‘Matt... Follow my voice.’ She called up to him and he turned his head towards her, then pointed directly at her. ‘That’s right. You’re facing in the right direction, just climb over the top and slide down.’
They stumbled across the finishing line together. Matt fell to his knees, and Hannah reached for him, unbuckling the chin strap of his helmet so that he could take it off. As he blinked in the sunlight, she finally allowed herself to sink down onto the grass.
‘Is your knee okay?’ He sat down on the grass next to her.
‘It’s throbbing a bit. It only hurts as much as the rest of me.’
Matt chuckled, seeming content to take her word for it. ‘How did we do?’
‘We were neck and neck with the blues, I wouldn’t like to make the call. We were well in the lead, but I slowed us up a bit on the last obstacle.’
‘You did a great job. That wasn’t as easy as it seemed.’ He grinned at her.
‘You too.’ Hannah held out her hand to give him a high five. It wasn’t the empty gesture that it might have been at the start of this competition. When their palms touched, he laced his fingers together with hers, gripping her hand in an expression of triumph. Something else as well. There was tenderness in his face, and when his gaze met hers it held her breathless in its thrall. One moment of exquisite closeness.
A cry sounded behind them, and they both looked round. Laura, the blindfolded partner for the yellow team, had fallen from the slide on the other side of the climbing wall. Her partner Jack had waved the first-aid team away, bending down beside her and talking intently. Then she got up slowly, and started to walk uncertainly towards the finish line.
The greens were trailing behind, but beginning to catch up now. A murmur ran around the crowd and the production assistants standing in front of them all motioned for quiet. Matt stood up, holding out his hand, and Hannah felt his strength boost her onto her feet.
The greens were closing, but Laura made it across the finishing line first, collapsing into Jack’s arms. There was a moment of silence as he lowered her to the ground and took her helmet off, obviously concerned about her. Then he gave a thumbs-up to the crowd. Matt started to clap, and the other teams joined in. The applause caught in the breeze, spreading through the audience.
The yellows waved, and a cheer went up. The director was hurrying over to them, obviously concerned, and after a brief conversation he picked up a microphone.
‘Laura’s okay...’ He paused as a ripple of applause ran around the crowd. ‘We’re going to break now until after lunch, and we’ll have the second challenge ready at two o’clock.’
‘There’s another one?’ Hannah grimaced up at Matt.
‘So it seems. I hope it involves sitting down.’ He grinned, stretching his limbs, and started to walk towards where Hannah’s mum was standing with Sam.
* * *
Her mum had apparently been texting Matt, and had already elicited an agreement from him to join them for lunch. They found a shaded spot at the edge of the area that had been set aside for today’s event, and her mother unpacked the sandwiches, while Matt went to his car to fetch the drinks. There was a chilled bottle of sparkling, non-alcoholic cordial, so that Sam could share their toast to a continued run of success.
‘Where on earth does he get the energy?’ Matt had talked with her mother about the book that she was currently reading with her book club, and they’d found a shared enthusiasm for a couple of writers. Now he was playing with Sam on the grass, the two of them engaged in a game of tag.
‘Maybe he’s got some to spare, not having a child to look after.’
‘Hannah...’ Her mother shot her a reproving look. ‘You know I’ll always look after Sam whenever you want.’
‘I know. I didn’t mean it like that, Mum. My time with Sam’s the best part of my day, I wouldn’t give it up for anything.’
‘You could. If you wanted to go out sometimes.’ Her mother looked pointedly across at Matt. ‘Matt seems very nice, maybe he’d take
you somewhere.’
Hannah rolled her eyes, trying to make out that the idea hadn’t occurred to her already, and been rejected. ‘Don’t you start. I’ve only just managed to get Sophie to shut up about it.’
‘Yes, she said.’ Clearly her mum and Sophie had been comparing notes. ‘I dare say Sophie’s been suggesting something a little more...intimate than a visit to the cinema.’
Hannah chuckled. Mum knew that Sophie didn’t mince her words. ‘Yes, she has.’
‘You don’t need to jump in with both feet.’ Her mother glanced across at Matt. ‘Although... I wouldn’t blame you if you did.’
‘Mum!’
‘What, I’m not supposed to think about things like sex? He’s very attractive. And where do you suppose you and your sisters came from? Your father and I—’
‘Mum, stop!’ Hannah rolled over onto her back, closing her eyes. ‘As far as I’m concerned, you found us under a gooseberry bush. I’m not going to even consider any alternatives.’