Page 24 of Grimm County Wishes (Grimm County Lawmen #4)

“ N ow, that’s gonna leave a scar,” Shane spoke into Diane’s camera as they stood next to the racetrack at Johnny’s Fun Park.

Al winced along with the rest of the crew as Desiree’s go-kart tumbled into the hay bales on turn three. Today’s group date began with a high-speed chase. A drone flew around the track, dangling a giant picture of Al’s face. The first woman to make twenty laps would win a one-on-one snack break.

Delilah’s nails dug into Al’s arm as they walked to the first aid tent. Since only one person could fit into the go-kart, she’d been sidelined for the challenge.

“Oh my god, are you bleeding? Where’s your cut?” Delilah shrieked as the medic wiped a red substance from her sister’s forehead. “Don’t worry, no matter how bad it is, I’ll make a matching one. ”

The medic’s eyes widened as he looked between the two twins. “Actually, it’s just some paint from the steering wheel.”

Al peeled Delila’s hand from his arm and squatted next to Desiree. “Are you going to be okay?” He might not want to marry the woman, er, women, but he didn’t want anyone getting hurt because of him.

Desiree nodded. “Yeah, maybe a small bruise, but that’s all. And depending on how it looks, we’ve got enough makeup to either cover it up or put a matching one on Delilah.”

Al chuckled and stood up. “I’m glad to hear it. You ladies sit tight and I’ll have them send over a couple of snow cones.”

After coordinating their snacks, he walked back to Shane and Diane. “Good news. It was touch and go for a few seconds, but you can all relax. The twins are still identical.” He looked over the lens to wink at Diane, who was struggling to control her laughter.

“Paige’s competitive nature has put her at an advantage in this challenge. She’s already lapped most of the girls, and the only one even close to catching up is Iona.” Shane continued to narrate the race for the camera while Al slipped away to find Jeannie .

He found her lounging on top of a picnic table underneath the giant shade canopy.

The temperature was in the high seventies today, and she’d embraced the warmer weather with a pair of cutoff shorts with a long-sleeved baseball tee.

The simple outfit shouldn’t have been so sexy, but who was he kidding?

This was Jeannie. Everything she wore was sexy.

He cleared his throat, hoping she wouldn’t notice the bulge in his pants as he sat next to her.

“What happened to Mercedes? I thought she was about even with Paige before Desiree crashed.”

“Disqualified for cheating.” Jeannie pushed her sunglasses into her hair and her eyes twinkled as she continued. “She had a bottle of Silly String and shot it at Paige. It’s against the rules to distract the other drivers.”

“Silly String?”

“Yup. Pulled it right out of her titties.”

Al chuckled. “Damn.” This was getting intense.

First Desiree was injured, and then Mercedes was caught cheating.

Were the women that eager for a date with him?

By now, he’d had several conversations with each of the women, but he didn’t feel like any of them really knew who he was.

His mom’s words rang in his ears. Maybe they didn’t care to know him .

“Imagine if we knew her back when you and Ben needed to hide those bottles of Tide.”

“Yeah, imagine,” Al whispered.

“Hey, are you okay?” Jeannie asked. She placed a hand on his cheek and forced him to look at her. “That was funny. Why didn’t you laugh?”

“It’s nothing, I’m just tired from working at the station and then working here.”

“Are you sure that’s it?” Her eyes searched his, seeing more than he wanted her to.

“I’m sure.” He eased off the table, unable to handle her touch without craving more.

“Well, tonight is karaoke night, so maybe that will cheer you up. Don’t forget, they booked Marina for the local talent since her last video hit a million views. I think y’all are singing a duet.”

***

Paige was the clear winner of the high-speed chase, followed by Iona, Jazz, and Charlene.

Of course, Charlene had driven most of the course backward, so that was no surprise.

He’d looked forward to one-on-one time since he needed to choose three more women to send home.

He learned that Paige didn’t eat donuts and she spent most of their date lecturing him on the evils of refined sugar.

A few hours later, the familiar smell of beer and chili fries greeted him as he entered Susie’s Bar. Tonight’s date was designed to help everyone cut loose with bottomless pitchers of beer and karaoke.

“I heard we’ve got a duet tonight. Have you picked out a song?” Marina asked as she walked up to him with a frozen daiquiri in her hand.

“I’ve got a couple in mind but haven’t settled on one yet.”

“You mean you forgot?”

Al grinned. “You know me so well. How about you surprise me?”

Marina’s eyes sparkled. “I know the perfect song.” She ran over to DJ Sharkman’s table and began flipping through his songbook.

Al noticed Diane in the corner, checking over her camera. “Hey, Diane, you also film scenes with the women at the beach house, right? Not just the dates.”

“Yes,” she answered warily.

“Got any advice for me? Some kind of inside scoop? I’m sure you’ve seen a different side of them.”

Diane snorted. “You got that right.”

“And?” he asked .

Diane looked around the room furtively, motioning him to come in closer.

“What is it?”

“I shouldn’t say this, but …” She paused, taking another sweep of the room.

“What?” Al leaned in closer.

“One of the girls …”

“Yeah?” His eyes widened.

She cupped her hands around her mouth and whispered, “Wants to suck your dick.” She leaned back from him, nodding.

“Wait, what?” Al reared his head. “That's an insider scoop? I would think they would all want to … wait, did you say one? Are you saying only one of them wants to …” He ran his hand through his hair.

Diane’s lip trembled until she finally lost it and howled with laughter. “Oh my God, Al. You should have seen your face! I totally should have recorded that.”

“Damn it, Diane! I should have known better than to ask one of the Williams demons.”

“Oh, come on, you know I have to mess with you a little. They aren’t that different when you aren’t around. The mean one is mean, the sweet one is sweet. The wild one is wild. ”

“Not helpful, Diane. Have you picked up on anything else? Like someone who’s not here for the right reasons?

” He didn’t know what that meant, or why it was so important, but Marina had stressed that point.

Apparently, weeding out at least one contestant who wasn’t there for “the right reasons” was expected.

“Well, I don’t know about their reasons, but those twins freak me out. They weren’t kidding about doing everything together. Eat, sleep, bathe. Everything. As models, I’m sure it’s safe to assume they were hoping for a career boost with an appearance on the show.”

“A hot night with twins is one thing, but long term? I’m not even sure that’s legal. Mercedes is fun. I know Iona is a bit forward, but I guess I could get used to it.”

“Yeah, that’s one word for it.” Diane grinned.

“What do you think about Jazz? We haven’t had a lot of time together, but she’s almost too normal for a show like this. I keep waiting for the catch.”

“Oh, she’s great. Her sister signed her up as a joke, which is why she doesn’t seem like the type. She made it through the first couple rounds of casting and decided what the hell. It was a free trip to the beach and a good excuse to take time off work.”

Al’s brow furrowed. “You seem to know a lot about her. ”

Diane’s cheek’s reddened and she tucked a strand of blue hair behind her ear. “There’s a lot of downtime when we’re filming, and she’s easy to talk to.” She cleared her throat. “Charlene is a sweetheart. If you get a chance to talk to her one on one, ask her about kids.”

“Kids?” Al gulped.

“Yeah, my guess is she wants a boatload and is ready to start tomorrow.”

Sweat beaded on Al’s brow. “Okay, well, good chat.” He stood up as his six-ish dates arrived.

“Let’s get this party started!” Mercedes shouted as she walked into the room, arms linked with the twins.

Mercedes was of course in a tight fitting dress that accentuated her breasts.

The twins were in skin-tight jeans with identical skimpy tops.

Al grinned as he watched the ladies settle in.

It was nice that they were getting along.

There was a special area set up on the back patio for one-on-one chats, and he hoped to have a few minutes with each woman before the date was over.

His smile faded as he watched Shane enter the bar with Jeannie at his side.

He whispered something in her ear, and she laughed.

Give me a break. That man was not funny.

He was old and stupid. Okay, so maybe he was like, ten years older than Al, but still.

She swatted at his chest and kissed him on the cheek.

Son of a bitch. When did they get to that stage?

He thought they were just flirting. Were they fucking now? Damn it.

Lindsey clapped her hands. “Okay people, I hope you’ve rested your voices because everyone is singing tonight. Al, why don’t you go first? It’ll be a good way to set the tone.”

Al nodded. Oh yeah, he was ready to set the tone.