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.He d been watching the footage of his own fall.From what she could tell, his support crew was acouple of hours into trying to get him help.She could see the dark speck he made on the mountain,hear the helicopter from which they were filming and the frantic discussion going on between thecameraman and the pilot.She could also feel the tremendous concern, the sheer urgency of thesituation.According to the stopwatch on the screen, whoever held the camera had been filming fortwo hours and forty-four minutes, but rescuers hadn t yet been able to reach Brandon on that steepslope.How long did he have to lie there, in a crumpled heap, waiting? She d never thought about that.She d seen the same clip as everyone else the part where he lost control and tumbled like a rag dolldown the cliff, hitting rocks and trees along the way but not this extended version.This wasn t forpublic consumption.She hadn t even considered how hard it would be for emergency help to get tohim or how it must ve felt for him to lie there suffering.It was a miracle they d been able to rescuehim at all. Are you wondering how you survived? she asked.He scratched his head as he relaxed into his seat. I m wondering how I screwed up so badly, howI put myself in that position in the first place. You re good at what you do, Brandon, but& anyone can make a mistake.Especially on a slopelike that. He took the remote and snapped off the TV as if he couldn t bear to see any more, and she frowned as she studied his leg. I hope you re really going backpacking across Nicaragua in two weeksbecause, if I remember right, I was invited to join you. I ll take you next summer. He shifted so he could remove the ice packs on his leg. So that invitation it was just a fake? Nudging his hands away, she stripped off the packs. Sort of.I have to leave town, but I won t be doing any backpacking. Where are you going? Obviously uncomfortable revealing this information, he cleared his throat. There s a doctor inEurope.Thinks he can fix my leg. He motioned to a small refrigerator in the corner near the wet bar. The packs go in there. Apparently sitting up with his leg in a brace wasn t an unusual occurrence. You need anotheroperation? she asked as she opened the fridge. At least one, he answered. In order to regain full range of motion, it might take more. And you re not telling anyone because& Velcro rasped as he removed the brace and set it beside his chair. I can t risk losing my sponsors.If they think I ll no longer be a force in the industry, they ll sign someone else. I see. She folded her arms. And you haven t told anyone here at home because you re afraid wemight leak the truth to the press? Figured if I m going to lie, I might as well be consistent among all my friends. What about your family? What family? Your mother loves you, Brandon. And she loves Bob and Kyle and will soon have a grandbaby.I m a big boy.I ve made mydecision and I ll live with the results.There s no need to worry her. How many times had his parents warned him not to take the risks he took? That s gallant of you.Ithink.Except, if I was your mother, I m pretty sure I d want to know. I ve considered that.But if I tell her, I essentially tell my stepfather, too, and I don t want to hearhim say, I told you so. I especially don t want to put up with having him act as if I deserve this. She could understand his feelings.She d heard Bob expound on the subject of Brandon and hischoice of career before, when she was at the Housemans with Kyle.At the time, she d agreed withhim.Now she felt& torn.She wanted Brandon to be happy, wanted to see him excel at what he loved.She just didn t want him to lose his life chasing the next adrenaline rush. I heard the condescending way he was talking to you tonight. Groggy from sleep and possibly thepainkiller, he seemed a little out of it, so she helped him to his feet. Let s get you to bed. My stepfather is a pain in the ass, he grumbled, but he settled an arm over her shoulders so hecould take some of the pressure off his bad leg.She decided it was better not to comment on that, since she d once been sympathetic to Bob sfrustrations where Brandon was concerned. Back to Nicaragua. Are you sorry the trip s off? I m wondering why you invited me to go at all. Wishful thinking. An adventure like that had sounded nice.It still did. And I knew you d refuse, he added.He also knew it made a great cover, a believable cover, for the length of time he d be gone.Shehad to hand it to him, he was good at hiding the problem.Until he d winced earlier, she d never evensuspected. And if I hadn t? she asked. You could come to Europe with me, travel around while I recuperate as long as you stop by tosee me once in a while [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.He d been watching the footage of his own fall.From what she could tell, his support crew was acouple of hours into trying to get him help.She could see the dark speck he made on the mountain,hear the helicopter from which they were filming and the frantic discussion going on between thecameraman and the pilot.She could also feel the tremendous concern, the sheer urgency of thesituation.According to the stopwatch on the screen, whoever held the camera had been filming fortwo hours and forty-four minutes, but rescuers hadn t yet been able to reach Brandon on that steepslope.How long did he have to lie there, in a crumpled heap, waiting? She d never thought about that.She d seen the same clip as everyone else the part where he lost control and tumbled like a rag dolldown the cliff, hitting rocks and trees along the way but not this extended version.This wasn t forpublic consumption.She hadn t even considered how hard it would be for emergency help to get tohim or how it must ve felt for him to lie there suffering.It was a miracle they d been able to rescuehim at all. Are you wondering how you survived? she asked.He scratched his head as he relaxed into his seat. I m wondering how I screwed up so badly, howI put myself in that position in the first place. You re good at what you do, Brandon, but& anyone can make a mistake.Especially on a slopelike that. He took the remote and snapped off the TV as if he couldn t bear to see any more, and she frowned as she studied his leg. I hope you re really going backpacking across Nicaragua in two weeksbecause, if I remember right, I was invited to join you. I ll take you next summer. He shifted so he could remove the ice packs on his leg. So that invitation it was just a fake? Nudging his hands away, she stripped off the packs. Sort of.I have to leave town, but I won t be doing any backpacking. Where are you going? Obviously uncomfortable revealing this information, he cleared his throat. There s a doctor inEurope.Thinks he can fix my leg. He motioned to a small refrigerator in the corner near the wet bar. The packs go in there. Apparently sitting up with his leg in a brace wasn t an unusual occurrence. You need anotheroperation? she asked as she opened the fridge. At least one, he answered. In order to regain full range of motion, it might take more. And you re not telling anyone because& Velcro rasped as he removed the brace and set it beside his chair. I can t risk losing my sponsors.If they think I ll no longer be a force in the industry, they ll sign someone else. I see. She folded her arms. And you haven t told anyone here at home because you re afraid wemight leak the truth to the press? Figured if I m going to lie, I might as well be consistent among all my friends. What about your family? What family? Your mother loves you, Brandon. And she loves Bob and Kyle and will soon have a grandbaby.I m a big boy.I ve made mydecision and I ll live with the results.There s no need to worry her. How many times had his parents warned him not to take the risks he took? That s gallant of you.Ithink.Except, if I was your mother, I m pretty sure I d want to know. I ve considered that.But if I tell her, I essentially tell my stepfather, too, and I don t want to hearhim say, I told you so. I especially don t want to put up with having him act as if I deserve this. She could understand his feelings.She d heard Bob expound on the subject of Brandon and hischoice of career before, when she was at the Housemans with Kyle.At the time, she d agreed withhim.Now she felt& torn.She wanted Brandon to be happy, wanted to see him excel at what he loved.She just didn t want him to lose his life chasing the next adrenaline rush. I heard the condescending way he was talking to you tonight. Groggy from sleep and possibly thepainkiller, he seemed a little out of it, so she helped him to his feet. Let s get you to bed. My stepfather is a pain in the ass, he grumbled, but he settled an arm over her shoulders so hecould take some of the pressure off his bad leg.She decided it was better not to comment on that, since she d once been sympathetic to Bob sfrustrations where Brandon was concerned. Back to Nicaragua. Are you sorry the trip s off? I m wondering why you invited me to go at all. Wishful thinking. An adventure like that had sounded nice.It still did. And I knew you d refuse, he added.He also knew it made a great cover, a believable cover, for the length of time he d be gone.Shehad to hand it to him, he was good at hiding the problem.Until he d winced earlier, she d never evensuspected. And if I hadn t? she asked. You could come to Europe with me, travel around while I recuperate as long as you stop by tosee me once in a while [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]