“Okay!” all three of the kids agreed.
Sally and the kids hurried away and soon returned with arms filled with bottles. Those standing around took one. Ross finished his in two large gulps. With the next competition about to begin, they moved to the side to watch as the next two teams took the field.
Soon it was time to compete again. They won the next three pulls and were now in the final facing Station Two.
Ross lined up again with his team.
“Go, Uncle Ross, go!” Olivia yelled.
“Go, Twelves! You can do this!” Sally called.
Ross’s heart pounded in anticipation as the announcer said, “Go!” On that word he dug his heels into the ground and pulled with all of his might. His hands, arms and shoulders strained. The muscles in his legs trembled with the effort to move backward. Sweat ran into his eyes and still he pulled. His side burned. Clenching his teeth, he tried not to think about it. Concentrate was what he had to do.
The crowd shouted, voices mixing into a roar of encouragement.
Despite the pain he continued to tug. His legs quivered from the effort. Once, twice, three times the team was pulled forward. Only with strength of will did they remain steady and reverse the movement.
He dug deep within himself and called, “Let’s take these guys.”
With a burst of energy, Ross pulled harder. The others must have done so as well. They made steady steps backward.
Not soon enough for him the announcer said, “And the winner is Station Twelve.”
A cheer went up. Ross put his hands on his knees and gulped deep breaths. The other members of the station surrounded them. A bottle of water appeared before his face. He looked up. Sally held it. She gave him a happy smile that made his already racing heart thump harder. All his efforts were worth it for that alone.
“You were great.” Her voice was full of excitement.
Ross returned her smile. “Thanks. It wasn’t just me. We did it as a team.”
“Yeah, but you got them to give their all.”
His ego expanded. He had to admit he liked her praise.
Others coming to congratulate him on the victory separated him and Sally.
As everything settled down, the announcer said, “Well, that’s all for this year’s picnic, folks. We look forward to seeing you next year. Be safe on your drive home.”
Everyone slowly drifted off. Their party started toward the parking lot.
“Can I ride piggyback, Uncle Ross?” Olivia asked.
He didn’t think his body could tolerate it, but didn’t want to disappoint her.
Before he could say anything, Sally suggested, “How about holding my hand?” Lucy already had one of them. “I think your uncle Ross is tired after all that pulling.” She gave him a knowing smile.
“Okay.” Olivia took it.
Thank you, he mouthed to her.
She nodded.
“We’re down this way.” Kody nodded, indicating the other end of the parking lot. He gave Sally a quick hug. “See you soon.”
Lucy did the same. “Bye, Aunt Sally.”
“I better head to my car too.” Looking unsure, Sally let go of Olivia’s hand. “It was nice to meet you, Olivia and Jared. I enjoyed the day.” She started off.
“Hey, wait up, we’re going that way too,” Ross called.
Sally paused. Olivia took her hand again.
“We’ll walk you to your car.” Why he’d decided that was a good idea, he didn’t know. Sally was fully capable of getting to her car by herself.
“Uh, okay.”
He grinned. “You thought you’d get rid of us easier than that, didn’t you?”
“I’m not looking to get rid of you.” She glanced at him. Her cheeks were pink. “You know what I mean.”
He chuckled, then immediately winced.
Her face turned concerned. “Are your ribs still bothering you?”
“You’re not going to get all up in my face if I tell you yes, are you?”
Her lips drew into a thin line. “I might.”
“Yeah, today’s activity didn’t help much.” He didn’t like people seeing weakness in him and for some reason it really mattered that she didn’t.
“Have you been taking it easy, until today, that is?” She studied him.
He couldn’t meet her gaze. “Well, I’ve been trying. How’s that for an answer?”
She quirked her mouth to one side in disappointment. “When you get home, run a hot bath and soak. It’ll help. You do know someone else could have taken your place in the tug-of-war?” There was a bite to her words. She wasn’t happy with him.
He grinned. “Yeah, but what fun would that have been?”
She shook her head. “Men. Here’s my car. Bye, Olivia and Jared. See you later, Ross.”
He and the kids called goodbye and continued on.
Why did he miss her already?
As he was about to start the truck, there was a knock on his window. He jumped. It was Sally. She motioned for him to roll down the glass.
“Hold out your hand.”
He did. She deposited some capsules.
“These’ll help with the pain. Bye, Ross.” She said the last softly.
Something sweet lingered as she walked away. Something better left alone.
TWO DAYS LATER Ross was in his chair in the office doing paperwork when the ambulance backed into the bay. He watched out the window as Sally came around to the rear of the ambulance. She looked tired. They had already made twice as many runs as the fire side had during the shift.
His company had spent the last few hours washing the trucks, checking the supplies and making sure the station was in pristine order. Now some of the men were in the exercise room working out while others were watching a movie in the TV room.
One of his men stopped at the open door and looked in. “Hey, Ross, it’s your turn to cook tonight. Do we need to make a run to the grocery store or do you have what you need?”
Each shift shared kitchen duty. Some stations had one person who liked to do the cooking, while others had a revolving schedule and the crew took turns. His station shared the duty. They assigned two people per shift to handle the meal. His turn had come up. He wasn’t a great cook but he could produce simple meals. Mostly he hoped to have someone more skilled than him as his partner.
“I’ll check. Who’s on with me?”
“Sal.”
He’d planned to stay out of her circle as much as possible, spooked as he was by his over-the-top reaction to their time together at the picnic. Cooking a meal with Sally wouldn’t accomplish that, but how could he get out of it without causing a lot of questions or hurting her feelings? No solution occurred to him, so he resigned himself to spending time with her. Surely he was capable of that.
During the last few weeks it seemed as if they had seen more of