Page 109 of Always You (A Lilac Bay Novel)

CHAPTER 20

Iscanned the square, looking for any deviations from the plan. Everything looked pretty good. We were keeping it simple today. After all, it’d been pretty short notice. Lanterns and streamers and as many lilacs as we could find on the island. It wasn’t very glamorous, but it was us. The perfect background for our last hurrah as a reality show contestant.

We had a second shot. That’s why Heather Dale had called me personally. Garden Heights, the town in the Pacific Northwest, had been found to be paying people to go online and vote for them. Totally against the rules. And since we were the last town kicked out, we were back. One last chance. They’d aired our scavenger hunt footage in the second to last episode. It didn’t match up with the other finalist's challenge, but that was okay. At least we had the chance to show what we were made of one last time.

The footage from the festival aired as well, including my kiss with Andrew. I’d watched it at home alone, skipping the party at Cora’s, and stared at the screen, trying, in vain, to figure out what he was thinking in that moment.

“We’ll have to shoot the final segment live,” Heather had said on the phone. “It’s just a series of interviews with people from the town, what their experiences were like. We’ll show clips from the different episodes. It’s mostly filler, really, to give people the chance to cast their final votes.”

So they were on their way here right now. Gina and the camera crew and Heather Dale herself to conduct our interviews. The other town, Jackson, Maine, had already taped their segment, but they had a camera crew with them tonight as well. And after the interviews, Heather would go to a makeshift studio—the senior center gym, to be exact—to announce the winner in a neutral space. Either Jackson or us would get to celebrate live on the air.

“Heather Dale, huh?” Rebecca said, coming to stand next to me. “Have you thrown up yet?”

I held out my steady hand. “Nerves of steel, baby.”

“Did you kiss her poster on your way out the door this afternoon?”

“It’s not a poster. It’s more a shrine,” I deadpanned. “How are you?”

“I’m excited. I’m glad we get another shot.”

“Me too.” I had spent an hour on the phone with Gina earlier in the week deciding on the interview list. I wanted a mix of young and old, tourists and locals. A good cross section of our town. The question would be simple:what does this place mean to you?

“They’re going to get filthy before the show even starts,” Rebecca sighed, her eyes on the boys. They were all down in the grass, playing some game involving toy trucks and a soccer ball.

“At least it will be authentic,” I replied.

We watched them play for a few moments before Rebecca spoke again.

“You know I’m happy, right, Riley?”

I looked over at her, my beautiful baby sister. My sister who could have gotten a full ride to college with her success on the track. Who could have raced with the best of them, maybe even making a national team. My sister, who had stayed here, instead.

“I know that I didn’t live up to all of your expectations for me,” she said, as if reading my mind. “I know I disappointed you.”

“No! Rebecca, you never—”

“It’s okay. I know you only wanted the best for me. And I know that there’s probably some psychological reason that I stayed here and got married so young.” She shot me a sheepish smile. “Something about losing Daddy and Mom being such a mess—I was looking for security, right? That’s what a shrink would say.” She shook her head, her eyes going back to the boys, rolling in the grass. “Maybe they would have a point. But it doesn’t really matter, Riley. Whatever the subconscious reasons for my choices, I’m happy with them. I really am.”

“I know you are, Beccs.”

“I love being a mother. I love Jake. I love living here. I’m good, Riley. My life is good.”

I blinked rapidly, finding it hard to respond, but Rebecca was having none of my avoidance. She took my hand, squeezing. “And it’s good because of you. Because you stepped up to take care of me when Dad was gone. And because you came home when Mom couldn’t deal. Because you were always there for me. You’re a great big sister.”

Great, now I was going to cry. With Heather Dale about to arrive.

“You don’t have to worry about me anymore, okay? You get to make decisions for you now.” She squeezed my hand. “Promise me, Riley.”

Funny. It was just what Mom had said in her letter.

“I will,” I said. “I promise I will.”

“Good.” Rebecca leaned up to kiss my cheek. “Now go finish this out strong.”

Heather Dale was every bit as impressive in person as she was on TV. Maybe more so. She was gorgeous and personable and funny, and when she told me that she was impressed with my work I very nearly passed out.

But I had too much to do to get too star-struck. They were going to be broadcasting live from Lilac Bay, and it was my job to make sure that everything went off without a hitch. The production team had set up a huge projection screen in the middle of the square. The little stage for Heather and her interviewees was beside it. And the entire town was gathered in the square in front of them, stretching all the way to the marina, filling in the sidewalks and streets. Last hurrah indeed.