A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies - Christina Lee Page 0,14

question whether he could even live up to whatever that meant. Because Emerson was probably the best person he knew.

And the way he’d thrown himself into the kiss… So fucking sexy. After ignoring the topic and the tension between them for weeks, Rhys had wanted him so bad that night he thought he might combust. Maybe subconsciously he’d always wanted him. To be fair, Rhys never considered he had a chance—of course he’d buried his attraction long ago. But there had also been the risk of losing his friendship, so he’d kept any inkling of feelings strictly under lock and key.

But Emerson was new to all this, and Rhys needed to proceed with caution. This wasn’t some random hookup, and his track record of relationships was about as good as his mother’s. Neither he nor Emerson had much experience in that department anyway, but that wasn’t what this was about. He was getting ahead of himself, considering all the possibilities even though it scared the hell out of him. He would definitely follow Emerson’s lead. Besides, he didn’t want to hurt Emerson—or be hurt by him once Emerson decided he needed to spread his wings.

He snickered to himself. Since when had Emerson ever spread his wings? Okay, that wasn’t fair. He’d had so much responsibility placed on him at such an early age. Would Rhys have done any better? Unlikely. Besides, he worried enough about his mom’s engagement, which was now going on two years, and her and Carl’s decision to move out of state. Not that she wasn’t an adult, and she did seem happy. Well, mostly. Their bickering had really bothered him, but he knew he was only being protective of his mom. She always gave too much of herself in relationships, and he hated that she sacrificed so much to make someone else happy.

It had only been the two of them for so long—outside the one time when her less than desirable boyfriend moved in and attempted to discipline him—that he felt a pang of worry for her, which was more than likely unfounded.

Refocusing on the climb, he paused for a moment and watched Jill scaling above him, leaving plenty of distance between them. If by chance she lost her footing, it could cause a chain reaction. He noticed how she looped the line over her leg as a safety precaution to avoid any unnecessary jolting or flipping upside down. He’d do the same when he got higher.

So many things could go wrong, so he didn’t want to take any chances. Even though his mom always suspected he did. He liked the thrill of heights and speed, but he wasn’t stupid or irresponsible. Okay, maybe when he was younger. He was always twisting his ankle or bruising muscles.

Soon enough he got into the right headspace where all his thoughts narrowed down to fingers and footholds and breathing. His heart pumped wildly in his ears as it always did, the adrenaline propelling him to the next position without losing his balance or his nerve. He wheezed with effort as he made it to the crux of the climb, considered the hardest part, and when he raised his head, he could just see the summit ahead.

Suddenly there was a shout from down below that made his body stiffen, and he almost lost his footing. Heart beating out of his chest, he listened more closely to Martin’s stricken voice. “Falling debris, try to take cover.”

He glanced up just as a chunk of rock skirted by Jill and sideswiped his shoulder. Fuck.

He looked all around for someplace to move to out of the debris field, and he noticed Jill doing the same in a panic as her fingers gripped a stone fissure even tighter. If they could just slide more to the right, there was a better foothold until the dust settled. Anything could kick up rocks—the wind, an animal—but he had no time to speculate what was causing this latest mini avalanche.

Just as he opened his mouth to shout his plan to Jill, a larger boulder—or what felt like one coming at that speed—hit him square on the top of his helmet, and he heard it crack right before sudden, dizzying pain seized him. The last thing he remembered was letting go of the side of the mountain and falling.

2

Emerson

“There’s been an accident.”

It was the same feeling all over again, getting the call about Rhys. That tightness in his gut that made Emerson feel like the walls were closing in