Ex, Why, and Me (5 page)

Ryan felt a sense of relief flooding his chest. He had been right. They did have a chance. Maybe this scavenger hunt wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Michelle had no idea this scavenger hunt was going to be so hard! She ignored the navy blue leather rubbing against her big toe and shuffled down the sidewalk. She knew the difficulty wasn’t going to be from solving the clues, or the walking trek from one edge of the city limits to the other.

It was the long, uncomfortable stretches of silence that were freaking her out. Michelle snuck another look at Ryan from under her lashes. She had to do something—say something—before it drove her insane.

But it had to be a safe topic. They had already discussed the people they both knew. That hadn’t lasted long since they didn’t have the same circle of friends.

“So…” Michelle reached for another discussion thread. “What have you been doing since I saw you last?”
Naked and pissed off underneath me.

“This and that. Nothing much.” His smile dimmed. “Still working at the bowling alley.”

“Oh.” She did not want to discuss the bowling alley at all, under any circumstances. “And you took time off because Danny asked for a favor?” What did her brother have over Ryan? It must be something really good.

The corner of his mouth twitched. “I didn’t do it for Danny.”

Michelle frowned. What did that mean? “Then—”

“Voila,”
Ryan said as they turned the corner, gesturing to the big, brick building. “Benjamin Franklin Public School.”

Oh, yeah. She remembered seeing this building from time to time while growing up. There was nothing memorable about the architecture. It was just another tall brick building in a town created by bricklayers.

Ryan tilted his head to one side. “Are you sure it was around that long? I mean, it looks old, but not that old.”

“Dad says Carbon Hill did a lot of renovating and additions to meet safety standards.” All that work must have been done on the inside. At least she hoped so.

Ryan seemed to have trouble believing it, too. “Sure, okay.” He headed for the front door. It swung open, a good sign that they had found the right location. “After you.”

“Where do you think we’re supposed to go?” Michelle asked, her voice echoing in the cavernous hallway. The high ceilings and detailed woodwork made her feel as though she had stepped back in time. “Should we search every room?”

Ryan sighed. “If we do that and find out we’re in the wrong location, we will have lost a lot of time.”

The door down the hall opened abruptly. “Hello?”

Michelle shrieked and jumped. She reeled back, colliding against Ryan’s chest.

An older woman with tightly permed gray hair peeked around the door. “Oh, I apologize. I hadn’t expected anyone so soon. You’re with the scavenger hunt, correct?”

“Yes,” Michelle said, stepping away from Ryan. She’d had no idea the guy was that solid and buff. Now wished she didn’t have that type of information. “And we’re the first ones here?” she asked the woman.

“That’s right. Now hurry along with me. You don’t want to squander your lead.” She motioned them to approach the door which led them to the steps of the basement.

“I’m Dr. Doris Fielding, the principal of this school,” the older woman introduced herself.

“I’m Michelle, and this is Ryan.”

“What does the school have to do with Homer and Ida Wirt?” Ryan asked as they walked down the steps.

“It’s where they first met,” Dr. Fielding said. “Homer was from the farming community and Ida’s father worked at the railroad. They both graduated eighth grade, but didn’t attend any more schooling, which was common in those days.”

At the foot of the stairs, Michelle saw two older women standing by a long wooden table. Photos, plastic trays, and what looked like toys littered the tabletop. Dr. Fielding escorted them to the far end.

“Now listen closely,” the woman said. “Your task involves some construction and engineering.”

Construction? Engineering? Dread flooded through Michelle. Those weren’t her strong points. Especially when it came to creating anything multitiered. Like cakes. Construction took time. Steady hands. Nerves of steel.

“This picture”—the principal held up a faded, black-and-white photograph of a building—“is what the Benjamin Franklin Public School looked like when Homer and Ida attended.”

“I don’t like the sounds of this,” Michelle muttered.

“No talking, Michelle,” Dr. Fielding said sternly as she picked up a color photo of building blocks. “And this picture is what you’re supposed to build using the materials we are providing.”

Michelle stared at the pile of miniature building material until the primary colors blurred. She was in trouble. Big trouble.

“I’m giving you three minutes to look over the picture before I take it away. No constructing at this time. Understood?”

Michelle nodded automatically. Dr. Fielding didn’t have to worry about her. She wasn’t going to attempt constructing any time soon.

“You may begin”—the principal looked at her watch—“now.”

Michelle grabbed the picture and studied it closely. As if her life depended on it. Her fingers pinched the photo, creasing the paper.

She stared at the picture and then looked at the building pieces laid out. As far as she was concerned, none of it matched. Had they given her the right picture?

The panic began to rise. She didn’t know what was wrong with her. Whenever a challenge was thrown her way, she rose to the occasion. Every time. But records were made to be broken and this scavenger hunt might be her downfall. “We are screwed.”

“Ssh. If Doris hears you, she’ll put you in the corner,” Ryan whispered. “And since I’m supposed to go where you go, guess where that puts me. In the corner.”

“I’m serious,” Michelle said in a hiss. “I suck at this kind of thing.”

“Then it’s good you brought me along.”

“You can do this?” The picture rattled in her hand.

“Definitely. Blindfolded and with one arm tied behind my back.”

Michelle rolled her eyes. “You don’t need to rub it in,” she said as the relief coursed through her.

They heard the clatter of footsteps. Michelle looked up and saw Brandy and Clayton hurrying down the basement stairs. It was a struggle, but Michelle contained her surprise. “How did they get here so fast?” she whispered fiercely to Ryan.

He shrugged. “You said yourself that Clayton is a genius.”

True, but having Brandy as his partner should have negated the intelligence factor. “I think they followed us.”

“Which would be a genius move.”

The principal appeared before them and snatched the picture out of Michelle’s hand. “Time’s up. Follow me.” She scooped the building pieces in a plastic tray and motioned them to another door.

“Take this. You have to go into this room and build the replica of the Benjamin Franklin Public School.” She ushered them inside the dank, windowless room. Michelle looked around and decided it had to be a custodian’s office. It was small, cramped, with nothing but a rickety desk and chair.

“When you think you have done it properly, knock on the door and we will view your work,” Dr. Fielding instructed. “If it’s not done exactly as the picture, then you will return to this room until it’s done.”

Okay, fine. Michelle was more than happy to hand this assignment over to Ryan. Let him be in charge. She would hand him the pieces. She could do that.

“I forgot one thing,” the older woman said. “Are either of you afraid of the dark?”

Warning trickled down her spine. “No,” Michelle said. She looked at Ryan, who slowly shook his head. “Why?”

“Because the scavenger hunt organizers want you to build the replica in the dark, so we took out the lightbulb.” Dr. Fielding flipped the switches, but the lights didn’t go on.

Michelle’s jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me?”

“No, I never kid.” The principal grasped the doorknob. “Best of luck.”

Michelle stared as the woman closed the door with a firm click. She watched, disbelieving, as the door snuffed out the last beam of light. She was stuck in a tiny, pitch-black room. With Ryan.

Ryan blinked hard, but he couldn’t see anything in the room except for the pale light outlining the door. He tried to recall how the room was situated. The desk was immediately behind him and the chair to the right. Had there been a file cabinet? He didn’t want to jog his memory by walking into it.

“I don’t believe this!” Michelle’s indignation echoed in the small room.

“Why would they make us do this in the dark?” he asked. This assignment didn’t make sense to him.

“Sexy, Carbon Hill style.”

Ryan’s hands clenched the tray and the pieces rattled. “What?” he asked hoarsely.

“I said it was se—” Michelle stopped abruptly. Ryan could imagine her pressing her lips together. The cold air twanged around him and goose bumps blanketed his skin.

This was not good. It was bad enough being alone in a small room with Michelle, but after that kiss, it was bad timing. Especially since the kiss was all he could think about. That, and wondering when he could kiss her again. He might not be able to see anything right now, but he had a clear memory of her soft mouth.

Yeah, he was in trouble. Big trouble.

“They wanted to make the assignment more difficult,” she finished saying, her voice trailing off.

“They’ve succeeded.” When he had suggested he could build the replica blindfolded, he had been exaggerating. Okay, he had been lying.

And why? To look good in front of Michelle. He obviously hadn’t matured much since she last saw him. Was that what he wanted her to know? No. He wanted to prove that while he hadn’t gone to some fancy French school, he had skills. That she was going to need him to complete this scavenger hunt.

He needed to come up with a new plan.

“I’m sure they’ll have an excuse,” Michelle said, her voice wrapping around him. He froze, wondering if she had moved. If she was closer.

“Yeah, probably,” Ryan agreed. To what, he didn’t have a clue. Nor did he have any idea about Michelle’s perfume. Maybe it was her soap or shampoo. Whatever it was, the faint scent made him think of cinnamon. It smelled good. Smelled expensive.

“They’ll say that the Wirts had to do all their clandestine work in the dark, but you know what? That’s not why they’re doing this. They are doing this to make us suffer.”

“Way to face the day.” He was suffering. Could feel the blood rushing from his head and pumping through his veins. He needed to leave. Now. Ryan made a cautious step toward the door.

“What they’re asking for is impossible!” Michelle announced just as something like a hand glanced off Ryan’s cheekbone. He flinched back and saw a spattering of stars.

Michelle’s gasp ricocheted off the walls. “I’m so sorry!” Her hands fluttered against his face. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s no big deal,” Ryan assured her as the heel of her hand pressed against his nose. Did she really think that was his cheekbone?

To his disappointment, she pulled her hands away. “But don’t you agree?” Michelle asked. “That the scavenger hunt organizers are being unreasonable?”

“Yeah, I do. So let’s quit.”

“What?” She said it so low and quick that he almost missed it.

“You said it yourself. It’s impossible.” He took another step to the door, this time holding his arm out, but his hand didn’t brush up against anything. “Why knock ourselves out trying to do it?”

“We can’t just quit!” Her voice rose and fell with each word.

“Sure we can. Hey, are you hungry? There’s this great new restaurant on Main—”

“We are not quitting,” Michelle said with surprising force.

Ryan stopped and turned toward where he heard Michelle. “Why not?”

She hesitated before replying. “Lots of reasons…but we’re not going to get into that right now. We need to build this thing.”

Ryan shook his head, even though he knew Michelle couldn’t see him. “That is not gonna happen until we get some light in here.”

She exhaled sharply. “It’s not
that
dark.”

“Oh, really?” A few minutes ago it was unreasonably dark. Amazing. “How many fingers do I have up?”

“The middle one?”

“Funny.” He shuffled his feet toward the door, but Michelle snagged his shirtsleeve and quickly grasped his arm before he moved away.

“We need to try.”

Ryan sighed. It sounded old and weary and he could feel it deep in his chest. He wanted to find the right time to apologize to Michelle, but that shouldn’t require him to do this. It should mean sharing a cold beer at the corner bar, a couple of laughs, and a really hot kiss that ended in another kiss and another…

“Please, Ryan.”

Aw, hell. That did it. He wasn’t sure if it was the tiny catch in her voice or that she had said please. He couldn’t ignore her request.

“Okay, fine,” he said gruffly. “I’m stepping toward the desk. Where are you—oomph!”

He collided into her and dropped the tray. The sound of the container clanging against the floor was nothing compared to the rainfall of wood and metal pieces.

Michelle didn’t say a word, even after the last metal nut spun to a standstill. The silence pulsed around them. Ryan stood frozen as a statue.
A little too late for that strategy
, Michelle decided.

She wanted to move, but she knew the way her luck was going, she’d step on a piece and it would shatter. “Which direction did they go?” she whispered.

“I’m going to guess…down.”

“Hey!” Michelle bristled at Ryan’s sarcasm. “I don’t need this attitude coming from you. I’m not the one who dropped the tray.”

“Get on your hands and knees.”

Michelle gasped. She reared back as heat shot through her blood. The back of her knees tickled.
“Why?”

“Because we are going to cover every inch of this floor,” Ryan said, his voice sounding closer to the ground, “and find the damn tray.”

A blush scorched her skin. She could feel it sizzling. Michelle decided it was better not to say a word and slowly lowered herself. There was no need to give Ryan any idea of how her imagination ran wild. Or how his command caused jitters low in her stomach.

Reaching out, she planted her hand against the floor, only to find one of the pieces. One of the
sharp
pieces, of course. “Found one,” she said as she scooped it up and held it in a loose fist.

“Good,” Ryan said, his voice low and husky. He sounded close. Too close. Michelle raised her head, scenting trouble. Where was he? In front of her? Behind her?

The not knowing was agony. She had to keep on her guard with Ryan. It had always been that way, even when they were casual acquaintances. Michelle looked around wildly, but she saw nothing. The beat of her heart echoed in her ears and she couldn’t tell which direction the sound of clothes brushing against skin came from.

Michelle gritted her teeth as her nipples strained against her bra. She felt vulnerable, crawling around the floor with Ryan in the dark. Defenseless…and, much to her embarrassment, intrigued.

She had to move. Now, before he pounced. Or worse, before she went after him. “Where could they—”

She slammed against metal—that had about a million corners. This really wasn’t her day. “Ouch,” she said as she rubbed the sore spot on the side of her head.

“Are you okay?”

“I see dancing spots.” And now that she thought about it, she preferred the darkness. “What did I hit?”

“Probably the desk.”

She jerked in surprise when she felt his large hand on her thigh. “That would be my leg.”

Ryan flattened his hand and skimmed up. She went rigid under his touch.

“Hip,” she told him, her voice high. What was he doing? Couldn’t he tell the difference between a woman’s body and a piece of office furniture?

His hand cupped her side and Michelle fought the urge to curl into him. “Waist.” It came out as a warning. If he moved his hand up, he was going to find out how turned on she was. She’d rather he didn’t know.

She felt Ryan lifting his palm and her choppy breath caught in her lungs. She grabbed his hand, wishing she had nails to use as a threat. Her fingers shook as she kept a tight hold on him. “What are you looking for?” she asked in a hiss.

“Your phone.”

She dropped his hand in surprise. “You need to call someone? Now?”

“Turn it on,” he told her. She could hear his smile in his voice. “We’ll use the light.”

She gave a start, her head bumping against the metal again. “We can’t do that!” she said as she rubbed the sore spot again.

“Why not?”

Was he being deliberately obtuse? Wait, he had been a rule breaker growing up. She had been fascinated by that side of him. Before she knew better. “That would be cheating.”

Ryan made a scoffing sound. “No, it isn’t.”

“Dr. Fielding said no lights.” And that woman was the type with eyes in the back of her head. She’d catch them for sure.

“They didn’t say anything about bringing our own lights to the party.”

“It’s cheating,” she repeated. And she’d keep on repeating it until he got it into his head.

“No, it’s not.”

“Yes,” she said through clenched teeth, wishing she sounded as patient as Ryan, “it is.”

She heard him take a deep breath right before he changed tactics. “Do you really want to spend more time in this room?”

Good point. She stuffed her hands into her pockets, bypassing the hard candy and paper she seemed to accumulate every time she wore the jean jacket. “Here’s the phone.”

“You keep it.”

Oh, sure. Have her handle the incriminating piece of evidence. “But we’re going to get caught and then we’re going to be disqualified.”

“Explain why that would be a bad thing.”

Well, he had her there. Michelle turned on the phone. The eerie green light didn’t go far. She held it to the floor and moved it around. “Found the tray.”

Ryan grabbed the tray. “Okay, now the pieces.”

“How many are there?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure we’ll find them all. The room isn’t that big.”

The room wasn’t that large, but neither was her phone. By the time they collected all the pieces, her knees and elbows were sore, and she really wished the custodian swept the floor once in a while.

“Aim the light at the tray and I’ll put the pieces together,” Ryan said. “We’ll be done in no time.”

Michelle shifted her bottom jaw to the side. “Your optimism is beginning to annoy me.”

“We have just as much chance as everyone else.”

“Right.” She aimed the light at the tray.

“And of all people to be pessimistic,” he muttered as he swiftly put the pieces together.

“Huh?” She had been distracted by his hands. They were large and lean. Just like someone who worked with their hands a lot and knew how to use them. “What was that?”

His hands stilled. “Never mind,” he said and worked faster. His fingers were a blur.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She wasn’t allowed to be cynical? Well, she had news for him.

“Nothing.” His hands didn’t skip a beat as the replica grew. It was mesmerizing.

“You better tell me.”

“Or what?” he asked, his voice laced with amusement.

“Or…or…” Okay, she had nothing. “I’m serious. Why did you say that?”

“Someone who has the Midas touch shouldn’t be pessimistic.”

Michelle almost dropped the phone. The light zigzagged as she held it steady. “Midas touch?”

“You are Carbon Hill’s golden girl.”

And therefore everything came easy for her? She wished! “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I have worked hard—”

Michelle stopped and pulled back. Her fingers tightened around the phone. Now was not the time to discuss this. She quickly changed the subject. “Are you sure that matches the picture exactly?”

He paused and Michelle assumed he was studying the replica one last time. “No, I’m not positive.”

She waited, but he had nothing to add. That was it? That was all he had to say? Was there anything else they could do? “Then?” Michelle said, hoping to prompt him.

She sensed Ryan’s shrug. “We’ll do it again and we will eventually get it right.”

Michelle clucked her tongue. “There’s that optimism again.”

Ryan chose to ignore her comment. “Guide me to the door,” he said as he took the tray, “and then hide your phone.”

“Why would I have to hide it if it’s not cheating?” she asked as they slowly made their way to the door. She pocketed the electronic device before pounding her fist against the solid door.

It swung open, the sudden light blinding as the shadowy figure of Dr. Fielding stood before them. Michelle winced and blinked until she could see the older woman’s features.

“Well,” Dr. Fielding said in a haughty tone that made Michelle feel sorry for any schoolkid who dared to be tardy. “We were beginning to worry about you two.”

Ryan flashed a crooked smile and presented the replica with a flourish. “Here you are.”

“I have to inspect and compare it with the photo, so please put it on the table next to the others.”

“Others?” Michelle and Ryan parroted. She looked at the table and saw two replicas of the Benjamin Franklin School.

“The other teams are on to the next assignment,” Dr. Fielding explained as she escorted them to the table. Ryan slid their project onto the table, silently staring at the competition’s handiwork.

Michelle’s mouth dropped open. “No. Way.”

“It’s true.” Dr. Fielding tipped her eyeglasses as she leaned down to study their offerings.

“By how many minutes?” Michelle wasn’t sure if she wanted the answer, but it would be a special brand of torture if she didn’t know how close or far away they were with their competitors.

Dr. Fielding paused from her inspection and looked over the rim of her glasses. “I don’t believe I’m allowed to give out that kind of information.”

Translation: a lot. Michelle struggled not to show her disappointment.

Ryan shifted impatiently as Dr. Fielding studied every minute detail of their assignment. The urgency to run and catch up with the others started to build inside Michelle. Couldn’t this woman work any faster?

But what if the replica wasn’t exact? Michelle didn’t even want to think about it. She would go back in the dark room and try again, but she wouldn’t be sweet about it. And it was going to take more to convince Ryan to do the same. That would be harder than reconstructing the damn thing.