Chapter Twenty-One - Becca #2
“An excellent question,” Dozer croons. “Let me explain further. Team Earp, you placed first in the shootout, so tonight, you’ll be staying at the Tombstone Monument Ranch—one of the premier locations for visitors here in town.”
“Winner, winner, chicken dinner!” Sean crows, leaning over to give Iris a one-armed hug. Iris’s whole face is lit up as she returns the hug and then takes the information packet one of the Starlight people hands her.
“Next, our second-place winners—that’s you, Skai and Ross, you’ll be staying in the Landmark Lookout Lodge.”
“We’ll take it,” Ross grins as he takes his team’s information packet.
“We’re next, what about us?” Evie asks, brows furrowed. She looks super nervous about the answer.
“Ah yes, Team Clanton!” Dozer is clearly enjoying himself. “You and Ziven will be staying in the Wells Fargo RV park. You will each have access to your own personal travel trailer.”
“A camper?” Evie frowns.
“Hey,” Ziven says, throwing both hands in the air. “Better than nothing.”
“If you say so,” Evie grumbles, and I can’t help but chuckle. Evie definitely strikes me as more of an indoor type of girl.
My laugh quickly dies in my throat though as I realize that Lucky and I are next. I’m half expecting Dozer to tell us that we’re sleeping in the stables.
“Now, for our last . . . place . . . team . . .” Dozer intones, clearing trying to play up the drama of the moment for the cameras. “Becca and Lucky, you’ll be spending the night in the Tombstone RV Park and Campground.”
“So . . . we’re sleeping in campers, too?” Lucky asks.
Dozer’s smile morphs into something truly diabolical. “Not exactly.” He indicates two Starlight associates who are loaded down with several bundles. It isn’t until they walk over and hand them to Lucky and me that it registers what they are.
“Um . . . seriously?” I hold up the sleeping bag. “We’re sleeping outside?”
“Well, not completely outside,” Dozer replies deviously, waving his hand at another associate, who walks over and plops two tents down at my feet.
“Gee, thanks,” I say flatly.
“What’s the matter, Becca?” Lucky drawls, picking up the tents and slinging their straps over his shoulder. “Afraid of sleeping on the ground?”
“No,” I argue. “More afraid of the snakes that will probably be slithering into our tents seeking out our body heat.”
Lucky pauses. “Wait . . . what?”
The look on his face is so comical, I bust out laughing. “Let me guess, not a fan of snakes?”
“No. Definitely not.”
“Better make sure that tent is zipped up nice at tight then,” I say sweetly, batting my eyelashes for added effect. “I hear the rattlesnakes are especially bad this time of year.”
I have no idea if this exchange is real or just part of our little game—surely Lucky isn’t actually afraid of snakes—but the look on his face makes me laugh even harder.
And when I laugh really hard, I do this weird thing where hardly any sound comes out.
It kinda sounds like a little old man wheezing.
Even I can admit that it’s goofy, and I’m not surprised when Lucky presses his lips together, trying not to laugh.
“That’s the spirit, Becca!” Dozer booms, clearly having missed the whole bit about the snakes.
“Nothing like sleeping under the stars to rejuvenate you for our next challenge! But first, we have a handful of activities for you, as well as dinner at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon before you head off to your various sleeping accommodations. ”
I steal a glance at Lucky while Dozer continues to prattle on.
With all the focus back on Dozer, Lucky’s slipped a bit.
He’s wearing a lazy smile, but underneath it all, there’s still something not quite right in his face.
He knows the cameras are on and not only do we have a game to play, but a competition to win, so I get why he’s acting like everything is okay when he’s clearly still shaken up by what happened earlier. But I still hate the look in his eyes.
What I hate even more is that I can’t go up to him and throw my arms around him. That’s what I want to do. To pull him close and somehow make that haunted look go away, even for just a few seconds.
But I can’t.
It makes me want to scream. It’s the exact same feeling I get every time I post a new video, knowing what will await me in the comment section, the DMs I’ll get.
The world will tell me that I’m lucky to be an influencer. That I should be grateful to have such a big platform and so many people supporting me. They’ll even tell me that it’s a privilege that I’m here, part of this contest.
I know all of that, and trust me, I’m grateful.
But it comes with a price . . . and in moments like this, it’s so hard to pay the piper.
I tear my eyes away from Lucky and try to ignore the ache in my chest.
Dozer finishes his spiel and we’re ushered back across the highway for our first activity—panning for gold. It’s silly, but also kinda fun. After that, we take a tour of the famous Boothill Graveyard before we’re ushered to Big Nose Kate’s for dinner.
Lucky and I play our parts well, but by the time dessert is served, I’m mentally out of gas.
So much so, that even that damn sleeping bag is calling my name.
I’m so caught up in my visions of being a toasty, slumbering burrito that I don’t notice the hush that’s fallen over our table.
It’s the nudge from Lucky’s elbow that makes me blink, bringing me back to the present.
“What?” I whisper.
He wordlessly hands me his phone. I peek at the screen, which is open to his social feed.
#TeamBucky is trending.