Page 17 of Hunter

Kit stamps out her cigarette and leaps up to stand beside me. “Phew! Hotties.”

I chuckle at her. “Do you often hook up with contestants?”

“I’ve been known to sample the goods from time to time. On the sly, of course.”

The women stop on the blue carpet to talk to Nat Keegan, who’s arrived to welcome them. I can’t hear their exchange from where I’m standing, but there’s a lot of giggling and jumping up and down by Team Barbie.

“Do the teams choose their names or do we?”

“It depends,” says Kit. “Some apply to the race with a team name already chosen. These two are sorority sisters from Ole’ Miss who think it’s a hoot that they’re both named Barbara. Unusual name for this generation.”

“But timely, with the movie and all.”

“Yep. They’re riding the wave. It’s their schtick.”

“Are the teamsrequiredto have a…schtick?”

“No. But it helps with viewer support. That’s for sure,” she says, sighing longingly when Barbie #1 raises her arms over her head and spins around, long blonde waves bouncing up to catch the sunshine. “These two won’t last.” She turns to me. “Who do you think will win? We’ll start a pot this afternoon after the meeting.”

“What do we bet on?”

“Winner and runner-up, first and second eliminated, and who’ll hook up with who.”

“I agree with you about these two,” I say, watching them lean in on either side of Nat to kiss his cheeks while a photographer snaps promo pictures. “They don’t look ready for rough and rugged Alaska.”

“How about Team Nerds?” she asks, gesturing to another couple walking toward the ship.

I raise my gaze to find two brothers wearing khaki pants hiked up to their mid-chest, dark hair slicked down flat, and eyeglasses held together with duct tape. They’re twins who attend MIT together and decided to do the race mostly for free airfare to Alaska, where they plan to study lichen for the rest of the summer.

“They’re book smart,” I say, “but I don’t know if they’re practical.”

“They’re Earth Studies majorsandsiblings. I say they finish in the top three,” says Kit, ogling the Barbies until they disappear up the gangplank. “Historically speaking, pairs with a strong bond tend to finish first. Married couples, siblings, family members. That is, if they don’t bicker too much. Arguing about dumb stuff is the kiss of death when you have to work together.”

In the distance, one more team starts walking toward the boat, and I don’t need to squint to recognize who it is. They’re a male-female couple—the man taller and younger, but both dark-haired and tan-skinned. Dressed in jeans, hiking boots, white T-shirts and black hoodies with MEXICO written in bold white letters over the red, white and green Mexican flag, I know exactly who they are.

My heart thunders with anticipation.

“ThePrimos,” says Kit, gesturing to them with her chin. “Primomeans cousin in Spanish.”

I lean away from the railing, crossing my arms over my chest. “You don’t say.”

“These two are from Seattle. The boy worked on crabbing boats last season.”

“And the girl?”

“She’s a schoolteacher.”

“What odds do you give them?” I ask Kit, my voice cool.

She leans her elbows on the railing, staring down at the duo, who take their time making their way to the blue mat, where Nat is still interviewing Team Nerds.

“Cousins is good, assuming they’re close. And they’re not dressed like idiots, which is a plus in my book. He has practical knowledge of Alaska, and she can’t be too stupid if she’s a teacher…” Kit tilts her head to the side. “But they aren’t chatting and they haven’t glanced at each other once. It may be that she has a fierce resting bitch face, but I’m sensing tension between these two. I’m betting she’s pissed off with him. Not a great way to start the race.”

I take a closer look. Kit’s right. Isabella does not look happy.

“So?” I ask. “What are their chances?”

“Top three if they can get their shit together,” she says. “Bottom three if they can’t.”

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