Page 17 of Chasing Sunsets

Chapter Six

Zack mimicked the fencingsteps he’d learned earlier. Knight training started with an hour of exercise under the trees. They each had an individual instructor and referee. Once he completed the exercises, his trainer took him into a circular, covered arena with sand on the ground to learn the fight sequence. With very little breeze, the heat radiated like an incinerator. He’d long ago sweat through his clothes. He wore a breastplate, held a shield in one hand to protect his body, and a sword in the other for fighting.

The life of a knight would’ve sucked. How did warriors survive wearing full armor in the heat? Of course, they didn’t have to fight in the summer in Dallas, Texas. Still, he didn’t know how men breathed in helmets while exerting so much energy. He could barely catch his breath, and he was only play fighting.

His trainer started toward him, and Zack backed up—the steps ingrained in his memory after practicing. They performed the scene like he’d been taught.

Once done, Zack turned to the official.

“Complete.”

His instructor and referee led him out of the arena. Many were still performing this assignment, and one woman was having difficulty even holding up the heavy sword and shield.

Sadie waited beside the stables and rushed toward him—her clothes and hair wet.

Zack’s official held out an envelope.

Sadie opened it and read, “Reunion Tower. I’ll drive. You look beat.”

They ran to the car.

“I’m not knight material. Why are you soaked?”

She glanced over at him, a smile on her lips that lit her entire face. How he’d missed that smile. “My horse was a flirt.”

He chuckled, feeling grateful to a damn horse.

Truman filmed them from the car.

Once in the backseat, Zack unfolded the map as Sadie drove down the wooded drive. He glanced back to check how many cars remained in the parking lot, but they’d gone too far and trees blocked his view. Better to run their race and not be concerned about the others.

After giving her directions, he cleaned his hands with Germ X and rinsed them with an ice cube from the cooler. He gave Sadie one of the apples and took a bite of the other.

They arrived back in Dallas, and she drove into the parking garage with theChasing Sunsetslogo banner above the entrance. At the indicated spots, she parked. Truman videoed them until they went inside the tower. They followed signs to a stairway with a plaque beside the door that said 837 STEPS TO THE OBSERVATION DECK.

Zack took in a deep lungful of air and trailed Sadie. Exhausted as he was, it was less than a mile. He could do this. Cameras were set up in the top corners of the floor landings.

They both needed to stop and rest on the thirtieth floor until they heard voices from below. Then they sprinted up the last floors, using the handrail for help.

Gemini smiled as they raced out of the stairwell and onto the observation deck. “Congratulations. You’re the first to arrive.”

Zack put his hands on his knees and leaned over to concentrate on inhaling and exhaling. Sadie stood next to him, doing the same. Hearing the door behind them bang open, he gripped Sadie’s arm. Together they trudged over to two oddly shaped stone stools and collapsed onto them.

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