He is tall. He had to be tall with that broad frame of his. Really, he is a giant of a man. And yet he moves easily. Not the lumbering steps of a bigger man. He moves with the grace of an athlete. Likely he keeps fit for his job, whatever that might be.
Growing a little impatient, I stand up and walk to the open bars of my cell. Lumberjack walks over, hanging his wrist casually on an upper bar. His foot on the lower one. Leaning casually against the bars. I get a little thrill of excitement, being close to him again.
While sitting here I had promised to be more pleasant and positive and yet it is a sarcastic tone when I ask him, “Come to admire the view?”
He snorts. “I came to check on you. I wanted to make sure you are okay.”
I shrug, disarmed by those kind hazel green eyes. “I’m fine. And I guess I should apologise for this morning. I was a little upset.”
He nods. “Is it true that you’re a school teacher?”
“I’m on sabbatical.” That’s a lie but I don’t need to explain my situation to him.
“And what with the car being wrecked, I guess you’re stuck here for a while?”
“What are you getting at?” I ask.
He looks like he is thinking something over.
“So here’s the deal.” He lets out a big sigh. “I run an outbound adventure park and this weekend we are hosting a group of young people. I need another chaperone. If you promised not to be crazy, and we don’t let you drive, then we might be able to trade this jail cell for a little community service.”
He says all this with his charming smile, despite the dig about me being crazy and a bad driver. I think it over. I will be stuck here for a few days. And I’ll need somewhere to stay. And something about this whole situation has me feeling a little bit wild and reckless. Why not hang out with the lumberjack?
“Okay, I’m interested.”
He opens the door to the cell. I was right about it not being locked. I step out as he holds out his hand to shake mine. “I’m Maverick.”
His hand is big and warm. A little rough, but comforting. “I’m Josie.”
“I know.” He smiles. “The sheriff showed me your file.”
Looking back at the cell, and then back at Maverick. “I’m not actually charged with anything, am I?”
He shrugs, “Let’s just say we’re both helping each other out.”
This is crazy. But doing everything right has left me with nothing. Maybe crazy is working for me now.
Chapter 4
Josie
I am determined to make the most of this situation. Pleasant and positive is my new motto. I’ve met Maverick’s co-worker Maggie, who checked my resume and my credentials. She also explained a little bit more about what I’ve signed on for. The place is an outbound adventure camp, usually used for team building by big fortune 500 companies. But this weekend is different. This would be the first time that they would be using the camp to help under-privileged, troubled city kids.
“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.
