Mountain Challenge (Mont Blanc Rescue #9)

Epilogue

Ry

“ I didn’t take you for the kind of man who loves birthday parties, Commandant ,” Ry laughed, handing over a bottle of wine as he stepped into Beau and Val’s house.

“It turns out that I am,” Beau said sheepishly, looking behind him at his daughter Ren, who’d organized the party. A pizza party . Ry almost laughed out loud.

“She’s got him wrapped so tightly around her little finger,” Hugo whispered, moving slowly behind Ry. It was three weeks to the day of him getting shot, and he was still in pain, still walking slowly, but he was on his feet and walking, and that was more than they could have hoped for.

“Let me know when you want to leave,” Ry said. He’d been the one to drive, since Hugo wasn’t allowed to do so yet.

“I’m good, Ry. You don’t have to babysit me. I’m going to sit outside for a bit.”

Ry bit his tongue. Hugo had taken up smoking again after leaving the hospital. It helped him with the pain, he claimed. Which was only necessary because he wasn’t taking the prescribed painkillers. But then, the man was at the start of a recovery process that was going to take months. Months of physical therapy, of being off work. If cigarettes were helping him cope, Ry would not begrudge him that. Or not yet .

He watched Hugo limp towards the back patio and looked eagerly to the front door. Isla had promised she’d join them as soon as she was back from dropping Laura and her family at the airport. Ry smiled. There was a lot to be grateful for. Laura had made a complete recovery. Psychologically, she seemed to be doing well, also. She couldn’t remember anything of those days, and maybe that was a good thing.

Ry was glad for the young woman, of course, but also glad in a selfish way, because Laura’s recovery was the best thing that could have happened to Isla.

“Relax, man. I’m sure she’ll be here soon,” Tristan said, handing Ry a bottle of Kronenbourg lager. Not Ry’s favorite beer, but then, few beers in Europe compared to his favorite beer back home, Hahn Super Dry. He tapped his bottle against Tristan’s in thanks and took a long sip. “How are you holding up?”

Ry looked at his friend. It had been a long few weeks. Those early days at the hospital, while they still waited to hear whether Hugo would ever walk again, were the longest in memory. But Ry also had so fucking much to be grateful for. His mind kept flashing back to that moment when the nurse had walked in on him and Isla. He’d been on his knees in front of her, and it was clear what the nurse thought she was interrupting. But instead of filling him with panic, the thought had filled Ry with a strange sense of rightness. At a different time, he could imagine himself on his knees in front of Isla, asking her to marry him. Because he loved her in all the ways a person could be loved. He wanted to spend today with her, and tomorrow, and the next day. All the days he was granted for the rest of his life.

The colonel walked in from the kitchen. He was here—which was rare, because he rarely showed up to any non-work-sponsored event—and he had a beer bottle in his hand—which was even rarer. Is that a fucking smile? Wonders never cease .

“Ry. Just the man I wanted to see.”

Okay . “Colonel,” Ry said, tipping his head.

“Tonight is not a night for talking business, but I got a call from Lyon today. The case is moving forward, and the judge has denied Miles Getty’s request for bail.”

Fuck, but that took a load off Ry’s shoulders. The thought of Getty coming back into town, even temporarily, had been weighing on him. “Thanks for letting me know, Colonel,” he said. “That means a lot to me.”

“I thought you needed to know,” the colonel said. “Now go off and grab some pizza before there’s none left.”

Isla

Valentina and Yvette met Isla before she could walk into the house.

“Isla, you’re here.” They both rushed to give her a hug, which Isla returned gratefully. She’d spent a lot of time with both women, as well as with the women of the other PGHM team, Tess, Isolde, Sarah, Kat, Diana, Trista … They’d all been there for Isla in the last weeks, in the best possible of ways. Giving her space to breathe, but letting her know they were there for her. Several of them had shared their own traumatic experiences, and told her what had helped them through it. And they’d all helped Isla through her fears for Laura’s recovery, and through her guilt about Hugo’s injuries—though Isla knew she was still working through that last one.

“What are you doing out here?”

“Too much testosterone in there,” Yvette said, laughing.

“And too much pizza. I don’t want to eat it all!” Valentina added.

“Right.” Isla’s mouth watered at the thought of a hot slice of pizza. Her appetite had been coming back slowly over the last weeks. “It’s nice out here, if chilly.”

“Ry’s inside. Probably standing close to the front door, waiting for you,” Yvette said cheerfully.

Isla took a deep breath. “I’ll go see him in a minute. Is Hugo here already?”

The two women exchanged a careful look. “He’s out in the back garden.”

Isla nodded. “I’ll go see him first.”

“Do you want us to come with you?”

“No, it’s good. I’m sure I’ll find him. Thank you.”

She left before they came up with a reason to stop her. She was grateful to them for wanting to take care of her, but this was something she had to do.

Hugo was sitting on a small wooden bench behind the shed, a cigarette in his hand. Not quite hiding, but almost. He looked up, a strained expression on his face, then relaxed when he saw it was her.

“Isla. How are you feeling?”

“Much better, thank you.”

He studied her for a long instant. “You look better.”

“I’m not going to ask what that means,” Isla laughed. “I guess I looked like shit before?”

He took a long drag, pulling the smoke into his lungs. Isla knew Ry was worried about the smoking—Hugo had quit years earlier, and had only just picked it up again. “I didn’t say that. I hope Ry’s taking care of you.”

Something tightened inside her chest, as was the case every time she heard Ry’s name. It was hard to imagine she might have missed out on this … this happiness. “He is. I’m lucky.”

“He’s the lucky one.” Another drag from the cigarette. “You can tell him I said so.”

Isla laughed, then quietened down. “May I sit with you?”

Hugo hesitated for an instant, but made space for her on the bench. Shit, but it was cold. If she was going to stay in Chamonix, she needed a longer coat—one that covered her ass when she sat down. “Hugo, I wanted to say thank you.”

“You already said thank you. So did Laura.”

“Right. And you said thank you for saying thank you, but it wasn’t necessary.”

Hugo nodded. “It’s still not necessary,” he said gruffly.

“I’m sorry I keep insisting. I just … I can’t move on without knowing … that you’re okay.” She knew he was still in pain. She could tell. And she knew from Ry that it was still early days in his recovery—that he might never make it back to the team. And if that happened …

“I’m okay. I swear. But it wouldn’t have mattered, if you and Laura were safe. So believe me, you don’t need to thank me.”

A tear rolled down her cheek. He looked so horrified, it was almost comical. “Please don’t.”

“I’m sorry,” Isla sobbed. This wasn’t like her. But she couldn’t help herself. She wiped the snot off with the back of her hand. Great. He was going to run in the opposite direction. “I’m sorry.”

Hugo pulled her against him in an awkward, unpracticed hug. “Hey. We’re good. But I did want to ask you something. A favor.”

“Anything,” she said immediately.

“A tattoo. I’ve always wanted a tattoo on my back.”

“A tattoo,” she repeated. “What kind?”

“The Count of Monte Cristo is my favorite book of all time. I was hoping for something inspired by that.”

Isla’s mind immediately went into overdrive. There was so much she could do with that. She could already see the possibilities. “I’ll need a few days to think of designs, so we can look at them together.”

“Sure.”

“You know I’m not going to be able to charge you for it,” she joked.

Hugo stepped on the cigarette butt, then picked it up, carefully placing it in his pocket. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

Isla laughed. “Okay.”

“Isla. You’re here,” Ry said, striding towards them. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine,” Hugo said, standing up. Though he kept a neutral expression on his face, Isla could tell he was in pain. “I’m going inside,” he muttered, taking his leave.

Ry took Hugo’s spot on the bench. “I was waiting for you.”

“I’m sorry I was late. I was coming in to see you, but wanted to see Hugo for a minute.”

“Everything okay between the two of you?” Ry’s blue eyes shone with concern.

“He doesn’t want me to keep saying thank you,” Isla summarized.

“I know. It’s just the way he is.” Ry took both her hands in his. “Your hands are freezing, Isla. Let’s go inside.”

“In a minute. There’s something I want to tell you first,” she said, hesitating.

“Tell me,” Ry whispered, pulling her in for a hug. And nothing—nothing—had ever felt as right.

“As I drove this morning, I was thinking, how right this feels, Ry. And I know I haven’t said it yet, not out loud anyway, but I … I love you.”

“I love you too, Isla. I have said it before, back at the hospital. I wasn’t sure whether you could hear me or not. And now, I was waiting for the right time to tell you.”

“I heard it. At least, I think I did. I felt it, anyway. I feel it all the time.”

“Good. I want you to feel it, Isla.” He pulled her in tight for a hug. “What are you thinking about? There’s still something on your mind.”

“We haven’t … in these last weeks, we still haven’t …”

“We haven’t what, baby?”

“We haven’t made love.”

Ry’s strong arms tensed, then relaxed around her. “I wanted to wait until you were ready, Isla. There’s no rush, no reason we need to?—“

“I want to. Tonight, I want us to be together. I’m done waiting, Ry.”

“If that’s what you want, Isla, there’s nothing more I want in the world than to make love to you,” he said, nuzzling her neck gently. “Truth is, I want to do everything with you.”

“It’s a deal, then,” Isla said, stepping out of his embrace. “Now let’s go grab a slice of pizza before there’s none left.” As they walked hand in hand towards the house, the sun came out between the clouds, warming her back. She tightened her hold on Ry’s hand, feeling his strong hand squeeze back, and knew she was exactly where she should be.

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Thank you for reading Ry and Isla’s story! If you enjoyed it, please take a minute to leave a quick review, I read each and every review and appreciate them all greatly!