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Emphasis on the viable.
A week ago, Duke and I had decided to give up the fight, at least the fight our bodies had waged against our logic. Since then, we had hooked up no less than nine times. Because there were just some days that once wasn’t enough.
That wasn’t even counting the orgasms.
Was it dangerous? Absolutely. Did I care? Not even a little.
Okay, maybe a little.
But as hazardous as Duke was, he was safe in his way. The devil I knew. Keeping my enemy close and all that. Very close. Like, inside me close.
I must have had a look on my face because when I handed Daisy a frame, her smile quirked.
“What’s gotten into you lately?”
More like who’s gotten into me. I suppressed a snicker. “Nothing.”
“She’s been working with Evan for all this time,” Jo noted. “Did he finally make a move?”
I realized then that I hadn’t thought about Evan much in weeks. “Nope. Just in a good mood, I guess.”
“Suspicious,” Jo said.
“I got a new vibrator,” I lied. They didn’t have to know said vibrator had a pulse and was attached to my ex-boyfriend.
“Must be some device,” Daisy said on a laugh.
“Unlike some of us, mechanical peen is all I’m eligible for.” I slid a frame in and moved on to the next.
“Honestly, I didn’t think anything could put you in a good mood short of winning the election and running Duke out of town,” Jo said.
“Like Daisy said—it’s some device. I’d tell you where I got it, but I’ve got to gatekeep it for the single ladies.”
“Grant told me the poll numbers have the election neck and neck.” Jo picked up the smoker and gave our little friends a dose.
“One says he’s ahead,” I admitted through a streak of fear. “I’m spending half the week going door to door, which should be… interesting. Offering everyone honey should help, but I’m not gonna make it onto some of the town’s porches.” I shook my head. “Duke has so many advantages over me. Too many.”
“What happens if he wins, do you think?” Daisy asked.
“I’ll probably never leave the farm again, if I don’t die of an aneurism. Upside: I could haunt Duke, troll him until the end of time.”
“I mean it,” Daisy said, chuckling. “If he was here all the time? In charge of things?”
“I don’t want to think about it.”
“Sounds like there’s a chance he might win,” Jo said. “Might be time to consider it.”
“He can’t win. Think I’ll gain on him after the Fourth of July fair next week?” I asked. “I bet I’ll eat way more pie than him—I’ve been training for this my whole life.”
“Nobody could say you lack ambition,” Jo said.
“I know my argument for his estrangement hits home for a lot of people,” I said. “He’s not the kid who left here—he’s Other, and he brought with him a culture we don’t understand and don’t want. But he’s not me, and that’s enough for a healthy percentage of this town. Some of the fences that came down with the homeless shelter can’t be mended.”
“And then there’s Mayor Mitchell’s people,” Daisy added.
“They’ll never have me.” I shook my head. “I’ve just gotta outrun him. I wish I had more time. I wish…” I sighed. “I wish for a lot of things I can’t have. Just gotta work with what I’ve got.”
“I still wish you’d go for the jugular,” Jo said. “Especially with Nash back in town.”
“No,” I said without hesitation, knowing just how that would hurt him. “I might hate him, but I couldn’t do that to his family. It’s not their fault Duke’s an asshole.” I put back the last frame in the box and picked it up to stack it on the rest. “Looks like that does it, which is good. I’ve got to get up to the barn for campaign stuff.”
“What do y’all do in there all day?” Daisy asked, loading the truck with our bounty.
“Boring stuff. Make calls, organizing campaign merch and flyers, polling, social media. Then there’s stuff outside of HQ like meeting with donors. Though that’s not so bad. When I meet with Abuela at her restaurant, I get free fajitas.”
“Life could be worse,” Daisy agreed.
I pulled off my hood and started on my gloves. “Today we’re working on our Fourth of July campaign. Just got our shirts in, so we’ll work on distributing them along with buttons and stickers before the fair. I need to practice my watermelon seed spitting too,” I said in all seriousness, determined to outdistance Duke at the fair.
“Good luck and Godspeed,” Jo said as I headed for the ATV.
I waved over my shoulder, tightened my ponytail, and started the engine, racing for the barn in the morning sun. It would be a long day, capped off by dinner at Bettie’s for my local donors, where I could thank them and perhaps beg them for a little more money.
