by Dani Collins
“I thought she was right behind me.”
He was ridiculously relieved when he caught sight of Wren being her cute self, wearing her ponytail and managing to work on her day off by reading the information board about the lake.
He whistled to get her attention. She scanned the boats as she approached. All four were shiny and powerful, tricked out with wakeboards and skis loaded in the racks. The first one was pulling away with some of Rolf’s relatives on his mother’s side. One of the groomsmen, also from that side of the family, hung his head over the water, still recovering from the excesses of Vegas.
Nate cast off the blue boat, then leapt aboard it. Ilke sat next to Aiden on one of the benches inside it. He smiled and waved at Wren. Eden had her niece, Zuzu, with her on the opposite side. They were hosting Rolf’s friends from Germany, a couple with two little ones close to Aiden’s age.
“Sky,” Rolf said, thumbing toward his boat. “I’ve got Bruno.”
Bruno was Sky’s escort. His grandmother was Trigg and Rolf’s aunt Gerta, their father’s sister. Bruno flew Johansson colors pretty loud. He was already in the boat, suiting up, eager to show Rolf his latest moves.
Sky took one look at Bruno’s bare back and the shoulders he was growing on his weedy frame. “I’ll go with my dad,” she said.
It was the first time she had acknowledged Trigg that way. The word sent a punch of emotion straight into his chest, stealing his breath.
“Thanks, kid.” He held out his fist for a bump.
She glowered. Apparently it wasn’t supposed to be a big deal. With a graze of her knuckles against his own, she climbed on the boat and bent to scrub Murphy’s ears, kissing him between the eyes.
“There’s a blanket in the bow,” Trigg told her. “Make sure he stays on that, and doesn’t jump on the benches. His nails will wreck the upholstery.”
Sky nodded and moved to settle the dog.
“Wren?” Rolf invited. “You want to come with us?”
“Hmm?” She was staring at Quinn who was taking back the GoPro from Bruno to tighten the straps while Bruno pulled a life vest over his wet suit.
Quinn winked at her. He’d been smirking since Rolf had vetoed the strippers and Trigg had left with them, rather than stay with the men who were on the prowl. The best man had to stay with the groom, Trigg had claimed. The truth was, there was only one woman he was interested in these days. It was aggravating as hell.
“She’s with us,” he decided for her, then had to touch Wren’s elbow to get her attention. “Aren’t you?”
“Pardon? That’s not a helmet, is it?” she asked, looking over her shoulder as she gripped Trigg’s hand and climbed aboard his boat.
“Camera,” Trigg said.
“Oh. Of course. Duh.” She laughed at herself. “For his head? Why?”
“You’ll see,” he said dryly and cast them off.
Trigg introduced her and Sky to the two couples who had come with him. The women were Trigg’s cousins, Bruno’s older sisters, close to Wren’s age. One had brought her fiancé, the other her boyfriend. Trigg suspected the men had climbed aboard his boat expecting it would be the party boat. They seemed disappointed when Sky came aboard.
They all spoke English and the women were openly curious about Sky, but nice about it, welcoming her to the family.
“I didn’t know I had cousins,” Sky responded shyly. “I thought I would have to wait until Auntie Wren had kids.”
“Maybe your dad will have more kids and you’ll have a brother or sister.”
“Maybe he already has,” his other cousin shot back. Both women laughed.
Ha-ha-ha, very funny.
“You want to find out how cold that water is?” Trigg pretended to take the joke on the chin, but he’d heard it enough that it was wearing thin.
The fiancé finished suiting up and dropped behind the boat to jump the wake as they zoomed up the lake, music tuned to hard rock. The sisters moved to the bow seats while Murphy paced nervously until Sky got him to sit in front of her so she could scratch under his collar.
Trigg tucked his back against the windshield, standing between the driver and where Wren sat facing backward on the bench beneath the shade.
“Oh, wow. Look,” Sky said, pointing to where Bruno was doing flips and spins behind Rolf’s boat, their own music wailing.
Wren stood on her knees. “Oh, he’s really good.”
Trigg divided his attention between spotting and glancing at Bruno. “Yeah, he’s coming along fast.” He and Bruno had been shredding the mountains of Europe as often as possible since the kid could walk. Rolf had already given him a Wikinger junior sponsorship.
Trigg was host so he offered all the guests a turn before he took his. The boyfriend wanted to hot dog, but didn’t have the skills. He fell a lot, not listening to the tips Trigg gave him and too arrogant to take his advice anyway. Trigg’s younger cousin went out and played it safe, working herself across the wake in conservative leaps, not even getting her hair wet.
Trigg offered Wren and Sky a turn. They both declined.
“You can tube,” he said, pointing in the direction they’d seen Eden putter by, flat on her stomach on an inflated disk with Aiden and Zuzu screaming with excitement under each of her arms.
“I’m okay,” Wren said. “You go. I’ll spot you.”
Did he show off for her and his daughter? Hell, yeah. Besides, it felt good to push himself after months of workouts that weren’t getting played out. He caught huge air, flipped and spun and had them all clapping and cheering, even from the other boats.
He wiped out twice and Murphy jumped in after him the third time. He switched out for a board that let him surf the wake, got the dog onto it and skimmed behind the boat for a while. Murphy balanced with his front legs wide. He snapped at the foam and dangled his tongue, clearly in doggy heaven. The sun was shining, the music pumping, and life was pretty freaking great.
“If the dog can do it, you can,” Trigg told Sky when he came aboard, pleasantly worn out.
She made a face, then glanced to where the guys had joined their girls in the bow. There was only one other boat trailing them in the distance so her audience was down to him and Wren—a safe enough stage that she suited up.
Trigg tutored her on how to get up on the board and keep going. She fell twice, then set her chin with determination.
“She’s mad now,” Wren murmured. “She’ll get it or die trying.”
Sky got the hang of it and trailed comfortably behind the boat for a short distance.
“It’s like watching a baby learn to walk,” Wren said with a chuckle. “I’m so excited I can’t take my eyes off her.”
“Me, either. You’re doing really good,” he called, grinning with pride. “Keep your eyes on the boat.”
Sky nodded, but grew clumsy and uncertain again, jostling into the wake.
Trigg quickly realized she was doing it on purpose, testing what happened as she tried different postures. She bent and straightened her elbows and knees, raised and lowered the rope, and shifted her weight to find her edges.
He caught back a laugh of excitement at how quickly she was catching on, easily correcting before she was pulled off-balance. He couldn’t have looked away if they’d hit an iceberg.
Sky moved into the wake, which made her wobble as it pushed her away. She expected it, though, and compensated, not letting it knock her down.
“Stay on your edge. Lean on the line,” he called.
Sky darted glances into the wake and kept pushing into it, bumpy and—
“Ohh!” She fell, but got right back up and wanted to keep going.
Trigg gave her a couple of tips then settled into his spot standing next to Wren.
This time, Sky edged into the wake with more purpose, testing its strength before she swung out and back in, committing. She rode cleanly over the two bumps, made it to the other side, then fought to stay up, managing to bring herself back under control.
�
�Nice!” Trigg clapped and glanced at Wren. “She’s done this before.”
“No,” Wren assured him, sitting up with attention. “Boarding lessons one year, but mostly skiing. Volleyball and softball. Hated soccer, but wanted to try trampoline at the Y. We couldn’t make it fit the schedule, though.”
Sky indicated with a thumbs-up that she wanted to go faster.
Trigg rolled his wrist to tell the driver to pick up speed, gaze pinned on Sky. “Stand tall. Drop your back hand and dig your edge with your toes—Yeah!” He shouted with full-throated excitement when Sky made the leap to the other side of the wake.
She wobbled and fought to get a grip with two hands again, but stayed up and got herself back under control.
Trigg clapped and whistled encouragement. The other four came through from the bow to see what they were cheering about.
Sky scowled with deep concentration, seeming to look for an opportunity to jump again.
Trigg took a scan of the water. “Is my brother seeing this?” He spotted Rolf’s boat gaining on them. He let out a piercing whistle, then used his whole arm to point at Sky, like he was landing an aircraft.
Rolf jumped his own wake to veer from behind his own boat, which was traveling a lot faster than this one. Rolf settled into a comfortable lean as he watched Sky.
She nudged into the wake again, backed off, then managed another jump, this one catching a fraction of air. She landed clean and everyone on both boats screamed with excitement.
At which point the nose of her board caught. She tumbled with a huge splash and they all groaned.
Their driver cut his speed and circled back while Rolf’s boat caught up to her. Rolf let go of his line and skimmed toward her, sinking into the water beside her and offering a palm to high-five.
Sky smacked his hand, but complained, “If you guys weren’t yelling so much, I would have stayed up longer.”
“Go again with us,” Rolf said. “I want footage.”
“I got some,” Quinn said from Rolf’s boat, holding up his hand-held.
“You got me falling?” Sky asked with horror. “Let me see.” She paddled toward Rolf’s boat.
Quinn moved to sit on the platform, bare feet dangling in the water.
Rolf heaved himself up beside him, then shifted to make space between them. Both men grabbed Sky’s arms to pull her up and plopped her in the middle. They reviewed the footage while everyone else exchanged words across the hulls.
“I know what you’re doing,” Trigg told his brother as he heard Rolf suggesting ways she could maintain control and level up.
“I can’t help it if your daughter has the natural skill you lack. You want to try?” he asked her.
Sky nodded.
Trigg accepted defeat and took the wakeboard that Sky removed, waving her off to try waterskiing with her uncle. Either way he was proud as hell.
*
Murphy didn’t know what to do with himself. As the boats bobbed and everyone talked at once, he paced and tried to jump onto the seats to see, even looked to the water off the stern as though he wanted to leap in and swim to the other boat.
Wren coaxed him into the bow where his blanket was rumpled on the deck. She spread it out and showed him his water dish, then did her best to settle him down.
A few minutes later, the two boats parted. Sky stayed with Rolf and Murphy tried to get up and go to the stern, but Wren held his collar and talked him into relaxing. She lay down on the bench above him and dangled her arm to pet him.
He settled on his stomach, then let his head drop onto his paws.
The boyfriend of Trigg’s cousin wanted another turn on the water, not liking that a girl had outshone him. The bunch exchanged a few laughs as he suited up.
Trigg handed out sub sandwiches, then brought two into the bow with a couple of Wikinger’s reusable water bottles. He dropped onto the bench across from her. “Turkey or meat lover?”
“Turkey, thanks. But I should wash my hands.”
“These are tap water,” he said, offering a bottle.
She went onto her knees to lean out and pour water over her hands. The backs of her thighs tingled, but she didn’t dare glance back to see if Trigg was eyeing her butt. She sat back on her heels and dried her hands on the tails of her open shirt, then settled with her back in the point of the bow and unwrapped her sandwich.
Murphy groaned and rolled onto his side, taking up the narrow triangle of deck, forcing Trigg to lift his feet. They both could have faced forward, but he swiveled so he was shoulder-to-shoulder in the point of the bow with her, both of them extending their legs down the benches toward the driver.
“Are you mad that she wants to try skiing?” Wren asked, mostly to hide the fact she was so aware of the bulk of his shoulder almost brushing her own. She bit into her sandwich.
“Hell, no. My head is exploding with possibility. Rolf and I had pretty much agreed to wait a couple years before developing a club for kids. Now, I don’t know how we’ll make it work, but if she wants to get serious, we will.”
“Are you really thinking about how to turn her into a gold-medal athlete? Because I was shooting for high school graduate. Whatever you think is best, though. I guess.”
“We’re on the same page with that.” He eyed her over his sunglasses to let her know her sarcasm had come through loud and clear. “But she’s got the stuff you can’t teach. I knew she was competitive and stubborn, but she’s got the coordination and ability to overcome fear. If we start developing skills on top of that potential, yes, we have a champion. Can’t start soon enough.”
“Can I ask you something?” The day dimmed a little. She adjusted the wrapper on her sandwich, exposing the next bite. “What if she doesn’t want that? What if she had fallen apart out there and said she hated all sports?”
He tucked his chin, mouth tight enough to tell her he was insulted. “I’d be fine. Disappointed, now that I’ve seen what she might be capable of, but it’s not a condition of acceptance, if that’s what you’re asking.”
It was. “Okay. Good.”
They both ate in silence.
“But I hope she takes to competing. I’m sure she will and it’s something we could have in common.” He sounded as though he was speaking as he thought. “I need something we can build on. I want that. A way we can interact. If she wanted to pursue macramé, I’d find a way to like it, but it’d be a bumpier road while I figured it out. This one is paved and eight lanes wide. That’s why I’m excited.” With a self-deprecating curl of his lip, he added, “But I’d be a lousy businessman if I didn’t also see the advantage to Wikinger if we produced another Johansson medalist, especially if she came out of the resort our board is so dead set against us building.”
“Shameless.”
“Always.”
At least he was honest about it.
Wren bit back a grin, genuinely hoping Sky would bond with Trigg in a way that built her confidence. Sky was competitive. She also had a streak of perfectionism that needed guidance. Otherwise she would measure herself against unhealthy standards set by fashion magazines and trolls on social media.
“Would coaching her also be a way for you to get back into competition? You miss it, don’t you?”
“So fucking much,” he breathed, slouching lower so his shoulder was against her upper arm and his head was tilted back against the top of the cushion, nose and chin angled to the sky. “I haven’t ruled out going back in a couple of years. Lots of athletes take time to have a kid or recover from an injury, then spend a couple years getting back onto the circuit and working their way up again. This was the right decision and I don’t regret it, but I need that carrot to help me live with the deprivation.”
“You make it sound like an addiction.”
“Pretty much. It’s funny—Not really, but I have to laugh about how different Rolf’s retirement was from mine. His body would have fallen apart if he hadn’t quit. Wikinger was in really bad shape. One of us had to get in there a
nd sort things. No way was I ready to quit. But, he was such a prick when he quit. We always give each other shit, but there aren’t words for the way he came after me. I was ready to kill him, I really was. Then I met Marvin and started to get the resort off the ground. I was honestly looking for a way to get away from Rolf, but, no. He came here and dug in. I was so mad.” He tore a bite off his sandwich like a savage eating the heart out of his enemy.
“I thought it might have been…” She shifted so she wasn’t touching him, but curled her knees to the side and faced him, elbow propped on the top of the cushion near his ear. “Glory mentioned that your mom had an affair with your dad while he was still married to Rolf’s mom. I thought that’s why you two don’t always get along.”
“I wondered that, too, but we got along pretty well when I was little, between five and ten or so. I thought for a while he might finally be working Dad’s cheating out of his system, or just hated that I’m younger, smarter, funnier and better-looking. Quit laughing. Why is that funny? It’s the truth.”
“Mmm,” she agreed, suppressing the chuckle that stayed in her throat.
“Do you think he’s better-looking than me?” His mouth was on the verge of laughter and she wanted to dip her head and kiss it.
“He’s very good-looking,” she said, gazing across the horizon, living dangerously because it felt exciting and fun to tease him.
“You need glasses.”
“So it was a clash of egos?”
His mouth twitched. “We’re competitive as hell, especially with each other, but no. I see now that Rolf was jealous. Green-eyed, insanely jealous that I was still doing what he couldn’t. He wasn’t mad that I was winning, he was mad that he wasn’t.”
“You Johanssons are very complicated people.”
“Aren’t we?” he agreed dryly. “Working on the resort gave him some of what he was missing, though. Getting laid didn’t hurt, either. I have no idea what Glory sees in him, but she keeps him human, so I’m grateful.”
“And you? I thought learning about Sky made you mad, but is some of it anger about retiring?”
“A lot of it is. Rolf spent two years talking himself into quitting. I knew I would have to do it pretty much from the minute Mom told me why you had come here. I fought admitting it. I thought maybe Sky wouldn’t be mine, but I knew if she was, then this is what I would have to do. Which isn’t to say I didn’t want her to be mine, just—”