“Also made them do repeats while we had breakfast. Don’t forget that part.”
An aura of sadness and fear still clung to her, but she seemed far more willing to keep moving forward with him than a few minutes before. Becki lifted her gym bag straps over her shoulder, settling the bag against her hip. She glanced around at the gym and shook her head. “Never thought this place would end up breaking me.”
“It’s not going to. You’re going to come out on top.”
She raised a brow and nodded curtly. “I am. I will.”
The determined line of her jaw said it louder than her words.
CHAPTER 7
She was out the door and headed for the dorms, frustrated energy making her stride quick and wide. Her mind was stuffed full and yet empty—everything as tangled together as the ropes had been: Unusable. Impossible.
The first holds had been perfect. The sensation of her body obeying her commands a thrill as always. She’d planned on testing her limits to see what she had to regain.
It seemed a whole hell of a lot. Everything that had defined her now lay in a mess, her identity tangled and tattered.
She hadn’t realized how much it would hurt to have her abilities questioned all over again, and it didn’t matter that Marcus said he didn’t doubt her. She doubted herself, and that meant she was back to square one.
A rock kicked up beside her and she startled to discover Marcus pacing at her side. “Shit. Have you been there the entire time?”
“We need to talk.” He adjusted the bag he carried.
“About the team’s schedule. Right. This afternoon.”
“Well, there’s also the issue of our training, details of which we can add to the official meeting. In the meantime, I need a workout. Want to join me?”
A workout was exactly what she needed. Sweaty, mindless, physically demanding activity to wipe away her need to analyze and reanalyze every second of what went wrong this morning. “Another run?”
He shook his head. “A swim.”
They were at the doors to the dorms. “Deal. Where?”
“Back at the school?” Marcus stood and waited, his strong body at ease like some kind of hunting cat waiting for the exact right moment to pounce. “Or the Banff Centre, or the rec centre. Your choice.”
She wasn’t going willingly back into the school, not today. No matter what she’d said about not letting the place beat her, she needed a breather. “Rec centre. We can do a few weights as well.”
“Deal. I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes.”
He walked the slight hill to where his truck was parked, and she couldn’t turn away. His broad shoulders, the flex of his ass under his pants. She’d spent a month studying him on the sly when they’d first met, and the same magnetism that had pulled her in back then was still there. Still had her staring long after she should have gone to grab her swim things.
What was it about Marcus? What made her lose all common sense and want to flirt and carry on like some infatuated teenager? Even shaken from the experience on the wall, he caught her attention and made everything else she should be concentrating on slip away.
She had to rush to make it in time.
Stepping to the exterior doors of the rec centre pulled an involuntary smile to her lips. The stonework and glass made the huge building nestle into the trees as if it had grown there. The rustic construction style was shared by many businesses and homes in the Banff area. Like the mountains rising around them, the human-made structure became a fitting part of the whole. The log features carried the taste of nature inside as well. Becki took a deep, satisfied breath as she stopped at the desk to pay.
A sense of the familiar, the . . . rightness. This was exactly what she needed to counter her chaotic soul.
The girl behind the desk smiled at her. “Becki James?”
Becki hesitated, trying to place the face. “Yes?”
“You’re already paid for. You can stop by any time and get your picture done for the pass. For now, let me put this on you.” The girl held out a brightly coloured wristband.
Obviously Marcus had beat her to the centre. “Are there any pool restrictions today? Or in the gym?”
The girl shook her head. “Nothing booked in the gym until after supper. In the pool, there’s an aquasize class in about thirty minutes, but the deep tank will be free, and there’s always at least one lane kept open for laps.”
“Thanks.”
Becki changed before stopping by the floor-to-ceiling windows to check the aquatic centre. The sunshine had faded to grey as clouds moved in, but in the pool area an oasis of light and heat remained.
“Weights first?”
She twirled to discover Marcus standing directly behind her. He’d changed as well into casual running shorts and a well-worn T-shirt with the logo of one of the local restaurants emblazoned across the front. A neoprene sleeve covered his stump and wrapped over his elbow—probably both for protection and to provide a better grip. “You move very quietly for a big man.”
“Helps me sneak up on all those innocent deer in the parking lot. Come on.”
He held open the door to the weight room and she stepped in, the cool of the air-conditioning brushing the bare skin of her arms and legs like a caress. A few others were in the room, doing bicep curls or using the machines. Rock music from the local station played softly in the background, a fitting counter to the low-pitched hum of the treadmills.
“General arms, legs? What are you thinking?” she asked.
“Up to you. I’m game for more lower-body work in here—the swim later will be enough upper body to finish.”
Perfect. She pointed to a couple of steppers that faced the exterior windows, and soon they were both moving. Outside the grey skies had gone nearly white, the brown grass making everything almost monochromatic. The mountaintops were dusted with fresh snow—the rain earlier in the week freezing at the higher elevations. Spring in Alberta—there was still a long way to go to get to the lush green that would take over the place in the summer.
The conversation as they warmed up stayed generic. Comfortable. Fifteen minutes passed quickly as Marcus led the discussion of nothing important. Becki was grateful, even as she cursed herself for spending more time looking at his reflection in the mirrorlike glass than staring through it at the gorgeous mountains surrounding them.
They moved to the weights, and she took charge. “Squats. We’ll use the power rack, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. Load your starting weight—I’ll follow after. I don’t need to try to impress you, do I? Loading three times as much weight on seems like a useless venture.”
She snorted. “Trust me, being impressive in the workout room isn’t. I’ve spent too much time around people who easily outpressed me, yet couldn’t transfer that into any kind of strength when they needed it most.”
Becki stepped under the bar, resting it on her shoulders as comfortably as possible, which meant not very. She stood the final two inches it took to release the security clasps, twisting the metal bar to flip the hooks out of the way.
She focused on her reflection in the mirror. Legs spread shoulder width apart, toes facing forward, she bent her knees and lowered the weight until she was in a sitting position. Reversing direction made all the muscles in the front of her thighs engage, the thicker bands in her butt having to work to bring her back to vertical.
“One. Nice form. You keep that up, and I’m going to feel like a wimp when it’s my turn,” Marcus teased.
“You’ll have as good form or better—remember, you asked me to train you. I don’t let my partners muck around.” Becki continued on as she spoke, the blood moving into her legs warming her. Her heart rate steadied, and she concentrated to keep her breathing smooth.