Reasons to Leave (Reasons #1) (12 page)

Jason caught up with her. “So, you did it.” His wide, gorgeous grin almost had her swooning on the spot.

“Did you doubt that I would, Mr. Reynolds?” she asked defiantly.

“Not at all, Mrs. Norton. But I’m still proud of you.”

Her heart swelled in her chest, and she couldn’t help the smile that became fixed in place. Remembering the events of the night before, she glanced up at him. “Are you okay today? You know…after our…after what I told you…and what you told me?”

He pursed his lips. “I’m not sure if I would say I’m
okay
, but I’m feeling a little better about things…you know, after what you said about my decision.” He stopped and grabbed her arm so that the rest of the group passed them by.

“Oooh go on, sir, give her a kiss!” One of the students jeered as others wolf-whistled, earning themselves a glare.

She held her hand up and cupped her ear. “What’s that? Are you asking for a month’s detention when we get back, Mr. Carter…Mr. Hanks?” She scowled in the teenagers’ direction.

The boys cringed. “Erm…no, Mrs. Norton…sorry, Mrs. Norton.” They walked on.

“What is it, Jason?” She frowned when the students were out of earshot.

He looked hesitant. “I just…wanted to say that…well, it meant a lot to finally be able to explain things last night. I still feel guilty, but you helped such a lot. Thank you.”

“It’s fine. I think maybe I can move on now. You know, getting closure on this is a huge thing for me. I was angry at you for so long.”

He nodded. “I totally understand. Are you still coming to talk again tonight?”

“Oh…I…I don’t really think—”

“Please, come round. I’d like you to. I still feel like we have unfinished business.”

Taking no convincing at all, she nodded. “Okay. I’ll come around again.”

****

The huge wall with its colourful hand and foot holds loomed over them. Stevie gulped as her eyes trailed up, up, up. There were indentions and protrusions mimicking those of a real rock face. The kids stood in awed silence, craning their necks up to the top of the face. Some exchanged worried glances.

“Okay gang. Now listen up.” Jason’s voice boomed out around the clearing where the fake rock face stood. “This is a little more effort than this morning. And that’s why we do it this way around. You’ll need your wits about you, and you’ll need to believe in yourselves. You
can
do this. I know it may look daunting, but you will be very safe, so there is nothing to worry about. Listen to the instructions you’re given, and pay attention to any further instructions whilst you are on the ascent. But most of all…have fun!”

The students whooped and cheered their appreciation and set about collecting their helmets and harnesses from the wall’s staff members.

She watched as he instructed his group of kids on how to carry out the activity safely. She couldn’t help admiring once again how he dealt with the over eager teens. He was calm and authoritative whilst remaining approachable and friendly at the same time. He was so good at his job. She could see why he loved it so much too. Seeing the faces of these usually disinterested and often angry children light up was such a privilege.

An hour or so into the activity, she was chatting to Suzie, one of the wall’s staff, when a boy cried out. She ran over to see one of the students frozen half way up the wall. Corey Carter was usually the class joker and was known as a tough kid. Not now though. Now he looked terrified and so young. Her heart ached as she longed to help him. She watched as Jason attached his karabiner to the safety line and began to make his way with ease up the hundred-foot wall.

All the time he was climbing, he was calling out to Corey to keep his attention. He managed to make him laugh, which had all the other frightened-looking kids joining in. Stevie's heart swelled with pride. Her eyes were drawn to Jason’s muscles as he climbed with little effort. His calf muscles tensed and relaxed as his feet flexed and moved from one hold to another. His biceps bulged, expanding and contracting with each grip. Finally, he reached Corey and patted his shoulder, talking to him and eliciting a series of nods from the boy who had visibly begun to relax. She couldn’t hear what was being said, but it was evident that whatever it was Corey was gaining confidence. His whole demeanour changed. It was truly remarkable.

With assistance and support from Jason, Corey began to make his ascent again and was rewarded with cheers from both the ground and the top of the face, his peers encouraging him and willing him on. Tears stung her eyes in response to the immense sense of togetherness she was witnessing. Not
once
had anyone laughed
at
him for being afraid. Surely, this was down to the way Jason had encouraged them to work as a team from day one at the camp.

Escorted all the remaining distance to the summit, Corey eventually made it to the top and was immediately pulled into a group hug. Applause and cheers rang out, and she joined in, awash with an overwhelming sense of pride for both Corey and Jason, who had very quickly become her hero.

On the way back to the coach, she caught up to Jason. “You were amazing today. Thank you so much for what you did for Corey. I’m sure he’ll never forget you.”

Jason shrugged. “Yeah? Well, now you can see why I love my job so much.”

It was true. He was every bit in his element here. He was in the right place for him. And that both saddened and thrilled her. The contradiction of her feelings was becoming familiar to her.

****

When the coach arrived back at the camp, Jason went straight to his cabin. Before entering, he had decided to gather a few flowers from his wild garden. The blues, yellows, and pinks of the wild blooms were so pretty they would surely impress Stevie. This train of thought suddenly concerned him. 
Although…why do I want to impress her?
He shook his head. There was no point trying to analyse the garbled emotions racing around his psyche at the moment. He’d been on a rollercoaster ride for the last twenty-four or so hours, and she was only here for a few days. Nothing could happen, even if he wanted it to. This was a fateful meeting meant to bring closure to them both. The sooner he accepted that the better.

He checked around the cabin and tidied away the sheet music he’d been going through. He placed his guitar back in its stand and cleared the dirty laundry from his bedroom floor into the hamper. Not that he was expecting her to spend any time in
there
. Of course not. He was merely thinking there was always the possibility he would show her around. That’s all. Nothing else.

Not. A. Thing.

When stepping out of his cabin again, he caught the aroma of chef’s chilli wafting on the slight breeze from the main cabin. His stomach growled, protesting its emptiness and he set off. When he arrived at the main hut, she was once again nowhere to be seen. He grabbed a quick bite to eat and then went back to collect his guitar and make his way to the log circle near the clearing, ready for the evening’s camp fire sing along.

Harry, one of the other camp staff, had already collected the logs and set the fire going. The huge bags of marshmallows and toasting forks were on the small wooden table. Everything was set. Jason smiled as he took his seat and began to tune his guitar.

He hadn’t sung in a long while. Under normal circumstances, Dorcas did all the singing. She’d studied music at university and had a beautiful voice, apart from when she was listening to her iPod and singing along. It amazed Jason that someone so musical could sound like a strangled cat. Tonight, he needed to change things around. The trouble was there were only so many songs that he was confident singing and playing. One in particular was a song that brought back painful memories. Should he do it? Should he take the plunge? He wasn’t sure.

“So, are you going to sing tonight, Jason?” Dorcas must have read his mind. She sat beside him on a large tree stump in front of the fire.

He shook his head. He still hadn’t quite made his mind up. “Oh…I don’t know about that.”

She smiled. “You forget that I’ve heard you singing in the shower.”

Oh God, not that again. She makes it sound like she was in there with me.
“Yeah, well…less said about that the better, I think.”

She bit her lip. “Oh, I don’t know. I liked it.”

Oh great and now she’s flirting with me again
. “Well, be thankful you only heard me through the wall, eh? Up close and personal may not be the same.”

“I think I could handle it.” She gave him a look that contained both lust and sadness.
Poor wee girl.
It was never going to happen, and deep down she must have known that. He didn’t answer her right away. What could he say?

When the right words evaded him, he said, “Yeah…well…can you give me a hand to get some more wood for the fire? There’s a pile over there.” He gestured behind them in a desperate bid to change the subject. Placing his guitar down, he went off toward the trees, pulling extra logs toward the fire in readiness for the evening’s festivities.

Dorcas followed close behind. “You seem to be getting on well with that teacher. What’s her name? Stevie? Strange name for a girl.”

“Oh, yeah. She seems…erm…nice. And…
you’ve
got the cheek to say
her
name’s strange.”

“Okay, fair comment. Any special requests for me to sing tonight?”

“Nope. Just sing what you like. I tend to know stuff that the kids won’t. I show my age.” He laughed.

“I’m only five years younger than you, you know.”

“Yes, exactly. You’re five years closer to the kids’ age than I am.”

Dorcas didn’t seem impressed with his answer. She mumbled something about going to grab her fleece and stomped away. Jason scrunched his brow in confusion, shook his head, and picked up his guitar once again.

****

To Stevie, the chilli was a welcomed delight after such a physically exhausting and gruelling day. After dinner, the students were all invited to join the staff for a good old fashioned sing along by the campfire. She took the opportunity to return to her cabin, shower, and apply some after sun lotion. She changed into black linen trousers and a white long sleeved T-shirt. The evening air was thick and humid, and the fire would mean she was plenty warm enough. Combing through her hair in front of the mirror, she decided to leave it to dry naturally, meaning that it fell in dark auburn waves around her shoulders. She applied a little lipgloss and went to join the students as they sat around waiting for the marshmallows to be handed out. It wouldn’t be a proper campfire sing along without marshmallows after all.

The atmosphere around the fire was buzzing with anticipation. From what she had gathered, she knew that none of the kids had ever been camping, nor had they been involved in a sing along like this one. Her heart filled with happiness at seeing their young faces glowing in the amber light of the fire as it crackled away before them. Jason wasn’t around, but Dorcas was chatting to Harry at the opposite side of the group.

A hand appeared on her shoulder and she turned smiling, only to be disappointed when it was David. “Oh hi,” was all she could manage with little to no enthusiasm.

He crouched beside her and whispered, “Hi, Stevie…listen…I was wondering…I brought a nice bottle of single malt with me and wondered if you might fancy a nightcap after the sing along? You know…once the kids are all tucked up in bed.”

She cringed at his encouraging smile. “Oh thanks, David, but I’ll pass. I’m not a whiskey drinker if the truth be told, and I really am shattered. I think I’ll just go back to my cabin and read.”

His smile faded, and he looked very disappointed, rather like a chastised puppy dog. “Oh yes…of course. No worries. I just thought I’d ask.”

“Well that was very thoughtful, thank you.” She suffered a little stab of guilt for lying. He stood and made his way to the other side of the fire to sit down.

Dorcas and Harry disappeared through the trees but soon returned, and this time Harry was carrying a set of bongos. They all sat down once again and continued chatting with the students. Dorcas handed out some percussion instruments much to the delight of the eager kids.

Jason arrived soon after and picked up the guitar that was propped up against the large log at the opposite side of the huddle.
Oh my word, he’s going to play
. A surge of nervous excitement shot through her at the prospect of seeing him strum his guitar again. He looked so right holding it. Like some kind of rock god with his long hair and muscular arms. And she was eager to hear him sing again. But after he had greeted the group, he nodded to Dorcas as he began to strum the opening chords of something she didn’t recognise. Suddenly, Dorcas began to sing. Her sweet voice carrying through the air and making the teenage boys swoon. Disappointment washed over her as Dorcas sang of wanting what she couldn’t have, and she wondered if Dorcas had chosen the song for Jason. Some of the kids sang along with big smiles on their faces.