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“Yes, granddaughter,” Shay answered.
“Then I’m not surprised she’s brilliant. Dr. Mowak is an awesome guy. I know him, too. We’ve been—”
Kip’s phone chimed, and he brushed a thumb across the screen. Face erupting in a smile, he lifted a hand and waved across the expanse before looking back at them.
“I’m going to have to leave you guys to it for now. My wife needs some help with our kids. We have a two-year-old and a three-month-old.”
Tag grinned, appreciating how that explained his disheveled appearance. Kip executed a quick goodbye. In the time they’d been talking, more chairs and tables had been arranged, and the people still milling around the perimeter appeared to be doing so out of choice.
Laurel had disappeared, no doubt gathering information for the story she was writing about the event for the paper. Shay looped an arm through the doctor’s and said, “We should find our seats, Dr. Boyd.”
They moved away, and seconds later Emily was stepping up on the stage. When the crowd quieted, she announced Whiskey Cake and the band began strumming a popular patriotic country tune that immediately had the crowd singing along.
The event ran like clockwork, and before he knew it, Senator Marsh was taking the stage. Tag had seen the senator speak many times and knew he was a gifted orator.
Hand raised in greeting, he said, “Thank you all again for coming out here today. As your United States senator, there’s nothing I like more than talking about how much I love the state of Alaska. Because I know how much you all love it, too.” The crowd erupted in cheers and applause.
“Once in a great, great while I meet someone who I think might love it even more than I do.” More jubilant clapping. “I know, I know, I shouldn’t say that, but it’s important to be honest about this. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m happy to say that we’re all here today to put our support behind that someone. And he is soon going to be representing your district in the state capital of Juneau…”
He went on to recite Tag’s accomplishments and qualifications, and by the time he finished, Tag almost felt worthy to represent this crowd of people he liked, admired and respected.
“And before I leave you, I have one more bit of exciting information to share. Now, I didn’t intend to surprise Tag with this today. But I received the final confirmation from my assistant, Maura, just before I stepped up here. So I thought I’d share it with you all at the same time I share it with him. What do you say?”
The audience went wild. Like the angry clouds banking in the distance, that feeling of foreboding roiled more fiercely inside Tag. This was in addition to the already unpleasant sensations bombarding him: too-tight muscles in his neck and shoulders, jaw aching from smiling, and a tight, tension-filled chest. Campaign sickness, as he’d already begun referring to it in his mind.
Movement on the edge of the stage closest to him caught his eye. Before the figure even came into full view, he knew it was Kendall. And that’s when he knew what Maura had been going to ask him, what the senator was going to say. A hot spike of anger knifed through him along with the realization that the tidal wave was about to hit and he wasn’t sure he was going to survive.
Up until now, the rigors of this campaign had felt surmountable with Ally by his side. He’d allowed Bering, Hannah, Maura, Emily and Iris to make decisions because he’d trusted that each one was in his best interests, or more specifically, the best interests of his campaign. But this was not in his best interests. More to the point, it was not in Ally’s and certainly not in his and Ally’s.
And he knew that Kendall wasn’t doing this for him, not just for him, anyway. She was doing it for herself. She wanted something. Iris was right; she wanted him back. Now that Tag would be spending time in Juneau, rubbing elbows with the elite, she wanted to be by his side.
What would Ally think after Tag had assured her that Kendall was out of his life? Especially after what had happened last night. He’d all but broken up with her. But that wasn’t what he wanted. Not at all. He wanted her even though he knew it couldn’t work. And even though it couldn’t work, he didn’t want to hurt her. Frustration boiled inside him. Finally, he’d fallen in love, but instead of conquering all his problems it had created more.
