When I Fall in Love(69)
She simply didn’t know how Huntington’s disease destroyed lives. And not just the victims’.
But he didn’t have to think about that now.
He opened his hotel door to the sound of his cell phone chirruping where he’d left it charging on the nightstand. He crossed the room and picked it up.
Brendon? At this time of night? He answered it, worry sluicing through him. “What’s the matter? Is it Ava?”
“Huh? No, everyone’s fine.”
“Why are you calling me so late?”
“Oh, shoot, right. What time is it there?”
“After midnight.”
“Sorry, dude. I’m heading out for a jog and got the time mixed up. I was thinking you were ahead of us, not behind us.”
Max dropped his key on the nightstand and began to unbutton his shirt. “So what’s so urgent?”
“It’s you, Max! You’re all over the Internet with this cooking thing.”
Max stilled, sank down on the bed. “What?”
“Yeah, I saw you last night on the ESPN around-the-world segment. What’s this about a cooking contest in Hawaii?”
He pulled off his shirt, tossed it onto a chair. “It’s just a local thing.”
“Not anymore. Not when Maxwell Sharpe is involved. It made WGN news in Chicago.”
“How did they find out?”
“Seriously?”
Right. If his face was well-known enough to garner celebrity endorsement requests, then probably people would notice him on a local cable show. He hadn’t really thought about that.
“So, yeah, I’m in this competition. It’s no big deal.”
“You’re in the finale! You and Owen Christiansen’s sister? That’s sort of a big deal.”
“It’s not—I don’t think we’re going to win.”
“Huh? Of course you are. Have you not seen the Facebook page for the contest? You’re the favorites. And that Grace Christiansen, she’s a cutie.”
“Yeah. Are you calling to wish me luck?”
“No. I mean, of course. But if you win, don’t you see? This is our perfect opportunity to raise awareness—”
“Oh no.”
“Stop being so selfish. And narrow-minded. Has it occurred to you that God made you great at hockey so you could do something with it? Something beyond your Hall of Fame aspirations?”
“Brendon, let me figure out what God wants for my life on my own.”
“The world is going to find out someday, Max. Let them see what true courage is.”
He swallowed. “Okay, fine. If I win, I’ll let you write up something about it.” He winced at his words, but the chances of them really emerging the victors . . .
“You’ve got this competition in the bag, Max. The whole family is rooting for you. Thanks, Bro. You’re the champ.”
He smiled at that. “Thanks, Brendon.” Max hung up, resting the phone on the bed.
And again dreaded his tomorrow.
If Casper hadn’t gone into the drink before and learned how to manage his crew, he certainly would have driven them into a pylon with Darek on board. “Look, dude, if you don’t want me helming this, just say so.”
Darek raised his hands, letting his paddle rest on his lap. “No. You have a strategy. Just because it happens to be different from mine . . .”
Every eye in the boat looked at Casper, sizing him up against Darek. Even his parents—his dad sitting in the middle of the boat, his mother in the front.
Nice.
The seagulls onshore rose and began to call, as if adding to the mocking, the jeers. Not that anyone had said anything when Darek showed up for practice today, but they didn’t have to.
One look at Darek and his build, with years of knowledge under his belt, and the choice was clear. If they wanted to win, Darek should captain the boat.
But no one said it, and Casper’s pride wouldn’t let the suggestion leak out. He tamped it down and ignored the voices in his head.
This was his boat to captain.
A slight wind bullied the dragon boat and he reached down to grab the dock, lest it slip away from him and out into the harbor.
A rudderless ship. Darek would have a field day with that.
“I trust you, Bro,” Darek said, but his smile resembled shark teeth.
Casper couldn’t help it—he cast a look at Raina. He needed, for a moment, the confidence she gave him, the belief. Call him a sap, but when she looked at him like that, he became a champion.
She smiled, something soft, kind, and it cut through the clatter inside.
“Let’s take her out for one last paddle.” The team had already gone through their strategy twice, and now he got in the back, letting Kyle and Jensen push them away from the dock.