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She climbed aboard, her knees immediately adjusting to the sway of the boat beneath her. She inhaled the fresh sea air and greeted Garrett with a grin. Mark so admired her grit and determination. Few men or women he knew would be willing to take on such a challenge.
“Ahoy,” Garrett said with a wave. “You ready for the big time, kid?”
“I hope so,” Laura said and giggled nervously. Mark couldn’t help but notice how much friendlier she was with Garrett and felt a flash of envy.
“You’re going to be great. Don’t sweat it,” Mark said, fully confident in her abilities, though she barely acknowledged the compliment. Mark pulled himself up on the boat, watching as she took up her position on the stern.
Tim and Gretchen loaded in just after Mark, greeting everyone with hugs, and then got busy stowing their gear.
“So who’s the fastest competition?” Laura asked Garrett, surveying the other boats.
“Tanner, you know,” Mark interrupted, not giving Garrett a chance to answer as he nodded in the direction of his brother’s boat. “But probably the next fastest are Ciao Bella there—” he pointed to the white boat with the tall black-and-blue sail “—and St. Claire there, with the red stripe across the white sail? And, probably Jetstream at the far end, the one with the bifurcated red-and-blue sail.”
“Ah,” Laura said, nodding, as she shaded her eyes from the sun.
“You’ve got be careful about Ciao Bella,” Garrett warned. “They cut corners when they sail and are always looking for a way in. They hit a boat last year, in one of the few collisions in race history. They had to be rescued by another competitor.”
“That doesn’t sound good.” Laura squinted.
“You sure you want to do this?” Mark asked her. She was so sullen, he wondered if her heart was really in this. A race was no place to be if her mind was elsewhere. “I mean, race. It’s hard work, and…these guys take it seriously. It could be dangerous and you’ll need to focus.”
Laura raised her chin, defiant. “I’m sure,” she said.
“Well, then, let’s get to work,” Gretchen said and grinned, as Mark assigned her to work on the rigging. Mark looked over and saw Dave’s boat, emblazoned with the name Tanner across the back. It was a majestic boat, slightly bigger than the Timothy.
Dave looked the part of the impressive captain, but Mark would always bet on himself over Dave. Dave always stuck to sailing by the book. The man never took risks, never put himself out there. That meant that if he got the lead early, he was likely to hold it. His motto was always steady wins the race. It explained another reason why Dave picked racing the Tanner over racing Timothy, Mark realized. Dave always played it safe. He should’ve known.
Mark, on the other hand, took risks. Sometimes, they didn’t always pay off. More times than he’d like to admit, he’d been too aggressive at the starting line and got pushed over early—watching the fleet sail away from him while he turned back to do his penalty maneuver.
“You think we got an icicle’s chance in hell?” Garrett asked him in a low murmur as Mark checked the boat’s engine, preparing to take them out to the race starting point.
“Maybe slightly better than that,” Mark said. “Who knows? How lucky is your brother feeling today?”
“With his wife?” Garrett rolled his eyes. “I think she picked out his underwear this morning. I’m sure she picked the lucky ones.”
At that, Mark threw back his head and laughed and the tightness in his chest lifted. Laura might be angry with him for a reason he didn’t understand, but he was about to sail, and he couldn’t feel bad about that. The horn sounded, announcing for all racers to take their marks.
Soon after that, they were underway, headed out to sea to the buoy marker for the starting line. They joined the dozens of boats lined up in a row, ready to take on the rest. White sails dotted the horizon, each stretching to different heights. They’d have at least two hours of racing before the winner crossed the finish line.
Laura looked nervous. Mark gave her a thumbs-up sign and she returned it with an uneasy smile as she put on her sports sunglasses. Mark was proud of the boat they’d restored. The Timothy looked ready to compete. It was all he could hope for. He only wished Laura was in a mood to celebrate this with him. He still wished Laura would sail with him, actually, for the year. It hurt him that she didn’t want to go.
As the boats began to leave the marina, he took in the majestic sight of all the differently colored hulls surrounding them.
The race committee sounded the horn for their starting sequence. Five minutes before the gun, he felt his chest swell with excitement. They were going to do this!
