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Truthfully, it had been a long time since I got in a kayak, so I was more than just a little rusty. The boat rocked unsteadily back and forth as I tried to get my balance and position my oar.
“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” Keith called out to me. “Afraid of getting your fancy shoes wet?”
I scowled at him briefly, then turned my attention back to the water in front of me. He didn’t know it, but I was about to destroy him in this race. Anger was my greatest motivator, and I had enough anger built up towards that man to power a whole fleet of ships.
Derek stood behind us, taking on the role of judge. “On your marks,” he shouted. “Ready, get set, and…Go!”
The worker behind my kayak gave it a good push, and I set to paddling like a mad woman. Keith took the lead at first because he had bigger arms and wasn’t struggling as much to keep his balance. But just a few seconds in, I managed to get into a steady stride, and from there, I was able to pick up speed.
We paddled as quickly as we could down the lake, neck and neck the whole way. But as we navigated around the sharp bend in the middle of our course, I came out on the other side of it in the lead. That was enough of a confidence boost to make me push through and paddle even harder.
I was getting out of breath, and my arms burned from the resistance of the water, stroke after stroke. But all I had to do was think about all of Keith’s little comments spanning all the way back to high school—all the times he implied I was some weak little woman who needed a big, strong man, like him, to help her. And when I proved I didn’t need that help, he lost all interest in me. As if by being capable and self-sufficient, I was somehow not a real woman in his eyes.
All of that rage was boiling up inside of me while Keith started to panic in his struggle to catch up to me. He got so flustered that his boat got swept to the side of the lake and caught on the rocks. He made a rushed attempt to get it back on course with a strong push back out into the deeper water, but the inertia of it made him lose his balance. I didn’t see his kayak topple over and dunk him straight into the water because I was so focused on crossing the finish line, but I definitely heard it happen.
Derek and the other guys had been running alongside us the whole way and caught up just in time to meet us at the drooping willow tree we marked as the finish line. They cheered and hollered for me while also laughing hysterically at Keith—who was bobbing hopelessly along in the water, sans kayak.
I barely took any time to catch my breath as I threw down my oars and let out a cry of victory. All of my anger and frustration shifted into pure, unbridled gloating.
“Whew! I don’t know this lake anymore, huh?” I taunted Keith. “What do you have to say to that now!?”
As I said it, I got carried away and stood up too fast. I only got to enjoy the look of defeat on his face for a split second before I also went toppling over into the water. As I popped back up for air, I was dreading the smug smile I knew would be planted on his face.
“I’d say you know it pretty well now,” he laughed as I spit water out of my mouth and wiped it from my nose.
“Very funny,” I growled.
I snatched up the oars and grabbed the kayak, pulling everything back to the water’s edge. Keith did the same, swimming out into the water to catch everything before it floated away. As we settled onto the big tree roots stretching out over the water, the rest of the guys headed back to work.
“I’d say that calls for a couple of beers, wouldn’t you?” Keith asked.
I shielded my eyes from the sun and looked up at him. He had stripped out of his soaking wet shirt, and his tan, chiseled chest was glistening in the light. I cleared my throat, working hard not to notice it or the things it made me feel inside.
“Sure,” I submitted. “A few beers sounds nice. But then, can we please get back to work?”
He smiled and tossed his wet shirt across the tree. “I’ll head back and grab some brews. You wait here.”
“And some towels, please?” I barked.
He laughed and nodded before climbing back into his kayak and taking off. I sat on the big tree roots, looked down at my own soaking-wet clothes, and sighed. What were this man and this town reducing me to? I didn’t need to prove myself to anyone. I already proved myself in LA, and it wasn’t my fault they didn’t get to see me in action.
But that didn’t stop me from jumping right into that kayak and making a fool out of myself. At least Keith’s humiliation was worse than mine, but of course, he seemed completely unphased.
9
KEITH
Derek and the rest of the crew were breaking for lunch by the time I got back to the work site to grab Lana and me some beers. They were all laughing and cutting up until I walked by to the cooler, then they all quieted down and side-eyed me.
“Sorry to crash the party,” I huffed sarcastically, wondering why everyone was acting so weird.
“Oh no, not at all,” one of them shouted back, holding back a laugh. “We just wanted to get out of your way so we didn’t crash your party.”
They all cracked up again as Derek jumped up and walked with me over to the cooler.
“I think you’ve all had a little too much time in the sun today,” I grumbled to him.
He leaned against the table and grinned. “Don’t mind them. They’re just finding amusement wherever they can.”
