Red on the River - Page 41

When they needed money and Vienna suggested that she would get a job at one of the big casinos, Mitzi had told her she’d always had trouble being around large crowds and had developed an aversion to the casinos in particular. In her earlier years, like a lot of the men and women who wanted to put themselves through school, she had gone to work in one. Like most of her explanations, her mother had stopped abruptly and just said an emphatic no. She hadn’t forbidden Vienna exactly, but at the mere mention of the hotel/casinos, Mitzi could have a full-blown panic attack. Vienna respected her wishes and stayed away from them until her mother had gotten cancer and she felt she had no choice.

Coming to the Northern Lights Hotel and Casino had been her first time back in years, and she couldn’t believe how much she had disliked being in the environment. After spending the majority of the last few years outdoors in such a beautiful place as the Eastern Sierras, she almost felt as if she’d been holding her breath the entire time she’d been indoors. She hadn’t even realized how much of a toll it had taken on her being inside for so long, or the stress of dealing with the threats. She inhaled deeply, grateful to be outdoors in the early morning sunrise with her friends, setting up the crash pads at the warm-up boulders where they all could climb.

Once they set their crash pads in place, all of them studied the boulders in order to choose their routes. Vienna stood looking up the rock face for a moment, drawing the fresh air into her lungs before she reached up and felt the warm sandstone. Vienna was a very strong climber with a good head, but she didn’t boulder a lot. She preferred sport climbing, but this softer sandstone with lots of holds was very fun to warm up on. She quickly topped out several of the V0s along the trail, and it wasn’t long before she was feeling pretty excited to try something a little more challenging. She made her way over to another boulder nearby that was just past the warm-ups. There were a couple V1s and a V2 that she wanted to try. Boulder problems were rated with a standard V scale from V0 to V15 or above, with VB meaning basic.

Stella helped her arrange the pads and offered to spot her. The climb she picked started from the left and topped out at the center of the boulder. After making sure the pads were in a good position, Vienna stepped up to the start holds. The moment she did, her mind was clear and focused. Everything disappeared but the problem she faced climbing the slightly overhung boulder. She grabbed the start holds and quickly heel hooked the outside wall of the boulder with her right foot. The pressure allowed her to keep from swinging out and made it easier to reach up with her right hand. She then found a good toe with her left to take pressure off the heel hook, and this allowed her to move it over to a new hold. She continued a repetitive pattern of heel hooking and reaching for holds as she moved left toward the center of the boulder. She then had to hold body tension as she took her heel off and repositioned her feet to go for the top jug.

The moment she grabbed the good hold she felt joy rush into her. She had it. She got her right foot up high and rocked over it to get on top of the boulder. She could hear Stella telling her good job and felt the warm sun on her face. It was the best feeling, and she decided to sit on top of the boulder for a bit to bask in it a little longer. After a little while she saw Harlow making her way toward them.

“You should try this one, Harlow, it’s really fun!”

Vienna hurried down the other side of the boulder to be a spotter. Harlow was tall, and although Stella and Raine were both excellent at spotting, Vienna knew she had superior capabilities. She took the position seriously. A spotter needed to ensure the climber’s head was protected in a fall first, and secondly his or her spine. When Vienna was spotting, she was wholly focused on the climber, her gaze fixed on the belt line. That way, she knew if that portion of the anatomy was dropping fast, there was no mistake, the climber was coming off the rock and she had to guide the fall.

Harlow studied the boulder and then chose a different route, a V4 with a standing start. She moved up the rock tentatively, and Vienna willed her to keep going. Several times she paused, her hips pressed against the boulder. Stella stepped close and called out instructions in a calm voice, encouraging her, telling her she could do it. That she had it.

Vienna stayed quiet, concentrating on Harlow’s body language, not on the climb itself. It was her responsibility to make certain Harlow wasn’t injured if she fell. Stella and the others could give Harlow the necessary reassurance to keep climbing.

Harlow came off the boulder several times, but landed on her feet without any help or guidance from Vienna. She simply looked up at the boulder, studying the rock with even more determination, and then started again. That was Harlow. She never gave up. The others gathered around, encouraging her. Cheering her on. Eventually, Harlow made it to the top, and Vienna was able to drop her arms. She’d had to move position twice, but she’d marked each position ahead of time and knew exactly what she would do if Harlow fell as she moved up the boulder.

She cheered with the others as she rubbed at her arms, genuinely happy that Harlow had made the climb. Harlow was getting better and better at bouldering and seemed to be enjoying it more. Vienna knew she preferred trad climbing. Climbers came from all over the world to take on the famous boulders just outside the town of Knightly. The iconic boulders were considered world-class climbs, and there was something for everyone no matter their climbing experience.

Vienna took out her water bottle. She looked around as she drank. The sun was up and four more climbers had come along the trail. The warm-ups were located right on the trail, and the other climbers heading toward other boulders were walking close to the boulder Harlow had been climbing. She thought perhaps they were making their way to a popular boulder called Monkey Bar. She called out to them and gave a friendly wave.

Two of the climbers looked up, smiling, returning her greeting and waving back. The other two continued on without so much as glancing her way. That was unusual behavior in the climbing world. As a rule, climbers were very friendly toward one another. They shared beta—information—on routes and helped one another out when possible. The two who hadn’t looked up had ball caps pulled low over their faces, shielding their eyes, and neither carried crash pads with them. One had a daypack while the other didn’t.

“Not very friendly,” she observed to Stella.

“I noticed,” Stella said. “Could be having a bad day.”

“Or they’re day hikers and were totally absorbed in their conversation.” Shabina excused their lack of good manners.

“They weren’t wearing hiking shoes,” Raine pointed out. “One had on running shoes and the other loafers.”

“That explains a lot,” Vienna said. “Definitely not climbers. The other two were. Maybe they were going to get instruction.”

“Or maybe they weren’t even together,” Harlow ventured.

Vienna took another sip of water and turned back to see Zahra studying the boulder. Little Zahra standing under five feet. Everyone in their group loved her. She was funny and kind and extremely intelligent. She also ran the local hospital. Without her, the facility would probably have folded a long time ago, but she had managed to find ways to raise large amounts of money through fundraisers and by acquiring grants and getting enormous donations. They had up-to-date equipment and could afford to pay their doctors and nurses a good enough salary to keep them. Zahra worked very hard for the hospital. Their trauma unit was vital and the first place they could stabilize victims of accidents from skiing, climbing or any of the other multitude of sports available in the Sierras.

Zahra might complain and say everything was difficult, but she always went with them, hiking trails and climbing boulders, even if trad climbing—which she excelled at—was her favorite thing to do. If she couldn’t hike the long trails due to work, she always volunteered to resupply them. She had lost her dog, Elara, who she ran with twice a day, and all of them knew she still grieved for the little half Pyrenean Shepherd, half unknown breed.

All of them were keeping an eye out for a rescue or an accident that had a dog close to the same type that they could surprise her with. She’d stopped running on her own, and when they got together with their dogs, she always looked sad. Shabina’s dogs seemed to know it and always went to her, practically sitting in her lap, which made her laugh. Shabina had Dobermans and they were extremely large. Sitting on Zahra and resting their heads on her usually trapped her wherever she was.

Zahra was about to climb another VB when Stella stopped her. “You need to climb something harder than that. You’ve already climbed so many VBs. Get on something harder. You’re so strong. You could climb a V3 easily. At least try this V1 instead.” She pointed to a crimpy climb that went up the middle of the rock face.

Zahra nearly always waited for them to finish bouldering and then talked them into climbing with rope. Vienna knew Stella and Raine really had an aversion to rope, but they did it anyway because they loved Zahra and she nearly always came bouldering with them.

Tags: Christine Feehan Romance
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