Wow. Teague Simon had just managed to surprise the hell out of her. And the thing of it was… she liked how it made her feel.
Chapter Eleven
The kayak race was an annual event and fundraiser that had been going on for decades. In fact Teague had competed it in when he was a kid. He’d done several of the races with Tucker and remembered a few times when his father had taken his sister Grace out. Hell, his mother had even done it one year, though after Beau had pulled some kind of stunt and capsized their kayak, she’d refused to do it again.
He smiled at the memory. Beau had always been a ballsy little shit.
“There’s the island!”
Harry’s excited squeal pulled Teague from memory lane and he glanced ahead. The sun shining off the lake
made him wince. There were a good number of kayaks ahead of them but they’d made great time, and though Teague didn’t think they’d place in the top ten, they’d be close.
“Teague!”
“I see it, buddy.” He couldn’t help but grin. The little guy was so pumped and for the first time in a long, long, time Teague felt some kind of peace. Was it the water? The sun? Or the little boy who’d told Teague that he was ‘the best man in the whole world’ when they’d headed to town.
Teague decided not to think about it all that much and guided their kayak around the island (which was nothing more than a pile of rocks with a bunch of trees in the center). The deal was, they had to get onto the island without losing their kayak and then retrieve a special flag that had their number on it.
Teague knew where the best spot to climb ashore was located and a few minutes later, they pulled as close as they could. The island had no beach but there were several spots where you could climb the rocks and get onto it with ease.
“Hold on,” he cautioned Harry. Teague grabbed the rope he’d secured to the kayak and jumped over with it. The water was deep and even with Harry’s safety vest, Teague insisted on holding the boy as he swam the few feet to the island.
He pointed to the natural grooves in the rocks and after giving Harry a boost, he followed him up, dangling a rope behind him. There were others attempting the same maneuver, but Teague paid them no mind. All of his focus was on the little boy waiting for him. Once he secured their kayak, they hiked over the rocks and he let Harry lead the way.
“The flags are in the trees! I remember!”
“I think you might be right,” Teague replied, just as he spied the colorful flags waving in the breeze off the water. “Now we have to find ours.”
“What’s the number again?” Harry asked, diving into the thick of it. His blond hair was slick with sweat and he worried his bottom lip with his tongue.
“Seventy-five.”
“I know what that looks like. I learned it in school!”
The entire exercise took about five minutes and then they were back in the water heading toward town. By Teague’s estimation, there were now twelve kayaks ahead of them, with the majority still making their way to the island.
He settled in, eyes on the little head in front of him as they powered their way home.
“There’s my friend David!” Harry shouted excitedly. “We’re beating them!” Teague nodded at the man and his son as they passed them—David was still on his way to the island.
The rest of the trip took about an hour and by the time they reached the dock, Harry was slowing down. Teague had pretty much powered them through, but still, it was a lot for such a young boy and he admired the little guy’s spunk.
“You did great,” he said as they climbed from their kayak.
“So did you,” Harry shot back. “Wait until I tell Morgan that we beat David and his dad.”
Teague felt the need to say something. “It’s not just about winning.” Christ, he was starting to sound like his father.
“It is when you never win.”
Can ’t argue with that logic.
The two of them made their way over to the registration table and Harry proudly handed in their flag. The woman who took it—Darlene according to her name tag—checked her notes and smiled.
“You boys did well. Placed thirteenth out of nearly two hundred racers.”
“Did you hear that?” Harry’s shiny eyes gazed up at him and then his thin little arms flew around Teague.