Page 117 of Crew Girl

Coach took a step in, looking concerned. “Just so I’m clear, you are all refusing to race without Teagan as your coxswain? After all of your hard work, knowing you’re this close to the podium, you’re willing to give it up?”

They were.

“All right, then,” said Coach Hayden. “Teagan? You’re up.”

She did a double take. “What? I’m back in? But—”

“You deserve to be out there with your team. You faced your consequences. I’ll face mine.”

He meant Principal Cabrera, which was saying something. She scared everyone. He was putting his job on the line for her. “Thank you, Coach.”

“Now, quit standing around.” Coach clapped his hands, chivying them back into action. “You’ve got a race to win.”

CAM

It was now-or-never time. The calm before the starter horn.

Cam wouldn’t be sitting in the seat he’d hoped for, but as he and all the guys apart from Josh got into formation with Teagan at the front, he felt proud to be alongside them. Being in the boat was good enough for him. No matter the seat. He was part of a group who’d made a hard decision—the right one in their eyes—knowing the Rowing Committee might not agree. But it was their choice to make, and they’d done it. Proof they really did have one another’s backs. Even if it had been a battle to get here.

Josh joined them but walked past his position at the front of the boat, stopping when he got to Cam. “Hey. Got a sec?”

“Yeah. What’s up?”

“Switch seats with me.”

“What?” Now this day was just getting really weird. “Why?”

“Because. It should be you. You should lead the team. Be stroke.” Josh stepped aside, giving Cam space to move. “I’ll follow your lead. We’re a team, right?”

Yeah, but… He looked over at Coach, who didn’t look nearly as shocked as Cam felt. Then the team. They were with him. Up for following his lead. Ryder didn’t look thrilled. No surprise there. But Cam knew he’d do his best, no matter who was in that seat. Maybe more so because it wasn’t Josh.

“You sure?”

Josh nodded, already taking Cam’s old position.

He half expected an adrenaline rush to knock him sideways, but as he took his spot at the fore, Teagan just in front of him, he felt a calm settle in. A strong, solid sense of determination and purpose. The huge smile on her face helped, too.

“Lead us out, Cam,” she instructed.

“With pleasure.” He turned to the team. “All right, Easton! Hands on!” As one, they took a step to the right, taking hold of the hull at their assigned spots. “Up to shoulders!” The boat felt light as air. Not one of them carrying any more or less than the other. Apart from Teagan, of course. Who was leading the parade.

“All right, Easton!” she ordered them. “Walk it forward!”

Win. Lose. It didn’t matter. For maybe the first time in his life, he knew he was exactly where he was meant to be. And he was going to be present for every single second of it.

TEAGAN

Coxing a crew for a two-thousand-meter sprint required a completely different mindset than a head race. An entirely different set of tactics, start to finish.

Teagan had loved sprints when she’d raced on her own. Setting her oars into the water, shoulders at the ready, back strong, legs bent, heels dug in. Her entire body poised and powerful, ready for that first all-important drive when she channeled her adrenaline into the oars, pushing through the inertia until, in what felt like the blink of an eye and an eternity, her boat was soaring. That was the sweet spot. One kilometer in? A switch. Mind over matter. Ignoring the burn in her chest, legs, arms, focused on nothing but propelling the boat into the final sprint. When she begged her body to give her more, stroke after stroke, telling herself she could do it. She could win.

Teagan’s role today, of course, didn’t rely on her for any of that.

Cam would set the rhythm on her call, setting the pace for everyone behind him.

Josh would do the same. A buffer between the stroke and the engine room: Ryder, Baloo, and Quaid.

The bow pair, Noah and Crabby (they really did need to find a new nickname for him), had to streamline all that power, making quick, exacting adjustments with their blades to keep the boat tracking in a perfect straight line.