When Alpha finally closed his eyes, Pappy got up, his legs stiff and sore. He was getting too old for this stuff. He walked into his bedroom and straight to the bottom drawer of his dresser. He reached in and brought out a filmy Hermès scarf he’d given Adrian one year on her birthday. She wore it constantly. He brought it up to his cheek, the scent of strawberries faint and sweet. It was time to let it go. His shoulders felt a hundred pounds lighter when he burned the scarf in the fireplace.

When he was dressed, he debated taking the flight suit from Alpha but thought better of the idea. He would lie and tell Sam he’d left it in the forest. Alpha needed it more than Sam needed it. Or was he the one who needed it?

Outside in the bright sunshine, he walked to the dining hall. He needed a good strong cup of his father’s coffee. Another stupid lie. He needed his father.

In the stainless-steel kitchen, Pappy poured himself a cup of coffee. He perched on one of the stools and looked across the workstation at his father. “Aren’t you going to ask how it went, Pop?”

“I already know, son. This time around, I think you have a good team. I wasn’t sorry to see those nine go. There wasn’t one of them that appreciated the excellent food I prepare. They were hamburger and hot dog material.” That was how Kyros summed up all the recruits who’d come to the mountain over the years. Sometimes he would be more explicit by saying none of them appreciated goat cheese and most of them didn’t know a shiitake mushroom from a toadstool.

Pappy laughed. “I think you’re right, Pop. They work as a team. Today proved that. There’s no ego there, but they have some kind of agenda that’s all their own. I’d give anything to know what it is. It could interfere with our plans here on the mountain.”

“Why don’t you try asking?” Kyros said slyly. “I see the way you look at the one named Sam. Make it work for you, son. Whatever you do, stop comparing her to Adrian.”

“Did you get over Mom, just like that?”

“No. No, I didn’t, and that was a mistake on my part. I don’t want to see the same thing happen to you that happened to me. Lay it all to rest and move on. I’m thinking, if you play your cards right, you might get another chance at the brass ring.”

Pappy eyed his father over his coffee cup. “I’ll give it some thought, Pop.”

Chapter Nine

The blistering-hot, muggy days of summer had long since given way to autumn and glorious foliage on the mountain. Autumn in turn had slid away to an early winter with almost daily snow flurries.