Page 44 of Things Good Girls Don't Do (Rock Canyon, Idaho 1)

“All right, folks, we are going to turn our final decision over to our wonderful judges, Gracie McAllister, Kirsten Winters, and Daphne O’Neal.” The crowd applauded the three women, and after ten minutes of deliberation, and some really bad jokes on Harold’s part, Gracie handed him an envelope.

“My queen,” Harold said, bowing to Katie, “would you like to help me announce the winners?”

Katie stood up gracefully and moved forward, accepting the white envelope Harold held out to her. “Thank you, Harold, I’d be delighted.” She pulled out the little card and after looking at it for a moment, spoke into the microphone with a smile. “The second runner-up is Ms. Lindsey Lawrence.”

Applause and whoops sounded to Chase’s right and he leaned over to ask Becca, “So what do the winners get?”

Becca shrugged. “Probably a gift card to get their nails done or something.”

“Lindsey, here is your gift certificate for a free pedicure at K.C.’s Salon. I’ve heard the place is fabulous,” Katie joked, hugging the younger girl. “Congratulations.”

Harold hugged the girl, who looked like she was going to start weeping at any moment, and helped usher her over to the winner’s side of the stage. “Wasn’t she outstanding, folks?”

Once the applause for the distraught girl quieted, Katie called out, “First runner-up for the crown, who will take over if our queen cannot fulfill her duties, and the winner of a dinner for two at Stampede Pete’s Steak House is . . .”

Chase asked, “Is that place any good?”

“I wouldn’t know; I don’t like red meat, but it’s always packed when I drive home,” Becca said.

“Maggie Palmer! Congratulations!” Katie said as a frowning girl allowed Katie to hug her. When Harold came over to walk her across the stage, the girl brushed past him and stomped her spiked heels as she disappeared behind the curtain.

Harold, collecting himself, said, “Well, folks, there’s all kinds of queens out there. Queen Bees. Evil queens. Drama queens. Katie, why don’t you announce our winner and we’ll see what kind of queen she is.”

Chase clapped along with everyone else, thinking that if he got the chance to take Katie out on a proper date, he would take her to that steakhouse. If she was interested, that is, and after the things she’d said to him on the way to the pageant, he had a suspicion she would be.

“And now for the winner and your next Canyon Queen . . .” Katie smiled as she announced, “. . . Jenny Andrews!”

Jenny screamed and jumped up and down in her heels excitedly until a loud snap echoed through the large auditorium. With her arms spinning like a windmill, she toppled over into the contestant next to her. That girl grabbed the next contestant, Marissa Channing?

?s dress, as she fell, ripping the fabric to reveal the poor girl’s corset-clad upper body. Struggling to her feet, she wrapped her arms around herself and hobbled off the stage wailing as the crowd roared with laughter and sympathetic cries. Jenny scrambled to her feet and, with her face in her hands, limped from the stage on her broken heel after Marissa.

Katie, shoving the microphone at Harold, followed the distraught girls off stage. Harold stood red-faced, trying to control his chuckles. Finally calm, he cleared his throat, and said with a straight face, “Did I mention how graceful they were?”

The guffaws from the audience started all over again, especially from Becca, who was howling beside Chase. “What did I tell you? Drama and laughs!”

“Yeah, you did,” he said, standing with a smile. “I’m going to go backstage and see if I can catch Katie.”

“Oh, give her a kiss for me,” she said, pursing her lips and smacking them together.

“Thanks for coming out tonight, folks, and hope you enjoyed the excitement! See ya next year,” Harold said as people started to get up.

Chase laughed and started toward the stage, rounding along the edge and through the people moving about. Suddenly, a hand grabbed his arm just as he was about to make it backstage, and he turned to face Steph.

“Oh hey, Steph, I was just heading back to see Katie.”

Steph’s look wasn’t friendly. “I don’t know what your deal is, but you need to leave Katie alone. She’s too good for you.”

Chase was surprised by Steph’s outburst, and he suffered a severe case of déjà vu. How many times had he been told he wasn’t good enough for something? A girl? A scholarship? It hurt, but he’d never let someone’s low opinion keep him from what he wanted. “Look, Steph, Katie is a grown woman, and if she doesn’t want to see me, I’m sure she’ll put on her big-girl pants and tell me.”

“Katie likes you. I can tell. But after the last scumbag she cared about crushed her into a million pieces, I told myself I wasn’t going to let her get hurt again. So you’re going to leave her alone before she gets attached and you break her heart,” Steph said.

Chase was caught between anger, respect, and excitement. He was pissed that Steph had the nerve to tell him to stop seeing Katie, but he could understand it. She was just protecting her best friend. However, if she was worried that Katie had feelings for him, that meant Katie had said something, right? He liked the thought of Katie telling her best friend she was into him; a shock in itself, but there it was. He didn’t know what was going on with them yet, but he wasn’t going to put up his hands and step back from Katie just because Steph didn’t like him. Forget playing nice; he was all for being cool with her, but he wasn’t going to take shit from someone when he didn’t deserve it.

“Look, Steph, I get that you want to protect her, and I swear I will do my best not to hurt her. But you’re not going to dictate my life or Katie’s.”

He didn’t give her a chance to reply, and she didn’t stop him as he walked away. He wanted to see Katie and find out if there was something to Steph’s observation. Were Katie’s feelings stronger than she’d let on?

And why did that please him so damn much?

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