Chapter 26

The Lake Warrior contest was one of my favorite days of the summer. I arrived on the sandy shore, prepared with a clipboard and a sign-up sheet, as well as extra sunblock, towels, and a first-aid kit. Just in case.

I always volunteered to help out with the contest. It was a good time. I joined some other locals who were setting up a registration tent in the shade. Sliding my sunglasses to the top of my head, I set down the supplies I’d brought and smiled at the others. “What can I do to help?”

Verna grinned at me as she motioned to a cooler packed with cold waters. “Have one of those and make sure to stay hydrated today. It’s a scorcher and it’s not even ten a.m. yet. We need to take care of ourselves before we can take care of anyone else.”

I chuckled and grabbed a water. Keeping it with me, I went to help her organize the sign-up sheets we’d already received. Working with people I’d known most of my life as well as a few other newcomers, I helped set up for the event. Excitement thrummed through me as the starting time grew nearer.

I loved this event and I volunteered to help out every summer so that we could keep it going. It was a lot of work, but the fun we had every year made it more than worth it. With many hands pitching in, we were completely done with the preparations by the time people started trickling in.

I took my place behind the registration table, giving the contestants their wristbands with their number on it. Already having a blast, I was laughing and talking smack with some of the other competitors about Scott’s records when Landon and Colten arrived.

Both seemed apprehensive in their boardshorts and T-shirts. I waved them over. “Come get your wristbands, boys.”

Colten raced over to me, proudly presenting his wrist with a huge grin on his face. “I’m going to dominate today. The guys have told me all about it and I’m ready.”

I chuckled as I fastened his wristband. “All that matters is that you have fun. Don’t worry too much about winning. Enjoying the day is a good victory by itself.”

He shrugged, glancing at where Brody, Cole, and a few of the other kids had gathered by the paddle boards. “Maybe that’s true, but I’m still going to try.”

Turning to his dad, he pointed out his friends and waited for permission before he jogged over to them.

Landon smiled at me. “I cannot explain to you how good it feels to see him having so much fun with those kids. Can you believe that I never even realized how alone he was?”

“Life is busy,” I said. “Give yourself a break. At least he’s got them now and it’s helping him build confidence before you guys go home.” I picked up his wristband. “Here you go. I need to put it on for you to make sure you don’t swap it out with someone else.”

“Why would I do that?” he asked, those vivid green eyes hooking on mine. “It’s all just for fun, isn’t it? Why would anybody try and cheat?”

I chuckled. “Because saying that the Lake Warrior contest is just for fun is like saying the Super Bowl is just another football game. People around here take it seriously.”

Shifting on his feet to take a good look around, he arched his eyebrows and nodded slowly, clearly having noticed the team huddles and all the lone wolves like Scott warming up on the beach. “Why did you just tell Colten not to worry about winning, then?”

“He’s good,” I said, shrugging. “For the kids, it should just be about having fun. If you ask me, that’s what it should be about for everyone, but like I said, our local contestants take it super seriously. Will you just give your arm, please?”

Chuckling, he waved me off and shook his head. “Nah, I’m fine, thanks. I’m just going to watch. I didn’t sign up, but I can always help you out here if there’s anything you need me to do?”

I laughed and circled his wrist with my fingers, gently strapping the wristband onto him. “Oh, no you’re not. We’ve got things covered here and you’re new in town. Everyone and their mother has been talking about whooping your butt out there on the water and showing you how we do things here in June Lake.”

He winced. “Now I’m even less inclined.”

Colten had run back over to us, catching the last part of our conversation. “Come on, Dad. Be brave and make friends. It’s your turn now.”

“Well, I guess I can’t argue with that,” he said, rubbing his finger over his wristband as he glanced at his son. “I thought you were with the kids?”

“I was, but they said I had to come find out from Jewel whose team I’m on for the Beach Ball Relay.”

I grabbed my clipboard and scanned the page for the teams of the first event before I smiled at him. “You’re in luck. It looks like Brody asked for you to be on his team with his mom, Scott, and a few of the other kids.”

“Great.” He beamed at me. “What happens after that? Do I need to get any other team assignments?”

“Nope. The teams remain the same for all the events they signed up for.” I checked the clipboard again. “Landon, your first event is Paddle Board Jousting. The challengers will be posted for it while they’re busy with the Beach Balls Relay. “

“Excellent,” he said dryly, glancing at the mountain of paddle boards waiting near the water. “What else will we be doing?”

“Colten’s team got signed up for Catch the Flags as well and that will happen after Paddle Board Jousting, though I think Brad will be taking Scott’s place on the team for that one.” At the confused look that crossed Colten’s features, I gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s a great game, I promise. It’s just like an outdoor version of musical chairs.”

“Okay,” he said.”

“After that, we have the Best Belly Flop, which is from the diving board on the floating dock, and then we have the race, so basically just seeing who’s the fastest swimming to the dock and back. You have to run up the shore to touch the lake sign and whoever is there first wins.”

“Right,” Landon said slowly.

Colten clapped him on the back. “Don’t worry, Dad. It’s just for fun. I’m going back to my team now, but I’ll see you around. Good luck!”

Landon glanced at me and groaned. “This is going to hurt, isn’t it?”

“Just a little bit,” I teased, then turned to help some other people with their wristbands. Landon joined Scott with his warm-ups.

Loud cheers rang out when Verna’s son, the emcee for the day, called the contestants closer for the first event, the Beach Ball Relay. Scott joined Samantha, Brody, Colten, and the others while Landon came to stand with me to watch them.

With the summery scent of sunblock in the air and Verna’s son whipping the crowd into an excited frenzy, the contest got underway. Landon watched from beside me, sending me a questioning look as Scott and Samantha laughed with the kids.

“Isn’t she his ex?” he asked quietly. “I remember you saying Brody’s mom used to date Scott and that’s how you knew he was a cool kid to introduce Colten to?”

“Yeah, but they’re on friendly terms. They formed this team with the kids back when they were together, and they’ve kept it going every year even though they broke up ages ago.”

“How does Brittany feel about that?”

I smiled. “It’s sweet of you to care, but she doesn’t mind. Everyone around here knows that there’s nothing going on between Scott and Sam anymore. They just both love the contest and their team got pretty notorious back in the day, so they’ve kept it going for the kids’ sake.”

“In that case, Brittany is a better person than me,” he said. “I wouldn’t have liked it if you participated in this with an ex.”

A warm tingle ran through me. “Jealous?”

“I would’ve been, yeah,” he admitted, but before I could tell him the same thing, I got called away to post the challengers for the Paddle Board Jousting.

A grin spread on my face when I discovered that Landon would be going up against Scott. He’d walked with me to check the postings and he sighed. “Let me guess, your brother is crazy good at this?”

I reached out to clap on his ridiculously hard shoulder, enjoying being able to touch him even if it was just casual and quick. “Let’s just say that I’m going to wish you luck and that you’re going to need it. Scott has won this the last four summers in a row.”

Landon groaned again. “That’s just great. I apologize in advance for the fool I’m about to make of myself.”

I chuckled, and Scott came over once his team was done with the first event. “Oh, cool. We’re going up against each other, huh? Good luck, man.”

“Thanks,” he muttered. “Have you got any tips for me on how to knock you down?”

Scott picked up a paddle board and offered it to Landon before he got another for himself. “That depends. Have you ever been on a paddle board before?”

“No,” Landon said as they headed down to the lake with their boards and paddles in hand. I accompanied them, listening as Scott chuckled but tried to help Landon anyway.

“Have you ever been on any board before?” he asked.

Landon gave him a one-shouldered shrug. “I’m decent at snowboarding and wakeboarding, but this is new territory for me.”

“Ever surfed?” Scott asked.

Landon shook his head. “I tried once when I was kid. Wiped out real bad and decided to try something else instead.”

My brother laughed. “I’ll take it easy on your then, Mr. Big City. Good luck, okay? I’ll see you out there.”

“Why do I feel like I’m about to suffer a serious head injury?” he joked to me as he watched Scott high-fiving a bunch of people while he ran into the water.

“You’ll be fine,” I said, but when he stripped off his shirt, I realized that while it might be true for him, it certainly wasn’t true for me.

My heart couldn’t handle seeing him slowly peel off the fabric that had been hiding his delicious abs from view, and all the moisture disappeared from my mouth to go south as I ran my gaze over the ropes of toned muscle in his back.

“Want me to hold that for you?” I offered, clearing my throat when I heard how breathy my voice was.

Thankfully, he didn’t seem to have noticed, giving me a grateful smile as he handed over his shirt and then picked up the paddle board again. Without any further conversation, he strode toward the water and I admired his sun-bronzed skin and those abs, certain that every woman on the beach behind me was doing the very same thing.