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“Okay. What do you need me to do?”
“Mostly…? Stand back while I go over the wall.”
“Should I hold the panel steady?”
I shook my head, not wanting her to have undo burden or to hurt herself. A baby on board changed everything as far as what I thought she should do—not that I’d ever want her in danger, no matter what. Once again, I thought she probably should have stayed in the truck for this part.
“I’ll have it steady,” I assured her.
“You’re making me feel kinda useless here.”
In light of her argument about uselessness a couple days ago, a niggling thread of low-grade panic pierced through me.
“Once I’m over…watched to see if anything is wobbling, okay? That’ll help.”
Mimi’s brows lifted, and she didn’t appear convinced in the slightest. Still, she gave me a tight nod, then stepped back a couple yards. Satisfied she was out of the way for my grappling rappel, I took a running leap at the wall. I easily grasped the top of the structure, but my muscles burned and my feet had to scrabble to lever me over the top. The whole assembly seemed to shimmy as I went, and I was suddenly a little worried it would dump me onto the ground and worse, hurt Mimi as it tumbled.
I dropped heavily to my feet on the other side, my bag following me, flying around as I tumbled down. When it slammed hard into my left shoulder, I realized it hadn’t been as good of an idea as I’d thought.
“Dang,” I muttered, rubbing the aching spot. I sure hoped I hadn’t broken anything. Cheezits, it hurt.
“Are you okay?” Mimi exclaimed from the other side.
“Fine. I’m fine,” I called, still massaging the throbbing spot. That was gonna bruise. Dropping my bag to the ground, I crouched then pulled out the cordless drill.
“I’m gonna start unfastening it. Stand clear,” I instructed. “Just in case.”
Whatever she replied was lost in the buzz of the drill as I started removing the lower bolts. My shoulder screamed as I reached up with the other hand to hold the panel steady while I unfastened the upper bolts a moment later. Dropping the drill onto my bag, I shifted the panel to the side, revealing Mimi’s worried face.
“See?” I grinned. “Piece of cake.”
“You could have got hurt!” She smacked my shoulder—unintentionally finding the exact place that had been struck by the falling tools. I grunted in pain, and her face immediately crumpled. “Youdidget hurt!”
“I’m fine.”
She crossed her arms and squinted at me.
“I’ll have a bruise, okay?” I admitted. “It will remind me that my wife was right. Let’s not fight. I’d rather get this done, so we can go home.”
And go to bed.
With that plan in mind, I moved the panel into its spot and fastened it correctly.
“We can get to the other one from the back of the maze.”
Taking her hand, I led her from the labyrinth only to be blinded by a high-powered light as we stepped free. Quickly, I shoved Mimi behind me to protect her.
“What are you doing here?” a harsh voice demanded.
I raised my arm to shield my eyes. “Cheezits, Elvin! It’s Judd. Judd and Mimi. Stop blinding us.”
