‘You were jealous!’ Fox goaded with a light punch to the shoulder. ‘You thought she’d fallen for the Fox Meister.’ He laughed out loud.
‘No way,’ Walker said, punching him in return.
‘So, tell me why you were so pissed off at me?’ Fox said. And then the words that Walker himself had been thinking: ‘You got it bad, man.’ Fox clapped him on the back, as if in congratulations, or sympathy. Walker wasn’t sure which was more appropriate.
‘I’m not sure what’s going on, but I think I need to talk to Gabi once and for all,’ he said. ‘We’re going round in circles.’
Fox pointed out to the water. ‘Well, you’ll have to wait until she’s out of the boat and back on dry land.’
Walker followed Fox’s finger until he saw Jayden and Gabi, rowing full pelt down the river towards them. Her leg boot was straight out in front of her, her shoulders leaning into the stroke. Jayden was shouting the rowing rhythm, and they were in perfect time.
‘What thefuck?!’ Walker exploded. His new favourite phrase of the day. What the hell was she doing now?
Chapter Fifty-Three
Gabi
They faced backwards up the river, knowing the finish line was only a hundred metres away and they wanted to get there first.
It might just be a kids’ race, but Gabi wanted to win, for Jayden mainly, but also for herself, to prove she wasn’t a complete loser that got everything wrong. The only thing on her mind was to get past the finish line before anyone else. Reach, pull.
Damn Walker McBride and his sexy shoulders. His gorgeous face and how he was never afraid to tell her what she needed to hear. Why was it so important anyway that he liked her, or approved of the things she was doing? She’d be gone soon and then she could forget all about him. Reach, pull.
They passed another contestant, narrowly missing each other’s oars. The course was quite crowded with this number of boats on it at the same time.
‘Watch out!’ A warning shout from the bank and a scream from the water ahead, and then their boat hit something mid-stroke, full force. The jolt pushed her teeth firmly into the plump flesh of her bottom lip. She heard Jayden grunt from the force of the impact; his feet kicked her hard in the back, and she was thrown from her seat and off the side of the boat. She hit the water without having time to take a breath.
The water was freezing and murky and, for a second, she lost her bearings, bubbles rushing past her face, the shock making her disoriented. She saw the hull of the boat above her and pushed for daylight with her good foot. Where was Jayden?
She surfaced in the middle of the river, carried along by the fast current. Her boat was floating upside down and she struck out to grab the side. She felt relief course through her as she saw Jayden’s smiling face, as he held on to the other side of the boat. He shook his head and gave her a laughing thumbs up and she returned it, relieved he was okay.
The boat they’d hit was also capsized, but both kids were holding on to it and swimming it towards the bank. The parents were already congregating to help and shouting from the bank side, and she scanned for the gang. Amber had both hands to her face, watching Jayden in the water, obviously worried. Gabi should get him back onto dry land as soon as possible to put Amber’s mind at ease.
Using her arms only, Gabi edged round the boat towards Jayden. Her boot was heavy and cumbersome under the water. She realised she wouldn’t be able to swim back like the other team had and she wasn’t wearing a life vest. She’d have to get back in the boat, there was no other way.
She told Jayden what she was going to do. Help him back aboard first, and then she’d pull herself in and they’d row in together. He watched her words and nodded his understanding. ‘On the count of three,’ Gabi said.
Holding on with both hands, he pulled himself up as hard as he could, with Gabi helping to push him up and out of the water, quickly, before grabbing the boat again. Her leg was dragging her down and she swallowed a mouthful of river water and spluttered, coughing. The boat rocked precariously, but a second later, Jayden was sitting in his seat. She swallowed another mouthful of water and spat. They were being pushed downriver but she knew there was no bridge, or shallow area that might help them. The only way out was to the bank.
‘Are you okay, Jayden?’ Amber shouted from the bank and Jayden gave her a cheery sign for ‘perfect’, not perturbed in the slightest. Good. Gabi didn’t want to worry anyone. She just wanted to get Jayden out safely. Her body was shuddering with cold now and her teeth were chattering.
‘Gabi? Do you need help?’ Amber shouted next and Gabi waved a hand at her, dismissing the offer.
One of Jayden’s oars was still in its hold, the other was empty. He glanced around the boat and pointed. It was floating towards them in the current. Holding on to the boat, she stretched out her arm, but it was still a good foot away from her fingertips. She looked at Jayden and then back out across the water. The oar was gaining on them; it was now or never.
She struck out with her arms, away from the safety of the hull. She grabbed the oar in one hand, and the gang clapped on shore. Someone whistled, probably Wren. She turned, seeing the boat had moved ahead and there was now five feet, maybe six, between them.
Breath heaving, she saw the gang on the bank. Isabella clutched her hands under her chin, Etienne stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders. A simple sign of support for Isabella. Something that Isabella might not even notice. Gabi suddenly knew she wanted someone to do that for her. She wanted someone to look after her when she was worried. To hold her. So that she didn’t have to look after herself all the damn time.
She struck out with her free arm, but didn’t get anywhere. She tried again, choking on the water, but she was stuck in the same place. Gabi kicked then with her good leg and realised the problem. The reeds in the middle of the river were so long that they had twined around her boot. Now, they caught her other leg, binding her in the current, pulling her under. She blinked the water from her eyes and saw Jayden’s expression. He was drifting further away, he was scared. She had to get the oar to him and then sort out these reeds. With a massive effort, she arched her shoulder backwards and launched the oar through the air. It landed with a bang on the boat, and she saw Jayden grab it. Thank God.
She watched, fighting to keep her head above water, as he fastened the oar in position. When he glanced back at her, she tilted her head back to speak.
‘I’m stuck in the reeds,’ she said as clearly as she could, but she was swallowing water, and she wasn’t sure he understood. Could he lip-read what she was saying?
Forcing herself not to panic– the first rule of being a stuntwoman is not to feel frightened– she ducked under the water and tried to reach with her hands into the gloomy water. She felt the tendrils around her thigh, but as she pulled them with her fingers, they seemed only to tighten.
She thrust to the surface again and spat out a mouthful of river, before submerging again. There had to be a way to free herself, but this time it felt as though there were more plants clinging to her. The more she struggled, the more entwined she became. For the first time ever, she felt fear. It flashed through her and turned her mind white with panic. She ripped at the reeds; they slipped through her fingers. Her lungs were bursting, and her limbs were heavy with exhaustion. She pushed for the surface again, just managing to break through with her face, and screamed.
