Town Darling (22 page)

“Okay, break it up,” Ruger
muttered.  “You’re embarrassing me.”

Diesel broke off the kiss
and grinned at Casey, who hid her smile.  She had to admit, he was a handful. 
Casey remained outside the booth as the men in her line approached.  She
allowed each one to kiss her above the standard and even place their arms
around her.  Ruger remained only a few feet away and closely watched each man’s
hands.  Dina finally moved outside the booth as well.  Toward the end of the
hour-long kiss-fest, the men finally moved along.  Wiley approached while
looking at his watch and then smiled at the three women.

“Five more minutes,
ladies,” Wiley informed them.

Dina eyed hers and Casey’s
jars, which were filled with tickets and cash.  Casey and Dina exchanged
grins.  Ruger approached Dina and placed ten dollars in her jar.  She appeared
pleased, smiled, and kissed him quickly but warmly on the lips.  He then
approached Casey, grinned, and placed fifty dollars in her jar.  Casey smiled
as Ruger pulled her gently into his arms and kissed her passionately.  Casey
returned the kiss without hesitation.  Everyone surrounding the booth stared
with surprise, including Dina.  Ruger brook off the kiss, smiled lovingly,
kissed her hand, and then walked away.  Diesel glared at him, frowned, and
shook his head.

“Show off,” Diesel scoffed.

Casey appeared slightly
flustered.  Dina stared at her with her mouth hanging open and silently
questioned the kiss with her eyes.  Casey smiled and shrugged.

“One minute, ladies,” Wiley
informed them.

Casey casually leaned her
back against the counter and looked across the fairgrounds.  Vaughn patrolled
the nearby area while keeping an eye on the kissing booth and finally
approached her side.  Casey eyed him with some surprise then smirked.

“Business or pleasure,
Sheriff?”

Vaughn placed a ticket in
the jar and appeared to mock her with a look.  Casey casually straightened.

“All business, huh?”

“Consider it payback for
all the crap you’ve put me through,” Vaughn informed her.

Vaughn pulled Casey against
him and kissed her passionately and aggressively, startling her.  Her heart
raced as the erotic kiss sent shockwaves through her entire body.  He broke off
the kiss before she could react and released her.

“Have a nice day,” he
remarked with a smirk.

Casey hid her smile as
Vaughn left.  She couldn’t help but stare after him as her mind raced to make
sense of his actions.  She didn’t know what his game was, but she sort of
enjoyed playing it.  Dina leaned on Casey’s shoulder and dreamily watched the
sheriff walk away.  Melanie watched him leave as well and appeared disgusted or
possibly embarrassed.

“What was that all about?”
Dina asked.

“I doubt he even knows,”
Casey said and shook her head.  “But he’s one hell of a kisser.”

It was no secret.  In all
his years behind a badge, Sheriff Holt had never participated in the kissing
booth.  He was always image conscious, especially while wearing his badge. 
Wiley officially announced the closing of the kissing booth, collected all
three jars, and made himself comfortable at the counter to count the money and
tickets from each jar.  Melanie hovered over Wiley as he tallied up the small
fortune they’d raked in.  Dina excitedly clung to Casey’s arm as she
practically counted along. 

Wiley sat back in his chair
and smiled.  “We have Melanie at one hundred thirty; Dina at two hundred ten;
and Casey at four hundred sixteen.”

Dina jumped excitedly. 
Wiley appeared pleased, stuffed the tickets and money into one container, and
stood while looking at all three women.

“Nicely done.  That’s a new
record for the kissing booth.  Rest those lips until next year,” Wiley teased.

“Casey cheated,” Melanie
announced with hostility while lunging forward.

“What?” Wiley suddenly
demanded.

“Her friends put in twenty
dollars each, and there’s a fifty dollar bill in there from that one guy.  That
should only count as one,” Melanie protested.

“That’s not how it works,”
he replied.  “It’s all for charity--not ego boosts.”  Wiley gave a polite nod
and left. 

Melanie glared at Casey,
wrinkled her nose, and sneered.  “The day’s not over yet.”

Dina looked at Casey and
grinned deviously while raising her brows.  “Sheriff Holt has never
participated at the kissing booth before.  You must be special.”

The look on Melanie’s face
was priceless.  Her look turned hostile.  “Not that special,” she snapped with
a snort.  “He wants children.  Casey’s just an itch he’s scratching.”

“You bitch!” Dina gasped
with horror and attempted to hit Melanie as she walked away.

Casey grabbed Dina’s arm
and had to stop her from chasing Melanie.  “It’s okay, Dina,” she gently
assured her.  “We already hit her where it counts.”

Dina attempted to compose
herself, but she still had an unpredictable look of hostility in her eyes.

“Come on,” Casey
announced.  “The bachelor auction is about to start, and we don’t want to miss
it.”

T
he bleachers in front of
the stage were nearly packed for the bachelor auction.  There were a lot of
locals but also some visitors who just wanted to catch a peek at an authentic
bachelor auction.  It was actually the town’s way of balancing out the sexism
surrounding the kissing booth.  Now it was the women’s turn to objectify the
men in town.  Truth be told, the women enjoyed the bachelor auction possibly
more than the men enjoyed the kissing booth.  Most times, women bid on the guys
just so they could watch neighborhood men clean their houses.  Casey and Dina
found a spot off to the side near a tree, while the guys had already secured
their spot in the bleachers.  Wiley took his position at the podium off to the
side of the stage and looked at the large crowd with a pleased smile.

“Good afternoon, Darwood
Falls.”

“Afternoon, Wiley!” the
crowd yelled back.

“Oh, I can feel the love
here this afternoon,” Wiley announced with a chuckle.  “We’re about to start
our annual bachelor auction.  This year we have some fine new additions, and of
course, the old favorites.  Our first bachelor is new to Darwood Falls.  Let’s
have Diesel Mann on stage.”

Vaughn, Tucker, and
Mitchell suddenly exchanged looks from where they sat near the stage.  Diesel
jumped up from his seat while dumping his food onto Ruger’s lap, made his way
from the bleachers, and jogged onto stage.  Wiley eyed Diesel and possibly
thought the same thing as every other man in town.  There was a soft murmur
from the crowd, particularly from the women, to the brawny newcomer.

“Diesel is a
thirty-six-year-old ex-Marine.  He enjoys working out and--” Wiley hesitated
then read from the index card, “--good food.”  Wiley grinned and looked back at
the crowd.  “Should we start the bidding off at one hundred dollars?”

Diesel removed his shirt
and tossed it across stage.  His massively toned chest, muscular shoulders, and
six-pack abs were revealed to the crowd.  There was a round of gasps from the
women.  Numbers began flying up in every corner.

Vaughn shut his eyes and
groaned softly.  “I’m going to pretend I’m not here.”

“Huh, Jeannie’s even
bidding on him,” Tucker remarked.

Vaughn suddenly looked up
with surprise.  “That better be her money.”

Wiley was having a tough
time keeping up with the bids as the numbers flashed from around the
bleachers.  Casey and Dina looked at each other and exchanged smiles as Diesel
flexed his muscles in every thinkable way.  He was enjoying the attention,
which was evident from the grin on his face.  The bidding continued to climb as
the female chatter rose.  Ruger casually ate popcorn and appeared disinterested
in the spectacle.  Vaughn had his hand over his eyes and no longer watched.

“Two thousand twenty
dollars--going once, twice, sold to the lovely Jeannie,” Wiley cheerfully
announced.

Vaughn suddenly looked up
with horror on his face.  “What?  No, no, no.”

Tucker and Mitchell laughed
at Sheriff Holt’s reaction to Jeannie bidding on Diesel with his money. 
Jeannie jumped up and down excitedly.  Vaughn collapsed into his seat and
groaned lowly.  Diesel left the stage with a pleased smile and met Jeannie at
the payment table off to the side of the stage.  Casey and Dina excitedly
cheered him on.  The next few guys went for the usual purchase of a couple
hundred dollars.

“Next up, we have a former
resident returned home,” Wiley said cheerfully.  “Let’s hear it for Grey
Remington.”

Grey trotted onto stage,
smiled with some embarrassment, and waved.  He was obviously self-conscious
having to follow Diesel’s performance.  The crowd happily cheered to him.

“Grey is co-owner of our
antique shop due to reopen this summer,” Wiley announced.  “Many of you
probably remember him for his famous streak at the church picnic.”

Grey smiled at Wiley, raised
his brows, and pointed at him while laughing.  In Grey’s defense, he was only
fourteen at the time and did it on a dare.  The crowd was getting into Wiley’s
storytelling about the bachelors.

“We’ll start the bidding at
one hundred dollars,” Wiley announced.  “Do I hear one hundred?”

A few numbers raised. 
Despite Grey’s non-impressive physic, it was obvious he was more popular than
first imagined.  Everyone knew about the murder of their parents and possibly
wanted to get to know him a little better now because of the mystery
surrounding his departure.  Wiley continued with the bidding on Grey. 

Dina finally raised her
number.  “Five hundred.”

There was a round of gasps
from the crowd.  All eyes were now on Dina standing with Casey by the tree. 
Grey looked at Dina, smiled warmly, and blew her a kiss.

“We have five hundred.  Do
I hear five hundred and ten?”  Wiley banged the gavel and grinned.  “Sold to
our lovely kissing queen, Dina.”

Dina grinned at Casey, who
handed her the money.  Dina took the money and hurried to the desk near the
stage.  Grey met her there, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her.

Wiley watched them kiss
then laughed.  “Well, folks, I don’t think Grey will be a bachelor much
longer.”

Grey and Dina left the
payment desk and joined Casey by the tree.  Ruger also joined them with
Diesel’s box full of food. 

Grey looked around and
appeared curious.  “Where’s Diesel?”

“I haven’t seen him since
he went off with the lady who bid on him,” Ruger replied.

Several bachelors went up
for auction.  During bidding on the fifth bachelor, faint female moans were
heard.  Several people in the crowd looked around to the sound.  As the bidding
continued, the moaning turned to cries of ecstasy.  Wiley continued the bidding
but was obviously distracted and now looked around as well.  Vaughn and Tucker
were alerted to the sound, left their seats, and searched the area for the
source.  A loud banging came from the nearby, closed ticket booth followed by a
loud scream.

“Oh, God--yes!” came
Jeannie’s voice.

The sound suddenly
stopped.  Vaughn approached the closed ticket booth and was about to open the
door when Diesel casually walked out.  He eyed Vaughn with little emotion.

“What’s up, bro?” Diesel
announced.

Diesel walked past as
Jeannie appeared from the ticket booth looking worn-out and rumpled.  She
attempted to fix her hair and looked at Vaughn with some embarrassment.  She
gently cleared her throat and scurried past him.

“Sheriff--”

Half the town saw their
departure and stared after them with astonishment. 

Wiley’s mouth hung open. 
He gently cleared his throat and attempted a smile.  “I’d like to reiterate
that the bachelor auction in no way promotes prostitution,” he announced and
received several knowing chuckles.

Diesel approached Casey and
the others by the tree.  All four stared at him with shocked looks.

“What the hell was that?”
Ruger suddenly demanded.

Diesel took his food from
Ruger and gave him an irritated look.  “What?  She got her money’s worth.”

“You weren’t supposed to
service
the winner,” Ruger lashed out.  “It’s not
that
kind of transaction.”

“Oh?  No one told me that,”
Diesel remarked casually.  “Well, she was happy with the transaction.”

All four rolled their eyes
and groaned.  Sometimes Diesel was unbelievable.  That it didn’t bother him was
the most disturbing part.  The bachelor auction continued.  After Mitchell went
for the standard couple hundred, Tucker was finally up for bid.  The bidding
started at the usual one hundred dollars and rapidly escalated.  Young women
bid on him with fury.  His popularity hadn’t waned any in the last two years. 
Melanie was unusually silent.  It was obvious that ship had sailed a long time
ago.

“We have five hundred
forty--sold for five hundred and forty to Mrs. Ridgeway,” Wiley announced.

The mayor laughed and
patted his wife’s leg.  She seemed proud of her purchase.  Tucker waved to the
crowd and headed for the payment table to meet Abby.  Wiley consulted his sheet
and grinned with pleasure. 

“And last up is our fine
sheriff,” Wiley announced cheerfully.  “Let’s hear it for Sheriff Vaughn Holt.”

The crowd cheered for him. 
Vaughn reluctantly walked onto stage and stood tough.  His discomfort was
obvious but unfounded.  Who wouldn’t bid on the sheriff?

“For those of you who are
unfamiliar with our sheriff’s early years as a deputy; he was the only deputy
to successfully get Mrs. Wilson’s cat out of the tree,” Wiley informed them. 
“He was also the first deputy to fire his weapon while responding to a call.” 
Wiley grinned.  “Unfortunately for Mrs. Wilson’s cat, they were both on the
same call.”

The crowd laughed along
with Wiley.  Vaughn groaned, lowered his head, and covered his eyes.

“The cat was fine,” Wiley
assured them.  “Although his tail was a bit shorter.”

Vaughn was severely
embarrassed and attempted to leave stage.  Tucker and Mitchell grinned as each
grabbed an arm and escorted him back onto the stage.  The crowd laughed and
applauded.

“Our sheriff is just a bit
bashful, ladies,” Wiley informed them.  “So let’s make him feel better and start
the bidding at two hundred dollars.  Two hundred for the most important
position in town, if I may say so.”

Melanie grinned slyly and
bid on Vaughn.  Vaughn immediately frowned.  Abby playfully bid against
Melanie, allowing the price to escalate for their amusement.  The two women
smirked and played along for a few minutes.

“We have three hundred.  Do
I hear three twenty for our sheriff, who can shoot the tail off a cat at fifty
yards?” Wiley announced.

Abby finally stopped
bidding, allowing Melanie to claim victory.

“Three twenty?” Wiley again
announced.

There was silence from the
crowd.

Casey casually raised her
number.  “Four hundred.”

All eyes suddenly shifted
to Casey, who didn’t react.  Vaughn stared at her with some surprise. 

Melanie appeared flustered
and immediately held up her number.  “Four fifty.”

“Five hundred,” Casey said
without hesitation.

Melanie fidgeted and
appeared to consider her response.  “Six hundred,” she finally called out.

There was silence again. 
Several stares were now on Casey, who still showed no emotion while casually
leaning against her tree.

“Do I hear--” Wiley began.

“One thousand,” Casey
interrupted without batting a lash.

The crowd suddenly gasped. 
Wiley was equally surprised, although no one was as stunned as Vaughn was. 
Melanie was momentarily paralyzed by the large amount.  She looked desperate.

“Any more bids?”

“Fifteen hundred,” Abby
announced, breaking the silence and invoking loud murmurs.

Melanie appeared relieved
and smiled gratefully at her mother. 

Casey casually folded her
arms across her chest while leaning against the tree.  She showed no reaction
then responded, “Two thousand.”

The crowd continued to gasp
and looked back at Abby, who appeared tense.  Diesel, Grey, and Ruger casually
ate popcorn and appeared disinterested.

“Twenty-five hundred,” Abby
finally called out, her voice crackling.

Melanie excitedly clung to
her mother’s arm.  The mayor just stared at his wife with a stunned look.  All
eyes were again on Casey, including Wiley.  Casey casually held up her hand
showing five fingers.

Wiley appeared shocked. 
“Five thousand?”

Casey gave him a thumbs up
along with a tiny grin.  The crowd gasped and looked at Abby.  The mayor
suddenly jumped on his wife and held her down.

“Five thousand going once,
twice, sold to our town darling, Casey,” Wiley announced cheerfully while
laughing.

Vaughn appeared stunned and
stared at Casey with his hand propped on his gun belt.  The crowd clapped and
cheered.  Casey stole some popcorn from Diesel, flashed a smile, and headed to
the payment table near the stage.  Vaughn crossed the stage, hurried down the
steps, and met her by the table.

“What the hell was that?”
Vaughn demanded.

She didn’t bother looking
at him, but she knew his look was priceless.  “Payback for all the crap
you’ve
put
me
through,” Casey teased while smirking.

“You do realize you’re
buying a worker not the law,” he informed her firmly.

“I have a college degree,”
she said matter-of-fact.  “I think I know how these things work.”  Casey wrote
out a check and glanced at him.  “You know, I just saved you from a fate worse
than Melanie--her cougar mother.  Try kissing my ass a little.”

Casey paid the elderly
woman, June, at the table and turned to Vaughn with a smile.  “By the terms of
the auction, you’re mine from seven to three tomorrow,” she said with a look of
humor on her face.  “Be at my house dressed to work.  It’s going to be a very
long day.  Like ‘boot camp’ long.”