Mountain Challenge (Mont Blanc Rescue #9)

Chapter 21

21

Ry

“ G reat, just like that, Ry. One more time,” Marie said, not realizing—or caring—how annoying her boundless positivity could be. A moment after the thought crossed his mind, Ry ducked his head in shame. Marie was a great physiotherapist, and in their first few sessions together had already helped him regain a substantial range of motion in his shoulder.

“I can keep going,” he said.

Marie shook her head quickly. “No more today. Too much is just as bad as not enough.”

“Confucius?”

“Even better, that one’s mine,” she laughed. “You need to take it slowly. Ice the shoulder, rest, and tomorrow we’ll bring in some new exercises.” Her tone was cajoling now as she tried to bribe him with the thought of the new exercises. “I know it’s hard, dear, but you need to be patient. Hang on tight, and we’ll get your shoulder fixed in no time.”

Frustration bit into him, but he swallowed it down and thanked Marie before heading to the shower. It wasn’t Marie’s fault that his life was crumbling. She was helping with his shoulder, but there were other things she couldn’t help with.

Ry looked down at his watch. Three weeks and four days since his surgery and, though his shoulder was doing better every day, his case was going nowhere. Sure, the investigators had arrived and conducted dozens of interviews. But since then, not a peep, and the more time that went by, the less Ry trusted the team from Lyon to unravel this mess.

He’d been to the gendarmerie only once, the day Isla went to meet the teenage vandal. Ry had wanted to be there to give him the stink eye and make sure he knew there was someone—lots of someones, in this case—in Isla’s corner, in case he got the urge to hurt her again. But he didn’t think that would be happening. From the look on the boy’s face when Isla had accepted his apology, he’d more than learned his lesson.

He looked at his phone and saw he had no messages. Shit, but he missed the office. He missed his team, he missed the exercise, he missed—he missed his life .

He picked up his backpack, resisting the urge to sling it over his shoulder. That was something he definitely couldn’t do yet. He walked outside, expecting to hail a cab since Hugo had dropped him off this morning on his way to work. Instead, a familiar figure waved him over. The blue streaks in her hair had turned dark red overnight. Whatever the color, he found Isla’s hair sexy as hell.

The only good thing about the last weeks was how much time they’d been able to spend together. Not just having sex, either. Or not all of it having sex—though the sex had been amazing. She hadn’t shared the whole truth about what she called her baggage, so he still didn’t know why his encounter with Yvette that day on the slopes had freaked her out so badly, but one didn’t need to be Freud to realize somebody had hurt her in the past. Hurt her badly, and made it difficult for her to trust again.

And that was something they could work on, even if she didn’t feel comfortable sharing everything about her past with him. So they’d finally talked about things he usually didn’t talk about, because his relationships never went that far. Things like exclusivity—and yes, for the first time in his life, he found he wanted exclusivity. He had no interest in touching any other woman, nor did he want to imagine Isla in another man’s arms.

He hoped she knew by now that she could trust him. For however long they might be together—and he had no idea how long that would be, nor had Isla broached that topic—he hoped she knew she could trust him not to go around her back.

“How did it go today?” she asked.

“It was a good session,” he said, demonstrating his newly acquired range of motion. “Have I told you how much I love the new hair?”

Isla smiled. “It’s the same color Val uses, though she dies her whole hair. I just like a few bits of color here and there.”

“It suits you. Not just the red,” he clarified. “All colors suit you. What are you doing here?”

“I have no more appointments this morning, and thought you might like to do an early lunch together?”

Ry nodded. “I’d like that. Have you ever been to Pollo Loco?”

“Uh, no.”

“Then you haven’t lived, Isla.” He took her hand in his. “Come on, let’s go.”

Isla

Isla covered her mouth with her hand, struggling to hold back a laugh. Laughing and Nutella didn’t mix, even at the best of times. When she was sure she had herself under control, she looked up at Ry.

“Is it good?” he asked, smiling.

“Good?” she echoed. “It’s incredible. You sure you don’t want to try some?” She eyed his much thinner crêpe with pity. “I can be generous.”

Ry laughed. “Believe me, I’ve tried them all, and lemon and sugar crêpes are the best.”

“I’m still not sure this counts as lunch.” She took another bite of the gooey goodness. “You know Nutella was invented after the war, one year when there were more hazelnuts than cocoa?”

“I didn’t know.” He folded his crêpe over and finished it in one bite. “I’ve never met anyone who likes chocolate as much as you do.”

“You should meet my best friend, Laura. She’d see one of these and ask for some extra Nutella drizzle over the top.”

“Where does Laura live?”

“In Brussels. I miss her, but she’s coming to visit in a couple of weeks.”

“Maybe we can bring her here. I’ll warn Manuel, who owns Pollo Loco, to order extra Nutella.”

“You need to stop making fun of me. Nutella is up there with a few other great inventions, like electricity, washing machines, and chairs that go up and down.” She licked her lips greedily, not wanting to waste a single bit. “And speaking of that, I need to get going. This afternoon is going to be all about stars.”

“Stars?”

“I have a couple who want matching stars on their wrists. Then a woman who apparently wants a whole constellation on her back.”

“That sounds—“ Ry’s phone started ringing, interrupting what he was going to say. “Beau. Yes. I can be there.” He hung up the phone and looked up at her. “I have to go to the office.”

She didn’t have to ask what it was about. The trepidation in his face spoke louder than words. “Is it over?”

“I think so. The investigators are ready to share their findings.”

Relief filled her, then. Ry hadn’t shared too much about the case with her, but she knew how much it had been weighing on him. And she knew him—knew how much he cared about the people he rescued. Hell, he’d gone to Annecy to see the snowboarder they’d rescued from the crevasse. He hadn’t told anyone where he was going, either, until he was back.

“I’ll drop you off,” she said. The gendarmerie was a five-minute drive from where they were, and he could probably have walked faster than she could get him there in her car, but she wanted him to know he wasn’t alone.

She rolled to a stop in front of the building, but he made no move to unbuckle his seat belt. “Can you believe I’m scared to go in?” he asked, looking down at the floor. “I thought the uncertainty was the worst, but now, I’m not so sure.”

Isla took his hand gently in hers, unsure of what to say. “It’s going to be okay, Ry. I believe in you, and I believe in justice.”

He nodded, taking a deep breath, then another. He took off his sling, tossing it onto the back seat.

“Did your therapist tell you to take it off?” she questioned.

“I’m not going in wearing a sling,” he shrugged. “Thank you, Isla. I’m sorry I haven’t been the easiest person over the last few weeks. It’s just?—“

“You’ve had a lot on your mind. I know. Now go in there and find your team.”