“What’s at Blue Quarry, or should I Google it?” asked Sierra.
“Amazing scenery, for a start. I thought we’d go up to the top of the sand dunes and look out over it, then go down to the rim,” he said, carefully not mentioning how they were going to do any of those things, or how they’d get back, either. Sierra was an attorney. Would she be in relaxed Saturday mode, or would she question him?
It seemed her brain was in vacation mode as they talked about other pretty scenery they’d visited, and neither Cam nor Sierra interrogated him about his plans for the day. Good!
There was no sign at the turnoff road to the quarry, but Fergus had expected that. The local people knew about it, and fitness boot-camp classes came here regularly, but it wasn’t a tourist attraction, although the view from the top was worthy of it being known as such.
He bumped his car down a long, windy dirt track, stopping at a graveled parking area. No other cars were parked there, which pleased him. The boot-camp people, if they came, were usually here at dawn, rushing to do their run and get back to the regular day’s activities.
Both Sierra and Cam got out of the car quickly, eager to look around. So far so good. He led them down a narrow, sandy track until they could see a row of sand dunes ahead of them. The walking track wound along at the base of the dunes, but that wasn’t the way he intended them to get there.
“Have either of you been dune jumping before?” Fergus asked, his gaze on their faces.
He saw a flash of surprise on Sierra’s face but no negativity. Cam just looked a bit puzzled. “What’s dune jumping?”
“Exactly what it says. The person runs along the dunes and jumps from one to the next. It’s damn hard work,” said Sierra.
“But it’s better than a ropes course, right?” Cam teased her.
Sierra smiled. “At least if I fall I’ll be landing on sand and it won’t hurt much.”
“Have you done it before?” asked Fergus.
“Yes, but it was at least ten years ago, no twelve years ago, and I was ten or twelve pounds lighter back then,” she said.
“Well pity me then. Not only haven’t I done it before, I’d never even heard of it until now,” said Cam.
Fergus thought he’d better explain for Cam. It wouldn’t hurt for Sierra to hear it all again if it was that long since she’d last done it, either. “The best way to get up the dune is to run as fast as you can, and on a forty-five degree angle. When you’re on the top of it you can go as slowly as you wish, but you need to judge the gap to the next dune and make sure you’re running fast enough to make the jump from dune to dune. These dunes are wonderful for jumping because they’re so close together. It’s an easy jump each time. I’ll go up the first one ahead of you both, to demonstrate, but then I’ll go last to pick either of you up if you fall.”
“Well thanks for that vote of no confidence,” groaned Cam.
Sierra laughed. “It’s fun. At least as I remember it, it was fun. Maybe now I’m older it won’t be quite so exciting.”
He led them across the base of the first dune. From the bottom he knew it looked like a hell of a long way up, but it wasn’t really that bad. The only real tricks involved were running fast, not slowing down at all on the way up, and maintaining the forty-five-degree angle. It was much easier than trying to go straight up.
“Wait until I get to the top, then come on up,” Fergus said.
He walked back down the track maybe one hundred feet, then sprinted toward the dune. He’d already chosen the path he intended to take. Not that a bare dune exactly had a path, but more that he planned to reach the top about two-thirds of the way along it.
He hit the sand running hard, knowing it would pull at his feet and that it was essential he go faster, not slower when that happened. He pumped his arms to help him maintain his balance and looked ahead, not at his feet. He could feel his speed slowing but couldn’t make himself move any faster. Luckily he knew he’d still have enough power to make it to the top.
He crested the top of the dune and slowed his pace, just running a few more steps to keep his balance. Then he turned and waved at Cam and Sierra down at the foot of the dune. Together they moved back to where he’d started running.
He guessed Sierra would come up next. For a start, she was very competitive, but also he knew Cam wouldn’t want her left alone down on the ground while they were both up here.
Exactly as he’d predicted, Sierra took off running toward the dune. She was wearing bright yellow shorts and a lime-green T-shirt and she absolutely flew across the ground, faster than he’d run he was sure, despite her being a human female and him a male wolf.