Enjoy the View

by Sarah Morgenthaler

  Easton didn’t say anything as he sat next to her. They’d sat on this same porch for a long time now, and he never needed to say anything. Eventually, Ash leaned her shoulder into his.

  “I hate this part,” she whispered.

  “I know.”

  “You can’t work taking people on nature walks up at the big house?” Ash glanced up at him. “Hold their hands as they frolic through the flowers?”

  Teasing her for her worry would have been easy. Theirs was a relationship built on mutual good-natured mockery to hide affection far deeper than most would ever know. But some things he would never tease her for, and admitting she was scared was one of those things.

  “I could, but I’d hate it.”

  Having a twin wasn’t as easy as an adult as it was when they were younger. Being tied so tightly together was harder when real life got in the way. On some level, they both knew they were drifting apart compared to when they were kids, and neither wanted that. But he knew what she needed from him to be happy: to give up the way of life that made him happy. And as much as he loved her, Easton wasn’t willing to change who he was for someone else.

  Not even Ash.

  “It’s going to be okay,” he told her. “I know you don’t believe me, but it will.”

  “Maybe.” Taking a long drag on the cigarette in her mouth, she shook her head. “Probably. But one day, it won’t. Are you ready for that? Because I’m sure not.”

  There was nothing he could say to that. Nothing to make her feel better anyway, so Easton simply sat with her. And when she sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, he knew she’d given up the fight.

  The next trip, it would start all over again, because Ash didn’t know how to stop caring so deeply.

  “These things will kill you.” He flicked the end of her cigarette. “And they smell awful.”

  “Then it’s a good thing you’re out of here. Go whine to someone else.”

  Smiling a little, he added, “Dad will be ticked if he catches you smoking.”

  She flashed him a quick smirk. “Then I’d better smoke another so he doesn’t miss it.”

  Falling silent, she finished her cigarette, then pinched the end out with her bare fingertips.

  “You need anything before I leave?” he asked her.

  “Nah, I’m good.” Ash stood, then nudged his leg with her foot. “Hey, East? Be careful up there.”

  Mountaineering was dangerous, and they both knew it. So Easton rose to his feet and wrapped her up in the kind of hug he knew his twin needed. Dropping a kiss to the top of her head, he whispered the same promise he’d made every time he left.

  “I always am.”

  Chapter 8

  The man was hot, but damn, Easton was boring.

  River was trying, she really was. The beard and the bun made trying less difficult than it otherwise would have been, but the reality was they could only be lectured about caching equipment, acclimatization strategies, and avalanche safety for so long before they wanted to flop on the floor and cry mercy.

  Easton had gathered everyone at the tiny airstrip on the outskirts of town, holding court out of the bed of his truck as they waited for Ash and her helicopter to return from a morning supply run two towns over. No one had minded the idea of a quick safety briefing, but that had been well over an hour ago. Easton kept droning on and on.

  Being hot would only get him so far. There was no fixing boring.

  “Can you go over it one more time for me?” Bree asked, blinking innocently. “I always have the receiver on, right?”

  With inhuman patience, Easton nodded, holding up a bright yellow avalanche transceiver. “No, not at camp. We only turn these on when we’re climbing.”

  “She’s screwing with you, man,” Jessie said. “You’ve gone over this four times already. We know, okay? Besides, all of us have RECCO reflectors imbedded in our jackets. See?”

  Jessie flipped open the jacket next to his hip, showing a leather tab protecting the radio signal boosting reflector from the elements.

  Looking less than impressed, Easton handed a receiver to each of them. “Those help but aren’t a replacement for a transceiver in the kind of terrain we’re going into. This isn’t a ski slope, kid.”

  “Did he call me a kid?” Jessie sounded affronted.

  Bree eyed Jessie critically. “I mean, standing next to him, you do kind of look like you should be eating pizza and playing Unicorns and Magpies at the high school lunch table.”

  Wounded to the core, Jessie drew himself up with righteous indignation. “You did not go there. UniMagP is a deeply philosophical representation of the sexism in the current gaming culture—”

  “I didn’t criticize it. I’m saying that’s what you used to do—”

  The pair launched into a verbal brawl over whether Bree had insulted Jessie’s beloved pastime. Easton watched the exchange with absolutely no expression on his face. “Unicorns and Magpies?”

  “It’s a new card game,” Bree explained while Jessie sputtered in indignation. “Think Magic meets World of Warcraft meets evil unicorns and plucky magpies determined to save the world.”

  “Hey, Bree? Jessie? I think we’re on a schedule here.” River tapped her smartwatch. “Plus, I have the feeling we’re driving our guide nuts.”

  “The way this works will feel counterintuitive,” Easton continued.

  Oh, the poor man had brought visual aids. Didn’t he understand that made him a target?

  “Here’s the mountain. We’re going to be flying here, the drop-off site. We’ll hike to our first camp, set up, and spend the night there…what are you doing?”

  Jessie zoomed in on Easton’s narrowed eyes. “I’m filming the lesson plan,” he replied. “You never know what the most important aspect of the lecture might be.”

  “How about focusing on the lesson plan so you don’t get in trouble up there?”

  Humming, Jessie continued to film. Easton took a deep breath, as if doing a mental yoga pose. Bree pulled the handheld out, filming Easton from a second angle to mess with him. Leaving River as the only one actually listening. Dutifully playing the role of “hiker paying attention number three,” River crossed her legs and stuck the end of her pen in her mouth, fluttering her eyelids at Easton.

  “Could you explain the visual aids to me one more time, teach?” she asked. Flutter flutter flutter. Legs recrossing, pen nibble.

  “It’s fine,” he grumbled. “You all are going to fall off the mountain, but I already got paid.”

  River stood, joining Easton and patting him on the shoulder.

  “We’ve got this. Start at the bottom, head to the top, filming the wildlife is good, getting eaten or trampled is bad. Once we get high enough, we’ll need to acclimate to the lower oxygen levels. If we do feel sick, say something to you immediately. Is that about right?”

  “What about the tents?” he asked.

  “What about the tents?” River replied, fluttering her eyelashes at him again.

  A flat look met her question, and River had to bite her lower lip to cover her laugh. Riling him up was too much fun. Every time she was successful at it, his eyebrows would knit together. The more riled, the closer the eyebrows were to touching.

  “The tents are with the rest of our gear. And I get points for finding three brand-new four-season double-walled tents on such short notice. Your dad helped hook me up.”

  “When did you talk to my father?”

  “He came by the house while you were on your farewell tour last night. We all drove to Anchorage and got what we needed. He’s a nice guy. Told me all the stories.”

  Easton went still.

  “And I’m talking all the stories. He showed me pictures too. We dug deep. There was bathtub stuff.” She’d never seen a man so horrified in her life. Dissolving into helpless giggles, River to
ok mercy on him. “Okay, it wasn’t bathtub stuff, but now that I know bathtub stuff exists, don’t think I won’t get my hands on it. He just showed me lots of climbing pictures. I didn’t know he went to Everest.”

  “Yeah, in ’88. It wasn’t a good year for it. Not many people from his expedition summited.”

  “Great pictures though. Hey, Easton? Has anyone ever successfully made you go full unibrow?”

  Bree and Jessie made their escape while River took one for the team, letting him focus his annoyance down at her. Although, in hindsight, he didn’t seem all that annoyed. Instead, all six and a half glorious feet of him shifted closer until he was standing as near to her as he had the night at the torture barn.

  And okay, so maybe she deserved some teasing in return, but did he have to do so with his broad chest mere inches from her nose?

  “Has anyone ever told you that you can be a very aggravating woman?” Easton rumbled sexily.

  “It’s been brought up a few times.”

  “And half the things that come out of your mouth make absolutely no sense?”

  River beamed up at him. “I mean, they make sense to me, but I can understand the confusion.”

  Tugging at the collar of her shirt, River wondered why the temperature had suddenly gotten so stuffy. Was anyone else light-headed?

  “You’re gorgeous,” he told her, that low rumble deepening even further.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “If we’re doing this, don’t think I won’t go on the offensive. When you brought up the bathtub pictures, you dropped the gauntlet.”

  River arched an eyebrow. “Meaning?”

  “Meaning this is going to be a really, really interesting climb up the Old Man.”

  “I’m not climbing any men. So you can…and the chest…with the thoughts…” Stepping away from him, River looked up at Easton in horror. “How do you do that?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  Oh, he so completely knew what she meant. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be watching her like this, like she was an ice cream cone and he was…

  “I’m not finishing my thought,” River told him. “It’s a bad thought. You’re technically an employee. This is bad. And…”

  “Complicated?” he murmured, lips near her ear.

  Oh, screw it. No one was looking, and he was right there. Half an inch at most between his body and hers, and they had a long trip ahead of them where no showering would be had. She wasn’t going to smell any better than she did right then.

  When he took her fingers, entwining them before resting them on his chest, River was pretty sure her ovaries flinched in warning.

  “We’re not having Alaskan mountain babies,” she warned him, breathless. Seriously, how hot had it gotten? Menopause hit in late twenties sometimes. This was definitely not because of him.

  A warm laugh filled the air between them. “I’m just trying to keep up.”

  Too many abdominal muscles beneath her fingertip, each one flexing in response to her fingernails lightly scratching down them.

  “Do you want to do this?” he asked her, the softest of pressure of his hands wrapping around her waist.

  “I think I’m going to be really, really disappointed if we don’t,” she breathed.

  “Then, River, you are about to be really, really disappointed.” Easton winked at her. “Try not to go full unibrow.”

  He left her standing there, her nonmenopausal parts wailing in protest.

  “That was so mean, Easton,” River called after him.

  “Yep.”

  “And I’m really not liking you right now!”

  “Ten four.”

  Leaning back against nothing, River stayed at an uncomfortable angle, trying not to fall flat on her back or face or any important parts in between. Only when her team came over did River sigh lustily.

  “Bree? I might like him.”

  She nudged River upright. “You think?”

  • • •

  It didn’t take long before Ash’s badass dragon of the sky came thumping into view. After his attempt at teaching his clients the proper safety protocol, Easton was ready for some backup, even in the form of his twin.

  From their place on the tarmac, the crew had a view of the talons painted on the underside of Ash’s Robinson helicopter.

  “I think I want to be your sister when I grow up.” River sighed. “And now I totally understand your respect for powerful women.”

  “Scary women.”

  “Strong, smart, powerful women.”

  Easton tilted his head in acknowledgment. “All that too. But scary is on the list.”

  The film crew greeted her and promptly asked Ash to sign a waiver and let them film her. Ash never let anyone run roughshod over her, but Easton had gained an increasing respect for River. It was possible the two were evenly matched.

  “No filming,” Ash declared, as if that would be the end of it.

  “We won’t film you,” River promised. “Only the helicopter.”

  “I said no filming.”

  Bree piped up. “It’s an awesome helicopter.”

  “Yes, but you’re not filming it.”

  “How about out the windows while we’re flying?” Jessie countered, making the request sound entirely reasonable.

  “You sure about this?” Ash asked Easton. “I’m exhausted, and I’ve been around them for less than fifteen seconds.”

  “I don’t know. They’re growing on me.”

  “Fine, they can film out the window. And that’s it.” Ash frowned at him. “I’m not a human scale, but that doesn’t look like the agreed upon gear weight.”

  Confused, Easton turned around to find their gear pile had grown while his back was turned. Not a little. A lot.

  River followed his gaze. “From the expression I think is on your face beneath all the bristly parts, I feel like you’re not happy.”

  No, he definitely wasn’t. Easton couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this ticked off at a client.

  “We did a gear check, River.” He glared down at the offending pile. “This wasn’t part of it.”

  “You didn’t expect a camera crew filming an ascent of a mountain not to bring their filming equipment, did you?”

  “You didn’t expect to sneak all this filming equipment into your packs without my knowing, did you?”

  Easton never had to close his eyes and count to ten twice in one day. So far, it hadn’t worked for him, and he was rather disillusioned with the whole process. When his eyes opened again, he was as frustrated as he’d been before he’d counted, only now he had a pair of bright blue eyes narrowed at him.

  “You did not take another time out.”

  Teeth grinding, Easton heard his jaw creak.

  “Listen here, big guy. These are my people, and I’m not going to let you belittle them. We might not look like much, but we are more than capable of accomplishing this. Including carrying our equipment.”

  Inhaling a deep breath, Easton didn’t take a third time out. However, he did look this woman in the eyes, holding her gaze and refusing to back down.

  Whisky. She reminded him of Fireball whisky…sweet and smooth but spicy and strong as hell. Trouble bottled up and far too tempting to reach for. Liable to burn him up from the inside out.

  River planted her hands on her hips, considering her equipment. “We’ll leave the booms behind. And some of the lighting. The rest we can split up among us.”

  “Even doing that, it’s too much weight. I can’t back down on this one, River. You have to lighten the load.”

  “I can’t afford to. If we can’t film, there’s no point in going up there.”

  With a curse, Easton stomped away from her. River stood her ground, waiting until he turned and came back.

  “Fine.
I’ll call in an extra guide to help share the load.”

  When River opened her mouth to protest, Easton cut her off. “Extra guide or we’re going home. And you’re paying for him, not me. Am I making the call or not?”

  Ash watched the exchange, asking, “Are they still growing on you?”

  Easton didn’t dignify that with an answer. River finally nodded, so he walked away to make his call. When he returned, he met her stubborn gaze with one of his own.

  “I’m this close to grounding the entire climb,” Easton told her. “If I can’t trust you, then I have no interest in going up there with you. It’s my life on the line, River. I’m not interested in throwing it away.”

  “You can trust me. I just knew what you’d say about the gear.”

  “Yeah, for good reason. There’s a limit to how much we all can carry, because that’s what’s safe. You’re underestimating what this mountain will throw at you. Not your fault, because you’ve never been up there. I have.” Easton added, “I found a second guide. He’s on his way, but he has to get someone to watch his dog.”

  Ash looked skeptical. “You’re taking Ben?”

  “Ben’s good. I trained him.”

  “Ben’s mediocre, probably because you trained him.” Ash headed back to her helicopter, leaving Easton to face the redhead alone. Watching the exchange seemed to have shifted River’s mood for the better, if the growing smirk on her face was any indicator.

  “Adding Ben to the climb will cost you an extra twenty percent,” he told his client, because it was more mature than tugging her braid or chasing her around the tarmac. The noise that escaped River’s throat was close to a growl. It was cute, even though she had been driving him crazy all morning.

  “You’re running fast and loose with my credit score, Easton.” She narrowed her eyes at him.

  “You’ll live. I’m planning on bringing you back down here in one piece.”

  Moving closer, Easton dipped his head to catch her eye. She frowned, a frown that probably convinced most people to do what she wanted. Easton needed more than a frown from a pretty woman to make a bad decision.

  No, when it came to River, it was when she was smiling at him that he started making all the wrong choices.