Chapter 4
Josie
“I don’t like last minute additions, but I’m happy to have another woman with us. You’re along mostly as a chaperone. Another set of eyes. Another adult in case there is trouble.” Maggie explained. Adding, “I have everything planned and I don’t expect there to be any trouble.”
I like Maggie. She is short and has an expression like a stubborn bull dog.
I can tell from her neat as pin office and uniform that she likes everything to be well organized.
I was hoping she might give me a little insight into Maverick, but she is an absolute professional, saying only that this project was important to the whole team.
So here I am, dressed in shorts, joggers and the bright blue polo t-shirt I was given that marks me as a member of the team. A team that is made up of Maverick, Maggie and another park employee, a charming looking man named Clayton.
I watch carefully as the kids file into the main hall.
Eight boys, all around thirteen years old, along with a huge, bulking hulk of a man named Blaze who is their probation officer.
As a teacher you learn to pick out potential trouble makers.
The boys all have varying degrees of attitude about being here.
Some of them look wide eyed and a little frightened.
Some are putting on the cool guy act like nothing bothers them.
They are all city kids who have probably never been out in nature before.
As soon as we stepped outside and went down to the obstacle course I knew I was out of my comfort zone. But there is a buzz of excitement in the group. The boys are eager to do something physical, but also unsure of themselves.
The obstacle course is about balance but it also requires people to think their way through the different obstacles. There are swinging tyres, different height logs, tilting platforms, a rope wall to climb, abseiling and a mud course.
As Maverick and the others explained the course, one of the boys whispered to another, “It’s all right for him, look how big he is.”
“I’m sure it’s just meant to be fun.” I smile at them. They are two of the smaller boys. They shrug and one of them kicks at the dirt. There is one thing that I know from being a teacher and that is that the kids like to see the grown ups join in. They also like to see the grown ups fail.
And since I’m still feeling a little wild and reckless, I throw out a challenge to Maverick.
“I don’t see you getting dirty. Why don’t you show us how it’s done?”
“You think I can’t?” He smirks. “What if it was a race between you and I then?”
The boys all cheer and clap. Excited to see the adults face off.
Stepping up to the first platform I look up at Maverick. Hand on my hips I say, “And if I win, then you stop calling me city girl.”
I get a snort as an answer. He doesn’t think I can win.
I’m not big on physical fitness, but I have done yoga and I enjoy walking through the park back home. This seems more about balance. Surely he can not get his hulking big body across the course faster than I can.
It’s a run stepping over tires and then a rope climb up to the moving platforms. For the second Clayton yells to go it is obvious that I am far out classed.
Maverick skips through the tires as though they are nothing.
And he scales the rope wall in seconds. So much so that he is there to reach down his hand to simply pull me up to the top platform.
Without stopping to thank him, I jump onto the first moving platform. There is where I surely have a chance, running across them without stoping to think about. A look back shows me I have gained a lead on him, but not by much.
My heart racing, I dive into the mud. On my stomach I start to crawl under the netting. This is just physics. I can move my smaller body quicker than he can get his bigger mass through the mud.
But he has me on the hurdles. Getting over them with ease. He is there grinning at me at the finish line while I am panting and gasping for breath, falling into the mud on my back to try and catch my breath. He is just as composed, and damn sexy, as ever.
He takes my hand and lifts me back up onto my feet. “Good try, city girl. I’ll show you where the showers are.”