Teagan
She didn’t want to talk to her mother. “You lied to me about Dad,” she hissed. “What else are you keeping from me?”
Her mom whirled her around, shot covert glances over her shoulders, then leaned in. “Your father’s here,” she whispered. “I’m hiding him from the FBI.”
“Mom!” Her volume control had lost control. And her brain. And her pounding heart. “You can’t be—”
Not the point they should be focusing on when her mother was aiding and abetting a fugitive. “What do we do? Are we going to get in trouble?” They were a family at the end of the day, outlaw dad or not.
“It’s okay, honey.” Her mom pulled her into a hug. “We’ll figure it out.”
“Teagan.”
Her head shot up.
“Dad?”
Her dad stepped out from a storage area. “You were incredible out there.”
Nice to hear, but… “Dad! You can’t be here!”
For once, her mom was on the same page. “David, you have to go. Someone’s going to see you.”
Her dad shrugged. “Maybe it’s time they do.” He turned to Teagan. “I don’t want you to wonder where I am anymore. Either of you. I’m going to turn myself in.”
But that meant…
“Are you sure?” Twenty years in prison suddenly sounded a lot longer than it had when her dad had first mentioned it. It was longer than she’d been alive. Then again, she’d know where he was.
“I’m sure,” her dad said. “Listen, Teagan, don’t take this out on your mother, okay? She was trying to protect you from my mess.”
She winced, shot her mom an apologetic look. Her mom gave her hand a squeeze. She understood.
“Your mom’s made a great life for you here and did it with less than nothing. I always knew she was amazing, but I hadn’t realized how strong she was as well.”
He pulled her and her mom into a hug. Teagan realized he was kind of like her. Someone who made good decisions and bad decisions, then dealt with the fallout. This would be awful, but she’d hug him again soon.
“Catch-of-the-day ceviche?” Juliet held out a porcelain amuse-bouche spoon.
“You’re blocking my view,” Teagan said drily.
“Yeah,” Juliet said. “Kind of the point?”
“I want to see.”
Juliet shifted so Teagan could get a final glimpse of her dad heading off with two people wearing FBI jackets.
“I would’ve given you a heads-up, but you were off splashing around in the lake with the boys.”
Teagan snorted. Juliet always knew how to lift her spirits. They sat down on the hillside, Teagan’s head resting on Juliet’s shoulder. “What other intel did you gather while I was splashing around?”
“Ummm…”
“What?” prompted Teagan. Whatever it was, she could cope with it.
“Your mom and Coach?”
“Yeah…?”
“She pressed pause.”
“Oh?” It had been weird, yeah, but her mom had been happier than she’d been in a long time.
Juliet sighed. “Yeah, they’re living out their own version of It’s Complicated.”
“That had a happy ending, right?”
Juliet winced. “I think Coach Hayden’s neck-deep in the dreaded dark moment.”
“Why?”
“Principal Cabrera and he exchanged words. They weren’t congratulatory.”
Teagan’s heart sank. It had to be about her and Cam being on the boat.
“She fired him,” Juliet said.
Shit. Coach had said he’d face the consequences of his decision.
He’d guessed what would happen and done it anyway.
But still. Being friend-zoned and fired on the same day?
Poor Coach. Kind of on a par with seeing your fugitive dad for the first time in months only to watch him turn himself in to the Feds.
“So!” Juliet gave Teagan’s knee a pat, then stood up. “That’s you all caught up. And if I catch you getting all angsty about having a dad behind bars and a mom… behind a bar…” She grinned. “See what I did there?”
“You should take your show on the road,” said Teagan dryly.
“Good idea. I might stand a better chance of seeing my parents…” Juliet shook her head vigorously. “No! No, no. Do not give me your sympathy. I’m the one doling out advice here.”
Teagan laughed. “I’m listening.”
“All I’m trying to say is, your parents might be traveling different paths than the rest of these weird-ass families, but at least you know they’ll do whatever it takes to see you.”
A lump rose in her throat. Juliet cleared hers. It was getting awkward.
“Why are you still here? Don’t you need to go find a towel or something? After all your splashing?” Juliet put her hand over her eyes, scanned the crowd. “I need Perry to brainstorm some design ideas for your dad’s jumpsuit. I’m not so sure orange will be his new—” She froze, mouth open, eyes wide.
Teagan turned and saw a pair of legs emerging from a Rolls Royce. She looked back at Juliet. “Who is that?”
“That,” Juliet croaked, “is my mom.”
Teagan’s mom took a minute to absorb the news about Juliet. “Well, good,” she said. “I was going to talk to you about inviting her to stay for Christmas. Juliet puts on a brave front, but underneath? She’s obviously hurting.”
“She set fire to her car, Mom. She’s not hiding anything.”
Her mom gave her shoulders a little shake, not convinced.
“Do you want help with anything?” It had been a big day for her mom, too. Her husband appearing out of the blue and leaving with the Feds, breaking up with her boyfriend.
“No, honey. I’ll be fine.” Her mom’s eyes had a faraway look in them, but she didn’t look scared, more… determined. Like her dad said, she was stronger than either of them had thought. She gave Teagan a quick squeeze. “You go spend time with your friends.”
She wasn’t sure if anyone would be at the boathouse. If not? She could do with some thinking time on the dock.
“Hey!” Josh jogged up alongside her. “I heard about your dad. Are you okay?”
She answered truthfully. “No. But I think me and my mom will figure it out. How’d things go with your family?”
Josh’s eyebrows went up. “Surprisingly not terrible. Although, we may be poor soon. Poor for us,” he amended.
Teagan cackled. “Feel free to hit me up for tips on surviving a downfall.”
He smiled, then let it fade. “Listen. Umm, it’s been a hard time, and I just wanted to say, you’ve been there for me. Even when I was at my worst.”
“So, daily,” she joked.
He laughed. “Yeah, well, you’ve never seen me at my best. I’m working on it.”
“What? You’re building a better Josh?” teased Teagan.
“I am. And I’m hoping when you meet that guy, you’ll give him a second chance.”
She would. But she wouldn’t be making out with that guy. “Okay.”
He gave her a wink. “If I don’t die on the operating table.”
He wouldn’t. His eyes were bright with that determined look of his, but with a softer glow, like he had too much to live for. She’d see Josh V2 for sure.
She headed into the boat store and ran her finger along some droplets clinging to their scull.
“Coxie!”
She turned. “Hey, stroke seat,” she said, smiling. Cam had nailed it today. Just like she knew he would.
He sat on a stool with an ooof. “It’s been a day.”
She sat next to him. “It certainly has.”
He lifted up her medal. “I can’t say I imagined this when you hit me with your bike.”
“Hey!” She gave him a playful shove. “You hit me!”
He rebalanced, eyes on hers, then cupped her face between his hands. She hesitated for a second, then closed the gap between them and kissed him. She leaned into it, not wanting it to stop.
Cam.
They’d taken a few wrong turns before reaching this moment, but it had definitely been worth it. It was a perfect, perfect kiss.
They pulled apart, sharing shy grins. It felt like a beginning.
“Teagan!” called a woman’s voice. The assistant coach, Lana.
Moving apart, she and Cam stifled giggles.
“Teagan? Are you in here? I need to talk to you.”
“I’ll go,” murmured Cam. “One for the road?” He leaned in and gave her a firm, confident kiss. One that said this wouldn’t be the last one they shared.
Teagan came out from behind the boat rack. “Hey, Coach. What’s up?”
Lana quirked her head to the side, like she was listening for something. “Did you hear that?”
Could Lana hear the sound of her heart skipping a beat as she caught a glimpse of Cam sneaking out of the boathouse?
“It’s the sound of your wish coming true.”
“My wish?”
“Yup. Cabrera pulled me aside after the race today. Said a group of girls are interested in putting together a team. Already have a wealthy donor behind them. Congrats, Teagan. Come spring? You’ll be holding an oar again.”
“No.” Teagan couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Lana nodded yes.
“Seriously?” Another nod. “That’s amazing! Thank you so much!”
“Don’t thank me,” Lana said. “Thank the Garner Foundation.”
Garner…
Baloo Garner…
Senator DeeDee Garner…
And… walking through the boat-shed door with a Cheshire cat grin… Britney Garner. Queen Bee of Easton Prep.
“Hey, babe!” Britney’s smile was bright as sunshine. And just like sunshine, it could burn you. “Can’t wait to be crewmates.” She pulled Teagan in for a hug, only to whisper, “Looks like you row for me now.”
For a moment, Teagan felt nervous. Then she remembered something her dad had told her: to consider it a gift if another rower was gunning for her. If they thought Teagan was that much of a threat? It meant they knew she was better than them.
Teagan thought of everything she had been through over the past few months.
She’d gotten through it with the help of her mom and her new friends.
Her team. She glanced down at the medal on her chest. She was a winner.
And nobody—not even Britney Garner—would ever take that away from her.
With her team rooting for her, she could achieve anything she set her mind to.
Teagan felt a rush of excitement as she pictured herself slicing through the water, an oar in her hand. She’d come to love being a cox, but she loved rowing even more. It was who she was: Crew Girl.
Bring. It. On.