Page 111 of Crew Girl

The guys all exchanged looks. Coach didn’t dole out praise lightly. Hadn’t told them to temper their expectations once.

Crabcatcher leaned into Cam and Teagan. “Should I take a picture? To remember what Coach Hayden looks like when he’s happy?”

“Yes,” said Lana, the assistant coach. “It’s rare. Enjoy it.”

“Do you think we have a shot, Coach? At winning?” asked Crabcatcher.

“It’s a brutal competition,” Coach said, turning the jubilation they’d just shared into concentrated energy. “Claremont, Westvale, Vic City— The best of the best will be here. But…” His smile reappeared. “Who won the Head of the Laurence?”

“We did!” everyone replied.

He cupped his hand to his ear. “What’s that? I didn’t hear you.”

“WE DID!”

“That’s right. And was that a fluke?”

“NO!”

“No. You’re right. It wasn’t. You started the season a bunch of scrubs. And now look at you… The nine of you have got a real shot at medaling at the Haverford Cup!”

The team whooped and cheered. Charged and ready to do their best.

“Right!” Coach aimed his thumb at the boathouse. “Get changed. Eat. Rest up. And let’s kick ass on the water tomorrow!”

JOSH

Josh held Teagan back just short of the clubhouse. He wanted to finish their conversation. “Do you think Coach is right? That we’ll take home medals?” He knew it was like asking how long a piece of string was, but he needed all the pep talks he could get. This week had burned through his energy stores, and more to the point, he hadn’t been entirely truthful. The pills weren’t from his cardiologist. It was a legit prescription, but from a doctor he’d paid handsomely to give it to him. One who would swear under oath he had no idea about Josh’s heart condition. Money really could buy you almost anything.

“There are only five boats in our heat,” Teagan said. “If we beat two of them, we’ll get bronze.”

“But all of them have taken home the cup before.” His dad was counting on him to bring it back to Easton.

She shrugged. “We’ll go out there and do our best. Okay?”

When they got into the boathouse, the crew were all lined up like a firing squad.

Perry took the floor. “Baloo says you have something to tell us.”

Shit. It was a firing squad. He glanced at Teagan. She wasn’t going to say anything. He had to do the talking.

“Well?” Perry prompted.

Josh nodded. He owed it to Baloo, to all of them, to tell the truth. “The oar that was sabotaged? It was me. I did it. I’m the reason we lost the Head of the Harbor regatta.”

There. He’d said it. By the looks on the guys’ faces, it’d landed about as well as he’d thought it would. Badly.

“Why would you make us lose?” Quaid asked, bewildered.

“Family pressure, clearly,” Noah said, surprising Josh with the astute observation. “Being a Regis comes at a price.”

Ryder didn’t agree. “Or…” he sneered. “Josh choked.”

He knew Teagan was looking at him. Wondering which way he’d go with this. She already knew what a dickhead he was, so what harm would confirming it do? “Yeah. You’re right. Our family was watching and I was scared I wouldn’t cut it as stroke. So I sabotaged my oar to get out of the race.”

Crabcatcher filled the silence that followed. “So, Baloo… does that mean your Westvale boyfriend…”

“Logan had nothing to do with it,” Josh said. “I let him take the blame because I was a coward. And I’m really, truly sorry for that.”