Flat-Out Matt Read Free

be fun to watch.”
    “Thanks.” Matt dropped his head and fussed with his shoelace. “Thanks, Finn.”
    “What about Celeste? What do you think she’ll do with her life?”
    “Maybe she’ll stick with the piano? Or something else creative. Can’t you picture her as an artist of some sort? We’ll go to her gallery showings and listen to her explain the symbolism found in some bizarre sculpture that she’s spent months forming out of pinecones and zippers.”
    “Totally,” Finn agreed. “It’ll be weird and wonderful.”
    “Yes, it will.”
    “Just like her. Yeah, she’s a little too smart for her own good and not exactly like all of the other kids at her school, but she’s got potential to do something great, too. Something really unique and outstanding. Don’t you think?”
    Matt nodded. “I couldn’t agree more.”
    “Can you imagine her as a teenager?” Finn groaned. “Ugh, it’s only a few years away. That mess of blonde hair is going to have the boys knocking down the front door.”
    “No kidding. We’ll have to set up some sort of security system. I’ll take care of the background checks, and you can rig the booby traps. I’m thinking something to do with nets and pulleys?”
    Finn high-fived Matt. “Deal.”
    “So, you’ll talk to Mom?”
    “Yeah. Don’t worry about anything. I’m going to fix this.”
    “You and your Don’t Worry, I’m a Jedi shirt?” Matt smiled.
    “With a little help from you and your Friends Don’t Let Friends Drink and Derive shirt.”
    “You don’t need me, Finn.”
    “I do need you, Matt. You’re my best friend, and we’re in this together.”
    Matt’s shoelace continued to be in desperate need of attention. “I love you, Finn.”
    Finn laughed and threw his arm around Matt’s neck, pulling him in close. “Aw, Matty, you big sap. I love you, too, bro.” He held him tight for a few moments. “Everything is going to be just fine. I promise.”
    Matt nodded. “Should we get going?”
    Finn squeezed his arm around Matt one more time. “Yup. Let’s do it.”
    They both put on their backpacks, and Matt turned to take in the spectacular view one more time before he started focusing on getting up the steeper slabs of rock ahead of them. This wasn’t a challenging climb for the two of them now, but the winter months would bring excellent opportunity for ice climbing here.
    “Hey, Finn?”
    Finn raised the hood of his fleece over his head. “Yeah?”
    “We should come back here when we’ve got ice.”
    “Dude, I’m so all over that. We’ll get new equipment for Christmas! New ropes, new ice axe…. We need a really good weather tracker, too. Did you know Mount Washington has some of the craziest weather anywhere? Unpredictable. Changes in a flash.”
    “That’s the fun, right?” Matt followed Finn over the craggy rock.
    “Well, yeah. But we’re going to be careful. Right now, this is only a Class 3 climb. Throw in snow, ice, and God knows what kind of weather? Total game changer. There are a few different gully options to ascend. We’ll have to be smart about this.”
    “That’s unfortunate, since neither of us is too bright.”
    “I know. Especially you. Tragic.” Finn looked back and winked at Matt. “Tragic.”
    They hiked for a bit and then Finn stopped, steadied his footing, and pointed off to the right. “There. That’s our ravine. What do you say, Matty? February? Give ourselves a real challenge.”
    “They do say February is the harshest month.”
    “And by harshest they mean best .”
    “Hell, yeah,” Matt said.
    “So you’re in?”
    “I’m in,” Matt agreed. He took in the sight of his brother, totally at ease on this terrain, the sun reflecting off the rock onto Finn’s eager face. He would go anywhere with Finn. Drop-off cliffs, gnarled jungles, deep oceans…. Matt would be safe and loved. Matt would be treasured. “All in.”
    Finn let out a joyous whoop and raised both hands triumphantly in the air. “See