Chapter Ten #3
With little effort, Eve could press a kiss to the side of his neck where she smelled a woodsy scent. Not that she submitted to that temptation. When it came to winning her husband’s heart, she was in a marathon, not a sprint. “Why do I think you’ve done this before?”
“I haven’t done the obstacle course before.” Hayden chuckled, the sound vibrating from his back to her chest. “You know, I’ve got four younger brothers. As a kid, I was always giving out piggyback rides. It’s a skill.”
“Remember,” the announcer boomed. “Once you start, go at your pace through each station all the way to the finish line on the other side of the park. As always, the heat champions win matching T-shirts, courtesy of Robins Feed.”
“Give me a kiss, Evie,” Hayden whispered.
“What?” Eve stiffened, nearly dropping her spoon. “Why?”
“For luck.” He angled his cheek in her direction.
Eve fulfilled his request, embarrassed she’d let her lips linger longer than necessary on his skin.
There was no time to second-guess her action or his reaction. The announcer began the countdown to start. “On your marks… Get set… Go!”
“Go, Mama! Go, Daddy!” Katie cried, jumping up and down on the sidelines.
As promised, Hayden moved slowly. Not rushing. Certainly not reckless. Eve kept her eyes on the egg trembling on her spoon, but she felt the power in Hayden’s arms. The way his grip tightened whenever she wobbled and he encouraged her to, “Relax.”
“Too slow, suckers!” Steven sprinted past them, Violet squealing on his back as their egg bounced off her spoon.
Crack.
The sound carried.
The crowd groaned.
Muttering, Steven turned around and headed back for another egg.
“Keep your eyes front.” Hayden kept moving, step after deliberate step, until they crossed the line along with two other couples. Applause broke out.
“We did it!” Eve laughed as Hayden eased her to the ground, breathless and surprised by the strength of her own joy.
“You did it.” Hayden touched his palm to her cheek.
But there was no time for talk or tenderness. Two couples were already hobbling ahead in the three-legged race.
Hayden helped Eve put her right foot in a burlap sack, then put his left foot inside too. “Match my stride,” he told her. “Don’t fight it.”
They stumbled at first, then found a rhythm. His palm slid to her waist as if he had every right to pull her close.
Well…he is my husband.
Eve laughed again, unguarded, the sound bursting free before she could stop it.
There’s hope for us after all.
“We’re catching up,” Steven said behind them as a couple ahead stumbled and fell. “You’re the best, Vi.”
“I think you’re the best, Evie,” Hayden said, for her ears only.
They crossed the finish line a second before Steven and Violet did.
“We did it, Evie!” Hayden picked her up and twirled her around. “Keep it up.”
“You’ve got to move faster, Vi,” Steven hounded Eve’s sister.
Violet stared at Eve. Not smiling. Not scowling. Just…watching. As if she were seeing something she hadn’t expected to see—true affection.
The pedal car race followed. The track was the paved sidewalk around the edge of Central Park.
Eve insisted Hayden ride in the wagon, telling him, “Your legs won’t fit in a child’s car.”
Hayden’s eyes flicked briefly to Steven’s scrunched legs before he sat in the wagon, long legs hanging out on either side.
Eve pedaled for all she was worth, taking off ahead of Steven and Vi. If she pumped hard enough, she imagined she might catch up to the slower of the couples ahead.
“Come on, Mama!” Katie ran next to them, Hayden’s cowboy hat low on her forehead.
By the time they reached the fourth station, Eve’s pulse thundered and the small of her back was wet with sweat.
Hayden jumped to his feet and helped Eve to hers.
“Way to go, Evie!” He held her hand, drawing her to the pile of inner tubes.
He slipped one over her head. “Hold this bottom one with both hands as a base.” Then he added two more on top of that before donning three inner tubes himself.
“Let’s finish strong.” His eyes gleamed now, competitive fire burning bright.
“We can win this,” he said, holding her gaze.
The word we hit Eve square in the chest, warming her heart.
They ran side by side. Like a true couple.
*
Running side by side over the grass with those large inner tubes, Evie and Hayden managed to pass one couple and close in on another.
“We’ve got this,” Hayden told Evie, imagining how good it would feel to beat Steven and Violet. Or… Win as a team.
The latter felt more important.
The ground became uneven.
Evie stumbled, veering into Hayden. She bounced against his inner tube, stayed upright and kept running.
What a trouper.
“Hustle up, Vi.” Steven’s voice.
Evie glanced back. And then, she was falling. Bouncing and spinning and taking Hayden’s legs out from under him.
“Mama!” Katie cried.
“Shoot,” Eve muttered, flailing about. “Ow.”
Hayden tossed his inner tubes away and hurried to her side. “Evie? Are you hurt?”
“Get up. We need to finish.” Evie managed to get to her knees, still encircled by three inner tubes. But she sucked in a breath as if wounded.
“Evie.” He kept his voice low and steady as Steven and Vi trucked past. “Stop. You’re hurt.”
“I’m fine. I skinned my knee is all.”
She wasn’t fine. He could see it in the way she favored her knee and in the way her hand trembled when she tried to push herself up.
“Don’t,” he said gently, catching her wrist. “Let me check.”
Hayden removed those inner tubes and then helped her to stand. He brushed his fingers around her knee, his touch careful, reverent. Her skin was torn. “Does it hurt?”
“It stings, but I’m fine. We should complete the course.”
Steven was crowing at the finish line, having beaten them.
“I’m not going to regret this ending.” Hayden slid an arm behind Evie’s shoulders and drew her to his chest. She fit there, like she’d always been meant to. He shielded her from prying eyes, from Steven’s judgment, from anyone who threatened her peace of mind.
“I’m sorry,” Evie murmured into his shoulder. “I ruined it.”
Instinctively, he tightened his hold. “You didn’t ruin anything.”
And the truth of those words hit him like a blow.
He hadn’t lost.
He’d chosen Evie, the woman currently reassuring her family she was fine.
And for the first time in a long while, Hayden didn’t feel unworthy because of his choices. Not in the least. For once, he felt that life was the way it was supposed to be—Evie, his return to Bentwood Creek, even his being the executor of Grandpa’s will.
“Family hug!” Katie cried, running to join them, wrapping her arms around their legs. “You did so good.”
Gran and Nellie joined them next, arms wrapping around their waists.
“Can’t have a family hug without Auntie Vi.” She put her arms across several shoulders.
“Hey!” Steven called. “Why are you losers celebrating?”
Evie started to laugh. It was infectious. The rest of the huggers joined in.
“Unbelievable.” Steven stalked past, tossing a T-shirt on Vi’s head. “I should be celebrated. I won.”
Vi broke free of the hug, whipping that T-shirt off her head, balling it up and tossing at Steven’s noggin. “You didn’t win alone, Steven. And I did everything you did while wearing heels.”
“Never underestimate the power of a woman in heels.” Evie beamed at her sister.
Vi nodded. “Especially a Fisher woman.” And then Vi did the unexpected. She smiled at Hayden and said, “Welcome to the family.”
Steven stomped off.
Leaving the huggers laughing as they embraced once more.