Page 53 of Tame Me

The four of them were so close. Side by side.

“Go, Hunter,” Lolly screamed.

Finally, he looked up, and it was him.

“Go. Go. Go.” My heart was set to explode as he and another guy hit the lead. A blaze of arms and legs as they raced up the sand.

“Go!” I screamed.

Lolly screamed. The whole crowd screamed.

Hunter’s clenched jaw and steely gaze proved his determination. His stride was as fierce as the look on his face. The two of them raced past us, but it was impossible to tell who was winning.

“Go, Hunter,” Lolly and I screamed together.

The race was over, but we had no idea who won. Lolly grabbed my arm, and we raced to the front. “Did he win?” I yelled over the crowd noise.

“I don’t know.”

We raced to his side. He was bent over, heaving in ragged breaths, and we wrapped our arms around him. “Did you win?”

He looked up at us and smiled. “Don’t know. Photo finish,” he said between breaths.

“I’m sure you did,” I said with confidence.

As more and more runners crossed the finish line, the spot where we stood grew crowded.

The officials waited until all the racers had returned before they brought the first three contestants to cross under the finish line up to a staging area.

Hunter was the tallest out of the three competitors, but that wasn’t the only thing that set him apart from the other two. He was the only one smiling. After what he’d just done, I’d have trouble standing, let alone looking like that.

A short man stepped onto the stage, stood beside the contestants, and raised a microphone to his mouth. “I’m sorry about this delay, folks, but for the first time in the history of this race, we had a photo finish.”

My heart pounded in my ears as I prayed he’d announce Hunter as the winner.

“Okay, we have a decision. Congratulations, men—that was a magnificent race. I’m proud to announce the winner of the one-mile open-water race is Andrew Winstanley.”

The wind punched out of me, and my body deflated. I was completely gutted. My mouth fell open, and I covered it as I glanced at Lolly, who matched my disappointment with her bulging eyes. I turned back to Hunter to watch him shake hands and clap the winner on the back.

“That means second place goes to Hunter McCall.”

Lolly released another one of her ear-piercing wolf whistles as I cheered.

“And third place goes to Todd Williamson.”

Hunter and the other two finalists posed for photos, and I was impressed with how he handled coming second. He seemed genuinely pleased for the man who’d beat him.

It was an eternity before they stepped down from the stage, and when he glanced about the crowd, I waved my hand over my head in the hope it was me he was looking for.

He waved back, and the three of us walked toward each other. “I thought you’d won,” I said as soon as we reached him. “I’m so sorry.”

“No need to be sorry. Andrew was better than me.”

“It was so close.”

Lolly nudged me with her elbow. She was an impatient woman.

“Hunter, this is my friend Lolita.”

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