Page 44 of The Amazing Date

I wonder if her thoughts are similar to mine. We were looking forward to a night together but decided the race was a higher priority. What exactly is the true prize here?

Ma returns, stepping past us and placing our food on the table in the adjacent booth. I speak before Rylee loses it. “I’m sorry, Ma. Those are meant to be to go.”

Her neck twists in my direction, followed by a warm smile. “Ma only does coffee and desserts to go. Sit. Take ten minutes and have a proper breakfast. Tell your girlfriend I packed her snack but am throwing in a stack of pancakes with bacon and eggs for her. She needs to eat.”

Her words are filled with a half dozen land mines, which I decide to avoid. I glance down at Thelma, who is sipping her coffee as if she has all the time in the world. “Thanks, Ma.” I direct Rylee to the booth and whisper in her ear before she objects, “We’ll follow them. It’ll just be a few more minutes. Let’s sit and eat. I know I can use it. I wasn’t looking forward to trying to eat and drive at the same time.”

Her gaze shifts from me to Ronnie, Thelma, and finally Ma. She’s always been good at math and realizes she is outnumbered. She slips into the booth quietly.

It’s a small victory. I take a sniff of the warm maple syrup and steal a bite of bacon. The salty, smoky flavor hits the back of my tongue, and I feel like I’m in heaven. It’s tastes like victory.

Chapter 27

Rylee

I’ve been biting my tongue for the last twenty minutes. All morning I’ve been irritable, and everyone has been walking on eggshells around me. Now that we’ve arrived at Mount Rainier, just as Ma said, early and fed, I know I need to apologize to everyone. Not my strong suit.

We follow Ronnie’s car up to the Sunrise Peak, the highest point on the mountain that can be reached by car, and the view is spectacular.

“I should’ve been the one driving so you can take in this scene. I know you must be chomping at the bit to sketch.” I glance over to capture a peaceful Roberto, serenity taking him over since we left the diner. He has an elbow propped out the open window, one hand on the steering wheel.

“I’m taking it all in. Everything.” He winks at me, and heat floods my chest once again. I’m not sure if it’s the adrenaline of the race that has pushed us together or if we have somehow broken through the walls that have kept us separated. I tell myself to appreciate the moment. We haven’t discussed our relationship, if we even have one, and what the future holds.

Roberto guides the car into the reserved race spot, and we both grin like kids gifted with an unexpected snow day. Our cars are the first to arrive. “We beat the blondes,” I spit out with a foreign giddiness in my voice.

I pull out the race clue once again as we exit the car. Ronnie is wearing a matching smile as Thelma points to the distance. I follow her gaze, an approaching Prius in the distance. We don’t have to wait for it to get close to know the blondes are only a few minutes behind. I’d love to stay to see their faces when they realize we beat them, but every second counts. “Let’s get going,” I bark.

“This way,” Ronnie shouts and begins walking briskly toward a building. I spot the race banner and race ahead.

“Hold up.” Roberto’s voice causes me to stop. Did we forget something? Am I running in the wrong direction? “Don’t run. Let’s stick with Ronnie and Thelma.” He’s got to be kidding. I appreciate them sharing the route info, but this is still a race. There will only be one winner. They may be walking quickly, but they are still walking. I don’t know if it’s their age or whether they just don’t believe in running. In either case, it doesn’t apply to me.

I lower my chin and whisper, “Are you serious?”

“It’s the right thing to do. We wouldn’t be here without them. We can’t leave them.” Roberto’s long stride finally reaches me, and we begin to walk toward the clue. A ridiculous decision the blondes will not hesitate to take advantage of.

“So, buy them a beer tonight. If we don’t hurry, Kelly will get ahead of us. Again,” I snipe.

Roberto stops moving. His gaze turns toward the approaching Ronnie and Thelma. They read our body language, and Ronnie speaks. “Kids, go on without us. We’ll catch up, we always do.”

I begin to jog and realize Roberto is not beside me. “What?”

Only when Thelma gives him a nod does he race up beside me. “I wonder if you really want to win this thing or not,” I mutter, sure it comes across as irritating as it sounds.

He doesn’t respond, and we proceed to the box in silence. We rip the envelope and realize Ronnie and Thelma are right yet again. It’s going to be a physical challenge. We have to rappel down the side of the mountain. Four rappel stations are provided, meaning only two teams may go at a time. The third team will have to wait for the first team to complete their climb and for the guides to reset the ropes. They will be at a massive disadvantage. Once at the bottom, we must proceed to the wildflower garden and search the garden and locate a dozen plastic wildflowers bearing the race colors. We passed the wildflower field on the way up the mountain, and it was endless. Thousands upon thousands of them. This challenge may take most of the day.

Roberto’s hand is on my shoulder as he reads the clue along with me. “I have a thought,” he whispers.

“Let’s make sure we and Ronnie get to the rappel station first,” I say. He nods; we’re back in synch. We have to make sure the blondes are the third team to the station.

Ronnie finally reaches the clue box, and Roberto speaks right away. “Grab the clue and follow us. We have to hurry.”

The pair begins to follow behind us as Ronnie hands the clue to Thelma. She fingers it, itching to rip it open.

“The next challenge is a rappel down the mountain, but there are only four stations, enough for two teams. We need to beat the blondes there, or else someone is going to be stuck behind at a disadvantage.” My explanation gives Thelma the assurance she is seeking as she begins to jog.

“Then let’s hurry.”

A chuckle escapes my lips. “Whoa, I didn’t think you guys believed in running.”

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