Read Online A Boat Made of Bone (The Chthonic Saga) by Nicole Grotepas - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Nicole Grotepas
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out of your league. You’re a princess!”
Kate laughed darkly. She wasn’t. She knew that much. Unless they were talking about princesses like Grace Kelly or Princess Di—chicks who were proactive Mother Theresa types—then princess was not for Kate. She never had Disney princess fantasies growing up. She had planned to be a doctor at one point, when she innocently thought she could stand the sight of blood and the thought of cutting into a person. And then she was going to be a vet, until she realized she couldn’t cut into an animal either. And then she thought an astronaut , because what could go wrong in space? When she saw Apollo 13 with her dad on a random Saturday night, well . . . anyway.
She never aspired to be a princess.
Kate got out of the car. “Let’s go, I’ll be on my best behavior. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll always have you, right?”
“Of course! But only until I get married. And then you’re on your own. That’s just the way these things work,” Audra said, talking to her over the roof of the Subaru. They slammed their doors, grabbed their chalk-bags and climbing shoes out of the back and headed into the gym. Kate took a breath and thanked the heavens that she had a chalk-bag—her hands had sprouted oceans at the thought of seeing Ty again.
Though there were huge industrial size fans blowing loudly inside and though the room was the length of a football field with a climbing wall stretching from one end to the other, chalk dust still hung in the air like they’d just walked into a flour mill or cotton textile factory.
Ty had staked out a spot near the middle of the gym. When he saw Audra, who stood in front of Kate leading the way, he waved them over, smiling but maintaining a casual demeanor. His shirt was off and his muscles bulged in his chest, forearms, and back, like he’d been climbing for a while already. Kate wanted to stare. Instead she looked away, acting casual about things herself. Just because he was totally ripped and beautiful, didn’t mean he was some amazing, nice guy. She’d probably find out he was an ass. Right? She exhaled through her partially closed lips and talked herself into not giving a crap about handsome guys with climber physiques.
They waltzed over to his spot and set their chalk bags down on the thick crash pad.
“Hey, Audra, Kate,” Ty greeted them. “This is my buddy Malcolm. Call him Mal.”
Malcolm—Kate couldn’t bring herself to shorten it—looked familiar. He wasn’t as bulky or pumped as Ty. He had that lean, toned build of the classic rock climber, she though as she sat down on the edge of the crash pad and slipped her flip-flops off and put on her climbing shoes.
“Oh right, Malcolm, you own the place, don’t you,” Audra said, shaking his hand and beaming a smile at him.
Malcolm jerked his head to the side, a half smile crawling up one cheek. He thumbed his nose like a boxer, leaving a chalk mark there, but didn’t seem to realize it. “Yeah. I just got back from a month-long climbing trip in Japan,” he said. Kate held her breath, waiting for him to launch into a litany of stories detailing how cool he was for traveling to world-class bouldering spots and owning a climbing gym. But before he could, he went cross-eyed, noticing the chalk on the side of his nose. He walked over to where his shirt was on the bouldering pad, picked it up, and wiped the smudge away.
Audra and Kate exchanged a glance, muffling their laughter.
***
Ty was phenomenal on the wall. Kate relaxed on the crash pad and watched him for a while. He was like a ballet dancer the way he scaled the routes, setting up some of the hardest ones Kate had ever seen. Along with Malcolm and one other guy, they taped out problems—specific climbing routes—for the gym and gave them ratings when they were done mapping one. Ty and Kate exchanged a few words here and there, but mostly he acted like she didn’t matter—reserving his friendliest chatter for
Kate laughed darkly. She wasn’t. She knew that much. Unless they were talking about princesses like Grace Kelly or Princess Di—chicks who were proactive Mother Theresa types—then princess was not for Kate. She never had Disney princess fantasies growing up. She had planned to be a doctor at one point, when she innocently thought she could stand the sight of blood and the thought of cutting into a person. And then she was going to be a vet, until she realized she couldn’t cut into an animal either. And then she thought an astronaut , because what could go wrong in space? When she saw Apollo 13 with her dad on a random Saturday night, well . . . anyway.
She never aspired to be a princess.
Kate got out of the car. “Let’s go, I’ll be on my best behavior. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll always have you, right?”
“Of course! But only until I get married. And then you’re on your own. That’s just the way these things work,” Audra said, talking to her over the roof of the Subaru. They slammed their doors, grabbed their chalk-bags and climbing shoes out of the back and headed into the gym. Kate took a breath and thanked the heavens that she had a chalk-bag—her hands had sprouted oceans at the thought of seeing Ty again.
Though there were huge industrial size fans blowing loudly inside and though the room was the length of a football field with a climbing wall stretching from one end to the other, chalk dust still hung in the air like they’d just walked into a flour mill or cotton textile factory.
Ty had staked out a spot near the middle of the gym. When he saw Audra, who stood in front of Kate leading the way, he waved them over, smiling but maintaining a casual demeanor. His shirt was off and his muscles bulged in his chest, forearms, and back, like he’d been climbing for a while already. Kate wanted to stare. Instead she looked away, acting casual about things herself. Just because he was totally ripped and beautiful, didn’t mean he was some amazing, nice guy. She’d probably find out he was an ass. Right? She exhaled through her partially closed lips and talked herself into not giving a crap about handsome guys with climber physiques.
They waltzed over to his spot and set their chalk bags down on the thick crash pad.
“Hey, Audra, Kate,” Ty greeted them. “This is my buddy Malcolm. Call him Mal.”
Malcolm—Kate couldn’t bring herself to shorten it—looked familiar. He wasn’t as bulky or pumped as Ty. He had that lean, toned build of the classic rock climber, she though as she sat down on the edge of the crash pad and slipped her flip-flops off and put on her climbing shoes.
“Oh right, Malcolm, you own the place, don’t you,” Audra said, shaking his hand and beaming a smile at him.
Malcolm jerked his head to the side, a half smile crawling up one cheek. He thumbed his nose like a boxer, leaving a chalk mark there, but didn’t seem to realize it. “Yeah. I just got back from a month-long climbing trip in Japan,” he said. Kate held her breath, waiting for him to launch into a litany of stories detailing how cool he was for traveling to world-class bouldering spots and owning a climbing gym. But before he could, he went cross-eyed, noticing the chalk on the side of his nose. He walked over to where his shirt was on the bouldering pad, picked it up, and wiped the smudge away.
Audra and Kate exchanged a glance, muffling their laughter.
***
Ty was phenomenal on the wall. Kate relaxed on the crash pad and watched him for a while. He was like a ballet dancer the way he scaled the routes, setting up some of the hardest ones Kate had ever seen. Along with Malcolm and one other guy, they taped out problems—specific climbing routes—for the gym and gave them ratings when they were done mapping one. Ty and Kate exchanged a few words here and there, but mostly he acted like she didn’t matter—reserving his friendliest chatter for
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