Page 68 of Love At The Shore
Is it, though?
“You’re right. I have.” Lucas nodded. Of course the summer camp was his priority. As much as he liked Jenna and her kids, they were leaving Tybee in just a few days. Nick and Ally would have school to keep them busy, Jenna would have her book and he’d have his camp. Only now it would be camps, plural. Life would go back to the way it had been before.
Whether he wanted it to or not.
Lucas cleared his throat. “Ten years in the making. I can’t believe this is a go.”
“Let’s start planning,” Bob’s associate said.
The two men stood, and Lucas sat for a moment, staring at Jenna’s missed call notification on his phone.
He told himself it was already too late. Even if he left right that second, he’d never make it to Nick’s race. It didn’t really matter whether he was there or not. Nick had 1:18 in the bag. There wasn’t a doubt in Lucas’s mind the kid would make the team.
It would all work out fine. He was doing the right thing.
Then why did it feel so wrong?
Jenna could barely sit still.
All around her, people were clapping and cheering, but she didn’t hear any of it. She was hyper-focused on every move Nick made. He’d had a rocky dive into the pool, but as soon as his wiry little body started moving through the water, he caught up with the other boys.
“Go Nick, go Nick, go!” she chanted.
He was almost neck and neck with Grayson in the lane beside him, which was a good sign. Grayson had been swimming on the school swim team for a year already. Nick couldn’t wait until they could compete together. Swimming with his best friend was one of the biggest reasons he was so desperate to make the team.
He had to make 1:18. He just had to.
He’d be crushed if he didn’t.
“Come on, come on, come on,” Jenna whispered.
It was more of a prayer than a cheer as the swimmers reached the halfway mark. As soon as he reached the middle of the pool, Nick fell behind Grayson. A few strokes later, the other swimmers around him pulled ahead as well.
By the time the race was over and Nick’s hand touched the pool wall, he was dead last.
Jenna was on the verge of tears as he pulled off his goggles and tossed them into the water.
Don’t cry.
She couldn’t let Nick think she was disappointed in his performance. She wasn’t, obviously. She loved her kids unconditionally, and Nick had worked so hard on his swimming all summer long. He could never disappoint her.
But she wasdefinitelydisappointed in a certain adult.
Lucas should have been here.She swallowed around the lump in her throat and pasted on a smile as she clapped for Nick.He gave Nick his word.
Maybe she was being too hard on him…again. Lucas had been so great with Nick and Ally all summer. He’d probably gotten stuck at the investment meeting for the summer camp, which was a reasonable explanation.
Or it would have been, if he hadn’t promised Nick he’d be there. Kids didn’t understand excuses and explanations where promises were concerned. A promise was a promise.
One by one, the boys climbed out of the pool to dry off and accept the congratulations of their friends and family. Nick was last again, dragging himself from the water to go sit alone at one of the camp picnic tables with is towel slung around his neck.
Jenna couldn’t take it.
She left Ally waiting on the bleachers so she could go give him a little pep talk. He’d tried his best, and that was all that mattered.
Grayson beat her to it, though. He walked over to the picnic table, still in his swimsuit with his goggles propped on his head, and attempted to cheer Nick up.
“Hey, Nick. There was a lot of drag in the pool.” Grayson shrugged. “I felt it.”
