Chapter 27

Paddle boarding was not snowboarding. Or wakeboarding. Water wasn’t nearly as firm as ice, and with no boat helping me to maintain my balance, it was all on me—and I was not good at it.

As I ducked Scott’s assault, a wave swelled beneath me and rocked me right off my feet. I hit the water with a splash and grunted when I broke the surface. The announcer was saying that had been round one.

Which meant I had to get back on the damn board and try again. Since getting back on was no easy feat, I tried to do it gracefully, but the thing kept flipping over as I put my weight on it. Scott laughed, giving me some pointers so I wouldn’t look like a fish out of water, flopping around.

“That’s it, Landon,” he encouraged.

I wobbled but managed to slide my butt onto the board. From there, I rose slowly, ignoring the crowd chanting Scott’s name from the shore. Sunlight glinted off the water behind him, nearly blinding me as he lifted his paddle again. I wobbled a bit more as I tried to reach for my own.

Cursing under my breath, I’d barely risen to my full height when Scott’s paddle crashed into mine. I tried my best to put up a fight, but it didn’t last long.

Once again, I landed with an enormous splash, this time in no rush to surface once I went under. Instead, I swam down a little deeper, giving myself a minute to hide from the crowd.

I was getting my butt handed to me up there and that wasn’t something I was particularly used to. While I was okay with losing at Paddle Board Jousting, it still sucked to do it in front of so many people.

In front of Jewel.

But I knew I had to keep going—be a good sport about it—so I got back up and let him knock me down. Again.

“That’s three times in a row for Scott Pendleton, folks,” the announcer roared over the microphone. “Victory is Scott’s once again! What a show put on by Mr. Landon Payne, but our champ remains undefeated.”

I chuckled as I sliced through the water back to my board, exhausted and beyond relieved that it was over. Scott paddled over to me and offered his hand to help pull me up. “That was a good effort, man. For your first time on a paddle board, I’m impressed.”

I nodded and smiled. “Make sure to tell everyone else how impressive I was. I doubt they share your opinion.”

He laughed. “A few more years of practice and you might just have me.”

“Just a few more years, huh?” I scoffed down laughter, shaking my head at him. “I think that was it for my Paddle Board Jousting career. Thanks, but you can have it.”

I accepted his help and let him get me back on the damn board for the last time.

“Hey, I’ve been practicing all my life. Jewel and I grew up doing this,” he said happily as we headed back to shore. “She’s pretty good herself, actually. Took herself out of the running when she volunteered to help, but she won a few times back in her day.”

“Really?” I couldn’t quite imagine her trying to knock someone down instead of helping them up, but the woman was full of surprises. Plus, I was really starting to believe there wasn’t much she couldn’t do—except for cooking, of course. I shivered at the memory.

When we got close enough to the beach, Scott found his feet and walked out of the water with me. “Yeah, she was good as a teen. We still do it for fun when I’m practicing, but it’s been a long time since she’s been out here for the contest. She thinks it’s better to be helping than to be competing.”

“Well, someone’s got to do it.” When kids with camera phones came running up to us, I shook his hand for pictures. Then he started up the beach. “Is that it for us for the day?”

His blond eyebrows jumped and he laughed, his head shaking as he checked his watch. “You’ve got about forty minutes before the next event starts. Rest up. I’ll see you soon.”

Sliding his paddle board under his arm, he strode over to the kids, even good-naturedly signing a few autographs and taking some more selfies with them before he went to return the board. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but I supposed Jewel had told me the Lake Warrior contest was this town’s summer Super Bowl.

I guess that makes Scott a rock star around here.

Chuckling as I made my way around them, I searched for Jewel. She was busy with some of the other locals. Colten was with Brody and Cole, playing in the water behind the dock while they waited for their event.

With nothing else to do, I returned my paddle board to the pile and spread out my towel near the water, deciding that I’d watch the other jousting competitors. It turned out that watching the contest was a lot more fun than participating in it, and I genuinely enjoyed seeing Scott progress from round to round.

In the end, the victors competed and then it was down to the two winners, Scott and another sturdy local. I was on my feet with the rest of the crowd, watching gleefully as Scott kicked that guy’s ass too. At least it means it’s not just me.

Clouds drifted overhead as the morning wore on, but they disappeared by the time noon rolled around. Baking in the sun, I stretched out on my towel, completely forgetting that I had another event lined up until the announcer called that it was time for the Belly Flop contest.

I groaned. I’m really not looking forward to this.

I got up anyway though, determined to see this thing through now that I’d started. When I’d arrived here this morning, I’d had no idea what to expect, but I’d been convinced I wouldn’t be competing.

Mostly, I’d come because Jewel had seemed excited about it, and Colten had been pretty stoked too after his day with the other kids. Sighing, I dusted sand off my ass and waded into the water with the other adults who were competing. Taking a deep breath, I swam out to the dock.

Since no one seemed to be racing to get there first, I took it slowly, appreciating the cool water on my hot skin after all that time in the sun.

“Are you Landon?”

I blinked hard at the sound of my name spoken by a voice I didn’t recognize. Twisting in the water, I tried to figure out who had spoken.

An older woman behind me smiled kindly. Probably around mid-sixties, she had wrinkles around her eyes but something about the look in the clear blue orbs told me she still had plenty of mischief in her.

“I am. How did you know my name?”

She let out a burst of laughter and grabbed the side of the dock when we reached it to keep herself from going under. “Everyone knows your name, honey. You’re staying in the Styles Manor. It’s not often we have guests in town who stay there for as long as you are. Half of us were sure it was haunted. You’ve gotten all the old tongues wagging.”

“Well, I promise it isn’t haunted,” I said, chuckling as I pulled myself up on the dock. “Are you competing in the Belly Flop competition?”

I didn’t want to sound rude, but I had no idea what a woman her age was doing out here with the rest of us who were insane enough to compete in this thing. Her eyes sparkled with mirth, and she had a smirk on her lips as she extended her hand for me to help her.

I took it and gently helped her up. We joined the rest of the contestants in a haphazard line forming. “Of course, I’m competing. I do it every year. My grandkids get a real kick out of it.”

My eyebrows swept up. “Here I was thinking I was brave for honoring my commitment to do it.”

She chuckled, slicking her graying hair back as she winked at me. “Watch and learn, honey. Watch and learn.”

“Got any tips for me?” I asked hopefully.

She grinned. “This event is more about the crowd and putting on a show than it is about best belly flop. Trust me.”

With that, she turned away from me and strode directly to the front of the line. She tapped a few people on the shoulder and they made way for her, everyone motioning for her to go ahead. As I watched, she marched confidently to the diving board, climbed up, and threw her arms out to her sides before she dipped into a deep bow.

Cheers erupted from the shore. With a smile, she straightened up, turned toward the water, and extended her arms to her sides once more. Then she plummeted in without any hesitation whatsoever. She landed with a massive smack and I winced, my breath catching as I waited for her to come up.

Jeez, that has to sting.

She broke the surface with her arms raised above her head triumphantly, a grimace on her lips that quickly became a smile. More cheers broke out. People whistled and screamed for her as she swam back to the dock, holding it for a minute to catch her breath.

“Are you okay?” I asked, genuinely concerned for this woman I’d only met a few minutes ago. “Are your organs still in the right place?”

“It’s not so bad,” she said as she glanced up at me. “You’ll be fine. Good luck.”

The next few people ahead of me took their turns. Each of them had glaring red bellies when they emerged from the lake. After slowly making my way to the diving board, I reached the front and climbed up with a pounding heart.

“How did I get talked into this?” I muttered under my breath, looking out at the shore where at least two hundred people were watching.

Colten was cheering me on from a spot right at the water’s edge with Jewel beside him. She clapped her hands and waved when she saw me look their way. I waved back and reluctantly turned toward the water. How the hell am I supposed to make this showy?

The remaining contestants behind me were already getting impatient, grumbling for me to “get flopping already” as they shifted on their feet, preparing to move forward once I’d taken the plunge. Knowing I was out of time, I turned and leaped backward off the board, landing with my arms crossed over my chest.

The slap of my back against the water echoed in my ears. My skin stung and my lungs froze for a moment. It hurt like a bitch, but when I surfaced, the crowd was roaring with applause and that made the burn worth it.

I grinned as I raised my fists above my head, mimicking my new, older friend. I cast a smug look at the others before swimming back to shore. Colten raced into the water to meet me. He dove in once he was at hip height, shaking with laughter.

“That was awesome!” he yelled above the din of applause for the next contestant. “So cool, Dad. I’m sure you’re going to win.”

Snaking my arms out ahead of me under the water, I reached for him and tossed him over my shoulder. He laughed as I tickled his ribs. “Really? Do you think so?”

“I do!” he squealed, fighting to free himself until I finally let go, rolling him off me to let him land in the water once more.

He was still raving about my back flop when we reached the shore, and Jewel and Scott were there to congratulate me. He smirked as he extended his hand toward me. “That was pretty good for a city boy.”

Jewel nodded her agreement, her brown eyes bright and happy as she smiled up at me. “The final contest starts soon. You may want to drink some water and take a break before it does. Your back must really be hurting you right now, but that’s not getting you out of the competition.”

My back really was hurting me, but the sting was slowly subsiding, leaving more of a singing heat in its wake. Instead of admitting that to her though, I nodded and slung an arm around Colten’s shoulders. “We’ll be ready. Paynes don’t give up. See you soon.”

Guiding Colten away from them, I felt her eyes on us as we strode toward the coolers lining the top end of the beach. I smiled. There was no way I was going to win the title of Lake Warrior, but I’d shown her today that I could be a good sport.

Plus, Colten was having a blast, which was even more important. He was opening up and embracing new experiences way outside of his comfort zone. So was I.

Overall, I’d suffered for it, but it was shaping up to be another great day in paradise.