A snicker greeted his words. She lifted her head, and the twinkle in her eyes made something in his chest expand. Holy hell. She didn’t give a rat’s ass that he’d fucked up her progress. Someone jarring his focus would’ve set him off.
But Gayle was enjoying every single second of this. No frustration. No fierce competition. Just pure joy. He really could learn a thing or two from her.
As he came to stand beside her, he put his hands on his hips. “And here I jumped in ready to save the damsel in distress. But you look happier than a pig in mud.”
She tried to push up and slipped, the mud coming up to coat her neck. A laugh burst from her as she held up her hand. “As much as I love to get down and dirty, this damsel could still use your help.”
Grinning, he latched his hand around her mud-coated one and yanked her up. After they pretty much had to crawl out of the pit onto flat land, they stood up. Mac surveyed the man-made mud hill in front of them—which had become slicker by the many other racers who had gone over it before them. And the ones slipping over it now.
“This should prove interesting,” he said.
“I can tell you from experience, there is no use trying to run up the hill. Slow and steady, handsome.” She winked, then started to bear-crawl up the hill by digging her fingers and the toes of her shoes into the mud. When she got far enough that he had room to begin, he followed the path she’d made. Concentrating on the indentions she’d left in the mud, he reached for one of the deep imprints made by her foot. One second his fingers had slipped into the slimy surface, the next, a squealing mass slammed into him and he was sliding down the hill on his back. As he drew to a halt at the bottom, the mass landed across his chest, knocking an oomph out of him.
Her muddied pigtail slapped him across the cheek. Breathless laughter warmed his neck as she tried to control the giggles that had overtaken her. One feminine mud-coated hand rested on the naked skin of his chest—a place that hadn’t been touched by a woman in many years. The grime didn’t hinder the way this accidental touch scorched his flesh, consumed him. Unable not to, he cupped her elbow in his palm, just needing to return the connection.
She lifted her head and gazed down at him, hazel eyes so full of life, happiness in her grin, a streak of mud across her cheek. Everything in him stilled for a brief moment then roared back with a vengeance. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d wanted to kiss a woman more.
Ally. Her lifeless face swam before his eyes.
A rough breath stuttered out of him as he struggled to shut down the painful memory that threatened to explode before his eyes, and he released Gayle’s elbow.
“Told you it was fun,” she whispered, her smile fading just a bit as she sat up and faced away from him.
Mac blinked at the back of her head. She’d seen his struggle, and that made him feel even worse. None of this was her fault. Gayle was beautiful, fun, and charismatic. If he’d been whole, he wouldn’t have hesitated with her. But he wasn’t, he was broken…ruined.
Needing to get this out of Mac-is-damaged-goods territory and back into funland, he shoved to his feet and held his hand out to her. “Let’s try this again. But this time without you being the bowling ball and me the pins.”
Laughing, she slipped her hand into his, and he tugged her up. “I make no promises, handsome.”
Seeing she was game for letting the awkwardness pass, he exhaled in relief, and they started their second attempt. After the fourth wipeout—all of which were caused by Gayle—the earlier moment was a forgotten memory as Mac heaved to his feet and beat his palm across the fingertips of his other hand, making the universal sign for timeout. “That’s it! Timeout!”
At his outburst, Gayle’s eyes rounded and she blew air into her cheek, making them puff out. The sight immediately alleviated his frustration, and he chuckled. He wasn’t frustrated at Gayle, just the damn hill. Thankfully, they weren’t the only ones having issues. Though each time someone finally made it to the top he cursed them to hell.
“I am going up this thing and I’m taking you with me.”
He’d wanted to do this two wipeouts ago, but she didn’t seem bothered by the slip-and-slide routine so he’d kept his mouth shut. If he took one more trip down this hill, though, he would lose his shit. Locking one hand around her wrist, he started the tedious climb up, dragging her behind him. Every time she lost her footing, he threw his weight forward and tugged her arm to keep the momentum from taking him down. The climb was slow, but finally he made it to within a foot of the top. He braced his body and pulled her up beside him.
“You first,” he said.
As she crawled over the lip to flat land, he kept his hand out to shove her over the crest if she slipped. Once she reached the top, he climbed up beside her, and they stood. She immediately lost her footing. Instinctively he snatched her around the waist and yanked her to his body to keep her from making the longest trip yet down that hill. The second the warmth of her hands met his biceps, it registered he was holding Gayle.