Page 36 of The County Fair Queen

Rivers talked to the crowd for a while, hyping both the festival and myself. As the audience let out another thunderous round of applause, he handed me a small pair of scissors. Having grown up around this all my life, I knew what was expected of me. I gave the onlookers a classic beauty-queen wave—hand shelled, wrist flicking slowly, my elbow unmoving.

"Thank you," I called out to them as a familiar sensation of warmth spread across my cheeks. As the crowd's applause roared out like a pack of baying wolves, I closed my eyes, soaking it all in.

God, I'd missed this.

"Let the muscadine madness begin," Rivers called out, guiding my hand toward the ribbon. He held on as I slashed throughthe fabric, his fingers like static against my skin. A stagehand grabbed the scissors from me, and the group of people congregating on stage dispersed, making their way into the crowd. When it was just us, Rivers stroked my cheek. "Thank you." His lips touched my forehead, and it was like someone had thrown a torch into a barrel of oil. Explosions. Fireworks sparkling in the sky.

"What was that for?"

"I'm just happy I got to be here for this." He pointed out at the crowd, half of them still standing in place, staring up at us. "Welcome home, Firecracker." Without invitation, he leaned in and pulled me against him for a hug. For the briefest of moments, I melted into him, and warmth spread through me as my edible kicked in.

Just as quickly as I'd fallen into the muscadine madness of it all, my senses returned. This was moving way too quickly. The way he'd kissed me—the frequency of his hugs—it wouldn't be believable to the viewers. We'd only been fake-dating for an hour, for God's sake.

I shoved him away and took a step back. My foot caught on a poorly placed cable, sending me tumbling backward. Trying to right myself, I swiveled midair, realizing it had been a terrible mistake when my face was smashed against the stage floor with an audible thud. The pain was insurmountable. It shot across my mouth and up the bridge of my nose. Unable to do much more, I ran my tongue against my teeth, praying I hadn't lost one in the fall. The last thing I needed was to look like a hillbilly on my own docuseries.

Rivers rushed to me, shaking the stage when he fell to his knees. He rubbed his palm up and down my back as he attempted to comfort me. Against my better judgment, I leaned in to the touch, seeking comfort the only way I could. Tears stung my eyes as I pressed my face against his chest.

"You're okay," he said, his voice low and full of concern. "I've got you." His hand was firm against my back, as if he was trying to press the sincerity of his words into me by brute force. "Can I take a look at it? I need to see how bad it is." I pulled away, wincing as my aching nose bumped against his jaw.

"Riv," I croaked. A bubble of blood spread across my opened mouth, and when I tried to exhale, it burst, painting both of our faces red.

Jesus actual Christ.

I'd just snot-bubbled blood all over my archnemesis as half of the town watched. I'd never be able to show my face again. His hand touched mine, and I flinched, worried he might vomit after the unintentional bloodbath. Instead, one arm looped around my back, the other sliding beneath my thighs. Effortlessly, Rivers lifted me, carrying me off stage.

"It's okay, I've got you, baby," he said, his voice barely even a whisper. I chose to let the endearment slide, because my nose was throbbing, and I could only handle one crisis at a time. Besides, it wasn't like he actually meant it. This was all just for the cameras. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I whispered, burrowing my face into his shirt. I knew I'd need to replace it later. I didn't even want to look to see how messy I'd made him.

"You're hurt," he disagreed, nuzzling his face into my scalp. I blinked my eyes, only to slam them shut seconds later when I realized the entire crowd surrounded us, staring on in horror.

"They're all staring."

"They don't matter. It's just you and me. I've got you."

Each step he took caused me to jolt, bumping my face against his chest. It was like someone was repeatedly smashing it with a sledgehammer. "Where are we going?"

"There's a medic station over by Minnie's. We need to get you checked out. You fell really hard." His hand gripped tighteragainst my shoulder. "You've got to be more careful, okay? I don't like to see you hurting."

I shook my head, regretting the decision when pain spiked in my nose. "The speech. You have to give your speech. We have to cut the stupid ribbon."

He chuckled softly as he rubbed his fingers up and down my ribs. "Already did it. You were right beside me, remember?" I opened my eyes and stared at him, confused. He'd already made the speech? "Yeah, we really need to have them take a look at you. I'm worried you might have a concussion. Between banging your skull last night and cracking your face open today, I'm surprised you can even speak."

***

It turned out that most of the blood had come from a gash on my cheek. Rivers offered to take me to the hospital for stitches, but the medic who bandaged me up arched an eyebrow at him, telling him it was just a scrape. I wasn't sure if Rivers actually had the authority to terminate a medical professional, but he didn't let a little red tape stop him from threatening it.

When the medic flung his hands up in exasperation and stormed off, Rivers and I hung back in the ambulance, our legs dangling over the edge. Across the square, Jordy, Beau, and my father took turns at the ring toss. Bathed in silence, I could almost forget about the pain and pressure in my face. I couldn't explain it, but it was almost like just having Rivers next to me, knowing he wasn't just at my side to play it up for the cameras… Well, the comfort it provided was better than any ibuprofen I'd ever taken.

"I'm really sorry you got hurt," he finally said.

Thanks to the edible and whatever the hell they gave me for pain in the back of the ambulance, I was at the beginning of atwo-hour ride of carelessness and confusion. I probably looked ridiculous with a bandage taped across the center of my face, but it didn't matter. The world was spinning around me like an oversized Tilt-a-Whirl, and once I stopped trying to hold on, every bit of my resolve left me.

"Want to make it up to me?"

"Yeah," he said, resting his hand on top of mine. We both stared down at it, like our flesh had fused and connected us together. "Can I?"

"You want to take me on the Ferris wheel?" I didn't know why I suggested it. I vaguely remember someone mentioning the ride earlier, but I couldn't remember who or why. There was also the fact that I was deathly terrified of heights, but with Riv, I felt like I didn't need to be. It was like I knew he'd wrap his big, strong arm around me and keep me safe.

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