The Sister Between Them

Chapter 37

Rocco was up long before the sun the following day. The house was still and so quiet it would seem no one was there if not for the scattered dishes on the counter.

He heard the bathroom door softly close from down the hallway and assumed it was Dani. Lexi was pretty sauced last night, and Dante was still up and going at it when Rocco went to bed. Strange being in a house small enough to hear each other moving around, not a bad strange either. 

Rocco worked on getting the cabin cleaned and in order and packed up a cooler as Dani got ready. He already had two thermoses of coffee ready to go, along with some energy bars for a quick start. It would be a long day and climb, but he was really looking forward to it. He scribbled a quick note for Lexi and Dante, thanking them for caring for Gavin and leaving some cash in case they wanted to go to town for lunch.

Dani emerged from the shower just as he was picking everything up. She tied her long hair back into a braid and wore a pair of black shiny leggings and a loose-fitted white tank top. As usual, her natural beauty nearly took his breath away. 

"Ready for this?" he asked with a playful smirk.

"Born ready," she replied in a cheeky tone. "But first, coffee."

"We'll have to drink it on the way. This is going to be a long climb." He thrust one of the thermoses towards her, and she took it gratefully.

"Then we better get a move on, Romano." She said in a teasing tone as she slipped out the door.

"Right behind you, Valentine." He followed behind her and had to avert his eyes from her shapely butt in those very tight pants. 

**

Several hours later, the morning was long behind them, and they were well on their way up the summit. Dani was making great pace and seemed to be enjoying herself. They chatted most of the morning and stopped for a quick lunch a while ago, only to get right back to it afterward.

They fell into silence as they continued the climb. Both were lost in their thoughts. Rocco didn't mind the quiet. It was a rarity these days with a three-year-old. It felt comfortable walking beside her, each focusing on what they were symbolically leaving behind them.

He thought about everything from the day Alyssa came storming into his life, changing it forever. He didn't regret it. Never would. She gave him the greatest gift a person could ever ask for,  and if given the chance to go back and do it again he would. He would not for one moment entertain life without Gavin in it. 

 What he did regret was the unrealistic view he had of her back then. Looking back, the memories all seemed so disingenuous now. Every seductive word spoken felt hollow in retrospect. Every passionate display is intentional and manipulated. Alyssa was always the narcissist she is now; he just had blinders on. He didn't see it then, but he did now.  

The efforts he put into it, was time he wasted, when he and Gavin should have been moving on.

Every step up the mountain felt like one more step further away from her, and it felt good. Great even. He kept forging despite the sweat beads starting to multiply on his forehead and the ache in the back of his thighs. He noticed Dani falling behind and slowed his pace so she could catch up.

"Need a break?" he asked in a breathy voice seeing her flushed cheeks and damp hairline.

"No, we're almost there." She said, looking up ahead at the summit in the distance. "Let's keep going."

He almost gave her a little quip about how impressive she was, but the seriousness in her face stopped him. She was still in her thoughts, and he didn't want to intrude on her moment.