It was only when a loud cheer burst out from the crowd on shore that Stella realized the final event of the men’s competition was about to get underway.
“Come find me if you need anything,” she told Olivia, who was talking with the leader of the band, and hurried toward the shore. She’d just take a minute to watch…
She had to push her way through the crowd to reach a place where she could see the competitors, and then she groaned. What had made any of them think this was a good idea?
The men were supposed to race on stand-up paddleboards, which was all well and good, except several men were in the water at the starting area, evidently having fallen in. A glance told Stella the men had realized that by rocking back and forth on their own boards they could create waves and knock the other men off theirs. The teenager in charge, a young, rather timid-looking girl named Dierdre, was trying to get them to line up so she could start the race, but the men were too busy knocking each other off the paddleboards to listen.
As she watched, Steel rocked his board furiously, producing waves that upended several other men, including Eric and Daniel. Both men popped up out of the water and climbed furiously on their boards, Daniel quickly, Eric struggling a little before managing to push himself up and on again.
A shrill whistle blew three long blasts. “Get it together, men!”
Stella bit back a smile. It was Cab Johnson, Chance Creek’s sheriff, who’d used his own whistle for the cause.
Finally, the men got into a straggling line, and Dierdre was able to call the start. The men dug their paddles into the water and stroked with all their might. Stella bit her lip, remaining silent as everyone cheered around her.
Like many of the other events, this one involved rounding a buoy in the water and paddling back to the start. At the buoy, near as she could tell, Daniel Ortiz held first place. Steel and Eric were neck and neck behind him.
“Eric will pull ahead next,” Monica commented beside her. “Daniel will keep up with him, and at the very last minute, Steel will surge ahead of them both. They each have their way of doing things and refuse to change.”
“That’s men for you,” Stella said, but she couldn’t stop watching Steel. After Eric’s outburst she couldn’t even pretend she didn’t prefer him.
“There goes Eric,” Monica pointed out.
She was right. The older man was paddling for all he was worth, and soon he left Steel behind, passed Daniel and took the lead. The crowd on shore cheered harder. As a Chance Creek deputy, Eric was popular with most of the crowd. Of course, so was Daniel with the Silver Falls people.
“And you’re right; Daniel’s keeping up,” Stella said. The younger man had redoubled his efforts, and now both were paddling like mad.
“Steel keeps to a steady pace,” Monica said.
But his strong, even strokes were cutting the distance between him and the others, and as they headed into the home stretch, he kept moving like a machine while the other two faltered. He came abreast of them, and for one awful moment Stella was sure Eric was about to reach over with his paddle and knock Steel off his board. Monica must have thought so, too, because she breathed, “Don’t do it!”
His momentary desire for revenge had lost Eric his rhythm, and he fell behind the other two. Daniel, catching sight of his nemesis, bent to paddle even harder, but stroke by stroke, breath by breath, Steel inched forward and left him behind.
The crowd on the beach was going wild. Stella wasn’t even sure who they were cheering for—maybe they were simply cheering for the effort all three men were expending. When Steel reached the finish line, she whooped, unable to contain herself.
“You did it!” she yelled. “He did it!” she said to Monica.
“Yes, he did. And not everyone is all that happy about it.”
Eric splashed out of the water red-faced with rage, and Stella knew she had to do something to prevent what was about to happen.
“Here.” Monica shoved something into her hand, and Stella recognized it as the portable microphone they’d bought for the event. “It’s on—say something,” she hissed at Stella.
“Congratulations one and all!” Stella’s mouth was much too close to the microphone, and feedback screeched an unholy sound. All around her, the crowd reeled and slapped hands over their ears. Even Eric seemed knocked off-guard by the sudden noise. Stella held the microphone a little farther away and tried again. “Our water Olympics is coming rapidly to an end, but we’ve still got a few events left in the teen category. I hope everyone will give those contestants the round of applause they deserve.”
People clapped politely. There were a few cheers. Eric was still eyeing Steel angrily, but Steel was helping the teen volunteer running the next event to clear the paddleboards away and get set up. As she watched, Stella could tell Eric was running out of steam. His adversary was ignoring him, and he couldn’t confront Steel without making an ass out of himself.
“When those events are over,” Stella continued, her amplified voice cutting through the noise of the crowd, “I hope you’ll make your way to the food tents and enjoy your dinner at our indoor or outdoor seating areas.” She went into a spiel about making sure to recycle when people were done with their meals and introduced the band, who
