Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Should I have made engagement a deal breaker? It was a question I still asked myself, and one I wished I had a black-and-white answer for.
Archer passed me a canteen. “Hydration will help. Just do your best and don’t stress about it.”
Easy for him to say. He was a natural athlete, whereas I had to hold the handrail every time I used stairs so I didn’t trip—whether I was going up or down.
Food and water did help, and I was feeling more like myself as we followed the map to today’s event. We had to walk about a mile to the competition site, and as we approached and I got a good look at what the producers had set up, I wanted to turn around and run back to our camp.
They’d created a giant mud pit. Josh was grinning and talking to a cameraman as he sipped from his stainless-steel cup with a built-in straw, his golden hair looking freshly washed. My hair, on the other hand, was filthy from sweat, and the salt water wasn’t helping either. I kind of wanted someone to push Josh into the mud pit, just to see the look of shock on his face.
Within a few minutes, the other teams arrived, and when the cameras rolled, Josh didn’t start by explaining what we’d be doing.
“You guys may have noticed we’re down a team,” he said.
Everyone looked around, and I furrowed my brow when I realized he was right. A woman named Lexi and her partner were missing.
“Gage Lamb’s not here,” Archer murmured.
“Gage and Lexi had to tap out yesterday because Lexi became very ill,” Josh said.
There were gasps and shocked looks among the other teams. We’d all been on the same island, but none of us had known she was sick. Josh let the news sink in before continuing.
“We got her to a hospital where she was admitted and is in stable condition. So, we’re now down to thirteen teams.”
“Is she going to be okay?” Andrea asked.
“She’s expected to make a full recovery,” Josh assured everyone.
It was a relief to hear that, but I still couldn’t help wondering what had happened to her. All thirty-two potential female contestants had sat through a three-hour crash course at the resort about this island before being brought here.
We learned about the many poisonous and venomous ways we could die on this island—by land and sea—if we weren’t vigilant. Jellyfish, snakes, and even berries could be deadly. The creepy crawlies that were venomous were few and far between, but still. I didn’t have to worry about killer jellyfish in Iowa.
“Ready to get dirty, guys?” Josh asked us, grinning. “In this competition, the final two teams to finish will be eliminated, and the top two will win something I think you’ll all be willing to fight for.” He paused for dramatic effect as the cameras panned over all the contestants, taking in our curious expressions. “The first and second place teams will win a sunset cruise tonight, where dinner will be served. On the menu is steak, baked potatoes, and blueberry cobbler.”
From the groans and cries of happiness, you would’ve thought Josh announced the winners were getting bags of gold. Apparently, everyone else was as hungry as I was.
“Each team has to fish twenty hockey pucks out of this mud pit,” Josh explained. “Then, each member of the team has to stack ten of your pucks on the paddle of a hockey stick”—he pointed to a rack lined with hockey sticks—“and carry them to those baskets.”
He gestured to a row of baskets about a hundred feet from the mud pit, adding, “If either team member drops a single puck, you have to go back to the starting line and stack them again.”
My lips parted with shock, and I glanced at Archer.
“No problem,” he said, sounding far more confident than I felt. “We’ve got this, Lo.”
As a production assistant demonstrated the stacking and carrying of the pucks on the sticks, I closed my eyes, picturing myself $500,000 richer. That money would change my life, and I was willing to do whatever it took to win. Even if it took scrambling like a pig in mud.
“Everyone ready?” Josh asked. I gave Archer a panicked grimace.
We were starting now.
Josh yelled for everyone to go, and the contestants descended on the mud pit.
“This way!” Archer yelled, leading me to a far corner.
We were the first ones to drop to our knees and start fishing for pucks. The mud was slimy, cool, and wet. In the tropical heat, it felt good. I’d once paid good money for something like this at a spa in Des Moines.
“Oh!” I cried as my hands found something hard and round.
I pulled out a puck and Archer grinned. Without thinking, I stuck the puck into one cup of my bikini top to free up both hands. I continued searching, covered in mud up to my elbows and from the waist down. We made quick work of locating pucks.