Page 78 of Devlin

"Well, I have no intentionof losing this race. I want us to win. And if Hannah and Frank want the trophy, they're going to have to beat us."

"Good, because I don't play to lose."

"Neither do I."

"Maybe you're more like me than you think, Devlin."

"I don't know that anyone is like you, Dad," he said dryly.

"Good point. I've never wanted to be like anyone else, and neither have you. You'vealways been comfortable in your own skin, pursuing your own dreams. I respect that."

"Thank you." He was surprised by the compliment, but he'd take it.

"How long is Hannah staying in town?"

"Only another day or two."

"And you're just going to let her go?"

"You're one to talk about not letting women go," he couldn't help pointing out.

His father frowned."My situation is completely different. Claire and I have been together for thirty-seven years. We will get past this."

"I hope so. Anyway, it's showtime. Are you ready to do this?"

"I'm ready."

His heart began to race…and they were off…

For the first sixty minutes, the boats were bunched together, but eventually they began to separate, the novices falling behind, thepros soaring ahead. TheDaisy Maewas keeping up with theWind Warrior, but there were three other boats on their tail as well. But he didn't have time to think about his competition. Right now, it was about the boat and the sea, flying through the waves with precision and fearlessness.

Two hours into the race, his muscles were straining. The wind was fierce now, the waves bigger than anyhe'd ever raced.

His dad had been moving with agile efficiency, but he seemed to be slowing down.

"We're almost there," he yelled in encouragement. "We've got this."

In the last five minutes, the field had narrowed to two—theWind Warriorand theDaisy Mae. He'd always known it would come down to the two of them.

It was close, but they were edging ahead. They coulddo it. They could win.

And then his father stumbled. The sail shifted. It took less than a minute to recover, but it was sixty seconds too long.

He was stunned to see theDaisy Maeshoot across the finish line by half a boat length.

It was over.

They'd lost.

But when he looked over and saw Hannah and Frank hugging, he couldn't help but appreciate their joy. They'dboth needed the win, and they'd gotten it.

"Sorry, Devlin," his dad said, putting his hand on his shoulder. "I don't know what happened. I guess I lost my concentration for a second. This is on me."

Had his father just slipped?There was something in his father's tone that made him wonder.On the other hand, why would he have thrown the race?He'd wanted to beat Frank even more thanhe did.

Clearing his throat, he said, "No. This is not on you. Win or lose, we did it together. And I'm happy we did."

His father met his gaze. "You're a hell of a sailor, Devlin, but you're an even better son. Your Uncle Mark would have loved seeing you race like this. In truth, he was always better than me. He was the reason we won all those trophies."

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