Page 121 of Axe Backwards
One of Chloe’s brothers shook out his arms in preparation on the other side of him. Jack Mosely, a friend of Jude’s who worked as a crane operator, stood at the other end.
With a friendly nod to Jack and Chloe’s brother—I could never remember which was Calvin and which was Cedric—I bounced a little, bending my knees, trying to psyche myself up.
Gus clapped me on the shoulder. “You did good. one race left.” He narrowed his eyes on Graham, then gave me a stiff nod. That was Gus speak forbeat the cheating city-boy asshole.
I nodded in response. That was the power of Gus. He didn’t need words to get his message across.
“Get out there and impress your girl. And don’t disgrace the family name. Dad already did that.”
The moment the starting gun sounded, I was off. The first log was the easiest. It was chained to the dock, so it moved the least. The logs in the middle were the trickiest. Dangerous too. They bobbed and spun pretty freely, especially with the others close by disturbing the water.
Keeping my breathing steady, I slowed down, focused on my foot placement, and pushed forward through the middle.
Behind me, the crowd roared, and several people screamed my name.
Focus, Noah. Lock it down.
I made it to the floating platform, turned around, and zeroed in on the finish line, pushing out all other thoughts as I took off.
Halfway across, Gus’s voice rang out above the din. At the same time, movement in my periphery snagged my attention. Fucking Graham.
No fucking way was he going to pass me. Not in my town.
Hands balled into fists, I picked up the pace, willing my burning legs to move faster as I navigated the treacherous middle. I sprinted at full speed over the last two logs and dove onto the platform.
Flat on my back, I stared up at the sky, panting.
My pulse had just stopped thumping in my ears when she appeared above me like a beautiful angel in plaid.
“You won, hotshot.” Her face broke into the brightest smile.
As the fans cheered, I hauled myself up. Standing face to face with her, I not only realized that I was madly in love with her, but I was in love with this whole damn town too.
Chapter 40
Victoria
We’d done it. It still felt like a dream. Two days, thousands of visitors, and more donations to the food pantry than I thought possible. I would have to sit down tomorrow and do the math, but I was confident we’d be close to six figures when it was all said and done. The number of volunteers we recruited was unbelievable too. Chip, who ran the retiree crowd, had new folks to train, and since Alice was on summer break, she had offered to take on the rest and show them the ropes.
This town had shown up in the biggest way. The town common had overflowed with competitors, and every event for the kids hit its capacity. I never would have imagined that letting toddlers climb trees would be so popular. Thankfully, Alicia, Finn’s ex-girlfriend and Merry’s mom, was a lawyer and had drafted the wavers for me pro bono.
“I know what you’re doing.” Noah sidled up beside me and held out a cold beer. “I can see the wheels turning in your mind. Tonight, we’re celebrating.”
I nodded, my head bobbling a little too forcefully. When was the last time I really had the chance to blow off steam? I wasbrimming with affection for this town. We’d come together and achieved something amazing. The number of people who would benefit was huge.
“Victoria.” Alexandra approached, with Graham in tow, a large smile plastered across her face. “So much fun!”
My parents lingered behind them, looking out of place in their far too-fancy outfits. My dad gave me an awkward thumbs-up. My mom only stared.
“Great job out there,” I said to Graham. It was the truth. I’d figured he’d be in the water after the first step, but he’d placed second.
“It was fun.” He scanned the Moose, taking in the chaotic atmosphere. He held out a hand to Noah, who took it. “Well done, man. That was pretty wild.”
“Thanks.” Noah dipped his chin. “Hope you all enjoyed yourselves. Vic worked around the clock on the event for months, and it shows. It was a huge success. Mr. and Mrs. Randolph, did you ever imagine Victoria would be such a trailblazer?”
My cheeks heated. I appreciated Noah sticking up for me, but my family wouldn’t buy it. Or they wouldn’t care.
Though as that thought crossed my mind, my sister shocked the hell out of me. Alex raised her bottle of water and toasted me. Graham raised his glass of wine as well and gave me an almost genuine smile.
