Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3)(79)

“Okay,” Sean said, still looking up. “It looks like a climb up, then a tight rope walk across to another tree. From there it looks like a plank or something to a third tree. Then a zip cord. There might be something else, but I don’t think so. It looks pretty basic.”

“Basic?” Dean muttered, following Sean’s gaze.

Krista’s legs were trembling, and not in a good way. She had never been up that high before. At the top of a ladder she got nervous.

“Krista, you look like you are going to puke,” Georgie mumbled.

“Is this a good time to mention I am not great with heights?” She asked in hushed tones.

“Yes, this is a good time,” Sean said. “Anyone else not good with heights? Or climbing?”

“I ain’t doin’ this,” Bob announced.

Everyone looked at him. He was sweating and supporting a contest winning frown. Her old boss Mr. Montgomery would blush with envy.

“We can walk you through it, Bob. Those of uswho don’t mind heights can help the others,” Sean reasoned.

“No way. I ain’t doin’ it. Climbing up a tree and falling down it? Not for me. Never done it in any one of these things, and I ain’t startin’ now.” Bob crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Sean looked at Bob with a completely blank face. Bob wouldn’t meet Sean’s eye, but his mind was set; Krista could see it. She was suddenly glad she had the blowout before this small standoff. Normal people would have doubled up their courage to prove they were worth their salt after they got yelled at. Not Bob. He was useless to the last.

Sean looked away disappointedly, realizing the lost cause. “Okay. Bob, why don’t you head back to the hotel then.”

Bob didn’t argue, he didn’t wait, and he didn’t say goodbye. He started to trudge off immediately.

“Anyone else want to pass? Krista?” Sean asked, looking back at her.

He was wary and basically pleading. He knew she didn’t have any more of a vested interest than Bob. Probably less, actually, since she had a job offer to go back to. But he needed her. She could tell that, in that moment, he needed her support and reassurance. He needed her to step up here and lead by example.

Krista saw it. She saw the uncertainty, as well. He had never cast her down in front of others like that before. He knew her well, better than anyone, but he didn’t know her well enough to trust she would understand why he did it. He’d never understood her loyalty, and they had so many problems, Sean probably thought she was ready to walk out of his life, not to mention the hell-climb in front of her. Added bonus, if she left or refused, his team would fall apart. There wasn’t much holding them together as it was, and if she left, the strongest part of their unit left with her.

Krista had all the power in this one, and it felt good. She probably shouldn’t have milked it, but he did just yell at her in front of everyone, so with a straight face, she looked at the god-awful monstrosity of trees in front of them in feigned contemplation. She had a good pause going, hamming it up, until Georgie elbowed her. The dog.

She laughed—apparently she was transparent. “No Captain, with you to the last. Even though I might throw up, pass out, or start crying.”

Relief flooded Sean’s eyes. “We’ll figure it out. Anyone else?”

No one said anything. Dean inched toward the group a bit more. They were winning him over, which meant Bob was losing him. Hah!

Krista would do a happy dance later. Right now she was silently praying she wouldn’t pass out and fall out of the tree in the next ten minutes.

Sean sighed. “Okay, who’s first?”

Chapter Twenty-Two

“I’ll go first.” Georgie stepped forward. “I was a climber, once upon a time.”

Sean clapped him on the back. “Good man yourself. Krista, I want you to go last. I have a feeling you’ll take the longest and I don’t want everyone to have to wait for you.”

“I don’t mind,” Donald said. “It’ll give us something to laugh at.”

“I would believe that, Donald, if you had a sense of humor,” Krista spat back, assessing the leaves one-hundred, long feet up and surrounding the challenges.

Dean snorted. He said, “I’ve done these before. I can go behind Krista and help if you want?”

“Yes please,” she said in a small voice. He was quick with the olive branch. She felt it her duty to accept it. Also, she was scared and would take all the help she could get.

“I’ll go directly in front of Krista,” Sean said. “You want to go second or last Donald?”

“Last. I want to see how everyone gets through before I go.”

“Okay, let’s get going.” Sean clapped once in excitement. “Krista needs about five hours to get ready for dinner.”

“What is this?” She asked with mock disdain. “Pick on Krista day?”

“Pick on Krista weekend, more like,” Georgie said as he passed by. He ruffled her hair, and then got hooked up to the ref’s rope. He headed to the tree with a bounce in his step. He scaled the thing without hesitation or problem. He was up in a flash.

He disappeared behind the tree trunk he’d just climbed by a wooden bridge thing, was out on the tight rope portion, and above open space in no time. He shimmied across that like a rat on a ship’s rope and was on to the next horrible torture device.