“He just told you,” I said slowly, hoping she’d recognize how ridiculous she was being.

“Well, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hurt.”

“I hope you didn’t say that to Nathan.”

“Of course not. I’m telling you. We’re different.”

“We’re not though.”

Frankie met my eyes and gave me a sympathetic frown.

“Look, I’ve got to go.”

“Wait!” she cried. “Have you bought tickets to come visit yet?”

“I’m starting a new job, Mom. It’ll have to wait. I’ll call you back.”

I hung up before she could say anything else.

“A bit cold,” Frankie said, and I cringed.

“You should hear the other end of the conversation. She’s impossible.”

“But she loves you,” Frankie pointed out.

“She drives me insane.”

“I still think you should talk to her. Maybe you can work through your childhood and get to a better place⁠—”

I interrupted her by reaching over the bar and grabbing her neck, pulling her to me for a quick kiss. “Got to run. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Okay.” I could see the disapproval written all over her face. Here I was, yet again, running from a conversation. Frankie didn’t understand how maddening my mother could be. She wouldn’t take any responsibility for driving a wedge between Nathan and me. I would rather not deal with it. Maybe pushing her away wasn’t healthy, but it was easy.

My arm flexed as my fingers held on to the small hole on the side of the rock. I was only about six feet in the air, but it always felt higher without a rope.

“To your right,” Giles called from underneath me.

“Got it,” I said, moving my hand to the hold he was calling out. The weight of my bottom half moved too far away from the rock’s edge, and I felt myself slipping.

“Shit,” I mumbled, two seconds before I let myself drop onto the mat we’d set up below.

“That was a good path,” Giles said, smacking my shoulder. “I think if you had caught your foot at the same time you moved holds, you would have gotten there easily.”

“Next time,” I said, flexing my fingers and pulling off my helmet. “Let me give my hands a break.”

Giles nodded. “Man, it’s good to be out here like this. I don’t have anyone else that likes doing this stuff with me.”

“Let’s get as many sessions in as we can,” I said.

“Can’t believe you’re leaving soon. It’s been great having you. You seriously have to come back at the beginning of next season.”

“I’ll be here if you’ll have me,” I said with a grin. It felt like someone else was making the plans. Mentally, I knew future me would be excited to return to Key Ridge for next winter season, but present me couldn’t look past the immediate future.

Giles seemed to sense my shift in thought because he paused before saying, “Mattie thinks Frankie is making a mistake. Leaving.”