Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Thank God for Liz and naked pizza. Between the two of them, not only had they managed to demolish a whole pie, a salad, and an order of garlic knots, but they also created a seven-year business plan including marketing strategies and financing options that impressed the hell out of even him.
Partly because they’d been naked while working on it and partly because Liz had indeed managed to make revenge a key portion of the program.
God, he loved her.
Loved her with every fiber of his being. Even the fibers that found her exasperating and bullheaded. The very fibers they were planning to use to spark their plan.
He did not, however, love her going all self-sacrificing and potentially ruining her chances in the big leagues. But he did agree that they had a tight window and that missing this opportunity might put not only Crawford’s, but also Cloverfield, in jeopardy.
It hadn’t taken long for it to all come together.
A few texts between sessions of business and pleasure Sunday morning, a clandestine meeting, and there they were, at the Flurry Fest bonfire late Sunday afternoon.
Liz assured him it would be well-attended, plus it fell on a date their co-conspirators found to be surprisingly fortuitous.
Carson tightened his arms around Liz and she leaned into him, resting her head back onto his chest. His heart squeezed with the familiarity of it all, and he wanted nothing more than to ensure this was the first of many similar instances.
First, however, they needed to blow everything to hell.
Dropping a kiss on the top of her head, he snuggled closer under the guise of romanticism. “Are we good?” he murmured.
“Oh, yeah. We’ve got the Misty Meadow Meddlers over there sipping hot chocolate,” Liz whispered back, directing her gaze to Clem, Maya, and Davis where they stood on the other side of the clearing in the middle of town.
“Trent and Em are over next to the pretzel stand with Arnold, Matty and Agnes, Walt and the rest of the town council are over there with the bonfire supplies, and my fellow duplicitous committee members are all over there staring at us like they’re waiting for us to start sucking face. ”
Carson chuckled and nuzzled her neck. “They probably are. Wasn’t Bea down for today?” They’d carefully assessed the schedule and the wagers. The only bets listed today were those who were expecting a declaration of love.
“You’re right. Sorry sucker,” Liz muttered.
Carson’s eyes took in the bevy of familiar faces, his gaze snagging on the cluster of furries standing next to Etta May and a couple he didn’t know who were decked out in Bigfoot-type suits of hair.
He hoped to hell they all kept their distance from the happily crackling flame.
Cloverfield didn’t need any of them going up in a blaze of glory.
That was his and Liz’s job.
“You’re sure you want to do this?” Carson asked.
“Oh, yeah. Commencing Operation Sweet Revenge in three…two…one…” she murmured.
And action.
Sucking in a breath, Liz stiffened and whirled around. “What do you mean, you’re leaving tomorrow?” she all but yelled.
Carson shrugged. “Just what I said.” He waited while several pockets of people edged closer. “I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“But what about me? About us?”
The conversations going on around the bonfire ground to a halt as all eyes shifted to Carson and Liz.
“Look,” Carson said, “I always said I was done with this place. You knew the score.”
“Yeah. But that was before.”
A worried-looking Clem hustled over and stopped beside them, placing a hand on each of their arms. “I’m sure whatever this is, we can work it out.”
Carson barked out a laugh. “With her? Not a chance.”
Liz’s hands flew to her hips. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what you think it means,” Carson bit back. “I cannot believe I thought you changed. You’re still the most pigheaded person I’ve ever met!”
“Yeah, well, look in the mirror, mister! You come waltzing back into town and act like we’re all supposed to kiss your ass because you’re some big hotshot. Newsflash—you’re not! You’re the same jackass who couldn’t find his way out of a spreadsheet if his life depended on it!”
Clem was joined by Maya and Davis. The latter scratched his head. “Um, you guys might want to take this somewhere else.”
Carson clenched his jaw and ignored him. Eyes locked in on Liz, he said, “Yeah, well, I can’t believe you’re still here in this little Podunk town, thinking you’ve made something of yourself!”
He watched Liz flinch, and Carson hated the doubt that flickered across her face. He didn’t want to include that last jab, but Liz insisted on it. Said it would not only sound believable, but that it would get the whole town’s dander raised as well.
He hoped they pulled this off fast enough that he didn’t get chased out of town by pitchfork-wielding townsfolk.
“That is it!” Liz screeched, poking him in the chest. “We’re done! If you ever try to set foot in this town again, I will find you and make sure a torn groin is the least of your worries!”
Carson winced. Although her speech was all part of the plan, he had no doubt that she would, in fact, make good on her threat should he screw things up again.
“I wish you’d never come back here!” Liz shouted.
“You and me, both!”
They stared at each other for the span of several heartbeats, the crackling of the fire the only sound, before Liz let out one final screech, turned, and stomped off toward Trent and Emily.
Carson watched as they led her toward the parking area of the coffee shop. While Liz initially wanted to stick around, they both agreed he’d be the better actor in the situation. Liz was just as likely to stop halfway through and rub it in their faces. Then where would they be?
“Dude,” Davis said to Carson in a low voice. “What the hell? I thought things were going well.”
Wow. Davis really made that sound genuine. A small part of Carson felt bad for not clueing Davis totally into the plan, but the larger part of him knew it was for a good cause. He didn’t know how much Davis would be able to keep from Clem or Maya
“Yeah, well, things change,” Carson said.
“Are you really leaving tomorrow?” Davis asked, confusion on his face as he looked at Maya then back at Carson.
Maya slapped Davis in the chest. “Is that really the important thing right now?”
Davis rubbed his chest. “Yes?”
Maya rolled her eyes. “Men.”
“What?” Davis asked. “Why the hell wouldn’t I be upset that my friend is leaving?”
Maya winced. “When you put it that way…”
“I don’t understand.” Clem frowned, her expression one of deep thought. “Where did we go wrong?”
“You went wrong thinking those two hotheads would ever get back together,” Walt said. “Pity it didn’t happen next Tuesday, though. That was my pick.”
“I had tomorrow!” someone else called out.
“At least you all got it half right,” an older woman near Walt said. “I thought he was gonna propose today.”
“So who won?” Etta May asked.
Clem held up her hands. “People, please! Be sensitive. There are tender hearts involved here.”
“Not mine,” Carson said. He narrowed his eyes as if belatedly realizing what was being implied. “Wait a minute. Were you all betting on us?”
It was as if everyone took a sudden interest in their surroundings. People stared up at the clouds, down at the ground, into the bonfire. Everywhere but at Carson.
Davis’s eyebrows drew together in confusion, and he opened his mouth.
Carson gave his head the slightest of shakes, trying to silently prevent his friend from giving up the whole gig.
Davis’s mouth rounded slightly, and his expression morphed from one of despondence to one of understanding. “Yes. Yes we were. We shouldn’t have, but we did, and here we are.”
Phew. He hadn’t wanted to let Davis in on their entire plan for fear he wouldn’t be able to keep a secret, but between Matty’s entry and Carson’s earlier No matter what you see today, play along. I’ll explain later text, Davis was getting enough of the gist to keep the act going.
“It was a crappy thing to do, and we’re sorry,” Davis added a little louder. “But a deal’s a deal. We should definitely make good if someone bet on a breakup by eight p.m. tonight.”
Carson controlled his smile and worked to keep his frown firmly in place. Yep. They definitely should. “Well, let’s hear it!” He made sure to let his exasperation out in full force. “Who’s the lucky winner?”
“Matty?” Walt said, staring at his phone. “Well, if that don’t beat all.”
It was as if Carson felt the crowd’s bloodlust dissipate.
Yep. Matty was the right choice. They debated putting their own names in the pool for today but decided someone might see it and suspect something was up.
Same with Trent and Emily, since they were also in on the whole thing.
Liz hadn’t wanted to scar her niece or cause Trent to follow through on his threat of bodily harm to Carson.
She’d been sure to ream them both new ones for their original roles, however.
Matty was a different story. No one would ever suspect him of being part of their subterfuge. Carson always said the guy was underestimated. Now, if he could pull off this last little bit…
Carson watched as Matty emerged from the crowd and shrugged. “Sorry, Car-man. But a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do.”
Perfect.
“I can’t believe it.” Carson shook his head, feigning disappointment. “Et tu, Matty?” He sighed. “Well, I hope you’re all very happy with yourselves.”
“I know I will be,” Matty said. “How much did I win?”
Davis pulled out his phone and tapped the screen several times. His eyes widened. “Twenty-five thousand.”
A few whistles echoed through the crowd accompanied by murmurs of disbelief.
Carson knew how they felt. He knew the Liz-Carson-Will-They-Won’t-They Betting Pool had blown up, but he didn’t know it blew up to the tune of twenty-five thousand dollars.
“What are you gonna do with the money?” someone shouted.