Page 39 of Calla's Boys

Chapter Thirty-Three

Jesse

I wake up early, the throbbing in my arms and legs disturbing my sleep. I groan as I slowly force myself to move. I’m glad that Calla is okay, though.

I chuckle and shake my head as I think back to the previous night. I’m pretty sure everyone in a ten-mile-radius probably heard Calla, Clyde, and Doc having their fun.

I was tempted to get up and join them, but it was their time to enjoy being with her. There will be other times, hopefully today, if I’m lucky. To hell with the pain I’m in, if I get to be with Calla, then I’ll just work through it.

Knowing Clyde, he probably would’ve told me to get lost if I’d tried. I wouldn’t have blamed him, though. Yesterday morning with her and Billy was incredible, and they could’ve tried to muscle in on it with us, but didn’t.

I shiver a little in the cold air as I leave the tent. Glancing at my watch, I see that it’s really early still, a little after 5 AM.

It’s already very bright out, probably due to how high up we are and the cloudless sky.

I can see the resort from where we are, and the rolling, beautiful landscape stretching out to the horizon.

Though the journey up here was far from smooth, it was definitely worth taking.

Billy is still asleep in the tent, and judging by the lack of sound coming from the other tent, the guys and Calla are as well.

I get the view to myself for now, and I quietly sit and watch as the sun slowly rises, illuminating the far-off lakes with different shades of color and light.

When I eventually hear the sounds of the others beginning to wake up, I move over to the camping stove and start working on getting it lit and water boiled for coffee. There was a jar ofinstant in the bag Clyde brought along, and a carton of that long-life milk.

When the water starts boiling, I set it to one side with the lid still on to keep it hot, and I set the small frying pan on top of the stove to heat up,drizzling a little oil into it to cook our breakfast.

I’ve essentially become the designated chef for this camping trip, but I don’t mind. I’m already awake, so it just makes sense for me to get breakfast started—and since Billy looked a bit unsure of where to begin with cooking dinner yesterday, I just took over.

Once the oil has started to spit a little, I carefully cut and drop some of that sausage meat and slices of cured bacon into the pan.

“Mmm, what smells so good?” I hear from behind me.

I turn and almost gasp at the sight of Calla standing there, framed in the rising sunlight like some kind of angel.

I smile at her and turn back to the food. “Breakfast. Sausage and bacon sandwiches. There’s bread and butter in the bag there if you want to help? There’s also hot water if you want coffee.”

“Sounds delicious. I’ll help, but first I definitely need a cup of coffee.”

I chuckle at her enthusiasm, and we quietly get to work.

The rest of the guys eventually surface, and we all sit down to eat. Calla scoffs down her food with as much gusto as the rest of us do.

“What’s the plan for the day?” Billy asks, sipping from his mug of coffee.

“I think we should head back down. Yesterday was a bit of a disaster on the way up here. I don’t know if we should risk going any farther with two of us injured and Calla suffering from altitude sickness,” Doc says.

“Calla wants to go to the top,” Clyde says, and I pause in surprise with my mug halfway to my lips.

“Are you sure?” I ask her with a frown.

She nods. “We’ve come this far, we might as well make it all the way before we head back down to the resort.”

I bite my lip, unsure what to say to that. I agree with her, but I also agree with Doc. Safety is the priority, and I don’t know how well Billy and I can back up the other two if something else goes wrong.

I look up at the peak. It seems so far away still, but it looks doable as well. I want to reach the summit, just to be able to say that I did, but I also want us all to make it back safely.

“If we’re extra careful, I think we can do it,” Calla insists, and Clyde nods in agreement.

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