Page 42 of You're the Reason

“We’re all weak at some time. Even with muscles like yours.” Nate sent him a meaningful look.

“Right.” God had helped with the money situation. But it was nice not to be so dependent on others like he had been as a kid.

Nate clapped to get the boys’ attention. “Jimmy, help me change the weights on this, then you can give it a try.”

The kid ran over as if Nate had promised him ice cream and a new video game all at once. Maybe one of the kids was more open to being here than the other.

Seth walked over to where Zane stood staring at the pegboard screwed into the wall about six feet off the ground.

Seth slung the towel around his neck, holding it on each side. “Give it a try?”

The kid sent him an eye roll worthy of the sassiest junior higher. “I can’t reach that.”

“Then the first challenge is getting up there ... Figure it out.” He turned away to give the kid a moment. Zane was all attitude, and if he tried to walk him though the process, there was no way the kid would even try. At least with a room full of mirrors he could keep an eye on him without being obvious, so he wouldn’t hurt himself.

Zane jumped several times but couldn’t seem to get more than a couple fingers on it. Not enough to pull himself up. Then the boy pushed a stool over and grabbed the pegs on the first try. “Now what?”

Seth turned back to Zane, crossing his arms over his chest. “Now pull them out and move them around the board.”

“No way. That’s impossible.” He wiggled as he adjusted his grip, straining with the effort of holding himself up.

“Difficult. Not impossible.”

The kid dropped and wiped his hand. “Then let me see you do it.”

The kid obviously didn’t think he could, but this was part of Seth’s standard workout. Seth jumped up and navigated a few before glancing at Jimmy over his shoulder. “The key is to support your weight on one before moving the other. When you get good enough you can try following different number patterns. Sometimes I go in order. Other times I do odd numbers.”

He demonstrated a few more, then jumped down. “Try again.”

The kid jumped up and strained against his weight. He didn’t have an extra ounce of fat on him, but he didn’t have an extra ounce of muscle either. Poor kid. But they all had to start somewhere. He managed to move one peg, and he dropped, a smile on his face. “I did it.”

The look on his face struck a chord in Seth. Like he was looking back at a younger him. How would life have turned out differently if he’d had something like this back then? If he hadn’t been so determined to figure it all out on his own. He offered Zane an approving nod and a fist bump. The kid strutted over to tell Jimmy about his triumph, standing noticeably taller than before.

Seth glanced over to get Nate’s attention, but he hadn’t missed it. He nodded at Seth. “Now you get it.”

This was exactly why he wanted to set up that ninja gym. It wasn’t just about the weights. It was about creating an environment where kids could challenge themselves in a fun and entertaining way. That was what had made the Ninja Warrior training so fun.

He hadn’t really thought beyond the money the first time he went to compete, but the course had tapped into something that made him come alive. Part parkour, part gymnastics, part weight training. All he could think after it was over was why had it taken him so long to try it? He would have loved it as a kid, and just maybe it would have given him the confidence to steer in a different direction.

Both Nate and Seth had taken the hard path, but at least they had come out okay on this side. There were others in his life still lost on that path. And others who needed to be saved from ever entering it. If he could provide options for those kids, not only would it make them stronger and fitter, it might just be the one thing that kept them from self-destruction.

He’d make the Lansing property work no matter what Jon said. How bad could it be?

As if on cue, Jon walked in the front door. One look at his face and he knew Jon was going to try to talk him out of it. Not going to happen.

Jon held out his phone. “It’s the last ones in the album.”

Seth took the phone and studied the first photo. It didn’t show much beyond a dilapidated pole barn in the middle of an overgrown field. That was probably just a bad angle.

“It gets worse.” Jon motioned for him to scroll.

He scrolled to the next. Jon had zoomed in on a row of windows running the length of one side. Most of those were cracked or missing large sections. He scrolled again. The next focused on a large, damaged section of the roof. Just getting better and better.

The last photo was taken from the inside. It was dim, but he could make out a fair amount of debris and puddles of moisture that covered the cement floor.

“And let me just say”—he pointed to the puddles—“that’d better be rainwater. But by the smell, I’m guessing it was not.”

Seth shrugged and held out the phone. “It’s not the best location, but I’ve seen worse.”

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