cute and giving in to her happiness at finding their first cache. She hadn’t mentioned it to Zoe, but she’d secretly been scared she’d come on this show only to be a part of the team who never finds a single cache. Ever. Thankfully, they seemed to work well enough together that it wouldn’t be the case.
Zoe snapped the picture then lowered the GPS. “That was perfectly dorky in every way. And you wonder why Brad didn’t keep you around.”
Bitch
. Her good mood dissolved instantly.
Paige kept her thoughts to herself and shoved the note back into the canister, securing it into its originally spot. Of course, shoving it up Zoe’s ass might make her feel better. Maybe she’d drive to their next cache and see if she couldn’t find a few more corners to take too quickly. Maybe then Zoe would be too busy to throw out any more unsolicited comments.
She grabbed the logbook from Zoe and quickly jotted down the location of this cache and the day and time they found it. Moving to the next one on the list, she read the coordinates to Zoe who entered them in.
“Looks like this one is a long drive — fifty miles from here.”
“Isn’t there anything closer to where we are now?” Paige asked.
“Maybe, but with five hundred coordinates to read through, it would take a while to find them.”
“Then I guess we better get a move on.” Paige turned on her heel not waiting for Zoe to lead the way with the GPS. First things first, they had to get their SUV out of the parking garage and Paige didn’t need Zoe’s help for that. Hell, she didn’t want Zoe’s help for anything anymore. Maybe she should ask Chip to let her run this race alone after all.
• • •
Paige and Zoe ran for the line drawn in white spray paint across the lawn in front of a gorgeous lodge. Other teams were already standing to the side as they crossed the line and stopped running. Paige moved to the side near the others, then doubled over, trying to catch her breath.
At five minutes until eight, they’d snuck in under the cutoff time for check in that night and with only a couple of caches to their credit. Not exactly the first day she’d been hoping for.
The last team — Team Grandparents — finished just behind Paige and Zoe.
“We might be last, but we made it,” they cheered, less out of breath than Paige was. She really should have worked out more before coming on a show like this.
Spencer moved from the sidelines to stand directly on the line and faced the teams. “Welcome, teams, to the beautiful Cascade Lodge. This is where you’ll be staying for the month while we film.” He paused while the teams looked at the lodge. “Each morning you’ll leave from this line at eight for check-out and every evening, you’ll check back in at eight. That gives you twelve solid hours of racing time. Use it wisely. And remember, checking in after eight will earn you a two-hour penalty the following day.”
The teams cheered, but it wasn’t as enthusiastic as it had been in the morning. Apparently Paige wasn’t the only one feeling like the day had taken it all out of her. Now that she’d finally caught her breath, she noticed other teams looked as tired as she felt.
“I know you’ve had an exciting day and I’m sure you’re all ready for a hot meal and a warm bed. So without making you wait any longer, here are the keys to your rooms.” Spencer handed each team an envelope with their names and a room number written across the front of it. “Go find your rooms, relax, eat, and rest. After every check in, you’ll be given a time slot for your daily wrap-up interview. The first one is tonight. You’ll find a filming schedule posted in the common room each evening.
“Oh, and one more thing, there are cameras mounted in the common room to catch all the after hours action since the cameramen are only filming out in the field with you during the day. However, there are no cameras mounted in any of the bedrooms. Rest assured, the