#sweetsat or Sure, I'm a warm body

Welcome back to Sweet Saturday Samples!  This is from my current work in progress. I don’t have a good title for it yet, so suggestions are welcome.

“Aunt Penny! What’s got you all worked up?” Dad asked, raising his soda.

“I need Joshua.”

As the sound of his name, Joshua jerked his attention away from the woman on the beach. He tried to focus on Aunt Penny, but his gaze strayed to the solitary canoe-er. At least, his mirrored glasses hid his shifty focus.

“We’re short a racer.”

“But—” Joshua was cut off before he could explain his absence of skill with anything related to water sports. After four years of swimming lessons, the instructor had given him a certificate of participation and asked him to get private lessons somewhere else.

“Don’t worry. Sydney can do all the work. She carried Colin along anyway.” Aunt Penny had latched onto his wrist and was already dragging him along the sand. Her grip such that any protest would result in a pretty good snake-bite. “All she needs is a warm body.”

Warm body? In that case, he’d be happy to help. His brain provided several suggestions, none of them involving the lake.

“Next wave line up!” from the announcer drowned out the good luck wishes from his dad. He’d more than luck to come out of a canoe race alive.

“You take the front. Sydney can steer.” Penny shoved him forward and he stumbled in the sand, then kicked off his leather sandals. “This is Joshua.”

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