Stroke of Luck Read Online Free PDF Page A

Between competing in the eights and sixes, where he’s a competent rower, he’s being thrown to the wolves in the singles.”
    Annalisa nodded as if she had a clue what this guy was talking about. “Well, I was figuring on getting some shots of all the teams but focusing heavily on Buchanan’s group. Do you want anything special from my shots to go with any of your planned stories?”
    The writer nodded. “Come on—we can walk to the press center and I’ll tell you. We definitely want a ton of shots of Buchanan. Since he was only an alternate before the accident, we don’t have very much on file. Except from when he won the Medal of Honor, but I know the boss will want something less formal for this. Especially if he flops or is an unexpected hit.”
    Annalisa smiled. She could understand that, but she had a feeling about Robert and it had nothing to do with him flopping. She walked beside Wojtanik and pretended interest as he prattled on about all manner of things, all the while thinking about the things she’d felt when she kissed Robert the night before.
    All she’d intended had been an impetuous thank you. Who would have known that such an innocent little move on her part could set her blood on fire as if she’d touched a hot strobe light?
    After leaving Wojtanik, who’d headed to the reporters’ area to watch the race, Annalisa was still thinking about that little kiss and the way his hand had rested on her waist. She settled herself on the ledge underneath the bridge overpass above the competition venue. They’d been strong hands—not entirely unexpected, since they were attached to arms and shoulders that were roped with muscle from his hours and hours of work on the boats.
    Annalisa didn’t usually like being manhandled by men, but she hadn’t felt manhandled at all with Robert. She also hadn’t felt fear, even when he’d been yelling at her for falling into his boat—as if that had been her fault. She’d felt anger and a little embarrassment, but not manhandled.
    Back to the job at hand, she told herself. She was the only photographer here and that was a good thing. After thinking about it, she thought that had been the problem yesterday. There had been several shooters in the spot and one of them had probably nudged her the wrong way. Once she zeroed in on taking the shot, everything else tended to fade for her. It wasn’t surprising that she hadn’t even been aware of being pushed into a danger zone.
    That wouldn’t happen today. She thought the other shooters there were missing a prime spot. There were television cameras on rolling platforms that would cover the length of the course. There were a gaggle of still photographers positioned at the finish line for the shots of the bows of the boats crossing the tape. See? Her research had paid off. She knew which end of a boat was its bow.
    There were a few more cameras positioned at various spots along the course, but she was the only one who had chosen to go for the bird’s-eye view. She felt a shiver along her spine. There must not be a repeat of yesterday’s performance. But she’d taken every precaution this time. She’d left her bag with most of her equipment in it at the media center. She only had two Nikon camera bodies with her, one with a fast telephoto lens attached and one with a wide-angle lens for some fish-eye shots. With the two bodies, she could seamlessly switch back and forth.
    Buchanan’s group wasn’t scheduled to run until the fourth heat, so she was going to experiment with a couple of wide shots first, then use the telephoto lens for the money shots. From her position on the ledge, she could swing around and shoot the start of the races then it would only take a quick flip and she’d be positioned to catch the finish. She figured this spot would be the same one a sniper would choose. She laughed a little at that thought. She’d never compared herself to a sniper before. Since Robert had been an Army Ranger before