Page 54 of The CEO and the Mountain Man

I grabbed the net, even as I pressed my erection between his cheeks.

Taking the net, he snagged the fish and turned to face me. “Life imitates art,” he murmured with a smirk.

Grr.

I yanked out my T-shirt and tugged it over the front of my jeans while promising to make him pay for that little trick.

“Nice catch,” said Colt as he pulled out the frying pan.

Clark grinned, looking proud. “Thanks!”

His fish was big enough to feed half the party, and he bragged about his elite fishing skills to anyone who would listen. He was mostly joking, of course, which had everyone, including Jake, laughing by the end of it.

Well, everyone but River.

He went quiet as he and Miguel took over lunch prep. Miguel tried to get him to talk, but River seemed to shut down entirely. Folded in on himself.

Clark was close to tears when everyone was packing up for the return trip.

“You okay?” I asked softly.

He sniffed and dashed at the few tears that’d managed to slip past his eyes.

“I chatted with my therapist for a few minutes after you left. You know, updates about how things had been going. Grateful, for once, to be going to her with good news.”

“I’m sure she was happy to hear it.”

“Yes, but she was also quick to warn me that my son’s grief hadn’t gone anywhere. And not to take it personally if he fell back into a little bit of a depression.”

“Sounds reasonable.” One look at Clark’s miserable face told me that her advice hadn’t stuck. “Though, even if you don’t take it personally, it’s still really hard to see your son in pain.”

“It’sawful. And I can’t do a thing except be here for him. As worthless as that is.”

“Hey.” By this point, we’d wandered near the tree line, so I took him by his shoulders. “The way you support your son isnotworthless. You were telling me just last night that you hadn’t seen him smile at all in six months, and he’s been laughing.”

“He’s not laughing now.” Clark nudged a rock with the toe of his boot.

“But now you know he can get back to that feeling. Even if he gets taken down by his grief, you both now know that laughter is possible.”

“I hope so.”

“Iknowso.”

His eyes, red and puffy, met mine. “Yeah?”

I winked. “Been working with all kinds of kids for a long time. None of what I’m seeing from him is uncharted or extreme territory.” I lifted a shoulder. “Something probably reminded him of his mom—the view, the sky, the water—and it made him sad.”

“You’re right.” Clark sniffled. “It’s the water. Her family’s from Bend, Oregon, over by the Deschutes River.”

“Is that why y’all named him River? Because rivers are important to your family?”

Clark nodded. “In part. Also, River’s grandmother was a huge fan of River Phoenix and cried for days after he died.”

“It’s a beautiful name.” A thought occurred to me, so I asked, “Did y’all ever do any river rafting?”

“Yeah. We’d go to the family-friendly areas.” Clark gave a half-smile. “Riv always thought it was funny when I fell in the water.”

“I bet you fell in the water a lot.”