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The crowd went crazy.
Rachel opened the envelope and pulled out the names of the winners. “The two people who ran the most miles this year are”—she looked at the paper—“Chet Endicott and Meghan Malone!”
Meg froze. Her heart pounded. She had never given a thought to winning. She ran to raise money because she ran every day anyway. Blending in was her MO, not going up in front of everyone at one of the biggest events of the year.
“You won!” Baylee jumped up and down beside her. “That’s awesome.”
“Go get your prize, you two,” Drew said.
Chet must have sensed her hesitation. He moved his hand from her waist and tucked her hand in his. “Come on. I got you.”
With a shaky nod, she walked up to the stage with him. The crowd still made noise, a few guys from the fire department hollering for Chet.
Meg stood rigidly but Chet acted as if he was born to be in front of a crowd. He gave Rachel and Hannah a hug and accepted the envelope Rachel offered. He leaned into the microphone. “Thanks everyone!”
He turned to Meg and lifted their hands in the air causing another wave of excitement from the crowd.
“We are going to get the music going again,” Rachel said, as Chet and Meg left the stage. “Lots of hard work has gone into each booth here tonight so I want everyone to make sure they visit every single one. And…don’t stop there. Support your local businesses every day!”
The music started up again. Some people turned to work their way back toward the festival area, while others organized themselves for a line dance.
“You okay?” Chet whispered into Meg’s ear. They’d wandered behind the stage where it was a bit more private. Rachel had her back to them, talking to someone.
“Yeah. Sorry. I just wasn’t ready to go up on stage. That’s not my thing.”
“I gathered as much. You did great though.” His lips brushed her cheek.
Chet held up the envelope. “Look at it this way. We won a free dinner and dessert.” He raised an eyebrow. “You ready for a real date out in public?”
Meg smiled at him. She leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on his lips, lingering for a moment to soak in the warmth of his mouth against hers, the sense of coming home every time she was near him. “Yeah. I think I’m ready.”
Chet blinked. She’d surprised him just like she’d intended.
Rachel turned toward them, oblivious to what had just happened. “I can’t thank you two enough. You went above and beyond with how much you ran.” She lost her grip on her umbrella and it fell to the ground, rolling under the stage.
“I’ll get it.” Meg crouched down and reached under the stage.
“You don’t have to do that, Meg!” Rachel protested. “You’ll get all dirty.”
“So, Big Brother.” Eva’s voice floated down to where Meg was crouched on all fours. “Just saw that kiss. Looks like things went the way you wanted with Meg and the running plan.”
Running plan? What running plan?
“It was nice of you to help out with that, Rachel,” Eva continued.
Meg grabbed the umbrella and backed out from under the stage.
Eva blanched.
Chet ran a hand down his face, then glared at his sister.
“Gotta go,” Eva said, and fled.
Rachel took the umbrella, gave Chet a somber look, and left them alone.
Meg frowned as she turned toward Chet. “Is there something you want to tell me, Chet?”
The happiness of a moment ago was gone.
