Chapter 15 #3
Connor was grinning, enjoying watching the pair of them sparring.
‘You were in on this too, weren’t you?’ she said to Connor, who tried to look innocent and failed. ‘Hugh as well?’
Hugh lifted his chin. ‘No comment. On the grounds I may incriminate myself.’
Elena ignored their laughter. ‘I’ll ensure my wrath is equally distributed if this ends badly. Expect repercussions.’
They just laughed harder.
Despite being duped, she was smiling too.
After all, she’d laid down the gauntlet and challenged Danny to prove he was more than a ‘suit’.
She’d poked the bear and he’d retaliated.
Fair play. And besides, he’d picked the wrong woman to test. If he thought she’d be daunted, he was woefully mistaken.
Schoolboy error. She was not easily intimidated.
Their start position was in the centre. The boats either side ranged from small plastic tubs to grand contraptions with masts and makeshift sails. Elena wasn’t sure how much engineering went into the designs, she suspected the aesthetic was more important than functionality.
They’d kept her in the dark deliberately. Sneaky lot. She might have been thrown momentarily, but she’d adjusted now and was determined to show Daniel J Jackson just what he was dealing with. He’d be the one left with mud on his face.
Having lowered the raft into the water, Hugh saluted. ‘I hereby launch this vessel. Go forth, Usain Boat, and do your crew proud.’
‘And don’t sink,’ Connor added, crawling onto the vessel on his hands and knees. ‘Where d’you want me?’
Danny tied the raft’s rope around a pole to stop them drifting off. ‘Hugh on starboard, Connor on port. Keep your paddles aligned and follow my rhythm for strokes. Elena, you’ll be at the back controlling the rudder and keeping us on course.’
Elena openly laughed. ‘There’s a rudder?’
Danny feigned offence. ‘Of course there’s a rudder, we’re not amateurs. This is not our first rodeo.’
‘You could’ve fooled me.’ She searched for the elusive rudder, if there was one, it was hidden beneath the water. ‘Who actually made this contraption?’
‘It’s not a contraption, it’s a finely tuned racing dingy.’ Danny offered her his hand.
‘Yeah, looks it.’ She took his hand and stepped gingerly onto the raft, which was about as stable as jelly. ‘I get the spare clothes request now. The chances of us making it across this lake without sinking seems highly unlikely.’
‘Such mutiny,’ Hugh said, clutching his chest. ‘We’ve only ever sunk once.’
‘Twice,’ Connor corrected. ‘You’re forgetting the year the Smyths capsized us.’
‘Was that the year Patty Tompkins had to be resuscitated?’
Elena’s hands went to her hips. ‘I know what you’re doing, guys. And it won’t work. I’m no amateur either.’
Smiling, Danny stepped onto the raft, increasing the instability.
‘Risky enough for you?’ he said, holding Elena steady as the waves from another team’s boat hit them.
‘It’s not too late to quit. Nigel’s on standby to take over.
I’m sure you won’t be offended if a seventy-year-old man has to step in and replace you. ’
‘Fighting talk,’ she said, their chests bumping together with the movement of the swell.
‘But it’s not me who has anything to prove.
You’re the one adamant to show me you’re willing to take risks.
Let’s see what you’re made of. … Just don’t reinjure your hip,’ she added, not wanting to goad him to the point of reversing his good progress.
‘My hip’s fine,’ he said, kissing her cheek. The action made him freeze, and she wasn’t sure who was more stunned, her or Danny. He blinked a few times, and then attempted to cover his embarrassment. ‘Don’t worry about me. You worry about yourself.’
Elena pulled a face and pretended to be appalled, which was highly immature, but better than admitting she’d enjoyed being kissed—especially as Connor was watching them, and the kiss had done little to dampen his ideas about them dating.
A loud whistle sounded, followed by a muffled voice shouting through a loud hailer announcing one minute until the start of the race.
This was followed by the crowd cheering and people racing towards the water’s edge to support their team.
There must have been a hundred people surrounding the lake, holding up banners, most of them unsteady—probably due to the amount of Pimms they appeared to have consumed.
Danny took up position at the front of the boat. ‘Okay, let’s go, team!’
Hugh and Connor balanced on their knees either side of the raft, their oars positioned above the water, ready to plunge.
Elena knelt down and felt for the rudder, a large plastic thing shaped like a shark’s fin, which she couldn’t imagine steering a bath toy, let alone a raft with four people on it.
The whistle sounded again, giving them a ten second warning. The crowd counted down, speeding up as their eagerness took over. And then they were off … or not, as it transpired.
‘Untie the rope!’ Danny yelled at Elena, who did as instructed.
They still didn’t move.
Danny scrambled into the water and waded around to the rear of the raft to push them away from the reeds. His cheeks turned pink in reaction to the cold and he sucked in short breaths as he heaved against the raft, trying to shift them into the water.
Elena’s gaze was drawn to his wet T-shirt clinging to his chest. ‘I would offer to help, but there’s no way I’m getting into that water voluntarily.’
He tried to smile, but it looked painful. ‘Lightweight.’
His arm muscles flexed as he pushed harder, adding another distraction and playing havoc with Elena’s concentration.
Danny dragged himself onto the raft, drenched and smeared in pond algae, soaking her in the process.
She might have complained if he didn’t look so happy about it.
He was laughing, his body animated, and it was the first time she’d seen him truly undone.
Daniel J Jackson wasn’t just a rigid control freak—beneath the suit was someone capable of being silly, ridiculous, and utterly unrestrained. It was annoyingly endearing.
They drifted further into the lake, almost colliding with another boat. It was mayhem. None of the boats travelled in a straight line—they drifted in all directions, worse than rush hour on the M25. The crowd screamed encouragement, like they had bets on The Grand National, not a charity event.
Despite their best efforts, Usain Boat veered off to the left and ended up in the same lane as another boat. As the two vessels collided, the opposing skipper shouted accusations of ‘skulduggery’, before losing his balance and toppling head first into the water.
Elena clutched hold of the slippery bamboo poles beneath her, trying to steady her balance and steer them back on course, but the rudder was useless. As she’d suspected, it was purely for show.
Around them, one by one the boats either sank or careered into the side banks, unable to reverse, their race over.
Only two remained, Usain Boat versus A Yacht of Fun.
Connor and Hugh paddled frantically, spraying everyone on board with more water than they were shifting. Danny was on his knees at the front, yelling instructions that no one followed. Elena held on as best she could, unable to influence the outcome and trying not to fall into the lake.
Waiting for them at the finish line were Virginia and Nigel, jumping up and down like schoolchildren and screaming for them to ‘go faster!’
Elena shifted the rudder, aiming for the finish line, but a gust of wind sent them hurtling towards A Yacht of Fun.
‘Excellent work, Elena!’ yelled Virginia through a loud hailer. ‘Sabotage the opposition!’
Elena couldn’t take any credit, every tactic did the opposite thing than she’d intended.
It was a close finish, with both boats attempting to cross the line at the same time.
The captain of the opposing boat jutted out his punt in an attempt to derail them, a devious move. He lost his balance and joined the other competitors in the water. His team groaned with despondency, overridden by cheers from the Usain Boat supporters.
They were poised to cross the finish line first, aided by a sudden gust of breeze. A blast from a horn announced their success. The crowd cheered. Danny punched the air, and Connor and Hugh flopped towards each other and hugged—a manoeuvre that destabilised the raft further.
The momentum shift was enough to split the raft in two, and Elena watched in horror as the tethering came apart around her and freezing water gushed over her legs.
Connor and Hugh fell overboard with a loud splash.
Elena sucked in a breath and squealed as the cold seeped through her leggings.
Rallying herself to the challenge, instinct kicked in, and her core strength came to her aid. She was not going to get wet.
Steadying herself, she pushed onto her knees and then her feet ready to jump ashore. She’d show these men how it should be done.
But before she could jump, Danny grabbed her leg and shouted, ‘It’s okay, I’ve got you!’
Far from saving her, he smacked into her, and they slid off the raft and hurtled towards the water faster than Keanu Reeves saving Sandra Bullock from a runaway bus.
There was nothing Elena could do other than close her eyes, hold her breath, and brace herself for the impact of being submerged into the dark, cold, and very murky lake.