“The last race is a blur of pain to me,” Joshua said. “I’d swear that the buoy just moved though.”
Sidney peered around him, squinting at the distant waterline. With the sun’s reflection on the white plastic, it was difficult to pinpoint its place. Then she blinked, and her jaw dropped open. “Did you see that?”
“What? Not another motor?” Joshua’s attention whipped in Missy and Colin’s direction. “If they are cheating again…”
“No. I think I saw a hand on the buoy. It came above the water, pushed the buoy, and now it’s gone.”
“A hand? Are you sure? Could it have been a bird?” Joshua’s head swung toward the buoy. It bounced on the surface like a prizewinning fish jerked the end of its line. In rougher seas, that might be believable, but other than the wakes of the canoes, the lake was calm. Something, no someone, was definitely shifting its position.
“I’m pretty sure it was a hand. It was flesh-colored.” She glanced back at the beach, but they were too far away to distinguish anyone other than Penny with her floppy hat.
“Why would someone be swimming way out here during a race?” Joshua’s head swung in Missy and Colin’s direction. “Unless…”
He whipped his paddle through the water at a speed Sidney had never witnessed. They rocketed forward. She mustered all her strength to keep pace.
They coasted next to the buoy. Both pulled their paddles from the water. Joshua scanned the surface.
“What are you looking for?” Sidney balanced her paddle across her knees. She scanned the surface too, but didn’t see any evidence of a swimmer. A wad of tangled, gunky weeds floated a short distance from the buoy. Not unusual for the lake, but Sidney hadn’t seen one quite so large this far from shore. Clumps graced the edge of the swimming area where the currents swirled them together, but littered the surface of the lake in singular bits of flotsam.
“There!” Joshua jabbed his paddle toward a dark cylinder sticking up in the middle of the weeds. He maneuvered the craft closer. Using his paddle, he swished the weeds away. As the canoe drifted into them, Joshua grabbed the snorkel and pulled it out of the water. A sputtering Zach broke the surface with it. The snorkel and mask tangled in his hair, but Joshua yanked them free, eliciting a yelp from Zach.
Joshua chucked it back to Sidney. “Evidence of cheating, right?”
Sidney caught it and stuffed it under her seat. “You bet.”
“What are you doing?” Zach cried.
“Putting an end to your sister’s scams,” Joshua growled.
“How’d you know?” Zach wiggled, attempting to loosen Joshua’s grip on his wetsuit.
“It’s not hard to figure out,” Sidney said. She waved to one of the officials, and the boat motored their way. She pointed into the water at Zach, but he ducked under the surface and disappeared. “He moved the buoy!” she called to the boat.
The referee on the boat made a gesture to acknowledge her complaint. The boat sped forward and arrived just as Zach surfaced a short distance away. “We got him!” the official called as Zach howled his innocence.
Sidney narrowed her gaze at the drifting canoe on the course ahead of them. Catching Zach had cost time, but Missy must have thought her little trick was undetectable. She was about to learn firsthand that cheaters never prosper. “Missy is not getting away with this.”
“You can say that again.” Joshua swiped his paddle through the weeds and scum that Zach used as a disguise and flopped the disgusting mass into the middle of their canoe. “Let’s go.”
****
Joshua’s arms cursed him with every stroke. No more, they wailed, but he ignored the whining and soldiered on, gritting his teeth against the pain and the heat. Every time he shifted to a less uncomfortable position, his wet jeans chafed on a new spot. The burning didn’t dim his resolve. If anything, it fired his desire to finish the race faster. Missy was not going to get away with cheating.
Sidney telepathically understood his resolve because they gained on Missy’s canoe in leaps and bounds, paddling so smoothly their canoe never wobbled. He never should have doubted their connection. He couldn’t believe she had been about to give up the race for him. Now he was exactly where he wanted to be. Well, not exactly, being on the water wasn’t his first choice, but anywhere with Sidney trumped that. Soon they were close enough to see Colin’s safari hat and the white, zinc oxide coating the back of his neck.
Missy must have counted on Zach being undetectable because she paddled as if on a leisurely tour of the lake. A stroke on this side, a pause, a stroke on that side. Colin wasn’t much more aggressive, but that may have been the extent of his capabilities. Physical prowess in anything didn’t appear to be his forte.
Joshua snorted as he got close enough to read the back of Colin’s T-shirt stretched over his life vest. “Ask me about the fabulous deals through Rough Diamond.” He shook his head. Some people never quit.
Colin turned, gasped, and double-timed his paddling. Unfortunately—for him, anyway—the paddle only slapped the surface, splashing water into Joshua’s face and not increasing their forward momentum.
“Thanks for the refresher. Got any sports drink in there? An energy bar?” Joshua heckled, shaking water from his face.
Missy jerked around so fast, she tumbled backward off her seat into the middle of the canoe. Her legs flailed in the air, and her paddle splashed over the side. “How—”
Colin gasped. “Missy! Honey bunches! Are you okay?” He seemed confused as to whether to keep paddling or help Missy right herself.
“Honey bunches?” Joshua stifled a laugh. He cast a glance over his shoulder to Sidney. “Please tell me he never called you that.”
Sidney giggled. “Not a chance.”
Missy managed to pull herself semi-upright and scowl over the side of the canoe. “How did you catch up to us?”
“We figured out Zach’s little trick,” Sidney called. “But he left something behind. We thought you’d want it back.”
Joshua leaned backward just as Sidney jumped forward, their movements perfectly timed to keep the canoe from dumping them both in the drink. His eyes met hers, and the sparkle made his heart want to burst. They dug their fingers into the slimy weeds and flung them onto the prone Missy. The debris hit her skin with a satisfying splat.
Her shriek echoed off the lake. She bolted upright, bits of algae and something brown oozing off her face. Colin scrambled toward her, but slipped on the goo and lost his balance. He crashed onto Missy just as she tried to stand. The canoe tilted to one side, toppling them both into the lake.
Joshua and Sidney waited long enough to see Missy and Colin surface, spitting and hacking. Joshua high-fived Sidney before they snatched up their paddles and deserted the scene. He couldn’t resist one last parting shot as they sailed away. “Be glad it wasn’t dog poo!”
****
Sidney and Joshua flew around the last corner to the home stretch. Her energy fueled by the delight of defeating an archenemy and the joy of finally knowing who her soul mate was. One other team had gained significant ground when Sidney and Joshua paused to return Missy’s seaweed. The other crew fought hard through the home stretch, and it took all their energy to hold them off. The last team hadn’t wanted to give up, especially when the finish banner was tantalizingly close. Sidney and Joshua had edged their canoe ahead in the final one hundred yards.
The last bit of their strength blasted the canoe onto the beach. Sidney tumbled out, crashing to her knees in the shallows. “Twenty more yards,” she gasped, though the final dash up the beach could have been a thousand for all the energy left in her legs. Joshua grabbed her hand and yanked her to her feet. She tripped and fell forward, her legs too exhausted to hold her weight. A shower was going to feel so good. She had sand in every nook and cranny of her body. No need for exfoliating scrub today.
Joshua tried to swoop her into his arms as the other canoe landed on the beach. He tumbled into the sand beside her with a groan. “My arms ar
e dead.”
“We can make it.” Sidney gritted her teeth, noticing the grit in her teeth. Ugh. She wedged her shoulder under his and forced her legs to stand. Joshua wobbled. “We’ve come too far to quit now,” she urged.
His jaw tightened, and he clutched her hand. His long legs gobbled up the yards to the finish line in three shaky steps, dragging her along. They broke the tape, and Joshua collapsed to his knees.
Sidney’s bum hit the ground, but her hand clung to Joshua’s with the last fiber of strength in them. The muscles didn’t hurt. The nerves had long since given up after their cries of agony were ignored. Whether her muscles protested or not, Sidney wasn’t going to let Joshua go.
People cheered around them, but Sidney didn’t care. Penny and Buck bounced around the edges of her vision, whooping and high-fiving. Their screams blended with the general noise. All she had eyes for was Joshua’s face, and she was grinning like a fool. He came back to her. He was here. “I still can’t believe it.”
Joshua wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly to his chest. His muscles quivered, and his chest heaved, straining the life jacket. Her own heart pounded, filling her with giddy elation. “Helping you with the race was the least I could do.”
“I was so wrong about my head and my heart. I never should have left you at the bungalow.” Sidney held his face between her palms. Sun glinted off the sweat coating his cheeks, and the sand sprinkled in his hair. Her gaze descended to his lips.
“You won,” Joshua managed between gasps for air.
“No. We won. But all I care about is this.” Then she kissed him. Fireworks, lightning, it was all there, but there was something else too: perfection.
Epilogue
Buck lounged in a lawn chair next to the swing set in the back yard of the bungalow. Joshua removed the broken swings and cleaned up the yard enough that it was presentable to celebrate his dad’s journey through chemotherapy.
It had only been two weeks since Labor Day, and Joshua couldn’t believe how much his life had changed in that time and how much he loved waking up every morning. He understood even better how some of the disaster victims felt when the right people and services were available to them. They were able to start over and get their lives back on track. As long as Sidney was in his life, nothing else shook him.
He’d moved into the bungalow despite the work it needed. For the first time, he had found a home that wasn’t on wheels. The job, instead of being confining, allowed him to make sure the people in the field were better prepared to help when disaster struck. Nathan had been right. Joshua knew what was needed and when. With the systems Dolores set up, things were running smoothly, and hopefully they would be more nimble when the next disaster struck.
And the best part was Sidney. She had stopped over most nights on her way home from the shop. He’d coerced her into staying for dinner, then helping him pick out colors for the paint in the kitchen or deciding where to place furniture. He didn’t care a bit what colors she picked or if anything matched, he just loved hearing her talk. And seeing how her eyes lit up as she surveyed the rooms. Having her around was like finding a piece of himself that he didn’t know was missing. Now he didn’t understand how he survived without her.
He’d let Aunt Penny handle the invitations, so half of Pine Bottom would be descending on his little bungalow shortly.
Aunt Penny arrived with a tray of fresh, honey rolls. She slipped past him and shot straight to the kitchen where Sidney was arranging fruit trays with strawberries and pineapple.
“Did you hear the news?” she exclaimed before Sidney had a chance to greet her.
“What’s that?” his dad ambled into the kitchen from the back yard.
“What were you doing out there?” Aunt Penny bumped the tray onto the counter with her hip. “Shouldn’t you be out of the sun?”
His dad grunted. “None of my medications require it. Isn’t that why you insisted on celebrating?”
Aunt Penny shot him a sour look.
“So what’s this news?” Joshua asked, attempting to distract Aunt Penny’s mother hen instincts. Gossip was always a safe ploy.
“Well…” Aunt Penny took a deep breath, not because she needed it, but for dramatic effect. She didn’t start speaking until everyone’s eyes were directed to her. “You’ve all heard of that Rough Diamond shindig, right?”
Of course, they had. Who in Pine Bottom hadn’t? But Aunt Penny wouldn’t continue until they all nodded.
“Seems there was a misallocation of funds by some of the leaders, namely Missy, so the investments couldn’t pay out as they advertised.”
Sidney gasped. “Did Colin get swindled?”
“From what I hear, he was instrumental in expanding it. He’d convince people to part with the membership fees, and Missy would never invest them.”
“I knew something was shifty about that whole thing,” Buck said.
“You’ve got that right.” Aunt Penny brushed a pinkish curl off her forehead. “The police have been outside Missy’s all morning hauling stuff away. Even her fancy car was up on a tow truck.”
“Poor Colin. He was so excited about it.”
“Don’t feel too sorry for him. Rumor says he was crawling all over the yard for your ring because it was going to be repossessed, and he didn’t want to go to jail. No wonder he was so triumphant when he found it.”
“Good thing you broke it off when you did, or they would have been knocking on your door,” Buck said.
“So that’s why they were so desperate to win the race. They needed the prize money to stave off their creditors.”
Penny snorted. “Got themselves in more trouble there. By offering you money to stay out of the race, they are facing bribery charges.”
“I’m not going to press charges,” Sidney said. “They’ve got enough trouble.”
“Well, the race organization is. You weren’t the only one they tried to persuade. Seems they contacted other racers as well as paying off Zach to move the buoys around.”
Sidney reached for Joshua’s hand. “I made a lucky escape then.”
After Aunt Penny imparted the details of Missy and Colin’s arrest, she and Sidney produced mouth-watering treats that hadn’t graced this kitchen in years. Joshua’d come up with every excuse he could think of to check on them — where should he put the punch bowl table, how many chairs he should put out, did they need a canopy somewhere for shade? He knew most of the answers, or he could have guessed them, but he just wanted to see Sidney in his house again. To make sure she was really there and that he hadn’t imagined or dreamed the last two weeks.
He leaned against the doorway to the kitchen for probably the fifth time in the last hour as Sidney withdrew a steaming apple crisp from the oven. The new stove had been installed yesterday. He grabbed the pot holder and set it on the counter so she could put the dish down. As she untangled her hands from the dish towel she had used to protect her hands, he was mesmerized by the way a curl spiraled away from her ponytail and lightly touched the curve of her neck.
Penny appeared by the open window to the back yard. “Guests are starting to arrive. We should start bringing the food out.”
“The apple crisp just came out of the oven.” Sidney tugged the strap of her apron over her head and reached behind her to unknot the ties.
“Let me help you with that.” Joshua mumbled as he grabbed one of the ties. His fingers tangled and intertwined with hers. He spun her around to face him in an embrace. There was so much happiness in her face he could hardly stand it. He would do everything he could to keep that sparkle in her eyes.
“What are you thinking about?”
It took him a moment to realize she had spoken as he’d tried to memorize her features and imprint this moment in his memory. How her eyes glimmered, the exact pink of her lips, the glow of the sun in her hair.
“I love you, Sidney.”
She reached up and cupped his cheek in her palm. She pressed a gentle kiss to his li
ps. “I love you, too. I’m so glad you came back to Pine Bottom.”
“I think you would have dragged me back by my toes if you had to.”
“I don’t think I would have had to.” She wrapped her arms around his waist, and all he could think about was keeping this moment forever.
“Will you marry me?” The words spilled out before he could stop them, but he didn’t want them back.
Sidney’s eyes widened. He saw hesitation there, and his heart stuttered. “If it’s too soon, you can forget I asked.” He tried to inch back, but she clutched his shirt and pulled him closer.
“Too soon for what?” Her fingertips tickled his back. He squirmed, but she wouldn’t let him go.
“Too soon after Colin. Too soon after meeting me. Anything. I don’t want to rush you.”
“So you’re sure? You’re not going to hook up the trailer anytime soon?”
“Only if you are in the truck with me, but first I want to make this house a home with you by my side.”
“Then yes. Yes! A million times, yes.”
Joshua hugged her and spun her around.
“The next question is, how do we tell Dad and Aunt Penny?”
Sidney giggled. “I don’t think we have to.” She nodded to the kitchen window where two familiar faces peeked through the opening. His dad and Aunt Penny gave them thumbs-up, then disappeared.
Joshua pressed his forehead to Sidney’s. “Are you sure you want to marry into this family?”
Sidney laughed. “In for a Penny, in for a family of Pounds.”
About the Author
I am a stay at home mom who has walked on the dark side of potty training. When not traversing that valley of shadow, I write, run, and sew. Sometimes with successful results. For more, check out my blog at http://joselynvaughn.com
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