Page 18 of Unfinished Desire
“That’s why I’d rather get a cat. They’re less hostile,” Isla replied, focusing only on Eric and the surprisingly relaxed snake. Maybe Aggie had nothing to worry about, and the snake was just passing by before going on to find a better, more delicious snack.
“Cats have been known to eat their owners too,” Tamsyn said.
“Only after death,” Isla pointed out.
Tamsyn shivered, and Isla felt it against her skin. “I’m not a cat person,” she said. “We always had a trio of golden retrievers growing up.”
Isla, who had only befriended beetles and the occasional praying mantis, turned slowly to look at Tamsyn. She tried to picture Tamsyn at twelve, grass-stained knees, cowboy boots that swallowed skinny legs, and three golden retrievers orbiting her like planets.
But then she regretted it immediately.
Tamsyn’s face was impossibly close. Close enough that Isla could see the fine laugh lines around her eyes. Close enough to see her irises shimmer like polished wood in the spotlights. Close enough for Isla’s brain to supply a very vivid, unhelpful image of Tamsyn’s lips against her own.
She took a large step back just as Elise Mercier, the show’s executive producer, ambled into the clearing. She was dressed in a white T-shirt, black slacks and Birkenstocks. Her blonde curlswere clipped back, rogue strands falling across her cheeks. “All right, people. Snake’s taken care of. You can all go back to sleep.”
“Ha, not a chance,” Aggie said, arms still hugging herself.
Isla couldn’t argue with that. Though honestly, she wasn’t sure if that had to do with the snake or the raven-haired woman standing next to her.
EVERYONE HAD JUST RECOVEREDfrom last night’s fiasco when Vivian decided to bring it up again at this afternoon’s reward challenge. She stood beside a towering wooden structure set up in the clearing. Her burnt-orange wrap dress clung delicately to her hips. Isla found her outfit choice exceptionally glamorous today. Her white hair gleamed like sun-bleached bone against the burnt-orange cliffs in the background.
“So, Aggie, you had a visitor in the teepee last night,” Vivian said, smiling brightly.
Aggie shuddered so violently her blue hair seemed to ripple. “It was a carpet python,” she said darkly. “I woke up to the thing slithering over my legs.” She shivered again as if the memory alone made her cold. “I got the fright of my life. But they’re apparently not venomous. Not that it makes me feel better. I mean, they constrict their prey to death. Not sure which is worse.”
Vivian pressed her lips together, fighting back a laugh. “Well, today you won’t have to worry about anything slithering over your legs.” She gestured toward the structure. “But you will have something else to contend with.”
She stepped to the side even though it wasn’t necessary.
The setup was intimidating. Two tall wooden frames had been planted firmly into the ground, each one taller than a doorframe and reinforced with a thick crossbeam. From the topof each frame hung a heavy rope. At the end of the rope was an iron disc the size of a car tire, fitted with two metal handles. The other end of the rope ran through a pulley system and was tied to a tall, narrow stack of sandstone blocks balanced upright. The only thing keeping the stack standing was the tension in the rope.
Isla didn’t like the look of it. Not one bit.
“In this challenge, each of you will hold one of these weighted discs above your head,” Vivian explained, folding her hands delicately in front of her.
There it was. A dreaded endurance challenge. No one loved an endurance challenge, which explained the collective groan.
“The disc must remain lifted high enough to keep the tension on the rope at all times,” Vivian said, smiling radiantly at the impending suffering they were all about to face. “If it drops and your pillar falls, your challenge is over. You will be working in pairs. Last pair standing wins the reward.”
Isla caught Tamsyn out of the corner of her eye.
Tamsyn was chewing on her bottom lip like she was nervous. Which wasn’t something Isla expected from a woman who enjoyed hiking until her legs felt like they were going to fall off. Anyone who was willing to hike the PCT wouldn’t mind pushing their bodies through a bit of pain. Isla included. She’d once held a back-arched pose for forty minutes on a narrow sandstone ledge in Joshua Tree while the photographer waited for the perfect light to hit. She’d stood barefoot in the Atlantic at Coney Island in the middle of February, in a thin silk dress, pretending she wasn’t losing feeling in her toes, and once, in the very beginning of her career, she’d knelt on sunbaked gravel in a leather suit in the Nevada desert. Isla Stone could endure. Which was why she had a feeling they could win this thing. She just needed to catch Tamsyn’s eye to confirm.
“Will it help if I tell you what you’re playing for?” Vivian asked as her gold hoop earrings glinted sharply in the sunlight.
There was a chorus of enthusiastic YES!
Vivian smiled so radiantly it was like she was glowing and added, “The winners will be driven in a private SUV one hour south to an exclusive eco-luxury villa nestled deep in the foothills. You’ll spend the night there and dine under the open sky. The next morning, you’ll wake up to breakfast delivered while you watch the sunrise over Wilpena Pound.”
Isla’s entire body fluttered. Not even winning this entire competition sounded as scrumptious as that reward. Ugh. She could practically feel the bedsheets on her naked body.
“All right, everyone, let’s get this challenge started.” Vivian clapped her hands once, and just like always, everyone moved into their positions. “On my count,” she called. “Three... two... one... lift.”
The weight hit immediately. Isla’s arms shot upward and stayed there, but the disc dragged her shoulders and the rope snapped taut. Somewhere behind her, the sandstone pillar gave a faint, gritty-sounding shift.
“Oh, that’s evil,” Kendall muttered.
Isla had to agree. The disc was far heavier than she had expected. A slow burn crept from her forearms into her shoulders. She turned her head and stole a look at Tamsyn. But Tamsyn’s chin was tipped down slightly and her eyes were closed. She looked perfectly calm and composed, like someone in a yoga class instead of out here with the sun pressing on their backs, holding up a disc that had to weigh the same as a toddler. Even her breathing was steady.
