Already, he was reading the route, decoding the puzzle, figuring out individual moves. He could climb left of the roof, but no, he would not avoid the crux. He would face the obstacle and crank it. A deceptive 5.6, pitch three demanded more skill than less-experienced climbers realized. He strode past the large flake to the right and arrived at the base of the climb. He cracked his knuckles and stared up at the rock. No doubt, no thought except for one: I can do this.
I will be forever grateful to my amazing editor, Emily, for suggesting I add a scene with Will on the rock face. I'd done a ton of research on climbing, but am terrified of heights. Working on this chapter took everything about Will to a deeper level. Figuring out the choreography with a climber was tons of fun.
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