Chapter 6 #3
He gave her an odd look. “I actually thought about that at one point early in high school. Of course, Alexander Wagner was never going to let his son waste his life being a teacher and a coach, but track was my favorite sport. I picked my coaches’ brains, trying to learn everything I could.
A lot of what I learned about running, I’ve used in business.
How you prepare for a race—and how you run it—are more important than being physically gifted as a runner. ”
Kylie frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Especially for longer races, such as marathons, you have to plan. You vary your physical training. You think through your mental game plan. Twenty-six miles is excruciating, so you have to break it into chunks. Marathoners call it the 10-10-10 rule. You divide the race into three parts. The first ten miles, you aim for a steady pace. You want to conserve your energy. Find your rhythm. Too many people blaze out of the gates on race day, due to excitement or nervousness. You have to use your head. The next ten miles you want to keep it steady, but you hit your goals for that leg. It’s important to keep hydrating, too. ”
Zane pushed a hand through his hair, and she longed to run her own fingers through the thick, dark waves.
“Then you push yourself with the remaining distance. Hard. It’s your fastest time during the entire race.
Marathoners say you first run with your head, then you run with your training in mind.
That last segment? You run with your heart.
You increase your pace, gradually running faster with each subsequent kilometer.
You visualize the finish line. You tell yourself you have the guts to find glory across that finish line.
Even though the last part is the most grueling, you have to believe in yourself. ”
“I admire you for dedicating yourself to running a race that long,” Kylie said. “I don’t think I have the physical talent or bandwidth to ever try a marathon.”
“You’d be surprised what inner strength you have,” he said softly.
She did know about inner strength. She’d burned through enough of it the last few years. Kylie was afraid she was about to tell him about those years, and that’s the last thing she should do.
“Well, we need to get you jigging,” she said brightly, picking up the rod to hand to him.
“Could you show me again?” Zane asked.
“Okay.”
She took the rod and dropped the line over the side of the boat.
Suddenly, he stepped behind her, close enough so that she felt his body heat.
His arms went around her, grasping the rod with her, his hands covering hers.
Kylie couldn’t breathe. She hadn’t been this close to a man in several years, much less one she had the hots for.
She held her breath, feeling the tension filling her.
Using every bit of focus she had, she said, “It’s all in the wrists. Like this.”
She began moving the rod, his large hands still covering hers, his front pressed to her back.
“I get it,” he said, his voice low next to her ear. “Just a little jiggle.”
“That’s right,” she said, forcing herself to breathe.
“I’ve got the idea.”
“Good,” she said, moving her hands so that he was forced to take the rod from her as she ducked under his arm. Quickly, she took a seat before her legs gave out. “You can stand or sit.”
“I think I’ll sit.”
He took a seat beside her. They didn’t talk for some minutes. Her thoughts were racing. Yes, she had toyed with the idea of propositioning him, but now faced with the reality, she wasn’t sure if it was a good idea.
Zane sat up. “I got a tug.”
She leaned forward. “Stay steady. Don’t tip your hand. The fish may have bitten, but he might not have been hooked. Wait him out.”
“Okay.”
Kylie watched and saw the rod move. Then it jerked. “Hold fast!” she cried.
He came to his feet, working the reel, steady in his movements. Thirty seconds later, a beautiful red snapper appeared on the end of his line.
“Woo-hoo!” she cried. Calling to the other side, she said, “Zane’s got a beauty. Might be fourteen inches.”
He swung his rod over the side of the boat, and she eyed it. “Nope. Fifteen!”
The Whites and her dad came to their side, all admiring his catch.
“Beginner’s luck,” Ben teased.
Dad took the fish and held it up against the wall where he’d marked segments so that anglers could measure their catches.
“Fifteen,” he announced. “What a great start, Zane. You must be a natural.”
“Gran said she would fry up whatever I brought home. She’s going to be one happy woman tonight, seeing this snapper.”
Kylie placed the fish in Zane’s container and said, “Everybody, back to fishing!”
The others returned to their side of the boat, while she and Zane took a seat. He re-baited his hook and dropped it over the side, continuing to move his wrists slightly as they talked.
“Will you still be here for Fourth of July?” she asked. “We have a 10K race each year.”
“I know. I ran in it as a kid. And yes, I’ll be here through the holiday. I’ll leave right after that.”
That meant Kylie had three weeks.
Would she make a move on this man after their business wrapped? Or wait until it was almost time for him to leave?
She would definitely be giving this matter a helluva lot of thought.