The Reluctant Bachelorette (11 page)

Well, okay,
almost
everything else.

As the night wore on, Jake became her wooden post to lean on.
He stayed near her side. He made her laugh. He stood back when she talked to
someone else, and then stepped in to cover any awkward pauses. He kept her at a
safe distance from Sterling. He stared down Alec when things got uncomfortable.
And anytime someone asked her for a dance, he’d pull out his trusty deck of
cards.

Luke, on the other hand, didn’t approach her the rest of the
night.

T
wo days after the opening night
,
the footage appeared on the website.
Episode One
, Jessa called it.
Taycee typed in SheltersBachelorette.com, saw that it was there, and then
immediately closed the browser without clicking play. The probability was high
that if she ever watched any of the episodes, she’d never go back in front of
the camera again. Seeing her picture on the site was bad enough.

Business was slow, so Taycee spent most of her day organizing
and de-cluttering. When an order of vases arrived that afternoon, she carried
the box to her back room and placed one vase after another on the shelf with
robotic-like movements. With nothing else to do, she straightened the rows,
making all the vases uniform. There. Her mom would be so proud.

Her fingers drummed on the counter as she looked around. What
now? A bridal magazine sat in the corner, so Taycee grabbed it and flipped
through it, tearing out a few pages picturing beautiful bouquets that caught
her eye. She’d been keeping a scrapbook of all her favorites for years now with
the hope that someday she would get the chance to do the flowers for a large,
extravagant wedding. But right now, the dream of long flower garlands,
boutonnières, centerpieces, and gorgeous bridal bouquets was just that: A
dream.

Sure, Taycee had done a few smaller weddings over the years,
but nothing beyond a few simple bouquets and centerpieces. Those who could
afford more impressive displays always went to the larger, more established
floral companies in Denver. Someday, though, she’d make a name for herself in
the wedding industry. She would.

Bells jingled and Jessa’s voice rang out, “Tace, you here?”

“In the back.”

Jessa burst into the room, wearing several bracelets that
clinked when she threw hear arms around Taycee. “I’ve been trying to call you
all day! Did you watch it yet? You were awesome! Our traffic is through the
roof, and we’ve already earned more on voting sales than even I had
anticipated. It’s crazy!” Jessa let go and clapped her hands together
gleefully. “I knew you’d make the perfect bachelorette. Or I should say ‘The
Barefoot Cardshark.’”

“The what?”

“It’s the nickname people are calling you on the site.”

“Oh.” Taycee didn’t know whether to be flattered or
embarrassed by that. It sounded . . . well, ridiculous. She shut the bridal
magazine and pushed it back to the corner. “I’m really glad for the sake of the
town, but honestly, Jess, I’m so nervous about it all. Going out with ten guys
during the next two weeks seems so wrong and awkward to me. Knowing that
everything I say and do will eventually be viewed by whoever wants to watch it
on the internet makes it even worse.”

 The bracelets clinked again as Jessa hopped up on the
counter. “You spent several hours in the same room with twenty-one guys and now
you’re worried about ten individual dates? Pshh, you’ll be fine.”

If only Taycee shared her confidence.

“Speaking of which, who do you want the lucky ten to be?”
Jessa said.

“So long as it’s not Luke, I really don’t care.” But that
wasn’t entirely true. Miles and Jake would probably be her top choices. Greg
would be fine also. Sterling and Alec, her last—next to Luke, of course.

“Sorry, girl, but Luke isn’t leaving anytime soon. Based on
the voting and discussions going on so far, he’s one of the favorites. Jake’s
up there as well. Why do you want him off anyway? You two looked like you got
along just fine the other night.”

“He was supposed to be un-charming and try to get voted off,”
Taycee muttered.

“He wasn’t.”

“I noticed.”

Jessa pursed her lips as she studied Taycee. “When you two
danced, I’m telling you, sparks flew.”

Sparks? As if. Maybe from Taycee, but definitely not from
Luke. He was spark-less. For him, the highlight of the night had probably been driving
Lumpy to The Barn and back. “It’s all an act, Jess. He likes to be contrary. I
told him I hoped he’d get voted off, so he’s doing everything he can to stay on
the show—exactly what he used to do when we were younger. It’s like he hasn’t
matured at all in the last ten years.”

“He looked pretty mature to me.”

“Trust me,” said Taycee. “He doesn’t care. He never has. I just
. . . want him off.”

Jessa’s expression turned soft. Sympathetic. Possibly even
pitying. “He’s an idiot then.”

Taycee would have laughed, but it would have sounded fake. The
kind of laugh where you tried to pretend you didn’t care but really did—one
Jessa would see right through. Her friend was right about one thing though.
Luke was far too likeable and would most likely remain on the show for a while.
Not okay.

It was time to get serious and come up with something better
than a few yards of manure to get him voted off. But what?

When the morning sun peeked through the blinds, Taycee’s head
pounded from thinking and worrying and stressing over how to get Luke off the
show. She mashed a pillow over her face and groaned until her cell phone rang.
She’d barely said hello when Jessa’s voice shouted in her ear, making her
wince. What had Jessa said? Something about news or an interview or something?

Taycee held the phone away a couple of inches. “Come again?
And not so loud this time?”

Jessa slowed her words, but the volume was just as loud. “Both
KDVR and 9NEWS want to do an interview about the show and the charity event
behind it!” she squealed. “I can’t stop shaking I’m that excited.”

It was enough to get Taycee moving. She sat up and scooted
back against the headboard. Wow. Less than a week into the show and already
Jessa had managed to scrounge up media coverage. How did she do it? “Jess, that’s
awesome. When do they want to interview you?”

“Me?” Jessa laughed. “No, they want to interview
you
.”

“What?” Suddenly the news didn’t sound so great after all. In
fact, it sounded the opposite of great.

“Why would they want me when they could interview the
bachelorette?”

Silence fell as Taycee digested this bit of info. Two news
programs wanted to interview her. Not Jessa—Taycee. In front of real,
professional cameras on real live TV. There would be no do-overs. No take
backs. No “Can I rephrase that?” requests allowed. Granted, the bachelorette
show really didn’t give her those options either, but this was different
somehow. Scarier. Actually, petrifying was a better word.

“Hello? Are you there?” Jessa’s voice came again.

Ever so slowly, Taycee lowered the phone, pushed “end call,”
and set it down. Then she got up and walked into her bathroom. When her phone
started to ring once again, she closed the door. It was time to get a new
phone, along with a new number.

A number she would never, ever, EVER give to Jessa.

The votes have been tallied and the top ten chosen! In no
particular order, they are as follows:

Greg Jones, from Greensboro, North Carolina

Jake Sanford, from Sacramento, California

Sterling Montgomery, from Austin, Texas

Jason Sparks, from Tifton, Georgia

Luke Carney, from Shelter Springs, Colorado

Alec Jamison, from Rutherford, New York

Miles Romney, from Blackfoot, Idaho

Rhett Cox, from Gilbert, Arizona

Kent Burton, from Lafayette, Indiana

Gavin Spencer, from Spokane Washington

Congratulations guys! Now let’s see what our bachelorette has
to say about this news:

Taycee’s fingers tapped lightly on the keys as she eyed the
list yet again, hoping it had somehow changed, but Luke’s name was still there.
As were Alec’s, Sterling’s, and Gavin’s—four people she never would have chosen
on her own.

Rats.

Really, she had no one to blame but herself. Jessa had given
her the chance to take control and Taycee had turned it down. Why couldn’t the
viewers read her mind? C’mon, people. Alec? Really? The guy was flat out
conceited. And Gavin? He didn’t like games, small towns, or nature. Hello! Did
they not read the profile Jessa had written about Taycee on the site?
Apparently not. Either that or there were a lot of people who took the theory that
opposites attract to a whole new level.

Oh well, whatever. Taycee could survive a few bad dates, but
Luke was a different story. In fact, she’d happily clip another mic to her
shirt and answer whatever additional questions Rachel Snyder from 9NEWS threw her
way if it meant avoiding a date with Luke. Just thinking about it made her feel
like she’d stepped on an ant hill and only just now realized tiny black bugs
crawled all over her skin.

Taycee stared at the monitor, feeling completely uninspired.
Just write your thoughts, Jessa had said, as if it would be easy. But it
wasn’t. Probably because Taycee’s real thoughts would go something like:
Playing
speed was fun and all, but I’m really not interested in dating anyone right
now. And Luke, feel free to head on back to Ohio.

The screen remained blank. Taycee scratched her head. Gnawed
on her lower lip. Started to bite a fingernail until the image of Jessa’s glare
overrode all else. No biting manicured nails. Fine. Okay. She got it. Taycee
sighed and did the only thing left to do. She wrote some truth and combined it
with a lot of rubbish.

The ration of twenty-one guys to one girl is something most
girls would be ecstatic about. But not me. Last night, I was flat-out intimidated
and had it pegged for the most uncomfortable night of my life. I’ve never been
great at entertaining, nor have I ever been the life of the party, and I
worried I’d flop big-time. But, as it turned out, I had nothing to worry about.
Each bachelor accepted me for me, which turned an awkward night into one of the
most memorable nights of my life. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of
people to spend the evening with.

For those bachelors who won’t be staying, I had a blast and
wish you all the best in whatever comes your way. To you viewers who watched
and voted, THANK YOU!!! I am obviously in good hands because you did a fabulous
job picking the top ten. Some great guys are in that group. Rhett, with your
mad break-dancing skills. Kent, and that hilarious episode with the punch. (So
sorry—hope it comes out!) Miles, and your rodeo stories. Greg’s trusty pen. Jake,
and your cards. Sterling. Jason. Luke. Alec. Gavin. You guys all rock.