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She drew in a deep breath, willing her heart rate to slow. When it didn’t, she waved her hand toward the rows of boots. “Find your size and meet me outside.”
Before she completely lost control, she darted for the door.
She had to find someone else to train Judge. His mere presence was stirring up feelings she never thought she’d experience and never wanted to fall victim to again.
She needed to run.
When Judge emerged from the supply hut, she sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. She could do this. With a lift of her chin and a narrow-eyed glance, she said, “Try to keep up.”
He grinned. “Challenge accepted.”
Chapter 4
PJ took off at a slow jog, heading for the far end of camp where an obstacle course had been set up, much like the ones Judge had mastered during his training in the Army.
“Follow me,” PJ called out without looking back.
The first obstacle was a horizontal log raised four feet off the ground. Without slowing her jog, PJ planted her hands on the log and swung her legs to the right over the top of the log.
Easily half a foot taller than PJ, Judge vaulted the obstacle with ease.
Next up were two rows of old tires lying on the ground.
PJ lifted her legs high as she danced through the center of each tire, one at a time, without missing a step.
Judge followed, having done this event many times on numerous obstacle courses in the Army.
Immediately beyond the tires were two ropes strung vertically. PJ leaped at the first one, grabbing the rope with both hands as high up as she could. Then she began pulling herself up the length, arm over arm.
Aiming for the second rope, Judge leaped, grabbed it eight feet off the ground and quickly caught up with PJ. He reached the top before her and started back down.
Though she’d gone up slower than he had, PJ descended faster, hitting the ground quicker and landing at the same time. She released the rope, raced to a six-foot wall and pulled herself over the top, dropping to the ground on the other side.
Judge scaled it easily and kept up with his trainer.
On the other side of the wall, PJ dropped to her belly and low-crawled into a concrete pipe with a four-foot diameter. She moved quickly, using her arms and knees to propel her forward. Her smaller size made this event easier for her.
Judge followed a little slower but made it through in time to see her stop at a door held up by a wooden frame. Here, she pulled a metal file from the same scabbard that housed her knife and fit it into the lock on the door, working carefully until the lock clicked, disengaging.
Okay, this was a different obstacle than he’d ever encountered on a confidence course.
PJ tossed the metal file on the ground in front of the door and dove through the frame. Once on the other side, she closed and locked the door behind her.
“You don’t always have the option of breaking down the door,” she called out from the other side.
He took the file and stuck it into the keyhole as she had and wiggled it around, listening for that metal click. No matter how many ways he twisted and turned the file, the mechanism remained locked.
After several minutes, PJ leaned against the outside of the doorframe and held out her hand. “Let’s move on to the next station.”
He placed the file in her palm and followed her.
The next event was a pull-up bar eight feet off the ground.
PJ climbed one of the side poles to reach the bar overhead, then pulled herself up, hooked her leg over the bar and flipped over the top, dropping to the ground.
Judge performed a vertical leap, grabbed the bar and pulled himself up and over, landing on the ground where PJ had been moments before.
She’d moved on to the next event, grabbed a hatchet from a stump and, using both hands, threw it at a target, hitting it dead center. She recovered the hatchet, replaced it on the stump then stood back.
