down to any woman.

“Come on, Ry, or we’re going to be late,” Hugo said. “We’ll see you tomorrow, Alex.” Ry nodded a goodbye and followed Hugo out the door. “You’re welcome, man,” Hugo said, once they were settled in the car. They could have walked to the gendarmerie , but it’d be nice to have the car in the morning, when their shift was over. Night shifts could be hard.

“For?”

“For getting you out of there before you dug yourself further into that hole. Next thing you know, Yvette will have a friend or cousin or something, and she and Alex will try to set you up with her.”

“Nope. Not happening. I don’t date where I shit.”

“I’m surprised you date at all, when you use such elegant language.”

“Give me a break, Hugo. You know what I mean.”

His friend barked out a laugh. “I’m with you, man. I’m with you.” His look went unexpectedly wistful. “But you have to admit, it’s good to see Alex so happy.”

“Sure,” Ry agreed. “It’s great.” It’s wonderful, so long as it’s him and not me.

They parked the car in the underground parking and made their way up to their first-floor office. Ry knew immediately that something was wrong. There were too many people and too much movement, when evening shifts were usually quieter, at least at the start.

Their boss, Commandant Beau Fontaine, strode up to them. “Ry, Hugo. Don’t bother taking off your jacket. You’re with me.”

Ry shouldered his backpack. “What’s happening, Beau? Do I need to pack anything special?” Though his large medic backpack contained an impressive array of emergency medical equipment, the gendarmerie had a medical facility with additional kit for when it was needed.

Beau’s lips curled in an unexpected smile. Ry’s tight shoulders relaxed a notch. Whatever’s happening, it’s not that bad.

“No. Your regular pack is fine. I assume Dr. Davies will bring anything else she needs.”

Ry’s eyebrow went up in surprise. “Dr. Davies? But she’s?—”

“A vet. Yes. Come on, I’ll update you along the way.”

“ I tell you, Valentine’s day sucks,” Ry said, taking in a deep breath.

Beside him, Hugo cracked a rare smile. His friend hadn’t even broken a sweat on the way up the mountain. “It’s not my favorite day. But at least, he ’s not complaining.”

Ry turned to face the enormous labradoodle lying down a few meters away, his snout leaning on his paws. He stared straight at Ry, his expression clearly broadcasting his intentions. I’m not moving, so what are you planning to do about it?

Ry turned around so the dog wouldn’t see him smile. He didn’t think that would help them get him off the mountain.

The view from up here was magnificent. One could see the entire Vallée des Chapieux—wild and remote. The sun shone fiercely for this time of year, bathing the valley in a golden glow. Ry could almost see what the man had been thinking when he’d planned the hike.

Off to the side, Beau and Dr. Trista Davies conferred with the dog’s owners, a man and a woman in their late twenties. Trista was a vet, and she was also part of the PGHM family since she was engaged to Hiro, one of the search and rescue specialists in their sibling PGHM unit. She’d been called in for support, given the unusual nature of the problem they faced.

“He was fine on the hike. I swear. He was happy and energetic the whole time, but when we got to the top, he suddenly lay down, and he just won’t move.” The man’s voice grated, stress making it an octave or two higher than it should have been.

Ry almost felt sorry for the guy.

Almost, but not quite .

The man had prepared this elaborate proposal, involving their dog, a ring tied around the dog’s neck, and a hike to the top of the Croix du Bonhomme. The idea would have been sweet, except the round-trip distance of eighteen kilometers was way too much for a city labradoodle without prior training to manage comfortably. Trista had been very clear on that from the start. They were lucky the dog had made it all the way here without getting hurt, and that they’d been able to call for help.

The dog cocked his head sideways and closed his eyes, as if getting ready for a nap.

Only on Valentine’s Day .

It’s not like people didn’t do stupid things on other days of the year. Hell, he and his colleagues from the Chamonix Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne dealt with mountain rescues every day, so they saw plenty of stupid ideas gone wrong. But on Valentine’s Day … it seemed like all the idiots came out to outdo one another.

“Is Popeye hurt?” the woman asked in a shaky voice.

“Popeye’s fine,” Trista said, her voice calm and clear. “I’ve examined him, and he’s not dehydrated. His body temperature is normal. He’s healthy. Just tired. And stubborn.” Her lips closed together, as if trying to stop a smile from coming through.

“But how do we get him down?” The man looked at Trista as if she held all the answers.

“Do you have any of his favorite snacks with you?”

The man and the woman nodded quickly. “Beef jerky and oatmeal liver bites. We’ve tried. He’s not interested.”

“Give them to me,” Trista said decisively. “Let’s try one more time, just in case.”

As she dug into her bag for the snacks, the woman stopped for a moment to appreciate the sparkly diamond shining on her hand.

Once more, Ry had to stifle a smile. At least she said yes .

“How heavy do you think he is?” Hugo muttered. “I know we’re going to end up carrying him out of here.”

His friend was a pessimist, not a glass-half-full but more of a there’s-no-glass kind of person.

“Give Trista a chance. She might be able to convince him to get up and walk.” If anybody could, that would be Trista. She was amazing with animals, and most specifically with dogs.

Ten minutes later, however, even Trista had to concede defeat. Beau pulled her aside so the four of them could talk in private. “It’s getting late, and they’re not prepared to spend the night out here. We need to get them off the mountain now.”

Trista sighed. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help.” Fondness entered her voice. “Popeye’s certainly stubborn.”

Beau shook his head. “I’m sorry we had to drag you all the way up here. You helped us a lot by confirming the dog is healthy.” His boss seemed reluctant to say the word Popeye out loud. “Come on, let’s set everything up. We’re carrying him out of here.”

Hugo rubbed his chin and groaned, giving Ry his trademark I told you so look.

Ry shrugged. He’d also known this was a likely outcome, but that didn’t mean he would choose to live his life worrying about all the bad outcomes.

A few minutes later, Trista and the owner had managed to slip the stretcher under the dog’s body.

Hugo stood at the front, while Ry took the back, and together they lifted the large animal.

This is going to hurt .

Hiking down was always harder on the knees than hiking up. Doing so while balancing thirty five kilos of dog on a stretcher would be even harder.

At least, Popeye made things easy for them. He didn’t issue a single complaint. If anything, he seemed downright pleased to sit there, staring at the world going by. At one point, he turned his head to look back at Ry. See? This is a much better way to travel , his expression seemed to say.

Ahead of them, Beau barked out into the phone. “ Commandant Fontaine.” He listened for a moment. “We’re not even off the mountain yet. How the hell did you find out about it already, Yvette?” Despite his gruff tone, a note of fondness entered his voice. Yvette Legrand, the mayor’s chief of staff, was dating Alex, another of their team members.

Ry almost laughed out loud. Yvette always knew everything almost as soon as it happened. She had her ways.

“No, you’re not going to call the press, Yvette. This is a rescue operation.” Beau rubbed his temples with his free hand, as if fighting a headache. “Yes, the dog is fine. Everybody is fine. No, I don’t care how good the publicity is. Tell the mayor he’s not going to turn this into even more of a circus than it already is.”

The call ended less than a minute later, without Beau having been able to get another word in. Ry was pretty sure who’d won the argument. If Yvette wanted the press there, the press would be there. And the story was compelling, he had to admit. A young couple, a mountain proposal, and Chamonix’s own rescue team coming in to save the day before anything bad could happen.

Except for the blisters on our hands .

Halfway down, they stopped to rest for a few minutes. Beau walked over to them, ready to take his turn. That was one thing Ry liked about his team leader. He was always ready to shoulder his share of the load, or even more than his share, when that was what was required. He was a man who was easy to respect, and for Ry, that made him easy to work with.

“I’m good. Take Hugo’s place,” Ry said. The front was harder, so it made sense for Hugo to get a break first.

After the switch, they got going again. Hugo took the lead, followed by the couple, who by now looked exhausted, but at least weren’t complaining. Probably too embarrassed.

“You know who would have been able to help us?” Ry said conversationally to Trista, who closed the party.

“Bailey,” she said, laughing. Bailey was Hiro’s search and rescue dog, and the most popular member of the entire PGHM. Now that Trista and Hiro had moved in together, Bailey was happier than they’d ever seen her, living with her two favorite people in the world. “You’re right. I’ll bet Bailey could have convinced Popeye to move.” Unfortunately, Hiro and Bailey were away on a training course. Search and rescue dogs never stopped training.

“Less talking, more walking,” Beau grunted without looking back. The commandant was not in a good mood.

By the time the road came into sight, Ry’s arms were burning something fierce. By now, it was impossible not to feel sorry for the newly engaged couple, with their wan, tired expressions. This clearly wasn’t how they’d expected to spend their afternoon. But Ry was having fun. He loved challenges, and loved competing. That was the reason he’d joined the PGHM—a job that put together the challenge, and the ability to put his medic training to use, and help people at the same time. Today was a new kind of challenge, one where nobody got hurt, and he was determined to enjoy it. Ry was pretty sure the only one who was enjoying the afternoon more than him was Popeye, as he lay on the litter like a pharaoh.

The woman’s expression brightened up when she saw the sign to the car park.

“Finally! I’m going to go home and start a bath and?—“

Her words cut off as they were met by a mob of reporters. Or what passed for a mob of reporters in Chamonix, which was all of five people.

“What—“

“ Commandant Fontaine,” the first one, a tall, regal-looking older woman, called out. “Please tell us about today’s rescue.”

Beau and Ry set the stretcher down carefully on the ground. Ry stretched to get rid of a kink that had settled in the base of his neck, and looked over at his boss, whose teeth were clenched so hard it was going to be difficult for him to get a word out. With a visible effort and a deep breath, eventually Beau unclenched them enough to give the reporter a brief but civil response. Yvette would be proud .

Probably figuring that they would not get much more from Ry’s boss, the reporters turned to the couple instead.

“Is that your engagement ring?” a younger reporter asked the newly engaged woman. It was exactly the right question to ask. The woman forgot her aches, forgot about the bath she’d been looking forward to, forgot everything as she basked in the reporters’ attention.

One of the reporters pulled up his camera to take a picture of Popeye … just as the dog calmly stood up and stretched his back before making his way easily back to the car.

Hugo scowled. “Well, he looks nice and rested.”

Ry laughed out loud, looking down at his watch. “Two hours and ten minutes. Not bad.”

Hugo snorted. “Always so competitive.”

Ry smiled again, not bothering to deny it. “I can’t help loving a challenge. Come on, Hugo, let’s get out of here.”

“You want to go get a drink? I think we deserve one after this circus.”

Ry shook his head. “Not tonight, sorry. I have plans.” Plans he wasn’t about to share with his friend.