CHAPTER 37
Chase
Day one of the battle had arrived. I was sick to my stomach over seeing Joanie again. I was still feeling raw from our run-in on the sidewalk. She’d looked like she needed a hug but it didn’t seem like she wanted one from any of us. She’d made up her mind and wasn’t willing to make any effort for us. We’d been sharing her and everything we had with her but she was still set on believing the worst. It didn’t matter what I wanted if she hated us.
The First Ever Annual Harmony Valley Battle of the Sexes was held in the city park. It was a multi-day event with dozens of different challenges. I’d been hearing whispers about the battle for so long that it’d just started to feel like an urban legend. The last week had made it much more real for us. We’d trained with Mayor Stevens and most of the town’s men. We’d done things that robbed us of our dignity. None of that mattered, though, when we were going to have to face off with Joanie and decide how to handle that.
Maggie and Macey were sitting on the guys’ side, cheering for us even before the first event took place. Both girls were a little angry with Joanie, too, even though we told them it wasn’t Joanie’s fault. They didn’t care. They liked Joanie and she’d run away from them. That was enough for them. They’d also noticed how sad Bear had been since Joanie disappeared and they were smart enough to put two and two together.
I sat in the short metal stands with the rest of the guys in town and watched as Margaret and Stevens moved to stand in front of us with a mic in each of their hands. I cringed, knowing we were about to be a part of an absolute shitshow.
“Welcome to the Battle of the Sexes, where women win and men come to fill spaces!” Margaret raised her fist and the park went crazy with women cheering. For a second, I had to stop and look around while wondering what we men, as a species, had done to the women. They just looked so excited about beating us.
“I think you mean where men win and women who can’t act right lose their business licenses.” Stevens rolled his eyes and then looked out at the side of the park where the men were sitting. “We’ve definitely come to win! Right, men?”
I didn’t feel like cheering but when my gaze slammed into Joanie’s from across the park, I felt like shoving my excitement to beat her in her face. I cheered louder than anyone else and made sure to hold her gaze as I did.
Smith nudged me. “I guess you’re set on blowing up any connection we ever had with her.”
I looked over at him and held up my hands. “What am I supposed to do? We tried. She didn’t.”
Bear nodded. “He’s right, Smith.”
“Stevens and I met a few different times to hammer out which games we’re going to allow. We each got to choose our favorites and then there were another ten or so games that we let a few outsiders choose.” Margaret cracked her knuckles and grinned. “Stevens and I also chose the pairings. We’re going to start the games today and finish them on Sunday. The award ceremony will be held Sunday night and when we women win, we’ll be sure to invite none of you men to our giant celebration.”
Bear swore. “We don’t even get to pick the fucking games we have to play? We just get put wherever those two idiots see fit? God. I’m only doing this to spite Joanie and that crazy lady with the darts. I didn’t think it was going to be a whole thing.”
I looked back at Joanie and saw she was standing off to the side of the group of women, alone like she seemed to prefer. She acted like she was so okay with being alone but I saw how she acted with her friends and with us. She flourished. She was funny and kind and smiled so much but she was too stubborn to accept that.
“Our first game is going to have Billie, Lizzie, and Gertie going against…” Margaret looked over at Stevens for him to respond.
“The three owners of the Hellstone Ranch in Deerbend. Gray, Owen, and Keaton.” Stevens motioned to the three guys we’d seen at the dinner with Billie a few times, always during their company meetings. “The six of you will be competing in a race to see who can solve a puzzle the fastest. Margaret seems to think women are smarter than men but we’ll just go ahead and prove her wrong.”
Billie stepped down from the stands and shook her head. “Pick someone else.”
Margaret shook her head. “No. We know what we’re doing with these pairings. Also, it’s not just a race to solve a puzzle. It’s also a race to see who can even get to the puzzle first.”
There was more complaining before an air horn sounded and the six competitors took off running across the park. I watched Billie’s hair flying behind her as she did her best to outrun her bosses. The two women running with Billie seemed to be moving slow on purpose.
“After they solve the puzzle, they have to run back here with it. While they’re doing that, let’s move on to our second game. This one is to establish that not only are women smart, we’re also more balanced.” Margaret grinned. “Eve, Piper, and Joanie.”
I sat up. I was a glutton for punishment because I wanted to go against Joanie in whatever she did. I wanted to beat her but I also just wanted to be close to her.
“And going against them will be Chase, Smith, and Bear!” Stevens shot a glance over at Margaret and I felt a tingle at the back of my head.
Bear jumped down from the stands and stood in front of everyone with his arms crossed over his chest. “Bring it on.”
Smith and I joined him and I watched Joanie lift her chin even higher as she stood as far away from us as possible. She looked tired and it made me even angrier to know she wasn’t taking care of herself.
“You six will be playing the age-old children’s game, Twister!” Margaret met Joanie’s eyes and she smirked. “Let’s see who has the best balance, ladies.”
I leaned into Smith. “Do you get the feeling that we’re being set up?”
Smith shrugged. “I don’t know. I just… I don’t know if I can do this.”
Before he could back out, we were led to the side of the park where a Twister mat had already been stretched out on the ground. Coco stood by with the spinner in her hands. She smiled serenely, like she didn’t just shoot Bear with a tranq a couple of weeks earlier.
“Hell no. I’m not playing anywhere near you.” Bear growled towards Coco and shook his head. “Devil woman.”
Coco just rolled her eyes. “I’m just going to be calling out moves today. Until it’s my turn to compete and then I plan on ruining you men.”
Joanie crossed her arms over her chest. “Is there nothing else we can play?”
“Follow the rules, Joanie!” Coco motioned us all forward. “The first five rounds, we’ll be moving as a group. If there are still both teams in the game, we’ll then move on to individual instructions. Let’s go!”
I looked over at Joanie and sucked in a deep breath. Beating her would feel good. I was angry… The longer I looked at her, though, the worse I felt.
“Here we go! Right foot, blue.”