“Which group are you in?” she asked.
“Red.”
“Same as me.” That pleased her far more than it should. But what was the harm in enjoying a little flirtation for a few days?
Beckett peered over her shoulder at her afternoon assignments. “And looks like Michael kept you with me for rock climbing, after all. I figure the plan for today will be to meet the other staff on that rotation, do an equipment inventory, and start checking out the available climbs for campers.”
Michael had said something similar yesterday, but the implications hadn’t sunk in. They did now.
“Are you the head rock climbing guy?” Sarah hoped her voice sounded casual.
“So they tell me. Everything around here is a cakewalk compared to Yosemite, which is where I spent the last three years in the National Park Service. If I make it through the summer without having to use my S and R skills, I’ll be thrilled.”
He was a freaking park ranger. Who’d apparently done search and rescue in California. Which meant he knew his shit. Great for the camp. Not great for her. He was liable to figure out in less than five minutes that she was green as grass, when it came to rock climbing.
Beckett steered her toward the breakfast buffet. “Better eat up. It’s gonna be a long day.”
“Greeeeeeat.”
How on Earth was she going to keep her cover as Taylor?
~*~
Taylor Meadows knew her first aid. She sailed through the class, hand up, voice clear and confident as she readily answered questions. Beckett decided it was true what people said—confidence really was sexy. The legs certainly didn’t hurt. And damn, he’d had dreams about those legs last night.
As the session broke up, Michael bumped Beckett’s shoulder. “Doesn’t look like Heather’s services as Cupid are necessary.”
“Huh?”
“You’ve had your eye on the pretty brunette since the swim test yesterday.”
Had he been that obvious? “Just enjoying the view.”
Michael smirked. “Pinecone Lodge, man. Pinecone Lodge.”
Beckett gave him a friendly shove. “Shut up.”
His buddy only laughed.
“Yeah yeah, whatever. I’ve got work to do,” Beckett announced.
Over lunch, he made the switch from student to instructor, calling all of his people together at the end of the meal. “The plan for today is inventory of equipment, both ours and the gear meant for the ziplines and ropes course. And a quick tour of the most common climbing locations around camp.”
Taylor’s hand went up. “Might I suggest we do the tour first? It would be a nice mental break after the morning’s classes.”
It was six of one, half dozen of the other to him. “Sure. We can do that.”
Beckett took them to the trail leading to Base Camp Adventure Park, where the zip lines and ropes course were set up. They walked the length of the various activities, discussed assignments, then he led the pack back to Boulder Mountain.
“This is our primary climb site. As you can see, there are three main paths up, separated out by experience level. Nothing here is above an intermediate skillset, as the majority of campers probably will have little to no experience,” he explained.
“What about experienced climbers? Don’t we have a Scout Wars session later this summer?” Diego asked.
“We’ll take those on a case-by-case basis. Taylor and I will be scouting prospective locations around the camp property, as well as in the adjacent state park later this week.” It seemed like the ideal means of spending some one-on-one time with her.
She went brows up. “We will?”
Beckett would’ve felt better if she’d said it with the same amused snark she’d used when she’d caught him checking out her legs, instead of that faint look of panic. Had he done something to offend her? Maybe he’d read her signals entirely wrong. Maybe she wasn’t actually interested or had changed her mind. In which case, fine. He could keep this professional. “Based on everyone’s applications, you’ve got the most climbing experience besides me.” He’d verified that himself last night by reviewing the applicants assigned to him.