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“Yeah, I can help as well,” says Jake.
“No, no, I’ll be fine, you all please go ahead with the hike. I don’t want to spoil anything.”
Ethan Knight is quick to take action.
“Can you climb on to my back?” he gets on his knees with his back facing me. “Just grab my shoulders.
I bring my hands around his neck, and he just gets up to stand, lifting me up with him swiftly. I am hanging on to his back, and my legs dangle for a few moments before he fixes that.
“I am going to bring your legs in a comfortable sitting position.”
“Okay.” Can’t tell what’s worse, the pain of sprain or the pain of my embarrassment.
His strong hands are soon beneath my thighs pushing them upwards, allowing me to bend my knees in a seating position. The way he moves, it’s almost as if he is not even feeling my weight. He does sense my nervousness.
“Don’t tense your muscles, that’s very bad especially for your sprain. Just leave that foot lose.”
“You’ll be fine Brooke,” says Jessica you’ll be in good hands.
“Team, your attention please.” He says with me sitting on his back like a kid piggybacking on the body of Thor. Everyone surrounds us and he takes charge quickly. “I have been climbing these mountains all my life, so don’t worry. Miss Banner will be fine. You all continue. We’ll sync up tomorrow evening.”
Everyone in the group wishes us good luck. I am thanking them by waving my hand. My fingers clumsily collide on to his face, scraping against his unshaved jaw.
“Oh sorry.”
“Don’t be. Now listen, we’ll go down the mountain and if your pain increases just let me know. I think it’s a sprain and not a fracture. But I am not a doctor. Got it. You are the one who needs to tell me if it gets worse. Understood?”
“Yes.” That is all I can say.
We begin the descent, and he is almost jogging, as we move swiftly downwards. His strong legs grip the ground expertly.
“You have done this a lot?”
“All my life, how is the leg? Are my movements causing any pain?”
“No,” I speak into his ear. I don’t want to shout into his eardrums and make a bigger fool of myself. He moves faster down the mountain; I can feel his steady breathing fanning the skin on my forearms. My inner thighs keep colliding into his trim, muscled stomach. The canvas fabric covering my thighs rub against the cotton covering his abs, giving rise to rasping rhythmic sound.
Swish, Swash, Swish Swash.
I feel a trickle of sweat coming from his neck, against my chin. “Do you need to rest?”
“If we treat your sprain within 30 minutes, it will heal very quickly.”
“Oh wow. I did not know that.”
“It’s a hot oil technique. The locals use it.”
All the while he has not slowed down one bit. Obviously, with a body like that, this mountain is no great challenge for him. I realize now that he was going slow just so that the team could keep up with him.
“Were you deliberately going slowly up the mountain? So, everyone could keep up?”
“Yes, because a team must move together. Correct?”
“Yes.” There are things about him I had not noticed before. He cares about farmers, he cares about team spirit, he is quick to help when someone is injured. This man is not just some grumpy CEO, he is a leader.
TREATING THE ANKLE
BROOKE
