Run to You (21 page)

“Okay,” Gabby said quietly.

“Really?” Emma clapped her hands in excitement, and Lance darted several steps back toward the kitchen before deciding it was safe to stay.

“Assuming it's okay with Ethan.” She twisted her fingers into the folds of her skirt. “But, Emma, I really don't think I'll make it through the ropes course.”

“I think you will, but either way, we'll have given it our best, and that's all we can do, right?”

Maybe Gabby ought to adopt that as her new motto. But damn…just the thought of tackling that ropes course made her knees shake and her heart beat too fast. “I guess so.”

“Okay. Unless I hear otherwise, I'll see you at Off-the-Grid tomorrow at seven. Oh, and wear this.” She handed Gabby a purple T-shirt that read,
TEAM FLOWER POWER
.

“Cute shirt.”

Emma smiled, then jutted a finger in Gabby's direction. “Seriously, be there. We're counting on you.”

“I'll be there.” She saw Emma out, then lifted Lance into her arms and carried him with her into the living room, where she settled him next to her on the couch. A sick feeling grew in the pit of her stomach. She was going to let Team Flower Power down tomorrow, and despite what Emma had said, that felt worse than accepting her limitations and staying on the sidelines.

Ugh. Why was she so eager to please that she'd let Emma talk her into saying yes? She stroked Lance absently with her left hand while, with her right, she dialed Ethan.

“Hey,” he answered. “As it happens, I was just thinking about you, too.”

“You were?” She pressed her knuckles to her lips with a smile.

“Yeah.” He didn't elaborate, and an air of awkwardness fell over the line. No doubt about it, something between them had shifted,
changed
. He'd changed. He was pulling away.

“So I have a question,” she said. “Could you manage tomorrow without me as a volunteer?”

“I'm sure I could swing it. Why?” A note of caution had entered his voice.

She sighed. “Somehow Emma just convinced me to join her team.”

“No shit?” Now he sounded like Ethan again. She could hear the smile in his voice. “You're going to race?”

“In theory.” She combed her fingers through Lance's soft fur.

“You totally got this. Need me to come over for a pep talk?”

As tempting as that sounded… “No. I'll be fine, and we both need our beauty sleep.”

He laughed, and it tickled all the spots that had been missing him this week. “Seriously, though. You sure you're okay with this?”

Her heart melted at the concern in his voice. “I may not get far, but I'll give it my best.”

“That's my girl,” he said with pride. “And I think you'll go a lot farther than you think you will. In fact, I'm pretty damn sure I'll be giving you a victory kiss after you've crossed the finish line.”

“I'm not going to make it through the ropes course.”

“I wish I could have helped you practice on it, but it's already dark, and tomorrow morning's race time. But, and this might sound clichéd, seriously just don't look down. Have one of the other girls go ahead of you, and just keep your eyes on her the whole time.”

“Okay.” That might help. A little.

“I'll see you tomorrow bright and early,” he said. “Sleep well.”

“You, too.” She hung up the phone and sat for a long time just staring at it. Then she walked down the hall toward her bedroom.

Eight hours later, she staggered out of bed, bleary-eyed.

She hadn't slept a wink.

Ethan couldn't sleep. Two Olympic gold medals, and he'd never gotten nervous. But right now…he wasn't nervous exactly, but edgy. Restless.

Wishing he were in Gabby's bed.

Wishing he were giving her a pep talk as she got ready. She had to be scared to death. And he was so friggin' proud of her for tackling her fears like this. She was so strong, so much stronger than she gave herself credit for.

Finally, he gave up on sleep. It was just past five, and the sun hadn't even thought about peeping over the mountains yet. But there was lots to be done to get ready for the Adrenaline Rush, and he and the guys had to be there early.

He showered, doing his best not to wake Gram, but by the time he'd gotten dressed, she was in the kitchen fixing him breakfast. She wore a blue robe over her nightgown, her silver hair jutting from her head in all directions, and he had such a vivid memory of them in this house, her in the kitchen, looking so much the same as she'd fixed him a bacon and cheddar omelet before he boarded the flight to Beijing.

“My good luck special,” she said as she placed the same omelet on the table. “You are going to kick butt out there today, sweetie.”

“Thanks, Gram.” He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat.

She slid another omelet onto her plate and sat opposite him with a cup of hot tea. “Marlene is bringing me by around eight so I can see the official kickoff.”

“You're the best. You know that, right?”

“Well, of course,” she answered playfully, but when she looked at him, her eyes were so tender, so filled with emotion, that his throat closed painfully.

He choked down the rest of his omelet, kissed her on the cheek, and headed for Off-the-Grid to start setting up. Mark and Ryan were already there—show-offs—running final safety checks on all the equipment.

Yesterday the porta-potties had been delivered, and they'd set up all the tables they would need for registration and refreshments. The race started at eight, with waves at eight fifteen and eight thirty to eliminate congestion on the course. After all the teams had crossed the finish line, their times and scores would be tallied and the winning teams would be announced.

He'd run the whole course with Ryan and Mark several times, and his only disappointment was that he wouldn't be competing today because it was a hell of a good time. His competitive nature fired up as the first racers began to arrive. It ought to be almost as exciting overseeing the event as participating, especially when he got to cheer for Gabby as she crossed the finish line.

They were short-staffed at the registration table without her so he stationed himself there, welcoming racers, handing out numbers and registration packets, and signing up those who'd decided to join at the last minute.

It was fun, and the turnout was great. Everyone looked pumped for the event. Some of the teams had even dressed in coordinating T-shirts and other outfits. And while he saw plenty of colorful accessories, he didn't see anyone who would be classified as “unsavory” by the Town Council.

TV crews from two local news stations were walking through the crowd, interviewing people. He recognized one of the anchors—Krissy Jenkins. They'd gone to high school together and dated briefly several years ago. He'd called her last week after Gabby suggested reaching out to the media. Krissy stopped by the registration table, cameraman in tow, to ask him a few questions about the event for the evening broadcast.

“Good luck today,” she said after they'd finished.

Ethan nodded. “Thanks for coming out to cover the event. I appreciate it.”

With a wave, she headed off into the crowd, and he got back to handing out registration packets. The crowd just kept growing.

“Oh, shoot. You're stuck at the registration desk because of me.”

He looked up to see Gabby standing on the other side of the table, wearing a purple
TEAM FLOWER POWER
T-shirt and black running capris, her hair pulled back in a ponytail fastened with a cluster of fresh-cut flowers, no doubt courtesy of Emma. “It's my event. The least I can do is show my mug here at registration.”

“Do you need help?” She twisted her fingers. Judging by the dark circles under her eyes, she hadn't slept any better than he had.

“Sweetheart, I can handle the hell out of this. What about you? You ready?”

“As I'll ever be.” She gave him a pinched smile.

He reached across the table and took her hand. “Remember, you're part of a team, and let the girls help you out. You'll help them, too, early in the course before things get elevated. Just focus on your teammates and never look down. You got this. No doubt in my mind.”

“You're a lot more confident about that than I am.” She tugged her hand from his and tucked a flyaway strand of hair behind her ear. “See you at the finish line.”

“Atta girl.”

She walked over to join her team, all dressed in matching shirts with flowers in their hair.
Cute.
They were the only all-girl team, and he hoped they rocked that status.

Things got fast and furious for a while after that. He was so busy greeting and handing out registration packets that he barely had a chance to look up. When he did, the sight absolutely blew his mind. Off-the-Grid was packed, bursting with people, racers and spectators alike.

“Fucking awesome, man,” Ryan said from behind him.

It was exactly as he'd envisioned it. Better. There was no way the Town Council could see this and not grant them their business permit.

“Hi. I'm here to register for the race.”

Ethan turned toward the familiar voice and found himself staring into the smarmy eyes of Brad Mobley, Gabby's abusive ex.

T
eam Flower Power would be in the first wave of competitors starting at eight, and Gabby was both relieved and terrified about that. Relieved to get on with it because the anticipation was killing her, but terrified about what lay ahead.

She'd gone into the house to use the bathroom (as Ethan's girlfriend, she got to bypass the porta-potties, thank goodness) and was on her way to the registration area for a cup of water when she saw him.

Brad.

He stood at the registration table arguing with Ethan.
Oh God.
Brad was here and dressed like he intended to run the race. Ethan's expression was deadly. If she didn't get her butt over there and quick, they were going to fight, and she had no doubt Ethan would kick Brad's ass. As much as Brad deserved it, she didn't want that to happen. Not ever but especially not right now when she was already wound so tight with nerves, she was about to snap.

She jogged over to the table. “What are you doing here?” she demanded, relieved that her voice sounded strong. She sounded as pissed as she felt.

“News of your boyfriend's race traveled all the way to Charlotte. A couple of my buddies signed up, and I decided to join them.” He was staring at her, and all she felt was furious.

“Over there. Right now.” She pointed toward a big tree off to the side where they could talk without causing a scene.

“Bullshit,” Ethan said, loud enough that he turned heads. “He was just leaving.”

“The hell I was.” Brad's ears were flushed, his body tensed for a fight.

Gabby cringed. Any minute now the fists were going to fly. But this was Ethan's big day, and no way was she going to let Brad ruin it. He wasn't worth it. She gave Brad a nudge, and with a final furious look at Ethan, he fell into step behind her and followed her to the tree.

She fisted her hands on her hips. “Go home, Brad.”

“I have every right to be here. Your boyfriend can't keep me from registering.” He stepped closer, too close, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of backing up.

She met his gaze evenly. “Actually, this is his private property, so I think he can.”

“That's bullshit! Total bullshit.”

The sound of his voice was like nails on a chalkboard. Gabby ground her teeth. “You've never run in a race before. We both know you're here because of me so let's just cut to the chase. What do you want? Why do you keep showing up here in Haven?”

Brad drew a deep breath. He paced a few steps away, dragging a hand through his hair. When he turned back to her, his expression had changed. “I want another chance with you, Gabby. We were good together.”

“We were
terrible
together.” She straightened her spine and stared him right in the eye. “You hit me.”

He bowed his head. “That was a mistake, and I've apologized. It will never happen again.”

“No, it won't, because I'll never give you the chance to do that to me again.”

Something in her tone must have gotten through because he backed up, a startled look on his face. “But…I love you.”

“No, you don't. You just want me back because I left before you were ready, and you like to be in charge of those decisions. But I made this one, Brad, and we are
finished
.”

“No, we're not.” Anger flared in his eyes again, the kind that used to make her shrivel in fear because she hated fighting.

But not today. “Yes, we are. There is not anything you could say or do that would ever convince me to give you another chance. I don't know how else to say it. I don't love you. I don't even like you. I don't ever want to see you again.”

“You stupid, ungrateful bitch. After everything I did for you, you want to throw it all away for a fling with that loser?” He gestured to where Ethan stood behind the registration table, watching them, looking like a lion ready to pounce.

“Yeah, I do. Good-bye, Brad.” She made it all the way to Ethan, fueled by anger and adrenaline, before her knees gave out. Her heart pounded, and her whole body shook.

Ethan was looking at her like he wanted to undress her right then and there, but instead he just held her in his arms until she'd stopped shaking. “I am so fucking proud of you.”

And okay, maybe she was a little proud of herself, too. She'd finally told Brad off, hopefully for good. “Thanks.”

“Now you're going to go out there and make me proud again, okay?” He kissed her, hard, so full of passion, but it was more than that. His kiss felt like all the words he'd never said: that this was real, that she was worth fighting for, that they had a chance together.

Tears stung her eyes. “Okay.”

“You tell him to get packing?” he asked.

“Let him register. He's never run before. He'll probably fall on his face. It might be fun to watch.” She managed a smile, but now that the adrenaline had faded, she sagged in Ethan's arms. Last night's sleeplessness, combined with her argument with Brad, had drained her.

“All right then.” Ethan gave her an assessing look. “Here, eat this.” He handed her a protein bar.

“Thanks.” She opened it and took a bite, surprised to find her appetite had returned. When she'd gotten ready at home earlier, she hadn't been able to choke down a single bite of her breakfast. She ate the protein bar and chased it with a cup of water. “I better go find my team. It's almost eight.”

He nodded, then pulled her in for another heady kiss. “Go get 'em, Tiger. I'll see you at the pond, okay?”

She nodded, then wove her way through the crowd of racers until she spotted Team Flower Power. Emma was busy fixing the flowers in Mandy's hair. Carly stood off to the side, kissing a guy that was—
holy shit
, it was Sam Weiss. Gabby tried not to stare, but she'd forgotten the girls had told her at book club that Carly was dating the famous rocker.

“There you are!” Emma said, sounding relieved. “We've been looking for you. I was afraid you'd gotten cold feet.”

“Sorry,” Gabby said. “I bumped into someone from back home.”

Emma gave her a long look. “You okay? You look a little shaky.”

“Just nerves. But don't worry, I'm ready to do this.”

“Team Flower Power is going to kick some ass!” Mandy initiated a group fist bump. She did indeed look ready to kick ass. Beneath her purple team shirt and black knit capris, she was lean and muscular, built like an athlete.

Emma, though petite, also had an athletic build and looked ready to kick butt out on the course. Carly had a softer, curvier figure like Gabby's. She and Carly exchanged a nervous smile.

“Good luck, ladies,” Sam said, waving as he turned to leave. “I'm going to go give Ethan a hand at registration, but I'll be waiting for you at the finish line.”

A buzz rippled through the crowd as he walked toward the registration table. By the time he'd joined Ethan behind it, the table was mobbed with people—women in particular. Gabby saw a news crew headed that way, cameras blazing.

“There's a lot of star power at the registration table right now,” Emma said with a giggle.

“Should be great publicity for the event,” Carly said, and they all nodded.

Then Ryan was calling for the eight o'clock racers to gather at the starting line. Gabby gulped down her nerves and followed her teammates to the edge of the yard. Ryan read through the rules of the challenge for them one last time while Mark came around passing out a brown paper bag to each team.

“When I say go, you'll open your bag. Inside, you'll find a compass and directions to navigate to your next clue. Ready?”

Team Flower Power and the four other teams in the first wave all nodded and shouted in agreement. Adrenaline flooded Gabby's stomach.

“Go!”

A team in camouflaged clothes darted together across the field while everyone else remained where they stood to open their brown paper bag. Mandy, who'd been designated the team navigator, pulled out the compass, turning it over in her hand.

“Walk one hundred and fifty yards northwest,” Emma read. “There you will find a trail with yellow markers. Follow it east until you reach the tree marked with an X. Your next clue is in that tree.”

“Got it.” Mandy stood, brow furrowed, tipping the compass as she turned slowly in a circle to orient herself. “Northwest is that way.” She pointed toward the left side of the field.

“But that other team is going right,” Carly said.

“I'm pretty sure we all have different directions,” Emma said. “And some of them might not know how to read a compass anyway. Come on!” She took off at a jog across the field. Mandy overtook her to take the lead, while Gabby and Carly trailed behind.

The teams fanned out across the field, each headed into the woods at different points.

Team Flower Power entered the woods between two large oak trees, slowing to a walk as the vegetation became more dense. After a few minutes, they stumbled onto a thin trail marked with yellow ribbon tied around various tree branches.

“That was almost too easy,” Carly said.

Emma smiled over her shoulder. “I told you we were going to rock this.”

“East,” Mandy said, pointing left.

They all fell into step behind her, jogging single file down the thinly cut path.

“X!” Carly said from behind Gabby, and they stopped to look where she was pointing. A tree to the right of the path had twine wound around it in a crisscross pattern, forming a thin X.

“That has to be it,” Emma said. “Good eye, Carly.”

No kidding. The rest of them had passed by the tree without noticing. Gabby's nerves had calmed some now, but while she hadn't held her team back—yet anyway—she hadn't contributed anything productive to their efforts either.

“Do you think we need to climb the tree?” Mandy asked.

“I'll climb it while you guys search around the trunk.” Emma grabbed a branch, braced her feet against the tree's rough bark, and hauled herself up.

Gabby walked around the tree, keeping her eyes on its gnarled roots, but nothing out of the ordinary caught her eye. If she were Ethan, where would she hide the clue? He was a straight shooter of a guy. He preferred a simple solution to something complicated.

Therefore, it made sense that the clue would be…

“Got it!” Mandy called, pointing to a brown paper bag wound into the twine at the back of the tree.

Yep. That sounded like Ethan.

“What does it say?” Emma called from overhead. She swung her feet down, dangling for a moment from a tree branch, then dropped to the ground.

Mandy removed a clue from the bag, leaving it for the next wave of racers. “Continue east on the yellow trail until you come to the blue trail. Take the blue trail northwest until you arrive at the stream. There you'll find a package of supplies marked with your team name. You'll use these supplies and whatever else you can gather from the surrounding woods to cross your team over the stream without falling in. If anyone falls in, that person must return to the starting side and try again. Once you've crossed the stream, you'll find directions to the next challenge.”

Emma, Gabby, Carly, and Mandy set off at a jog down the path.

In the distance, she heard Ryan yell “Go!” as the next wave of competitors started out. She glanced down at her watch. Yep. It was eight fifteen. Soon they came to a larger trail, one Gabby recognized. In fact, it was the very trail she and Ethan had walked that awful day when they first met and she'd been attacked by yellow jackets.

Today, it had been marked with blue ribbon.

“Turn right,” Mandy called, the compass still clutched in her hand. They all turned right, quiet as they jogged toward the stream.

The camouflaged team burst onto the trail in front of them, gave them a look, and took off running in the same direction. They jogged about ten minutes, during which time they were also joined by a team in red T-shirts, before they came to the stream.

The guys had selected an area where the stream ran wide and fast. Along its bank were approximately twenty rolled bundles, each labeled with a team name. Mark sat high on a rock, overseeing them.

Team Flower Power and the two other teams with them found and opened their bundles, hurrying to get across before the final two eight o'clock teams caught up. Inside their bundle were sticks and logs of varying lengths, rope, cloth, and a bottle of water for each team member.

Gabby drank while Emma and Mandy strategized. Carly was staring at the logs, a pensive look on her face. The camouflage team was already at work tying sticks together to make a makeshift bridge.

“These two are long enough to span the stream,” Emma said, pointing at two logs. “We can slide them across and use the rope to tie the smaller sticks across them to make a bridge.”

“Like what that team is doing?” Carly asked.

“Yeah, more or less.”

“Or we could just try to balance beam on that biggest log to get across fast,” Mandy suggested.

“I'd never make it,” Carly said.

Gabby was remembering how she'd seen Ethan span the rope bridge back when it was under construction, the way he'd held on to an overhead rope for balance. “What if we run the log across, then Mandy can balance beam over to the other side holding one end of the rope. We tie the two ends to trees, and then the rest of us hold on to the rope as we go across for balance.”

“That's brilliant.” Emma clapped her hands in excitement.

Carly was nodding in agreement.

Mandy grabbed the end of the biggest log. “Okay, let's do it.”

Together they helped her maneuver the log into place. It was no easy feat getting it across the stream with all of them on one side of the bank, but after a lot of work and even more swearing, they managed to swing one end of the log onto the opposite shore. They wiggled it until it settled into place securely enough not to roll beneath their feet.