He watched as she prepared for her first race. Jessi was all business. No laughing, no smiles. Just single-minded focus. He could do that now—focus. But not like her. Not like the amazing woman who had swam into his life one stroke at a time. He knew that he wasn’t good for her or for anyone else. He’d had to let her go. Swimmers were better off on their own. And that’s what Jessi was right now—alone. No one could win this race for her. He’d done what he could, messed it up, and tried to fix it as best he knew how. Now it was up to Jessi.
Jessi had made it into the medal round, but barely. She was in the second slowest lane for finals. Dalton’s body thrummed with anticipation. The swimmers were lining up at the blocks now. Sawyer was on the main deck. Dalton was in the coaches’ stand, sitting with the rest of the coaches. He felt trapped. His heart was racing, maybe just as fast as Jessi’s might be. This was what they had worked for. This moment. This one last time to take it all. It was going to be tough, but if anyone could pull this off, it was Jessi.
The horn went off, and the swimmers dove into the pool. Jessi’s stroke wasn’t flawless, but it was better than the previous heat.
She stayed with the pack for the first fifty. Neck and neck with a swimmer from Germany, Jessi paced herself just like they’d discussed. The second she hit the wall to start the next fifty yards, Dalton got up from his seat.
This was it. He couldn’t stay in one place. His blood was rushing through his veins as he waited for what he knew was coming next. Jessi and the German swimmer started to pull away from the rest of the pack. They pushed themselves for the next fifty meters. It was impossible to determine who had the upper hand. They came to the wall in a flood of water. Dalton couldn’t tell who’d hit first. He jerked his head toward the scoreboard and nearly lost his legs. Jessi had come in second.
Dalton blew out a long breath and sat. He scrubbed his hands over his face, then looked down at the pool. Jessi was hugging the winner. She had a smile on her face, but she was fighting for it. Her disappointment was obvious. He knew that feeling well. He’d failed her. Just like he’d failed himself. Dalton shook his head. He was the only one capable of tarnishing something so golden as Jessi Pruitt.
“You did good, Jess. Shake it off. You’ve got three more chances.” Sawyer patted her on the back.
“Yeah.” She kept walking. Sawyer didn’t follow. He knew better. She needed to be alone.
Rounding the corner, she bumped into Dalton. Bouncing off him, she kept moving down the hall. “Sorry. Looks like you came up second again,” she threw over her shoulder.
“Jessi, don’t. This isn’t over.”
“Leave me alone.” She picked up her pace, praying Dalton didn’t try to follow her.
When she was confident he’d taken the hint, Jessi went back to the swimmers’ room to prepare for her next qualifying heat. She had three hours to figure things out. She didn’t have a solution. All she had was the hope that inspiration would come sooner rather than later.
For the first half hour, she paced. For the next, she sat and envisioned her stroke. Then, of all the things she didn’t need, she heard Dalton’s voice. Her eyes snapped to the television monitor on the wall. With Sawyer busy with other things, Dalton was in charge of press conferences. He was currently front and center, fielding questions from eager reporters.
“Coach McKinney, the team is looking good. What can you tell us about Jessi Pruitt?”
“She swam well and won a medal.”
“Are you disappointed with the silver?”
“Of course not. Winning a silver medal is a huge accomplishment.”
Jessi snorted. What a fucking line of bullshit.
“But Pruitt was expected to win gold.”
“Nothing is a given at the Olympics. You all know that,” Dalton replied smoothly.
“Any chance your relationship with Pruitt affected her swimming?”
Dalton gave a hard stare at the man who’d asked the question. Jessi sort of wished the reporter was in camera view so she could watch him squirm.
“The only relationship between Jessi Pruitt and myself is a professional one,” Dalton answered coolly.
“So the rumors that came out last week aren’t true?”
“I can’t say, since I don’t know what you heard, but I can tell you that Jessi and I have known each other for a long time. We’ve been teammates, friends, and now we work together. That’s all I can say about that.”
“But—”
“Can we keep the questions focused on swimming? This is the Olympics. Let’s talk about the skill and performance of the athletes. You’re all sports reporters. This isn’t the entertainment beat.”
Jessi glanced around the room. A few people were looking at her, but mostly everyone was pretending to be extremely interested in other things. Well, he hadn’t lied. They had been all of those things—teammates, friends, and co-workers. They’d also been lovers. Apparently, that part was only a side note to Dalton. She hadn’t wanted him to expose their love life, but there was a part of her that had hoped he would declare himself.
Jessi was disgusted with herself. When had Dalton McKinney ever done a damn thing for her? She should thank him. He’d given her some inspiration. Jessi focused her anger and pain toward swimming. She closed her eyes and imagined her stroke, but unlike her last race, she envisioned herself kicking ass.
Chapter 25
The announcers called the names for the next heat. Jessi was up. Dalton watched from his place in the stands. Sawyer had made his way to the coaches’ stand and took a seat next to him.
“Press conference went well,” he said.
Dalton nodded. “Yep.” He’d felt like the biggest asshole in front of those reporters.
“You danced around the relationship nicely.”
“If they want to dig deeper, they can. Allie can handle it from there. It doesn’t matter to me.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I’m done.”
“So you’re quitting?” Sawyer raised his eyebrows.
“When I’m finished here, I’ll go back to my construction business.”
“Well,” Sawyer turned his attention to the pool. “Isn’t that predictable?”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Dalton glared at Sawyer.
“Just that you always give up whenever things get hard. Gonna start partying all night again, too?”
“Fuck you.”
“Stop being a drama queen and act like a damn adult for once. You fucked up. So did Jessi. This isn’t all about you, you know.”
“The hell it isn’t.”
“You can’t be responsible for everything that woman does and feels. She’s capable of handling herself.”
“Then why bring me in to coach her in the first place?”
“Because you’re the best, and Jessi deserves the best. We needed to win. You could help us with that. You’ll note, these Games aren’t over. By the way, I saw your swimmer earlier. She’s ready. I’ve got a feeling these next couple of races are going to be fun to watch.”
He wasn’t wrong. Jessi walked to her lane with the look of a woman ready to win. She took the block and positioned herself for the qualifying heat. When the horn sounded, she dove off the block and never looked back. She won the heat and logged the fastest time for the final event.
“Go talk to her. Get her ready for finals. Tell her she did a good job,” Sawyer told him when qualifying was over.
“Shouldn’t you do that?”
“Maybe, but I’ve got a lot to do. I think it would mean more coming from you, anyway.”
Dalton wasn’t so sure but set off to find Jessi. She was sitting in the hot tub, relaxing sore muscles. “You did good, Jess.”
“Thanks. So did you.” She didn’t look up at him.
“What do you mean?”
“You had a great press conference. Didn’t miss a beat.”
Shit. “Jessi, you know why I had to do that.”
“Oh, yeah.
No worries. It’s all for best. This is about swimming and winning gold, right?”
“Jessi...”
“No, seriously. This is about swimming and winning gold.” She finally looked up at him. “That is all I care about at the moment, Dalton.”
“Point taken. I’ll be walking the deck if you need me.”
Jessi dismissed him by turning her gaze to the monitors above the hot tub. He walked away to do his job. If this swimmer didn’t need him, there were others that did.
Jessi had five races left in her Olympic career. There was only one that mattered, and that was the one she was lining up for. The rest would come when they came—one race at a time. She slipped on her goggles and adjusted her cap.
The horn blew. She pushed off the block with legs that had been carefully training for this moment. Her arch was perfect, her entry flawless. She set her rhythm, making her arms and legs work in symmetry. She forgot all the advice that had been given to her over the last year. This was her race. She’d swim it however the hell she wanted to.
She didn’t waste any time glancing to other lanes. She didn’t give a good goddamn where her competitors were, as long as they were behind her. This was about her, the water, and the gold medal.
She hit her final fifty and gave it everything she had. Her body responded. There was no pain or exhaustion. She hit the wall with all she had.
The high caused by the adrenaline pumping through her veins made her dizzy. It took a moment for her eyes to focus. She could hear the roaring of the crowd beginning to override the sound of her pulsing blood. Finally, she turned and looked at the scoreboard.
Her name was listed first, next to the letters W.R. She’d just won a world-fucking-record! She fell back into the water. Opening her eyes to the blue universe surrounding her, she grinned and propelled herself out of the water, arms raised in triumph. The facility erupted in raucous cheers.
Jessi looked through the stands and found Sawyer and Dalton. They were both beaming. Suddenly, her fellow swimmers were surrounding her, each patting her head as they swam by her. When they all passed, she ducked under the lanes to make her way out of the pool.
Unlike her last race, she was ushered straight to a reporter.
“Jessi Pruitt, how does it feel to win a world record?”
“I can’t believe this is happening!” she replied honestly.
“Was it a tough race?”
“Probably, but I wanted it so bad, I just focused on my stroke and swimming. I don’t remember much, other than going as hard as I could. I’m going to feel that later.” She grinned at the reporter.
“Well, congratulations. A win well-earned.”
Jessi dismissed herself. Looking back to the stands, she saw Sawyer, already making marks on his clipboard. The seat next to him was empty.
Dalton paced the halls of the swimming facility. She’d done it. She’d won gold...and a world record. He’d never anticipated that.
She’d made sure to do it her way, too. That race wasn’t what they’d worked on. The plan had been slow and steady—save the balls out for the end of each race. Jessi had gone for it from the get-go, and in true Pruitt fashion, she’d won it all.
She’d never needed him. He’d been a fool to think otherwise. But he had needed this. Dalton made a decision and went to find Sawyer.
“Hey, man.” Sawyer was in the U.S. coaches’ lounge, preparing for the afternoon heats.
“Where the hell have you been? I’ve been trying to congratulate you for the last half-hour.” Sawyer pushed himself up from the couch and embraced Dalton.
“The hug in the stands and girly shriek wasn’t good enough? Cause I’ll tell you, it was good enough for me.” Dalton hugged him back.
“Fuck off. I was excited.” Sawyer squeezed him tight. “You did it, man.”
“Nah. She did it. That was all Pruitt, right there.”
“Don’t underestimate your influence on her, Dalton. She would never have pulled that off without you.”
Dalton couldn’t help being a little ticked. “So all’s forgiven? She gets gold and a world record—you get the glory of it.”
“You know that’s not it.”
“Really?”
“Knock it off. Don’t ruin this moment. I forgave you a long time ago. I’d have fired you otherwise.”
“Whatever. There’s plenty of time to talk this out later.” Dalton took a moment to make sure what he said next came out right. “Listen, I’ve been going over everything we need to do at the facility to get everybody packed up and out before the next camps. Jessi’s got this thing in the bag. I don’t have a lot to do here. I think I’ll catch an early flight back to Colorado if that’s all right with you. I’ll probably be more useful there than here.”
Sawyer looked surprised but followed the man code and didn’t ask questions. “All right. Sounds good. Talk to the travel department and get the tickets set up.”
“Will do. See ya, man.” Dalton turned to go.
“McKinney.”
Dalton stopped short of the door but didn’t turn around. Fuck. Sawyer wasn’t going to let this go after all.
“Yeah?”
“I fly back to Colorado after the games. I’ll have the legal-eagles draw up a long term coaching contract for you to look at by then. That sound like a plan?”
Dalton looked down at the floor, then nodded his head. This was a big thing for Sawyer to do. He turned around. “Yeah, man. That sounds like a damn good plan.”
“Good. Have a safe flight.”
“Yep.”
The next morning, Dalton got on a plane and flew home. He didn’t say goodbye to Jessi. Didn’t even tell her he was leaving.
He looked out the window at the Rocky Mountains. Funny how small they looked from up here. His life had changed so much in these last few weeks. He was sure he wanted to stay on as a coach. At least until Sawyer decided to throw in the towel. They worked well together, and he loved the son of a bitch. He knew what love was now, for all the good it did him. He loved his friend, and he loved Jessi. And just like he’d predicted, the latter had damn near ripped his heart out.
It wasn’t her winning the gold medal that had made Dalton realize he was in love with Jessi Pruitt. He’d known he was falling for her the first time they’d made love. What he was finally starting to realize was that they’d done this thing together. They were a team. Jessi had figured her shit out. Now it was his turn. He was a successful coach. He’d made something of himself. Now it was time to show Jessi he knew it. Then...well, then, he was going to win back the girl.
Chapter 26
Jessi entered the U.S. Swimming Facility to cheers and congratulations. She’d flown in the day before and spent some time with her parents. Now she needed to grab her stuff and start the next phase of her life. She’d won the rest of her races. She had interviews lined up for the next week, and then, blessedly, she’d fade from the public eye.
Walking through the crowd, she hugged people she’d worked with her whole life. It was a bittersweet moment, made all the more so by the fact that one important face was missing.
“He’s in the film room, reviewing tape,” Sawyer whispered in her ear.
“Thanks, Sawyer. But I don’t think we have anything to say to each other.”
“Sure, you do. You just don’t want to say it.” He winked at her and went on his way.
“Jessi, go talk to him.” This time it was Allie giving her great advice. She’d been standing next to her when Sawyer had come up.
“You think that’s wise?”
“Probably not, but you can’t leave things the way they are.”
“Oh, you have no idea how capable I am of leaving things the way they are.”
Allie laughed. “Fine. But go talk to him anyway. Do it for me. That way, you can find closure and we can go out and have fun instead of crying about men.”
“Fine. You going to be here for a while?”
“Yes. I’m coming to the party.”
>
The team was throwing Jessi a retirement party. She wasn’t sure she was excited about it, but she had to admit, a night with Allie and friends sounded pretty good.
“I’m holding you to that. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Jessi found Dalton in the film room. He was concentrating on a swimmer she didn’t recognize. “Next big thing?” she asked, coming up behind him.
Dalton started. “Oh, hey. I didn’t hear you come in.”
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt you.”
“No worries. I’m just going over film.”
“I see that. Anyone I know?”
“He’s a swimmer out of Kansas. Could be fast if we can fix his stroke. Wanna take a look?”
Jessi stepped back. “No, I don’t want to bother you. I just wanted to stop in and, you know, say thanks,” she finished lamely.
“Jessi, you don’t have to—”
“Yes. I do. But hey, it looks like you’re busy, so I’ll leave you to it.” Jessi turned to leave. She needed to get away from him. It had been easy to think she was over him when she was in Canada. Now, without the crowds and the swimming, Dalton was as imposing on her heart as he’d always been.
“Jessi, wait.”
“No, Dalton.” She turned to look at him. “Good luck with the team. I’m happy you’re staying on. You’ll do great.” Before he could stop her, Jessi fled from the room.
Dalton sat looking at the screen. What the fuck? How had he managed to screw this situation up? He’d barely said anything.
He needed to find Sawyer. Jumping up from his seat, he went to seek out his best friend.
“What are you doing tonight?”
“Working. Why?”
“I need to talk.”
“So talk.”
“Not here. I need to talk about stuff.”
In the Fast Lane (Fast Series Book 1) Page 16