Page 40 of A Secret Chance
Baxter smiled at the volunteer and jogged over to the lineup of mountain men waiting to throw the axes. Unlike the hatchets the women were throwing, the men’s were double-headed, more suited to a Viking than a CEO.
Even at six feet tall, the gigantic hockey player loomed in front of Baxter. The man effortlessly lobbed the giant ax into the bullseye three times in a row like it weighed nothing. The entire crowd was behind Logan Brush, but his friends were the loudest. He tried not to glance over at them, but every time they erupted in cheers his eyes involuntarily met Lauren’s. They averted their gazes every time. Baxter started to feel like he was getting a mild case of whiplash when it happened for a third time. When it was his turn to throw, he cast another quick glance over and it happened again, but this time Lauren was the one to whip her gaze away. He looked away from the beautiful woman and his eyes fell on Charlotte, who smiled at him. The hockey player waved at the screaming crowd and made his way to stand beside the realtor and pulled her in close to him.
Next up, “Baxter Caldwell,” the bullhorn wielding volunteer shouted.
Baxter gulped and stepped up to the line. The crowd clapped politely. He grabbed the handle with his leather gloves and stepped to the mark. The ax was heavier than the ones he had thrown at the planter’s camp, but once he had it in his hands, his muscle memory took over and he arced it over his head slowly and then contracted his entire body as he swung the ax over his head. As soon as his fingers released the handle, he knew that it was too early. The ax sailed completely over the target and clattered against the chain-link fence behind it.
“Someone ate their Wheaties this morning,” the announcer’s voice boomed through the megaphone and the crowd tittered. He couldn’t even look over at Lauren. He knew that his face was two shades redder than it should be.
He jogged to retrieve the ax, well aware of everyone’s eyes on the outsider. He stepped to the line and took a deep breath. The crowd dissolved around him, the only thing he could see was the wooden target. He reared back and threw the ax again, this time releasing it at the perfect time. It performed two slow loops in the air before sticking perfectly into the bullseye. The crowd clapped and when a woman’s voice whooped, adrenaline shot through his body and he stole a quick glance at Lauren, but she was mid-conversation. The voice cheered again, and he turned to see a woman in a pleather jacket clapping and cheering while she visibly chewed a piece of gum. He nailed his third shot and the entire crowd cheered this time. He may not have won, but he had redeemed himself from his first throw. He retrieved the ax and handed it to the next contestant, another mountain man wearing a plaid jacket.
Don’t look, don’t look, he whispered to himself as he joined Barry along the sideline then cursed himself as he stole another glance across the crowd, expecting to meet the emerald eyes one more time. She was like a car crash. He didn’t want to look, but he couldn’t stop himself. But this time he did a double take. She was gone.
Chapter 17
LAUREN’S ARMS PUMPEDby her sides, making a swishing sound against the body of her down jacket while she made her way through the crowd, trying not to bump into the other carnival-goers. She gasped as she felt a hand on her arm, stopping her forward momentum. She turned to see her sister.
“Ow, let go,” she said. She flexed her arm and tried to pull it out of her sister’s newfound herculean grip. Charlotte squeezed her harder, but then released her grip. “That’s going to leave a bruise.” She rubbed at her arm.
“Where are you going?” Charlotte asked.
Lauren looked around, still rubbing her arm, “I have to get out of here.” Then she leaned in closer, “Did you see him looking at me?”
“How could I have missed that?” Charlotte whispered. “Do you think he figured it out? Does he know who you are?”
“I don’t know,” Lauren said. Her heart was hammering against her chest. It seemed like the harder she had tried to avoid meeting his eyes, the more it had happened.
“Maybe he just thinks that you’re hot,” Charlotte said.
“Maybe.” Lauren bit her lower lip, a habit she only did when she was deep in thought. “But I doubt it.” She pursed her lips together.
“Me too,” Charlotte said. “He couldn’t stop looking at you. And he looked embarrassed – especially when he chucked that ax over the target.”
Lauren looked at her sister. “Where’s Tabitha?”
“She’s with Logan.”
