Free The Lure of White Oak Lake by Robin Alexander

enough.”
    Morgan wiped sweat from her brow. “For the regatta?”
    “Yeah, it’d fit two people.” Austin looked at her. “You have to have two people per craft. None of my friends will let me pair with them because they say I’m too big and I’ll sink us.” He shrugged. “They sink anyway. Last year, Logan painted a cardboard box and sank like a stone two minutes after he and his partner left the dock.”
    “What kind of dork makes a boat out of cardboard?”
    Austin laughed. “My best friend. I wanna make a Viking ship, so I can wear a hat with the horns. I found a really cool one on the Internet.”
    “Oh, yeah, those are cool,” Morgan said with a smile. As she gazed at the bookcase, a Viking ship formed in her mind. “You really think that would fit two people?”
    “Sure.” Austin stepped inside. “Now you step in between those shelves.” He pointed to other end.
    Morgan stepped in. “It might work. We’d have to put it in the water to know if it would float with us in it.”
    Austin turned slowly. “Are you serious?”
    “You think it won’t float?”
    “I think it would. Are you saying you’d be my partner?”
    Morgan shrugged. “I think it’d be fun. Oof.” She grunted when Austin grabbed her in a bear hug and yanked her out of the case.
    “This is gonna be so great! Even if we don’t win first prize, I will still be so freaking happy!”
    “Dude, you’re breaking me.”
    “Oh, sorry.” Austin let her go. His smile was huge, his fists clenched. “This is so awesome!”
    Morgan couldn’t help but laugh at his enthusiasm. It felt good to make someone that happy. “We need to get her in the water and see if she’ll float.”

    ~~~

    Jaclyn groaned when she looked at the caller ID. “Maddie, it’s so good to hear from you. We haven’t talked in like thirty minutes.”
    “Your son and future girlfriend are on the pier behind her house, and the bookcase she just bought is in the water. What are they doing?”
    Jaclyn looked out her window. “I have no idea.”
    “They’re…climbing into…Austin’s in his school clothes…they’re hugging…no, Austin’s climbing her like a cat—oh! They’re in the water.”
    Jaclyn sighed. “I hope he didn’t have his phone in his pocket.”
    “Ya know, the hose incident made me think she was crazy, but when she came into the store this morning, she seemed perfectly normal. Now I’m not so sure. Oh, man, they’re soaked and covered in mud. Austin has his shoes on.”
    Jaclyn waved at Chet as he walked in. “Can you do me a huge favor?”
    “A six-pack of Bud will buy you anything, sugar,” he said with a smile.
    “You got it if you’ll close up for me. Maddie, I have to go.”
    “Tell Chet I said hello.”

    ~~~

    By the time Jaclyn walked down to Morgan’s, they had what was left of the bookcase up on the deck. Neither of them noticed her as she approached. With looks of determination on their faces, they talked about sealants and pontoons. “Do I even want to know why the two of you threw a perfectly good bookcase in the lake?”
    “The regatta, Mom! Miss Morgan’s gonna be my partner.”
    “Whoa, just Morgan if that’s okay with you,” she said, looking at Jaclyn.
    Morgan had swept her hair off her face with muddy hands. Her T-shirt was stained, and her shorts were threatening to slide off her hips. At that moment, she looked just as young as Austin did. Jaclyn found herself grinning at the sight. “That’s fine with me.”
    “Mom, I can do it, right? Please say yes. You know I’ve always wanted to race.”
    “Sink more than likely, but yes, you can be in the race.” Jaclyn raised a finger. “I have a stipulation, though. I don’t want to have to remind you to do your homework, and on your interims, I’d better not find anything lower than a B. Deal?”
    “Yes, ma’am.” Austin cuffed Morgan on the arm and nearly sent her flying.
    “And you,” Jaclyn said, looking at Morgan, “need to eat more because