Chapter Ten
“It’s tradition for members of the Coast Guard to go first. Even if one of them does manage to put in an impressive performance, they’re ineligible to win. But because they help out with the crates and safety during the competition, anyone who’s involved is allowed to give the crates a go.”
Zach was standing behind Marit, his arms around her waist, his hands resting on her belly as she leaned into him and they watched from the edge of the harbor.
He loved standing like this with her. He was tall enough to easily see over her head, and the feel of her against him was intimate and cozy.
He bent slightly to speak into her ear, explaining what was going on as it happened.
“When does Kash go? That’s what I want to see,” Marit said impatiently.
Apparently she didn’t care about the exhibition competitors.
“Wait,” she said, looking over at Knox. “Why aren’t you out there? You’re in the Coast Guard.”
“I was,” Knox said with a laugh. “I’m not anymore. Besides, I’ve wised up in my old age. I don’t need to humiliate myself by only getting across two or three crates before falling into the water.”
“Whatever,” Zach told him. “You’d show everyone up, and you know it.”
Knox patted his belly. “I’m in the super category now, no showing anyone up no matter how much skill I might still have.”
“There are four classes of participants,” Evelyn told Marit. “Featherweight is up to seventy-five pounds, lightweight is seventy-six to a hundred and twenty-five pounds, medium is one twenty-six to one seventy-five, and super is anything over a hundred and seventy-six pounds.”
“The overall winners in the past have mostly been in the featherweight class,” Chad said.
“Which makes sense, considering the crates don’t sink as much when they step on them,” Marit said with a nod. She was watching the Guardsmen with interest as they all tried, and failed, to even get across to the other platform one time.
“Next up will be a representative from the local police department. They also usually have some sort of local celebrity, as well. They all ham it up before the actual contestants start,” Evelyn continued.
She had a spark in her eye that Zach loved to see.
It was only a few months ago that she’d lost her husband, so it made him happy to see her out and about and having a good time.
“How many people actually compete?” Marit asked, tilting her head back to look at Zach.
“Generally under a hundred. Of all ages and all weights. We’d be here all night otherwise.”
She nodded and turned her attention back to the water.
“Kash is in the middle of the pack. He’s number thirty-nine,” Chad said, as he looked at his phone. “Just got a text from Linc.”
“Cool. He’ll have time to hopefully lose some of the nerves by watching everyone else. And seeing others fall will show him that this is all in good fun. Hopefully,” Knox muttered.
Zach loved how everyone was all in for Team Kash. He just hoped and prayed the boy did well.
The field was mostly kids or teenagers, but there was the occasional mom or dad who decided to take a shot at the crates. Most people fell before getting even ten feet from the starting platform. But they all came up from the water smiling. Everyone was having a good time, even when they fell.
There was one man in the super class who made it halfway across the crates before falling, earning him a huge cheer from the crowd. Many of the smaller competitors went much farther, but everyone understood that the people competing in the super class had a major handicap . . . of weight.
Marit fidgeted against him as it got closer and closer to the time for Kash to go.
“I’m so nervous,” she said, looking back up at Zach.
“Me too!” Evelyn chimed in.
“Me three!” Britt agreed.
Zach was too, but he didn’t say anything, simply squeezed Marit’s waist.
Then it was time. A little girl who was contestant number thirty-eight was preparing to have a go at the crates.
Zach saw Linc next to Kash. He was kneeling down, saying something to the boy, most likely encouraging him. Or giving him last-minute tips. Kash looked nervous. Really nervous. He was shifting from foot to foot. His gaze locked on the crates as if mesmerized.
“Oh man, he’s too nervous,” Knox said softly.
“We were the same way our first time,” Chad reminded his brother.
“Yeah, and we all crashed and burned as a result. It wasn’t until we learned to have fun, to take it in stride, that we actually did well.”
“He’ll be fine,” Marit said sternly. “Just watch. He’ll get past those nerves. I know it.”
Zach loved her optimism . . . but secretly, he agreed with his brothers.
Everyone in the crowd gasped when the little girl finally fell.
She hit her head on one of the crates on her way down, and there was an immediate hush in the crowd.
But a member of the Coast Guard was right there with his boat, helping her into the vessel.
After about thirty seconds, she sat up in the boat and smiled.
She waved, letting everyone know she was all right. The crowd cheered and yelled in relief.
She’d crossed five hundred and thirty-nine crates. It was an incredible run. Of course, the record was sixty-five hundred, but over five hundred wasn’t anything to sneeze at.
Now it was Kash’s turn.
“Please, please, please,” Britt whispered.
“He’s got this,” Marit said, as she shifted her weight from foot to foot, much as Kash had done earlier. She looked extremely excited and nervous as they all waited for their neighbor to take his turn.
“Next up is Kash Bates. He’s twelve years old and just squeaking into the featherweight limit, one of our most competitive categories.
It’s his first time at Lobster Fest, and his first time facing the crates.
Let’s give him a big ol’ Lobster Fest greeting!
” The announcer was hamming it up for each contestant, and the crowd loved it, giving him what he asked for by cheering and clapping loudly.
Kash looked back at Linc once he was standing on the platform. He really was a scrawny kid. All bones and angles. He leaned over and pulled up the white socks with lobsters on them that every contestant was given to wear to make the field more even, as far as footwear went.
After Linc gave him a thumbs-up, Kash turned back to face the line of crates bobbing on the water in front of him.
“You’ve got this, Kash! Kill it!” Marit yelled at the top of her lungs.
Kash heard her, and his head turned in their direction, causing everyone in their little group to cheer loudly, encouraging him as much as they could.
To Zach’s amazement, Kash’s shoulders went back as he straightened. He could almost see the confidence spreading through his body. Seeing for himself how many people were there to support him, even if his mom and grandfather couldn’t be there, obviously made him feel good.
Then his brows furrowed, and he took a deep breath.
“All right, Kash, show us what you’ve got,” the announcer said. “Go ahead whenever you’re ready.”
Before the last word was out of his mouth, Kash was off. He took a few running steps—and then he was crossing the crates.
Zach watched in awe as it seemed as if the boy flew over the water. He could barely see his feet touching the crates, and they hardly seemed to even bobble under him.
Before he knew it, Kash had made it across the first fifty crates and was safe on the platform on the other side.
When the boy turned around, Zach saw a look of surprise on his face, as if he couldn’t believe he’d actually done it. The surprise quickly morphed into determination. It was as if all it took was making it across that first time, to prove that he could do it, and Kash’s entire attitude shifted.
As the kid ran back across, Zach could see that he was really going to do it. He might not win, but he was going to give whoever else went after him a serious run for their money.
Their little group lost their collective minds as Kash continued to run back and forth over the crates. Two hundred. Five hundred. A thousand.
And he just kept going.
He was like the Energizer Bunny. There were a few times when he stopped on one of the platforms, hamming it up for the crowd, just as Linc had suggested back at Lobster Cove. Giving himself a break without making it seem like he was stalling.
Britt was filming it all, screaming along with the rest of the crowd, who were now clueing into the fact that they were watching an extraordinary performance. As much as everyone laughed and liked seeing people wipe out, they loved it even more when someone crossed the crates thousands of times.
Of course, every time Kash wobbled or almost slipped, a huge gasp would go up from the spectators, and then they’d cheer even louder when he regained his balance and continued onward.
“He’s doing awesome!” Marit gushed, turning toward Zach, tugging on his shirtsleeve as if that would make her words more impactful. Then she immediately spun back around so she wouldn’t miss a second of Kash’s performance, not waiting for him to respond.
He was doing awesome. But the kid was getting tired.
His steps weren’t quite as nimble. He wasn’t running as fast as he did in the beginning.
He looked a little more wobbly as he ran.
It was only a matter of time before he took a misstep and lost his balance.
But Zach was more than impressed with how many crates he’d been able to cross already.
It was on his thirty-eighth time crossing the crates when he slipped. Kash went down hard, face-first. He was halfway across when he fell, his face hitting a wooden crate, and he literally bounced into the water.
Everyone around them gasped.
Every muscle in Marit’s body stiffened as they all waited for him to pop up from the water. It only took a second or two, but they felt like the longest moments of Zach’s life.