Chapter 6 #3
“Oh.” Lilian hadn’t realized he would be here for their practice. Would he be watching the entire time, judging if they were good enough to go forward on Sunday? Her stomach dropped at the thought. Luckily, Alex arrived, followed by Ian the Viking and Mr. Berscotta, their Scotsman.
Logan was the last to arrive. His crutches made his approach slow, but he still managed to look stylish with black Ray Bans covering his eyes and a trim five o’clock shadow across his jaw.
Logan, despite his more modern attire of sweats and a black band shirt, still had a dangling silver earring in one lobe.
Alex’s face soured at his approach, but she pushed it aside when Hawk opened the gate.
“Thanks again for coming,” she said to their small group.
The greeting was definitely what Lilian imagined a director’s tone to be, authoritative but friendly.
“I know it's extra time out of your week, but we want this to go well for everyone on Sunday. You all have your scripts?”
Everyone raised their papers in the air, and Alex beamed. “All right, let’s hit the stage!”
The faire grounds had eight stages for shows.
One strategically placed in each main area of the faire, with its own name to guide visitors to the show of their choice.
They were assigned to The Crown Theater, a small stage located near the front of the faire.
Not the best location when she was trying to direct people toward her bookshop, but it would at least catch people as they walked in.
Alex was a natural when it came to giving directions.
Her calm demeanor and knowledge of stagecraft came through as she set everyone in their places.
Since their play was a parody of a dating game show, it didn’t require much movement.
Lilian would sit off to one side, and the three men would sit in a line.
A wooden fence with a curtain sat between them to ensure she couldn’t see the mystery men.
“What about me?” Logan asked, taking in the setup. “I’m the host. I can’t sit for the whole performance; it will look weird.”
“Your ankle is broken, Logan,” Alex reminded him. “You should sit while we run through lines. Maybe for the performance you can stand, but we don’t want you to push yourself.”
“A podium. You should at least give me a podium for the performance.” Logan snorted. And Lilian suspected he would have complained about his placement, with or without the chair. “This production is going to be awfully dull if everyone is just sitting about.”
Alex’s face tightened at the complaint.
But before she could snap back, a voice called from the surrounding benches. “No standing!”
Lilian turned and saw Hawk sitting in the middle of the audience seating. His laptop open in his lap, eyes trained on Logan. “Especially you. We’ve already agreed to cover your medical expenses, so you are not going to hurt yourself any further.”
Logan’s lips pursed, but he didn’t fight the matter any further.
They ran through the play three times. Once with their scripts in hand and twice with minimal use.
The men all seemed to get into character easily.
It was second nature for them to adapt to their characters for the play.
Lilian could almost believe she was talking to Sir Debauchery or the Viking Odain Bloodlust. Even Logan, with his foot in a boot, convinced her he was the perfect pirate host as Captain Devlin Locke.
By their second run-through, her nerves eased.
All her hours of practice had paid off. She knew the words by heart, but the acting part still tripped her up.
No matter how hard she tried, she found herself smiling as David delivered a line.
He wasn’t the most polished actor out of their group; his accent dipped in and out, but his method of shouting each line with the utmost gusto worked to distract from his flaws.
Even Mr. Berscotta’s Scottish brogue made her grin from ear to ear.
“Sorry,” she said for the hundredth time, “I keep breaking character.”
“Keep it together,” Logan muttered under his breath.
Alex reassured her with a gentle, “It's all right.”
They looked at each other sharply, a silent battle playing through raised eyebrows and pinched lips.
In the end, Alex must have won because she quickly plastered the biggest smile on her face and turned toward Lilian.
“You're supposed to be wooed by these guys. The fact that you’re grinning is endearing. What you need to do is not lose your accent.”
“Right.” Lilian cleared her throat and tried again.
The third time they ran through was better than the previous two. No one glanced at their scripts, and even Logan looked satisfied.
“I think we’ve got the basics down,” Alex said.
“Tomorrow we’ll work on finessing our gestures—then I think we’ll be ready.
It will only get better with practice. So don’t sit on your lines and assume you have them down.
” This seemed to be pointed at Lilian and David, the most inexperienced actors in the group.
Lilian glanced at her watch. It was nearly five o’clock. She needed to get home and start dinner, since her parents would be coming back from chemo soon. While her mom usually had no appetite, her father was always famished from driving into the city and keeping her company.
When she glanced up, Hawk was still sitting on the back benches. Scrolling through his phone as he waited for the group to leave. He was a poor stand-in for the audience. Not once did he look up to watch them rehearse, and he didn’t even crack a smile when they delivered their jokes.
“Hey.” David’s voice came by her shoulder, startling her out of her thoughts. His backpack slung over one shoulder, and that dimple was back as he flashed a carefree smile. “Good job, are you sure you’ve never done this before?”
“What?” Lilian asked. “Act? Or go on a dating show?”
He snickered. “Act.”
The familiar heat of a blush scorched her cheeks at the compliment. “It was nothing compared to you guys.”
“Nah, I bet by next year you’ll be a full-time actor. Once you get a taste for the audience cheering, there's no going back.”
“Are you an acting student like Alex?” she asked.
“Me? No, I’m in veterinary school, actually.”
“For real?” Kansas State was well known for its vet school. She stared at David’s handsome face, expecting him to admit it was a joke, but he shrugged his large shoulders easily.
“Yep.”
“What year?”
“I’m starting my third.”
She gawked at the man beside her. Brains, looks, and he cared about animals. He was the entire package. “Wow. How—why did you get a job here?”
“Well, there was an advertisement looking for someone with horse experience. I grew up on a ranch, been riding since I was six. I thought they would want someone to help manage the animals, but when I came in, they assigned me as a knight. I already know how to ride; all they had to do was teach me how to joust, and here I am.”
She could already picture how it would play out.
A man like David walking in, already knowing how to ride.
All the Carlisles would have to do was throw him in a suit of armor and tell him to smile, and the women would absolutely lose it.
Still, the faire was a major time commitment for a newbie.
Did he really know what he was getting himself into?
“I bet you’re super busy with school and the faire,” she said.
“Yeah, but this is fun. And it's only a few weekends,” David answered as they walked toward the front gates. “Plus, I know the vet they have on call. I can sneak in some mentorship if an animal gets injured.”
If she hadn’t been swooning before, she definitely was now.
After they said their goodbyes, Ian and Mr. Berscotta escorted Logan across the grass toward their cars. Alex and David were next to leave, heading toward Manhattan. There were smiles and quick hugs, promises of practice the next day. Only one more rehearsal before the weekend.
Then it would be showtime.
As she watched the cars disappear down the long dirt road, Lilian lingered on the empty grounds.
It was rare to be alone on the faire grounds.
Usually, the place was alive with music, actors, and guests.
She let the quiet hang over her while enjoying the sight of the Flint Hills stretching out over the horizon.
The Flint Hills were already a beautiful area, but the openness of it all at sunset nearly took her breath away.
Kansas might not have any famous monuments, no ocean or mountains to attract tourists.
But the sunsets were one of the best kept secrets, the thing that put every other state to shame.
A person could look out across the flat plains for hundreds of miles and see the change in colors as clearly as an oil painting.
Especially now, when there was no one around. No cars. No visitors. All was quiet.
She could feel every breath she took. Appreciate the breeze brushing against her skin. In that moment, all her anxiety for the show and her mother slipped away. She felt at peace.
“Good job today.”
Hawk’s voice shook her out of the meditative state. She blinked, surprised that he was still around. When she turned, he was standing by the main gate, keys slipping into his pocket. Right. Lockup. Then his words finally registered, a compliment.
He’d complimented her?
“Thanks.” She eyed him, waiting for some kind of snarling demand to follow.
Instead, he nodded toward the empty field. “Can I walk you to your car?”
“I doubt anyone will mug me on the way.”
His lips tipped up in the first crack of a smile all evening. “I don’t know. The cows can be pretty aggressive out here.”
Lilian blinked. “Wow. Was that a joke?” As soon as the words left her mouth, she cringed. “God, that was so rude. I’m sorry. You were trying to be nice and…”
Hawk was already shaking his head. “No, don’t apologize. It’s all right, I know I have a tendency to say the wrong thing.”
She bit back her agreement. Hawk came up beside her, and somehow, they fell in step, walking toward the only two cars in the lot. Together. “Well, thanks. I really appreciate you giving this play a chance.”
“No problem. I think it will be a good addition.”
“Really?” Lilian stared, searching for the sincerity on his face. For a second, she thought she saw it.
Hawk’s brows dipped down. “Why don’t you believe me?”
“Well, you didn’t seem to think my shop would be a good addition.”
His eyes widened. “Where did you get that idea?”
Lilian nearly tripped over her feet. Was he kidding right now? “I… you were so… rude that first day.”
“I was stressed. Set-up day is always stressful. And you weren’t exactly the most organized person,” he said.
Well, he had a point there. But the tone of his voice made it clear that he thought it was her fault that he had been rude. Her hackles went up. She planted her feet in the grass, refusing to take another step forward.
“You put us in the Reject Woods,” she said, watching him carefully.
“The Reject Woods?” Hawk repeated, face blank. “I don’t even know what that is.”
“Of course you do.” Lilian could feel her voice getting higher in frustration. Was he really playing dumb? “You're the faire manager. You know everything that goes on around here.”
“I do.” His tone brooked no argument. It was exactly the kind of arrogant response she would have expected, and now he was looking at her like she was crazy. “And I can tell you firmly there is nothing here called the Reject Woods.”
“Maybe not officially, but you know placement at the faire matters, and there's clearly an area where businesses go to be snuffed out,” Lilian stated. “It's not right.”
“It’s not real,” Hawk shot back. “If your business isn’t doing well, that’s on you. Not the faire.”
Oh. Lilian’s face flushed at the accusation.
His words hit their mark, amplifying all her fears and doubts.
She snapped back at him before she could second guess herself.
He was practically screaming that she was a failure.
“Maybe you’re right, but the season isn’t over yet.
Me and my bookshop aren’t going anywhere. ”
Hawk closed his eyes, clearly realizing his misstep. “Lilian…” He started, but it was too late.
The moment of grace between them had been shattered, and so had the pleasant evening. “I’ll walk the rest of the way myself. I’d rather be trampled by the cows than spend another second with you.”