Playing the Player(38)

“Slade!” Gillian screeched. “Watch me jump!”

We both turned, just in time to see her fling herself off the top of the rock wall, arms outstretched. Slade and one of the employees working the wall rushed forward to catch her, but Slade was faster. She landed in his arms, still attached to the harness, laughing hysterically.

I looked up at Max, now two-thirds of the way to the top, worry turning his face pale.

While Slade calmed down the freaked out employee and gently scolded Gillian, I moved closer to the wall. “You’re okay, kiddo,” I called up to him. “You’re almost to the top.”

“Do I have to jump to get down? Like Gilly did?”

“No, of course not. You just climb back down the same way you went up, nice and slow.”

His eyes locked onto mine. “Trina, I don’t think I have enough magic to make it. I’m just gonna stay here.” He looked ready to cry.

I bit my lip and looked around. Slade was deep in conversation with three employees now, one of them apparently a manager, based on the shiny gold nametag and blustering voice. Slade had a tight grip on Gillian’s hand, though she wriggled next to him, anxious for the next adventure.

All of the harnesses were occupied, and the employees were too busy arguing with Slade to notice me.

I took a deep breath and moved closer to the wall. It wasn’t that high, since it was for the youngest kids. And besides, if I fell, Slade would catch me, right? Like he’d joked in the car? I choked out a nervous laugh and reached out to grab a handhold. Keeping my eyes on Max, I climbed slowly.

“I’m coming, Max,” I told him.

“Do you have enough magic?” he called down to me.

He had a point.

“Hurry up, Trina.” Max’s voice was choked with tears. “I’m running out of magic.”

“Almost there, buddy.” I didn’t dare look down. I seriously doubted that Slade could catch me if I did fall; I weighed a lot more than Gillian.

I heard a commotion beneath me—voices yelling at me to come down immediately. Except for one voice urging me to keep climbing. Slade.

“I think we’re in trouble,” Max said, tears now spilling down his face. “Those guys look mad.”

I took one last giant step, praying my sweaty fingers wouldn’t lose their grip on the fake plastic rock handholds jutting out of the wall. I balanced next to Max and took a breath. I held out my arm toward him.

“Go ahead, Max. You just need one good sniff for enough magic to get back down to Gilly.”

“Do not let go of the handholds!” a voice boomed at me. “You’re not in a harness!”

No kidding! I wanted to shout back, but instead I focused on Max, who was on the verge of a complete meltdown.

“You can do it, Max! Trina, you’re a rock star!” I recognized that voice. Every nerve in my body tingled at the sound of it.

Max leaned over and sniffed my wrist. A tear plopped from his face onto my arm. His eyes met mine, and I forced a grin. “Let’s do this, kiddo.”

He blinked at me, but didn’t reply.

“Trina. You can do this.” Slade’s voice was calm and clear over the cacophony echoing off the walls and in my mind. “One step at a time. Go slow. Don’t look down.”

Of course I wouldn’t look down. But then I did. The wall might as well have been one hundred feet high to someone as scared of heights as I was. I took a shuddering breath and forced myself to smile at Max.

“Go Max! Go Trina!” Gilly sounded like she was at a football game. Knowing her, she was doing her cheerleader moves, complete with cartwheels.

“Maybe you need more magic,” Max’s voice trembled.

I looked into his beautiful brown eyes. “We’ve got enough magic inside us. It’s time to go down, Max.”

He bit his lip. “You sure I have enough?”

I nodded. “Positive. I’ll stay next to you the whole way.”

I moved down one foothold and Max followed me.

“If the kid lets go of the wall, we can just lower him down in the harness!” That must be the manager.

“No,” Max whispered, shaking his head violently. “I’m going with you. I’m not letting go of the wall.”

“No!” I yelled, without looking down. “We’re coming.”

I heard Slade’s raised voice, no doubt arguing with the manager, but I tuned it out to focus on Max.

“Trina and Max go down and down,” I sang softly, to the tune of “The Wheels on the Bus.”

“I hate that song,” Max complained, but he took another step with me.

“Trina and Max go down and down,” I sang again, moving to another foothold. This time he sang with me, his voice coming in soft breaths.

It took another dozen verses of the song, but we made it. The manager unhooked Max from the harness while Gillian danced around him yelling, “Yay Max! Yay Max!” They high-fived each other, and an enormous grin spread across Max’s face.

I sagged against Slade, who’d appeared next to me the second I hit the ground.

“That was awesome,” Slade said, as his arm wrapped around my shoulders. I was shaking so badly I couldn’t pull away. As I leaned into him, his familiar scent tickled my nose.

“I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” The beefy manager glared at Slade and me. “You’ve broken at least ten rules.”