Page 13 of PenPal Hero

“It does.” Alice smiled sympathetically. “I’ll be by your side every step of the way.”

Bonnie would’ve preferred nothing more than that, but that decision might be out of Alice’s hands. “What if we’re not assigned to the same group?”

“I’d like to see anyone try to separate us.” Alice’s expression turned frosty with determination. “There is no way my future business partner is facing her fears without me. I’ve got your back, Bon Bon. I always have.”

Bonnie blinked at her, feeling a blindfold had been removed from her eyes.

Alice had reacted to the situation with such confidence. Such loyalty. Like a true friend, so much so that Bonnie couldn’t fathom why it had taken her so long to see what was right in front of her nose. Instead of spending the last couple of years unsure of what she wanted to do with the rest of her life, she could’ve been studying for her real estate broker’s license. Then again, she had spent that span of time learning the real estate business from the inside out — just without her license.

“Alright.” She couldn’t believe she was saying it. “Guess we’ll just have to tell the powers that be that Yates and Underwood are a team.” And if she survived what came next, she might tell Alice she was finally ready to order the study materials for her brokerage license.

“Already did.” Alice lifted her chin defiantly. “I texted the retreat coordinators two minutes ago. If they know what’s good for them, they’ll make no attempt to separate you and me today.”

As it turned out, they had nothing to worry about. Everyone at the retreat was partnered with their respective coworkers. After breakfast, they set out for the obstacle courses in teams of two and three people. Bonnie and Alice were assigned to tackle the tree hurdles first.

Bonnie spent most of the short hike there trying not to hyperventilate.

Alice kept darting concerned looks at her. “Breathe through your nose and out your mouth,” she instructed.

To Bonnie’s surprise, it actually helped. “How did you know about that?” she asked after she got her breathing back under control.

“From running track and cross country in high school.” Alice chuckled at the memory. “Proper breathing makes a tremendous difference during long distance runs.”

Bonnie shook her head in amazement. “Bet you can run circles around me.”

Smirking, Alice jogged in a quick circle around her. “Oo, you’re right! Who would’ve guessed?”

“Funny.” Bonnie pretended to glare at her as they pulled on the complimentary sports gloves they’d been given. She avoided looking up at the obstacle as long as she could. After her gloves were on, though, there was no more putting it off.

Five tall trees towered in front of them in a perfect row. The tree in front had ladder rungs bolted to it. Mounted between the trees were rope bridges swaying in the breeze. About halfway to the ground, safety nets stretched like rectangular trampolines beneath the rope bridges.

Bonnie swallowed hard, feeling her throat grow dry. “The rope bridges can’t be more than a few thousand feet in the air.” Yep, I’m gonna die.

Alice stepped closer to the tree to read the laminated poster wrapped around the base. “Actually, they’re suspended only forty feet up.”

“Only forty?” Bonnie choked. “You say that like it’s?—”

“Like it’s only forty feet,” Alice cut in firmly. She shoved the long sleeves of her pale blue t-shirt up to her elbows, tipping back her head to gauge the distance. “We’ve got this, Bon Bon.” She swiveled around to face her, resting her hands on the hips of her gray yoga pants. “How about you go in front of me, and I’ll bring up the rear?”

Bonnie’s eyes widened. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, really! I’m more likely to fall than you are.” She couldn’t bear the thought of tumbling into her dearest friend in the world and taking them both down together.

“Just stop!” Alice’s voice was firm. “You said yourself that we’re a team, and I happen to be the current CEO of our team. If you want to have more say in how things are run at our company, you can sign a partnership agreement.” She jabbed a finger at the tree. “Until then, if I say you go first, then you go first.”

Bonnie gave a nervous giggle. “Aye, aye, captain!” Good gracious! Holt wasn’t the only one in their family who was good at arm twisting. Her knees wobbled beneath her as she moved to stand directly beneath the tree.

“Okay.” She clapped her hands a few times, trying to chase away the tingling in her palms. They were already sweating beneath her gloves. “Let’s do this.” She reached for one of the ladder rungs above her head as she stepped onto the lowest rung. A few rungs up, the rungs circled behind the tree, positioning her to continue her climb above the safety nets.

Clever. Bonnie still wasn’t excited about climbing forty feet into the treetops, but at least there was something beneath her to break her fall to the hard-packed earth below. If it comes to that. She ventured a look down to see how far she’d climbed and sucked in a breath.

“Don’t look down,” Alice ordered briskly. “It’s onward and upward for Team Yates and Underwood.”

“Yippee,” Bonnie muttered sarcastically, though she obligingly tipped her face up again. It felt like hours before they reached the first rope bridge. Only then did she discover something she hadn’t seen from the ground. There were thin ropes running shoulder high along the rope bridge — something to hold on to.

She soon made her next less than thrilling discovery. Having ropes to hold on to didn’t guarantee their success, by any means. Both the ropes and the bridge still had a lot of sway in them. She found herself praying beneath her breath as she took her first few swinging steps.

Alice stepped onto the rope bridge behind her, making it sway even more.

Tears of terror welled in Bonnie’s eyes. She froze in her tracks. “I-I don’t think I can do it,” she gasped, trembling from head to toe. “I’m sorry.”

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