As for Catie, her foundation continued to grow, and as well as her New Zealand camp, she now ran two camps in Australia and was in the process of setting up one in the islands. It would require more logistics since the future attendees were scattered across various Pacific Islands, but if anyone could do it, it was Catie. She’d also been talked into appearing on a local television game show thanks to the huge charity donation up for grabs, and though she hadn’t won, her wry humor had made her a huge fan favorite.

Together, they’d been labeled the power couple of New Zealand sport, and they leveraged that power to support both Catie’s foundation and his work with the youth clubs.

Today, however, it wasn’t about them or about him—it was about Catie and the sleek, muscular power of her as she raced down the track in the finals of the one-hundred-meter sprint.

“Go, baby, go!” Danny was up on his feet now, yelling his encouragement even though he knew she couldn’t hear him down there.

Ísa and Sailor and their entire combined family—Jacqueline and Clive included—screamed beside him, as did the whole stand of Kiwi fans.

Catie was the wind, blowing past the finish line so fast that she was a blur on the big screen.

The entire stand erupted into wild chaos.

Danny’s grin ate up his whole face. He hugged an ecstatic Clive, then turned back to roar his joy for Catie as she stood bent over, well past the end of the track—where she’d finally come to a stop. Her chest heaved when she straightened to her full height, the silver of her racing blades gleaming under the lights. Her grin was dazzling as she pinpointed him in the stands, exactly where he’d told her he’d be.

Grabbing the New Zealand flag he’d secreted away, he threw it to her.

She caught it with ease, draping it around her shoulders as she raised a hand to wave up at the fans who were screaming their joy. Danny’s face ached, he was so damn happy for her.

When one of the camera crews went up to her, he looked at the big screen to make sure he could see and hear exactly what she was saying, not wanting to miss a moment.

“How does it feel to know that an entire country is celebrating with you?” the reporter asked. “You were the biggest trending topic in New Zealand after your spectacular time in the semifinals. Your win will have set the country alight.”

“I feel like I’m full of fireworks.” Catie grinned. “All those years of hard work, all the early-morning wake-ups and training sessions, it’s all worth it to be here today.”

“Now that you’ve achieved this dream, what’s next for Catie River?”