Picture Perfect Love (Year Of Weddings 2 Book 7; Series Order 19) (Christian Romance) by Melissa McClone

boy with wavy red hair and wearing a Seattle Seahawks T-shirt and board shorts answered.
    A girl, her wrist covered in friendship bracelets, sighed. “Too bad we didn’t figure that out sooner.”
    Two kids who’d started off strong, then gave up in the middle of the task, laughed, the sound full of nerves, not humor.
    “You need one leader.” The boy’s serious voice matched his facial expression. “Someone who doesn’t act like a dictator and will listen to feedback.”
    “You have to follow who’s in charge even if you might not agree with them,” said a girl, the self-appointed leader no one wanted to follow.
    “Excellent observations.” Rob looked at each teen,waiting until he’d made eye contact before going to the next person. “Could any of you have completed this challenge alone?”
    “No,” they said in unison.
    “That’s right.” A satisfied smile graced Rob’s lips. “It’s one reason you struggled more with this task than others. You had to rely on each other to succeed.”
    The redheaded kid snickered. “You set us up to fail.”
    “Nope.” Rob leaned back on his hands. “Following a leader who does a task differently is lesson we must learn.”
    “Impossible,” one mumbled.
    Another nodded. “What does it matter? We won’t be on a ropes course again for a long time. If ever.”
    Other kids agreed.
    “True, but you have teachers and coaches. One day you’ll have a boss, unless you start your own company or win the lottery. Trust me, they’ll tell you what they want you to do. You might get married and have a spouse who wants things done a certain way.”
    Several boys groaned.
    Ash bit back his smile. He remembered the marriage preparation class he and Jenna had been required to take at church. The ropes course would be good for a couple to do together before planning their big wedding day and setting up their gift registry.
    Rob stood, brushed his hands against each other. “Pick a new leader for the next element and show me what you’ve learned.”
    Ash took the rear to keep stragglers from falling behind.
    “Come on.” Jenna’s voice carried from the lower ropescourse, where she and her group worked with their guide. Lack of elevation didn’t make a task easier. She clapped, the sound carrying on the warm air. “You’ve got this.”
    Her enthusiasm and cheerleader attitude didn’t surprise Ash. But her chaperoning the more difficult group did. None of her teens acted like they wanted to be here.
    Two boys dressed in black, with bangs hanging over their faces and shoulders hunched like they’d escaped from a nineties MTV show, had been looking for a place to hide since stepping off the bus. One girl’s eyes gleamed as if she might burst into tears with a wrong word or glance. Another girl complained about the lack of a cellular phone signal.
    Had Jenna purposely chosen the more difficult path today? Ash didn’t know, but she hadn’t been that way before.
    She clapped again. Whistled. “I know you can do it.”
    On the ground, the noise level rose. The guide shouted directions. Jenna offered encouraging words.
    Rob stopped to watch. “I don’t believe it.”
    The I’d-rather-be-anywhere-but-here teens were killing the most difficult task on the course. Succeeding where the other groups had failed. At the end, the group of misfits and addicted texters high-fived, hugged, and shouted woot woots.
    Rob pointed toward Jenna’s group. “That’s teamwork in action. The most efficient groups don’t always have the strongest individuals, but everyone working together and doing their part makes up for skills they lack.”
    Jenna also knew how to encourage people to move beyond themselves and their comfort levels. When they were dating, she’d encouraged Ash to offer pro bono legalservices through a community group. As soon as they broke up, he’d stopped. Lack of time due to his new job and too many memories of her, even though he’d found the volunteering