In Over Her Head: An Anchor Island Novel by Terri Osburn (reading eggs books .TXT) 📗

woman bolted across the last few chairs and together they did a victory dance on the platform before zip lining back to the tower. Lauren was starting to enjoy that part. Gliding on a strap four stories off the ground did not sound like something she should enjoy, but the wind in her hair combined with the gorgeous view over the water was actually kind of soothing.

She waited for Mona to reach the center and helped her inside. They both turned to Everette, who always seemed to be wherever they landed. “Did we win?”

He wrote the time from his stopwatch down on his clipboard and looked up with a smile. “You did.”

The victory dance commenced as they spun in circles, wrapped in a sweaty hug. Separating, they high-fived and Lauren realized she hadn’t touched let alone hugged another person in longer than she could remember. Well, except for Nick, but this was not the time to think about that.

Penny and Axel popped through another door of the tower, followed less than a minute later by Deborah and her team coming in from another direction.

“How did you like the courses?” Everette asked.

Mona growled and Lauren cut in to save the young man’s life. “These were great but what’s our advantage?”

“I’ll tell you once we get to the hill.”

“The hill?” Deborah repeated.

“Yes, ma’am. Let’s get you unclipped and we can head out.”

Once they were free of the belay, Lauren felt the loss of the safety cord. As they marched behind Everette down the narrow walkway, picking up Jackson on the way, she realized that she’d come to trust the safety harness.

Too bad life didn’t come with one of those.

“Here we are,” their guide said as they reached the beach.

Ahead of them was a steep mound of sand, at the base of which was a pool of water. Identical pools flanked the hill on both sides. At different points up the mound, objects similar to the ones on the courses were embedded in the sand, and a bright-red flag waved at the top.

“What is this?” Lauren asked.

“This is where you come together as a team. Because you and Mona had the fastest combined time on the courses, you get to be the callers.”

“What are we calling?” Mona asked.

“Instructions.” Pointing to the flag, he said, “The goal is to get everyone up there.”

“So we’re just climbing the hill?” Axel said.

“Yes, but it isn’t as easy as it sounds.” Everette lifted a mesh bag off a hook at the end of the walkway. “These are blindfolds. You’ll all be wearing them, and it’s Mona and Lauren’s job to talk you up the hill, making sure you don’t fall off.”

Lauren stared at the hill, looking for the catch when Mona said, “Bless the Lord, we get to stay on the ground.”

“Not necessarily. You and Lauren have to get to the top first, and you’ll give the instructions from up there.”

“Then how is this an advantage?” she asked.

“You aren’t in danger of getting wet,” Deborah answered.

Everette’s smile widened. “Actually, they are. Though they get to climb without the blindfold, they will be attached to each of you as you work your way up. If you fall, so do they.”

No wonder they were still wearing the harnesses.

Penny clapped and said, “This sounds fun.”

“Not the time,” Deborah snapped. “Let’s get this over with.”

An extra-long strap was attached to both Lauren and Mona’s harness, and then a narrow bridge was laid across the bottom puddle—though puddle was an understatement. They used the various buried objects to haul themselves to the top. Lauren had no idea how the order was decided, but Axel was attached to Mona’s cord first, then blindfolded, led over the bridge, and helped onto the base of the hill. The bridge was then removed and Everette yelled for them to start.

Lauren spoke first. “Take three steps up and reach out for the barrel!”

“What the hell are you doing?” Mona asked. “If I’m the one who gets wet if he falls, then I’m the one who gets to give the orders.”

“We’re both supposed to get them up here,” Lauren argued. The woman was more likely to cuss her teammates out than to have enough patience to guide them all the way up.

“It is not going to kill you to let someone else take the lead for once. This is supposed to be team building. So trust your teammate.”

Attempting to embrace the experience, she held her hands up in surrender. “Fine. But keep him close to the center and don’t forget to describe exactly what he should be reaching for.”

“Woman, I will throw you off this damn hill. You are seriously testing how badly I want this job.”

Lauren clamped her mouth shut. So much for any bonding they’d done on the course.

Less than a minute later, Axel joined them at the top, and the team below cheered the victory. Brit went next, attached to Lauren’s tether. She too made the journey with little trouble, and they progressed through the rest of the process until Jackson remained at the bottom alone.

Everette attached him to Lauren with a click and yelled up, “He’s all yours.”

As she kneeled on the hard sand, Lauren’s palms began to sweat. Jackson was the largest of the group, outweighing her by at least a hundred pounds. He was also the oldest, and with his fear of heights, was going to be the most difficult to get to the top.

“Focus on my voice,” she said. “Take one step to your right, and then start climbing. I’ll tell you when you get close to the barrel.” Jackson did as ordered. “Okay, less than a foot up from your right hand is the top of the barrel. Slowly reach up until you can feel it.”

As he extended his arm, sand fell out from under his left foot and he slid down. Lauren nearly went flying when Mona yelled, “Grab her!”

Strong arms wrapped around her middle, knocking the breath from her lungs but keeping her on the hill.

“Are we allowed