Page 14 of Rival Hearts

“It was a goods and services exchange.”

“You did something illegal, didn’t you?”

“Me? No. Did I encourage other people to do illegal things? Possibly.”

Kelvin sighed.

“Petty theft,” I clarified. Though, I wasn’t sure the fireworks qualified for petty theft since these ones were probably expensive. I’d avoided an internet search so I could claim ignorance. That was a defense, wasn’t it? “It’ll be fine. The only people who could charge anyone would be Pete or Maggie, and they won’t.”

Kelvin laughed, but the sound didn’t hold much humor. “By the end of this, Maggie might be quite happy to see you in jail.”

My expression clouded at the mention of prison, and Kelvin reached out a hand to squeeze my shoulder.

“Sorry, man. That was shitty.” Crossing his arms, Kelvin looked at me. “Why haven’t you looped your brother into this, anyway?”

A loaded question. I’d called Trent the other night, but the conversation hadn’t accomplished much. Maggie had gotten Trent his job in Utica when he got out of prison. No matter how I had tried to position my campaign for the mayor’s job, Trent hadn’t believed I was running for the right reasons. In fact, he’d told me even if I won, I’d never stay in Little Falls, so whybother? Those words had made me clench my jaw and hang up on Trent. What did he know?

“It’s complicated,” I said.

“Yeah,” Kelvin agreed. “I guess. Most people around here didn’t give him much leeway when he got out of jail. Maybe having him as part of the campaign isn’t a great idea. He was lucky that mechanic in Utica took him on as an apprentice.”

I checked my phone, more to avoid talking about Trent than because I wanted to know the time. It was later than I expected, and I nodded at Kelvin. “You driving into town or coming on the float?”

“What would I do on the float?” Kelvin raised his eyebrows.

“Talk. I sing. I don’t talk. You can work the crowd anytime I need a little break.”

Kelvin looked thoughtful and then gave a slow nod. “I could do that.”

My cheeks were sore from grinning, and Kelvin continued his spiel for the crowd. There were few friends like Kelvin.

“When you have day-old donuts, do you keep them? No! Why? Because no one likes the taste of stale things. You don’t keep that—you throw it out. Get something newer, fresher, better.”

For a guy who had hated my choice of slogan, he was embracing the absurdity of it while the float glided through the streets, and the crowds cheered us on.

“How about another song? Who wants to hear your soon-to-be mayor play another tune?” Kelvin nodded at me as a burst of cheers erupted from the crowd.

Maggie’s float had led the parade, and when they got to the end of the route, she was supposed to be there thankingeveryone for participating and inviting them to the fireworks display tonight. I wondered how much of a panic my petty theft had caused her earlier in the day. As I sang another song from my hit record, my grin widened. I couldn’t wait to see Maggie’s frustrated face. There were only a few streets left and then the grand finale.

As the parade slowed near the end, I turned up the speakers on my float, hoping the song would carry all the way to her. There were days when playing felt tiresome, but today wasn’t one of them. We glided past her like I’d instructed What’s-his-face the summer intern to do. The song finished as we came to a stop, and I was sure if we’d practiced, we couldn’t have timed it better.

I removed the microphone from its stand and jumped off the stage. “Ladies and Gentlemen of Little Falls,” my voice boomed out, echoing all around, overtaking the noise from the crowd and the other floats. “I want this year’s fireworks display to be better than any other year, so I’m donating to tonight’s display. It’s going to be the longest, biggest display yet. We’re breaking bylaws tonight, people!”

Another burst of cheering soared all around us as I put down the microphone and picked up one of the boxes at my feet. I stepped off the back of the truck bed and stood in front of Maggie, relishing the pissed-off look she was trying so hard to hide. I held out the box.

Her eyes narrowed, and she took the box from his hands, her shoulders curling under the strain. When she looked down, her jaw clenched. “So kind of you to already have the boxes stamped withProperty of Little Falls City Hall.”

I chuckled. “Summer interns did that for me earlier. I didn’t want these boxes to get lost. Can you imagine losing all these expensive fireworks? Pretty irresponsible. It would be a shame if the people didn’t get a decent display for once.” The women who handed out my buttons crowded around me, talking to eachother and grinning. The buzz amongst them propped me up, made me bolder.

“Gosh, Grady. It’s so good of you to buy more fireworks. The last few years the display hasn’t been the greatest.” Sabrina touched my bicep and fluttered her fake lashes. She had on more makeup than she needed, but there was still something pretty about her with her petite features, shoulder-length dark hair, and dark eyes. I couldn’t deny her attractiveness, but the presentation seemed so empty and fake, as though the makeup was compensating for something she felt was missing. Had my high school self really been so swayed by the package? It made me a little sad for both of us.

“Oh.” Maggie gave Sabrina a pointed look. “Will you be attending the fireworks display? I was under the impression you’d be home looking after your three children.” The artificial sweetness in her voice almost puckered my lips.

“Of course not.” Sabrina smiled. “They’ll be with their dads. I’ll be helping Grady.”

“Seems you’ve already been quite busy doing that already,” Maggie mumbled so low I was sure I was the only one who heard her.

I held back a laugh threatening to burst forth. The contrast between Sabrina’s obliviousness and Maggie’s laser focus amused me more than I expected. Maggie had always been sharp, witty, a verbal sparring partner like no other.

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