Kate Hoffmann – The Mighty Quinns: Eli (страница 2)
The two boys eyed Eli warily as he approached them, but Eli was used to making new friends. “Hi,” he said.
“Hi,” the boys said in tandem.
“I’m Eli.”
“I’m Rogan,” one of them said. “And that’s my twin brother, Ryan.”
They spoke with a strange accent to their words, much like Maxwell. It made it difficult to understand them, but not impossible. They’d just invited him to play on the merry-go-round with them when Eli heard his mother call him. He glanced in her direction and saw her motioning to him. Eli gave the boys an apologetic smile and shrugged. “I guess I gotta go,” he said. “’Bye.”
When he reached his mother, she took his hand in hers and pulled him quickly toward the car she’d rented. “Why are we leaving?” Eli asked.
“We don’t belong here,” she murmured. “We need to go home.”
He looked back at the boys and gave them a wave. It must be nice to have brothers, Eli thought to himself.
But that wasn’t for him. He was an only child, and always would be.
Present
ELI MONTGOMERY DROPPED his pack on the floor next to the door then stretched his arms above his head, working the kinks out of his neck and shoulders. He’d been traveling for nearly three days and his body and mind were completely exhausted. Now that he was home, all he wanted was a hot shower and a comfortable bed.
“Home” had been a lot of different places over his childhood and adult years. But right now, the closest thing he had to it was a small apartment he kept over his mother’s outdoor outfitting store in Stone Creek, Colorado.
Annalise Montgomery owned a bungalow in town, but she’d bought that just a few years ago, long after he’d needed to reside under his mother’s roof. His apartment was rent-free, large enough to store all his outdoor equipment and a permanent address for the occasional paycheck he collected. What more could a guy want?
“May I help you find something?” A pretty young salesclerk approached him with a bright smile pasted on her face. She was new.
“I’m fine,” he said. “Is Annalise working today?”
“I’m afraid she’s not here right now. Is there something I can help you with?”
“Nope,” Eli said. “Do you know where she is?”
“That’s really none of your business,” the girl said.
He peered down at her name tag. “Vanessa?” Eli held out his hand. “I’m Eli. Annalise’s son.”
A tiny gasp slipped from her lips and her cheeks turned scarlet. “Oh, dear. I’m so sorry. I—I should have recognized you. She has a picture of you on her desk. You’re very...handsome. Even with the beard.”
Eli ran his fingers through his shoulder-length hair and smiled apologetically. He hadn’t shaved in two months and his last haircut had been months ago.
“I’ll just give her a call,” Vanessa said. “And let her know you’re here. She’s over at The Gorge.”
“The Gorge?”
“The new ski resort that Mr. Baskill is building.”
“What’s she doing over there? Still protesting?”
Vanessa bit her bottom lip. “Not anymore. Actually, she and Mr. Baskill have been...”
“Been?”
“I guess you could say they’ve been...hooking up?”
Eli frowned. His mother’s behavior rarely surprised him, but this did. Last he’d spoken to his mother, she’d been spending every minute of her free time protesting against Baskill and his land-grabbing plan to build a new ski resort near Stone Creek.
Eli cleared his throat. “My mother is hooking up with Richard Baskill?” She’d called the guy a dangerous mix of Darth Vader and Donald Trump. And now, just a few weeks later, she was sleeping with him?
“I’m going to go give her a call,” Vanessa said. “I’m sure she’ll want to come right over.” She hurried off, then quickly returned to him. “Can I get you something to drink? We have a very nice organic elderberry tea. Or you can try a sample of the new E-66 sport drink that your mother is endorsing. Although, now that I think about it, it’s supposed to replace estrogen in postmenopausal women so maybe not.”
“I’m fine for now,” Eli said. “I’m just going to pick out something to wear from the rack here and then I’m headed upstairs to grab a shower and shave.” She gave him a blank look. “I live in the apartment upstairs.”
“Oh, that’s you?” She winced. “We’ve been storing some stock up there, so forgive the mess. I’ll make sure to get it cleaned up tomorrow.” She sent him another nervous smile. “Just leave the tags from the clothes on the counter.”
He and his mother had never had a very traditional relationship. She’d raised him on her own, and Eli hadn’t known who his father was until he was fifteen. Even then, he’d never been able to talk to the man. Maxwell Quinn, a noted mountain climber and adventure guide, had died on Everest when Eli was eight. But it hardly mattered. To Eli, he was nothing more than a name on the back of a faded photo.
After Eli’s birth, Annalise had stayed home for a few years, attempting to accept a traditional role as the mother of a toddler. But the moment he was toilet trained, Annalise continued her adventuring, leaving Eli in the care of his grandmother, Trudie Montgomery, or his grandfather, Buck Garrison.
His grandparents’ lives were just as nontraditional as his mother’s. Buck had never married Trudie, and after the brief affair that produced Eli’s mother, they each took up with an odd assortment of lovers. His grandparents tried to give him a normal life—high school, sports, hearty meals and a lot of time spent outdoors.
Eli knew at an early age that his family was different. Trudie had disregarded societal norms and raised her daughter on her own, working any odd job she could find to put food on the table. Annalise had left home at sixteen, dropping out of school to take off with a climber she’d met at a local roadhouse. A few years later, Trudie wandered into the wilderness of the Rockies, built a rustic cabin on the edge of a mountain meadow and never returned to civilization.
She spent the rest of her life writing books about feminist empowerment and a woman’s connection to the natural world, turning herself and her little mountain home into a symbol for independent women throughout the world.
Most of the people around town, however, thought Trudie and Annalise were a bit crazy. There were times when Eli had to agree, although he preferred to think of them both as
Trudie had passed away seven years ago after a valiant battle with breast cancer. After a brief stint in the hospital, she’d returned to her cabin to die. Annalise and Eli had buried her in the meadow, in a coffin Trudie had built herself. After her death, her cabin became a destination for hikers trekking into the Arapaho National Forest and a pilgrimage for women who had admired Trudie’s tenacity and her talent as a writer.
When Eli was home, he often spent time at the cabin, making sure the roof was still sound and the cupboards were stocked in case someone wanted to stay there, or it was needed as an emergency shelter by a lost or injured hiker. Though many other empty cabins had fallen prey to squatters or vandals, Trudie’s cabin, like her memory, had been revered by those who visited, and left untouched.
“Annalise is on her way,” Vanessa called from the far end of the store.
“Thanks,” Eli replied.
He found a pair of cotton cargo pants and a T-shirt on the sale rack. His mother’s shop was a popular stop for tourists, but she still went on climbing expeditions all over the world and led treks for breast cancer survivors, in honor of her mother’s battle for both equality and survival.
Annalise had also founded one of the country’s most successful breast cancer charities. She still served as the face of the group, though she’d never been interested in the day-to-day business workings.
Eli walked to the back of the store, then past his mother’s office to a narrow stairway. When he got upstairs, he wove a path through the boxes that littered the hallway, stripping off his travel-worn clothes along the way.
He found a pair of scissors in the kitchen, then made his way to the bathroom. Eli stared at his reflection in the mirror for a long moment. This was the first time he’d been home without an exit strategy already planned. Usually, his visits had an expiration date, a day when he was required to leave so he could make his next adventure. Over the past few years, he’d trekked the Andes, worked a fishing boat in Alaska, hopped a freighter for Taiwan, taught a series of workshops for Outward Bound and helped film a documentary about surfing in Hawaii.
Maybe it was time to reassess his choices in life, Eli mused. Though he’d never wanted a traditional career, he felt as if he ought to be contributing in a more profound way. Both his grandmother and his mother had carved out legacies for themselves. What would his legacy be?
Some guys built powerful careers, and their lives were all about money and accumulating wealth. Others, like politicians, preferred to build their power. Others married and found their legacies in their children. And then there were those that set themselves apart by accomplishing impossible things, like climbing the highest mountain or finding a cure for a fatal disease or pitching a no-hitter.