Courage (Blackstone #4) - J.L. Drake Page 0,117

held up a megaphone. Then, in a very important voice, he directed us to move into place.

“Hands in, ladies.” Lexi put her hand out, and we all joined in. “Lips, bits, and tits, hooah!”

One by one, my sisters took their turn racing against the guys. We might not have had their training, but we were small, agile, and very determined.

Savannah tapped in Catalina before she dropped to my feet gasping for air.

“You would think the workout my husband gives me every morning would prepare me for anything, but apparently, that’s not the case.”

With a laugh, I hauled her to her feet and handed her a bottle of water.

“You did good.” I tried to keep my head in the game. “We need to win, or we’ll never get rid of that rodent.”

“Heads up.” Savannah nodded over my shoulder. “You’re our last hope!”

“You know what to do.” Catalina winked as the rest of them stepped back, and I moved to stand at the starting line. I glanced over at John, who was very much enjoying my outfit. So, I used what I had and bent over dramatically to stretch down low, and I heard him chuckle.

“You can play dirty all you want, baby.” He blew me a kiss.

“Ready, set, go!” Daniel shot a blank into the air, and I took off running.

I didn’t waste any time as I jumped up high, grabbed the rope, and started to shimmy up to the top of the first obstacle of the course. It wasn’t easy, but I had worked on my arms for the past few weeks with the girls. Next, I wrapped my arms around the line and hung out over a twenty-foot ridge and inched my way down using my bodyweight for speed.

Once my feet touched the ground, I raced across the lawn and dove like a champ into the mud and army-crawled under the netting. Mud eased its way into every nook of my body, but I didn’t care. I used the sides of my shoes for grip and hauled myself through the thick sludge. Mia screamed my name and kept me aware of how much time was left on the clock.

Livi and B were racing around, cheering me on, while the twins were on the other side for their Uncle John. Abigail, Sue, and Doc Roberts were like balls of nerves vibrating as they stood at the finish line. They were on our side. It had to go, despite how much the guys loved it.

I glanced over and saw John seconds behind me, battling with his size under the nets.

With a huge effort, I kicked out with all my might and was able to bring myself up out of the mud. My legs were on fire as I jumped to my feet and ran across the finish line, beating John by a fraction of a second.

The girls raced across the yard screaming. Lexi slammed into me with a hug, and the rest of the girls followed suit.

“Hell, yeah!” Savannah cheered while the high of what we just did settled in.

The relief that spread through all of us was just what we needed. We Blackstone Ladies finally beat the guys at something, and oh, boy, was the prize the best gift of all.

Daniel walked toward us slowly. “Well, here you are.” He handed me the monster, and I glanced at the girls.

“Ready?”

“Hell, yeah!” Catalina laughed before we all took off toward the dock. One by one, we all jumped into the warm lake water.

I popped up and treaded water while the guys came down to the dock. Their long faces did not conjure up even an ounce of sympathy in any of us.

“I feel like I didn’t get to say goodbye.” Mark folded his arms. “Like we didn’t have enough time together.”

“Time,” I blurted. “This monster has been around way too long. It’s the worst thing in the house.”

“It’s not the worst.” Mark fudged a pissy face.

“It’s the worst, babe.” Mia nodded. “Sloane, do it.”

“All right.” I held up the miserable little Furby that had been used to scare us too many times, far more than I could count. “Time to go.” I tossed the toy as far as I could toward the middle of the lake, and we all let out a sigh of relief. “Good riddance, you little monster.”

“Monster,” Mike hissed as he dabbed at his eyes. “That thing was like family.”

Catalina rolled her eyes at the guys as they sadly headed back up toward the house. We spent the rest of the day in the water, thoroughly enjoying our win.

The firepit party was in full swing that evening. We were all still bragging about beating the guys and decided we should do it every year. We even designed a trophy.

“You warm enough?” John handed me a coffee.

“I am,” I answered as he bent down and kissed me softly. “Well, actually, maybe I am a little cold. Could you grab me a blanket?”

“Of course.” He kissed me one last time and caught up to Mark, who was heading in for another beer.

Savannah caught my eye and shot me a devilish smile. I matched her humor and…

“Son-of-a-bitch!” John yelped, and Mark came running out of the house like he just got stung.

“What the hell?”

“Cheers, ladies.” I smirked. “Welcome to Blackstone, baby!”

The End

For anyone who has a loved one who has experienced a brain injury, here is a wonderful resource.

www.craighospital.org

Remember, you’re never alone.

Acknowledgments

To my mother, who worked so closely on this story with me.

To my daughter Brooke, who helped me with story ideas, research, and Tripper moments.

To my dear friends, Jill and Steve Chamness, for once again letting me dive into both of your professions and pick away at the details.

To my girls, Kim, Vanessa, Veronica, Elizabeth, Jamie, Jaci, and Lisa for helping me keep all the stories straight and your wonderful input along the way.

To my beloved editor Lori Whitwam, for all your input. Cheers to book 14!

To Lydia Harbaugh, for being such a great marketing director. I appreciate you so much.

To my reader group and street team for believing in me.

To my readers for following through these stories from the very start.

I, and the Blackstone families, thank you.

Courage (Blackstone #4) - J.L. Drake Page 0,117

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