Page 58 of The County Fair Queen

Preston gave me an acknowledging nod. "Let's go find your boyfriend."

Resisting the urge to remind him that Rivers wasn't my boyfriend, I grabbed my father's hand and tugged him forward. We walked across from Minnie's, down the red brick road. We'd only made it a few steps beyond Foote's Feet when a man called out my name.

Riv.

I whirled around, excited to see his familiar face. His perfectly sculpted beard. His big brown eyes and unexplainably long lashes. The dimples in his cheek when he smiled at me and said…

"Phillip Fletcher?"

It was a man, just not the one I was hoping for. He was wearing black slacks with a matching button-down shirt. On the shirt, he had a fabulous little broach in the shape of a star.

"Oh, Christ," Preston grumbled, flinging his hands into the air.

"That's a pretty broach," I said to the man. The painkiller had finally kicked in, and I was feeling light and loose. "And what a cute little hat," I added, thumping the bill. The man reached up and slapped my hand away.

"Phillip Fletcher?" he asked again.

I shook my head. "Firecracker. Phillip Firecracker. At your service." Holding the tail of my imaginary skirt to the side, I offered the man a curtsy, twirling my hand grandly in front of me. "Would you like an autograph or something? I don't have apen on me, but if you can help me pull off this bandage, I can probably sign it in blood.

The man stared at Preston, who's face had turned the darkest shade of red imaginable. "Is he okay?"

"Well…" Preston said, offering him a shrug.

The man reached to his waist and pulled two metal bangles from his belt clip. They jingled and jangled against each other as he unfastened them and placed one around my wrist.

"Listen, dude," I said, yawning loudly in the man's face. "Those are super pretty, but they don't really go with my ensemble. Brenda… or Carole… or maybe it's Tasha? Honestly, I'm not sure. Everyone else keeps calling her Bernadette, but that's a hideous name. Anyway, she's gonna be really mad if my accessories clash with my outfit."

"I'm sure," the man deadpanned, snapping it shut around my left wrist.

"I'm gonna be on TV again," I said, beaming with pride. "I'm gonna be a star, and then Brian O'Hare will rue the day he snubbed me." I eyed the man up and down. "You're kind of hot in a hillbilly sort of way. You wanna be on TV with me? We can go find Brenda-Tasha-not-Blanche-but maybe-Carole, and she'd be happy to let you do a cameo." He arched an eyebrow at me before turning me around and bringing my hand behind my back. The man's skin was rough, hardened, and callused. "You should look into getting some exfoliant. Your hands are super scratchy. Anyway, what do you think? You wanna be on my show?"

"Is he trying to bribe me?" the man asked my father.

"He's just a little out of it because of the pain meds they gave him. You ain't gotta arrest him for public intoxication."

"I'm not drunk," I argued, because I wasn't. "I'm just a little high."

"Ah, hell," Preston said, closing his eyes and sighing heavily.

"They gave me something super strong in the ambulance. I'm pretty sure my director roofied me, too. It's a good high, though. You know? Subtle. I can function." I scoffed at him. "I'm not an invalid, you don't have to hold on to my wrist like I don't know how to walk on my own." The man's eyebrows knitted together, making it appear like he had a unibrow. It wasn't an attractive sight, but his eyes were pretty. Big and brown, just like my mayor's. "Hey, guy with the pretty broach and dreamy eyes? Have you seen Mayor Rivera around? I've been looking for him all my life, but I can never seem to find him."

"Oh, you'll see him soon enough, son," he said with a chuckle.

"Dammit, Bobby," Preston said.

"I don't have a say in the matter. He hit the man."

"He ripped a sign out of his hand and gave him a papercut. Phillip's the one with the broken nose. Look at him."

"We've got witnesses saying he started it," the man said. "I'm sorry. I don't have any say in the matter, buddy. Just give us an hour or so to book him. Then you can come on into the station, and we'll work on getting him bonded out."

"I'm already bonded," I said, unsure if he was talking about me, but not wanting to take any chances. Rivers may have been angry with me, but if this man was going to try to bond me with someone else, that might make Rivers sad. I didn't want that. Sadness didn't suit him. He was sunshine and warmth and every bit of happiness in the world. "Preston?" I wasn't sure if my voice was laced with insistence or fear, but the name cracked in my throat as it came out, like shattering glass. "Dad?"

Preston's breath hitched in his throat; a quiet, creaking, clicking sound.

"Dad?" I asked again. He had to know where Rivers was. I needed him to tell me so I could find him. So I could jump into Riv's arms and hug him and run my fingers through all that hair of his. So I could tell him I was sorry for upsetting him. Tell himhe had to forgive me, because I hadn't done any of it to hurt him. I just wanted to keep Beau's heart safe from harm.

"Phillip," my dad said as a new hand found its way to me, resting on my shoulder.

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