“Thanks,” she said, taking another step.
He followed, moving from rock to rock. When she felt his balance falter, she squeezed his hand, giving him back the stability he’d given her. He smiled at her, and her stomach did a little flip.
“Got it?” she asked, tugging her fingers free. Holding hands with Michael, even if it was just to make scrambling over the boulders easier, was sending her feelings spiraling in a direction they had no business going. And she probably just imagined the look of disappointment she saw flash across his face.
“Yep,” he said, passing her.
She hurried to keep up and within a couple of minutes, they were standing at the bottom of the first pitch. Amanda dropped her backpack and started pulling gear from the bag. Michael emptied his own bag and she tried not to watch as he stepped into the climbing harness, snugging the wide webbed strap over his powerful thighs and around his waist.
Something was wrong with her. She never got this off balance around a man. Growing up with two older brothers meant the male of the species lost his mystery early on. It didn’t mean she didn’t like them; it just meant she’d never gone wide-eyed and soft over one of them. She had no intention of starting now.
“Okay,” she said when her harness was fastened around her waist and the rope clipped to her carabiner. “I’m going to go about halfway up and then head to the left. This route’s been climbed thousands of times and what holds there used to be are pretty blown out by now. There’s a small seam running to the left of the main route that at least gives you an occasional hold and someplace to put your feet.”
“Got it,” he said, running the rope through his strong hands.
“On belay?” she called, signaling she was ready to start as she reached for the first fingertip hold.
“Belay on,” he answered, indicating he had her.
She started to climb, and they worked seamlessly as a team. She led, and he followed, asking for help and advice when he needed it. In less than fifteen minutes, she was tying off on Lunch Ledge and getting ready to start up the second pitch.
“During the competition, is there time to take a break here or do the teams have to head up both pitches one right after another?”
“If I understand the rules correctly, it’s consecutive pitches so it’s going to be important for each team to move quickly from one pitch to the other. Safely, of course. It’s worth taking the extra time to anchor here.” She motioned to the tree she’d tied the belay rope around. “That way, if there is a problem with the climber, whoever’s belaying can tie them off safely and be free to help.”
He nodded his agreement, accepting her recommendation without question. She couldn’t help but wonder if Ethan would be willing to take direction from her as easily. Letting someone else lead wasn’t exactly his strong suit, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do it. They’d never tried climbing together. She should know better than to assume she knew how he’d react.
“Are you ready?” Michael asked, shaking her free of her thoughts.
They only had a couple of hours before the rest of the team would show up, and she wanted to try both pitches at least two more times before then just to make sure she had everything worked out. And because she had a feeling climbing with Michael would be easier than climbing with the other members of the team. She wasn’t at all sure how she felt about that, but dwelling on it seemed unlikely to help.
“Ready,” she said, stepping up to the rock.
––––––––
MICHAEL WANTED TO deck Ethan. He wasn’t normally a violent man, but the guy had worn through every last one of his nerves. Even attempting something he’d never tried before, Ethan acted like a know-it-all. He fought Amanda’s directions, questioning everything she told him to do. Michael was exhausted just watching. He had no idea how she managed to put up with the guy. The easy comradery he’d built with Amanda over the course of the afternoon evaporated under the strain of working with the other team members—most notably, Amanda’s boyfriend.
Amanda had been right about Jessica. She seemed surprisingly comfortable on the rock and did exactly what Amanda told her, making quick work of both pitches. Her husband wasn’t as much of a natural, but things with him had started okay. That is, until Ethan started questioning everything Amanda said. His boss had jumped on the bandwagon, and both of them were climbing worse at the end of the practice than they had the first run.
“Mr. Bransford—Peter,” Amanda said, her voice clearly straining. “I need you to stretch your left leg out as far as you can and reach for that toehold. This isn’t like climbing in a gym. You’ll never be able to pull yourself up the pitch. You need to use your legs.”
Michael understood exactly what she meant. He’d been frustrated at first by how little good his arm muscles did him. His calves were still screaming from multiple climbs up the route, but listening to Amanda meant he made it up the rock, which was more than he could say for Ethan and his boss.
“Peter, darling,” called Jessica from her perch at the top of the pitch. “Do what Amanda tells you. It really helped me. Come on, sweetheart. You won’t believe the view from up here.”
Winking, she leaned forward, putting her ample breasts on display. She let the double meaning hang in the air. Her words had been part challenge, part coaxing, but she obviously understood the man she’d married. What she said got him moving again. After more than a handful of very colorful words, Mr. Bransford stood on top of the pitch with his wife. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly. Michael’s first impression of the couple had been pretty cynical. With the obvious age difference, he’d assumed trophy wife and sugar daddy, but spending time with them like this made it clear that whatever else they had, at bare minimum they shared a genuine affection for each other.
It was more than could be said for Ethan and Amanda. He tried and failed to keep from getting too much pleasure from that thought. The pair acted like they could barely tolerate each other. Ethan was clearly frustrated by his crappy performance and Amanda was clearly frustrated with his refusal to listen to her. Michael leaned back against the sun-warmed rock and tried to keep the grin off his face.
Amanda called out another series of instructions, and this time—maybe inspired by his boss’s performance—Ethan decided to listen. He managed to make it three-quarters of the way up the pitch and even from the ground, Michael could see the smug grin on his face.
“Good, that’s it,” called Amanda from the other side of the ledge. “Your next hold is off to the right. There’s a shallow depression—you should be able to get a bit of traction. You’ve got to get your feet set first though. Stretch out your right leg and point your toe. If you smear your shoe along the face, you should be able to feel the hold when your foot catches.”
Michael remembered that bit of the climb. In the beginning, it felt like reaching for nothing. Up on the rock, it was impossible to see the toehold Amanda was talking about but if Ethan followed her instructions, he’d be able to feel it and then use it to propel himself up the rock to the next thin sliver of a handhold.
“I’m going to go this way,” said Ethan, stretching his left arm up the rock. “I can see the ridge up there. If I grab it, I can pull myself up.”
“That’s not the way the route goes,” said Amanda, the frustration clear in her voice. “Come on, Ethan. You’re almost there. Just do it the way I told you.”
