The pole vault pit sat in the southwest corner of the field. A tarp covered the mass of foam and cushion that kept the vaulters from hurting themselves when they landed after their jumps. The standards framed the pit but the poles and crossbars were put away in a locked shed.
Memories of her first jump, how uncoordinated she’d felt, surfaced. It took three months before she actually landed a decent vault. It had only been five feet, but God it felt good. She remembered the senior vaulters all cheering. Zoe had given a thumbs up, and Jo told her to aim higher or join high jump.
She aimed higher.
“Can’t help yourself, can you?”
Melanie jumped and turned. “You like sneaking up on people, coach?”
Wyatt stood behind her with a smile. A sexy smile that warmed her. “I didn’t sneak, you weren’t paying attention.”
Yeah, right…she sat on the pit and couldn’t help but bounce. The condition of the pit had deteriorated over the past decade. “Do you vault?” she asked him.
“I never got the hang of the turn. Luckily, coaching doesn’t require me to break anything. Did you vault in college?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t see the point. I wasn’t good enough for the Olympics, and no one was offering me a full scholarship.”
“You cleared eleven two. That’s brag worthy.”
Melanie caught his eyes. “You looked up my record?”
He lifted both hands in the air. “Guilty.”
“Checking out a potential coach?”
He shrugged his shoulders and said. “No. Just checking you out.”
It took a second for his words to register and Melanie felt her cheeks warm. He started to laugh. “You’re easy to fluster, Miss Bartlett.”
“I’m not flustered,” she denied and removed her butt from the pit. She offered him her back and put her cool hand to her cheeks.
I’m so flustered. You’d think no one ever flirted with her. Or maybe those who did held little interest for her. Truth is, she may have aged ten years, but she was relatively clueless when it came to the world of men.
Instead of admitting anything, she moved over to the giant shipping container that held all the pole vault equipment. She wedged the pole against the bottom of the shed and leaned into it. Where she once bent the pole with ease, she could already tell she’d lost the upper body strength to use the thing.
“You wanna try?” Wyatt asked.
“Vaulting?”
“Since breaking and entering has been mastered…”
Melanie shook her head with a roll of her eyes. “I know the sheriff. And besides, she had the key made.”
Wyatt offered a dimpled smile. “I’m learning new things everyday with you in town.” He moved away from the container and over to the pit. “They say it’s like riding a bike.”
“They do not!”
“They do.”
She planted the pole into the box and attempted to bend it again. “Who are they anyway?”
“Life’s cheerleaders.”
Melanie cringed. “Fake smiles and pom poms…what do they know?”
“Don’t be hating.”
She took a few steps back and lifted the eleven-foot pole before letting the end come down with a bounce. “I’m not hating. Just not a fan.”
“Yet you were on the squad.”
She offered a glance over her shoulder, found his eyes snapping up from his gaze lingering on her butt. “Checking me out again?”
It was his turn to fluster. “Yes…no…I mean. Your friend Margie told me you were on the squad. Now, are you going to jump on the pole or just fondle it all day?”
She glanced at her hands gripping the tape.
Wyatt laughed.
“I’m not going to get flustered,” she muttered
“Too late.”
