“Let me see.” Carrie Jo tugged on the binoculars and tried to look through them.
“Hey, you’re choking me.” Win took them off and handed them to Carrie Jo, who zoomed in on the boat.
Foster narrowed his eyes. “What on earth are they wearing?”
“Not Big Foot, but a bear,” Carrie Jo said. “The other one is definitely a fish.”
The mystery contestants stood up in their kayak and waved as spectators cheered. Hamming it up, the bear began to dance with the fish but caught his foot in a strap, tipping the boat to one side.
“Uh-oh,” Win said. And the rest of them held their breath.
In their zeal to right the vessel, the bear overcompensated and the kayak tipped over, dumping both of them into the river. The fish went down first but managed to hang on to the bottom of the boat. The bear, weighed down by yards of wet fur, began to sink like a stone, flailing his arms just to keep his head above the surface.
“Oh my God!” Hannah cried. “It’s Chip.”
Two men on shore began to wade out, but the water was deeper and the current stronger than it looked. By the time they reached Chip it would be too late. Out of the corner of her eye Delaney saw someone from the second kayak hold out a paddle and yell something. Encumbered by hairy paws, Chip’s hands kept slipping off the oar. And the heaviness of the costume continued to drag him down.
“He’s going to drown.” Hannah covered her mouth.
“You think he’s drunk?” Foster elbowed his way between Delaney and Hannah as they all watched helplessly.
Win had disappeared and Delaney assumed he’d gone to do what he could. But she had no idea what. They were too far away. Even the fish, who was closest, appeared powerless.
That was when the person holding the paddle jumped into the water. As Delaney watched, she realized it was Colt. He swam against the current, his strokes sure and forceful while the spectators roared with approval. When he finally reached Chip, he tugged the bear mask off his face. Able to breathe, Chip shook his head from side to side, like a hair model in a shampoo commercial, and attempted a fist pump for his fans, only to go under again. Colt hoisted him up by his shoulders—no easy feat, given that all that wet fur had to weigh a ton—put him in a lifeguard hold, and towed him toward shore. When they got a few feet from the bank, bystanders rushed in and helped get Chip onto dry land and out of the bulky bear suit. Jack, in the meantime, got the fish to safety.
“It’s Valerie,” Carrie Jo said as they watched Chip’s wife waddle in her fin to her husband. “Get it? Fish and Game.”
A couple more good Samaritans helped pulled the kayak out of the water while a crew from the fire station rushed in and took over. The whole rescue lasted less than eight minutes. Yet, the drama of it whipped up the crowd, especially Colt. Undeterred by the time he’d lost, he swam back to his and Jack’s kayak and they resumed the race to shouts of encouragement.
“Go! Go! Go!” the crowd chanted, some jumping up and down.
Others chanted for Team Morning Glory. Deb and Felix, wearing menu boards and chef hats from the diner, rounded the clubhouse turn, and the race for second place was on.
Delaney noticed that Colt and Jack had gone all out for the occasion, wearing ratty police department polo shirts and faded tactical shorts. What drew her attention more was Colt’s bulging biceps as he furiously paddled to claim the advantage over Team Morning Glory. He was ripped, no doubt about it. Delaney stood on the sidelines, enjoying the view of Colt’s muscles bunching every time he rowed. As with his heroic rescue, the man meant business. With his dark hair glinting in the sun, his brows knitted in determination, and the breadth of his chest outlined by his soaking wet T-shirt, he reminded her of a professional athlete. So fit and lithe. So sexy. The picture of outdoorsy ruggedness, which before now had never been her thing. She’d always been drawn to the debonair, well-coiffed type in a designer suit.
Not anymore. Compared to Colt they all looked like dandies. As she glanced around the crowd it occurred to her that so much had changed in the nine months she’d lived full-time in Glory Junction. Here she was in jeans and flats, her hair tied back in a careless ponytail, wearing very little makeup, and no one cared. Not one single person. Here, no one was judging her or expecting her to outdo her last collection, or pressuring her to be someone she didn’t want to be. Here, she could just be herself. And that was enough.
The realization was heady and a little bit scary. A person could grow complacent in a small, accepting town like this.
The cheers pulled her back to the race. As the kayaks got closer to the finish line, everyone on the sidelines amped up the cheering, spurring Colt to paddle like crazy.
“Go Colt! You can do it!” she yelled, drawing raised brows from Hannah, Foster, and Carrie Jo. “What?”
“You should’ve brought your pom-poms, girl,” Foster said, then whispered in her ear, “You’re totally into him.”
“He’s my neighbor.” But arguing was futile. They were laughing at her.
Colt and Jack crossed the finish line in a dead heat with Deb and Felix. Colt didn’t look too thrilled about it, but it didn’t stop him from lifting Deb out of her kayak and giving her a big kiss, which as silly as it was, made Delaney jealous.
Hannah rushed down to Josh, who sat on the landing, icing his leg. TJ wore a giant grin while pumping Felix’s hand. Some of the crowd started to disperse but most waited for the Tart Me Up crew to paddle in dead last. Rachel and one of the teenagers who worked behind the bakery counter looked ready to pass out. As far as Delaney was concerned, they should win for best costumes. Carrie Jo was wrong about their cupcake suits. Adorable.
The rest of the kayaks were loaded onto the trailer, which was towed by an all-terrain vehicle that could handle the shale and dirt road back to the trailhead. Chip and Valerie, both in one piece but exhausted, caught a ride out with a few of the firefighters. Everyone else hiked, dragging their coolers and gear behind them. Delaney walked with Carrie Jo and Foster, reluctant to make the first overture to Colt, who’d hung back with Jack and a couple of other police officers. Presumably to make sure that the area had been properly cleared. Carrie Jo and Foster had driven their own cars so at the lot they all went their separate ways.
Delaney decided that it would be better to drive home and walk to town for more of the festivities, instead of dealing with parking. She pulled the Tesla into the garage, went inside and grabbed a lightweight jacket in case it got cool, then headed to the boardwalk for the pie-eating contest. Boden said he would save them a couple of tables for Colt’s show, which had sold out.
People jammed the river walk and Delaney could barely see the competitors’ table. Rita Tucker sidled next to her and let out a beleaguered huff.
“I told them to hold the pie eating at the VFW hall this year. More room in there. This is ridiculous.”
