Each step toward the yellow finishing line seemed to take a lifetime.Every labored breath stung his lungs as painfully as the sweat dripping into his eyes.
He glanced at Ethan and groaned.He looked almost as relaxed as he had before the race started.
“We have a welcoming party,” Ethan said as he waved to Diana and her sisters.“How did they make it back here so fast?”
“Maybe they dropped out of the race,” Zac wheezed.
They wouldn’t have been the only ones.Ten miles into the race, Zac’s ad hoc training schedule began to take its toll.At one point, Theo thought he was going to pull out.But sheer willpower and determination had brought him to the finishing line.Their time wouldn’t win them any medals, but at least they’d made it to the end.
With a heartfelt sigh, Theo stepped over the bright yellow finishing line and moved out of everyone else’s way.As he dropped to the ground, every muscle in his body gave way, leaving him feeling like a sweaty, wobbly, jelly.
Zac fell down beside him.
“Remember to warm down,” Ethan reminded them.
“Aren’t you even a little out of breath?”Theo asked.
“What can I say?I’m a machine.”
“And you’re all mine,” Diana said from beside her fiancé.Wrapping her arms around Ethan, she gave him a kiss worthy of any knight in shining armor, then smiled sweetly at Theo and Zac.“You all did incredibly well.”
Zac’s wife, Willow, and their two-year-old daughter walked toward them.“I’ll second that.”
Zac smiled.“If it weren’t for Theo and Ethan, I wouldn’t have made it.”
The toddler landed on top of Zac.“Daddy run!”
“Hi, munchkin.Daddy’s done all the running he’s going to do for a few months.”
Ethan laughed.“Until you hear about another race.Next time, there’ll be no excuses.We go on our training runs together.”
Katie grinned at Theo.“You’re wondering how we got back here so fast, aren’t you?”
“It had crossed my mind.”
“We didn’t enter the running race.We chose the walking option.”
“That’s the most sensible thing I’ve heard all morning,” Zac said from the ground.
“You’ll feel better in a few hours,” Willow said encouragingly.
Theo hauled himself to his feet and stood beside Barbara.“Congratulations on finishing the race.”
“You, too.”
He studied her wary expression.“Is something wrong?”
Katie nudged his arm.“We found another teammate while we were walking.”
Theo looked at who she was pointing to.“Anne?It’s good to see you.Are you still living in Polson?”
“I’m still there.I saw the article you wrote.It was really good.”
His heart sank.That must be why Barbara was so upset.“Thanks.I had to finish what I’d started.”He held Barbara’s hand, hoping she’d understand why he hadn’t said anything to her.“I didn’t tell you I’d submitted the story because I wasn’t sure whether the paper would publish it.”
“It’s okay.You don’t need to explain yourself to me.”
Barbara was wrong.He should have told her about writing the article.“Do you want to go for a walk?I need to stretch my legs.”
