Page 46 of Camping with the Boss
Now I’m pissed all over again. “What?—”
He shakes his head. “Later. I promise we’ll talk.” And then he jogs off toward the main hall.
I tuck that all away as I reach the others.
Canyon breaks everyone into pairs and weaves through the groups until he’s standing next to me. “What are you doing?”
“What do you mean? Nothing.”
He turns to face me with his hands on his hips. “Get it together, Wade. I need you to be a hundred percent on this. Your team is falling apart.”
Then he stomps away. I’m not proud of the fact that I watch him. Appreciating the way the anger sways his hips.
Al stands off to the right as Canyon explains the activity. Al glares, but not at Canyon. At a tree in the distance. His face, his neck, the line of his body are all so still it seems intentional. As if it’s taking everything he has not to look at anyone.
Vivian and Lydia go first. No issues. Although Vivian brushes her clothes off and steps quickly away from Lydia. Is this really building trust?
Canyon nods and says something encouraging, but his fist rubs against his chest, almost absently. Something he only does when he’s upset. Or emotional.
Carol and Sheila go next, and it all goes fine. Canyon’s shoulders relax. “Next.”
They mill around, staring at each other but not talking, which is odd in itself. After a moment, I realize none of them are looking at me. Purposefully. It’s too absolute to be anything different. What did I do? Is Canyon’s frustration contagious? Did he infect my team?
“Fine,” Canyon says, huffing. “I’ll choose. Jet and Dillian.”
The tension from the other night still seems to be there as they glare at each other. Jet shoulders past him when they change positions, which suspiciously looks more like a shove than an accident. “Sorry.”
We might be at camp, but they are still working. This is their job. Not middle school. I barely move, but Canyon’s stand-the-fuck-down look effectively glues me into place.
He’s good at censoring his words. But not his expressions. I relax. Not willing to fight. Not about this anyway.
It goes smoother after that as couple after couple fall back into each other’s trusting arms. Could I do that? Yes. With every member of my team? No. My brother. No way in hell. And that makes me sadder than it should.
“Owen and Al.”
Owen’s right hand balls into a fist and Al takes a half-step toward him. It seems more confrontational than I’d like for a trust fall. Are they seriously going to fight? Jesus.
“Relax, guys. You need to get closer.”
They glare at each other. There’s a silent conversation going on, but hell if I know what it is. They don’t even work on the same floor, so they don’t interact much. Did something happen here at the retreat? Al prides himself on getting people riled up. Is that what this is about?
The group seems to hold its breath as Al puffs up like an angry bird and Owen raises his right arm. Canyon slides into view in front of them, like a pocket door between immovable walls. He lifts his hands and my heart pounds out a warning. Don’t touch them. Neither of them moves, not really, but the tension tips into dangerous territory. My body aches from the effort it takes not to grab Canyon and pull him to safety.
Canyon drops his hands and my legs almost buckle in relief. “It’s one trust fall, guys. Ten seconds max. But I’m not rushing you,” he says, taking a step back. “We have all afternoon.”
The rest of the group groans, and I bite my lips to hide my smile. Everyone has plans for the afternoon, and they don’t include whatever this is between Al and Owen.
“Just stating for the record,” Al says, folding his arms across his chest, “I’m against this. I don’t trust this—Owen—to catch me.”
“Why do you make a big deal out of everything, Al?” Owen shakes his head and flexes his hand. “But whatever. I’ll be the bigger person,” he says and then smirks. “All you have to do is catch me.”
“Fine.”
But something in his tone sounds off. Like a pause or a promise. Fuck around and find out.
I need to stop this. “Canyon?—”
He dismisses my concern with a wave of his hand, his eyes on them.
