Page 30 of Her Cowboy Blind Date

“Friends and family are invited to the rehearsals.”

“I’d forgotten about that.”

“We have spectators who watch all the auditions.”

“I didn’t know that was a thing.”

“It is in Gilead.” Sam would rather have a tooth pulled than sit through hours of cringeworthy auditions. He’d caught enough of the auditions during his brief visits with the stage crew to look at the props.

Many of the Gilead townsfolk lacked serious talent. They turned up year after year, performing the same old and worn-out audition pieces. Sam assumed they all shared in the vain hope that they’d land a bigger role than crowd scenes.

Becky opened her purse. A wad of papers were rolled up like a scroll. “I might need to refer to this.”

He chuckled. “You won’t need it.”

“Just in case. What if something happened to you?”

“One of the other teams would take over and help out.”

“Okay.” She pressed her lips together. “This play is important, and I don’t want to mess it up.”

“I can give you one foolproof tip.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “Which is?”

“Don’t sneak food or drink backstage.”

“Huh. Did someone really do that?”

He nodded. “A few years ago. College student. She snuck muffins from Letty’s table, hid them backstage, and snacked during rehearsal.”

“Oh.” She pointed at Letty’s plates of muffins on the table. “They’re divine, but hiding them backstage…”

“Yup. It was wild. The crumb trail gave the game away.”

“What happened to her?”

“She was caught red-handed and quit on the spot.”

“Wow. Then you were short of volunteers.”

“We had it covered.” He grinned. “Her replacement didn’t have an out-of-control addiction to Letty’s delicious muffins.”

She chuckled. “I’m glad it worked out. I’m still worried I’ll forget something important.”

“We’ll be fine. Don’t forget the visual prop cues on the stage. We’ll take the same items on and off stage. I’ve lined the props up in rotation order, and we only work from one side of the stage.” More set-moving activity happened from the back and the opposite side of the stage. Sam’s familiarity with stage crew work was why they paired him with newbie volunteers.

She nodded. “Will the rehearsal take long?”

“It depends.”

“I hope it runs smoothly today.” She finished her coffee. “Please excuse me. I’ll visit the restroom before we start.”

“Good idea.”

Becky headed for an exit. She passed Connor, who was walking in the opposite direction. Sam returned Connor’s smile and wave. The guy was hard to recognize, decked out in his Jesus costume. Did Connor know today’s rehearsal wasn’t a dress rehearsal?

Connor had shared his disappointment in missing out on playing Judas. A guy called Leo, who Sam didn’t know, had picked up the Judas role.

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