THE BRAVO BOYS - SNAKE EATER [book three]

Chapter SIXTY EIGHT

Shelby Quinn

...eight weeks later...

My feet ache as I stand to the side of the stage, waiting for the intermission to end. The pageant crowning will be happening in mere minutes and by some stroke of luck, or talent or just pure radiance, Dallas had made it to the top three.

"Did I miss anything?" Logan slips in behind me, windng an arm around my waist as he leans down to press a kiss to my neck.

"No, the winner hasn't been announced yet." I smile spinning around to find his free hand holding a bottle of my favourite pink sports drink. The only thing I can keep down these days since the 'morning sickness' seems to have become 'all day sickness'. "Oh Lone Star, you are my hero!" I gush, accepting the frosty bottle before I stretch up to kiss him in appreciation.

Logan smirks, the tip of his nose grazing mine. "You're so easy to please, Baby."

"Shut up." I shove him playfully and he swats my hand away to hook me back into his embrace.

"Relax, Mama." He chuckles. "I was only playin'."

"I'm just nervous for Dallas." I struggle to unscrew the cap of the drink and Logan takes it from my hands, effortlessly twisting off the top before handing it back to me.

"Don't be, our girl's got this in the bag." He beams confidently, watching in amusement as I guzzle half the bottle in one go. "She's even got her own personal cheer squad out there. Did you know Cassidy and Slater were coming today? I just ran into the boys outside."

"Really?" My eyes bulge in surprise. "When I invited them I didn't actually think they'd come."

He shrugs, his gaze wandering curiously around the theatre. "I think Linnley convinced them it was important for the family to show their support. She's been a really good influence on Dallas, you know. Last week Tex even told me she was thinking about changing her major at Princeton to Criminal Justice. Apparently, she wants to be a Lawyer."

My heart warms. Having a sister is more wonderful than I ever could have imagined, and we have so much in common, from the minute we met everything just clicked into place. Of course, not everything is perfect. Since Linnley and I have become close, my relationship with our father has become more estranged and more strained.

Linnley isn't ready to accept Hendrix into her life, and I am in no hurry to push her. After all, Iris had been right. The man is dangerously selfish. Perhaps one day we can begin to build a bridge of forgiveness, but today is not that day.

I won't let that man fuck up my perfect life.

Not now that I have found a true family.
Not now that I have my own child to think of.

"That's amazing! She'll make a great lawyer, I mean, she is persuasive as hell and she already argues like one!" I laugh.

Logan nods with a grin. "You got that right."

"Shh! It's starting!" I flap my hands to hush him as the lights dim and a beam of yellow spotlights the stage. The energetic and eccentric MC begins to announce the final part of the pageant.

The crowning.

"Please welcome to the stage, our three finalists! Miss Kinsley Everdeen..." The MC pauses long enough to let the crowd cheer as each contestant is introduced. "Miss Isobella Rodriguez." Another round of applause and whistles echo around the theatre. "And Miss Dallas Nash." The uproar is apparent as Dallas floats onto stage in her spangled midnight blue mermaid gown.

She's an absolute vision.

For a moment, I am transported back in time to a decade ago when I had seen Dixie Nash take the stage at pageant camp. Dallas is the spitting image of her mother, beautiful and gentle in nature. She has the poise of royalty and a natural affinity to the pageant.

She was made for the limelight and it's clear that everybody in the room can see her star shine.

Logan is right. She is a shoe in.

The MC continues to put on a show, prancing around the stage in his flashy black and red suit. "Before we announce the judges' verdict, ladies, we have one more question for you all."

The girls all line up, glittering under the stage lights in their sequin gowns, with pretty smiles painted on their lips all the while.

"We here would all like to know what it is that inspires you most? Miss Everdeen, would you like to go first?"

Kinsley, a doe eyed brunette in a peach high-low dress, takes the microphone to begin her answer. "I would have to say my greatest inspiration is my drive to become the best at whatever I am trying to achieve. I like to challenge myself and take the risks necessary to achieve the goals I have set for myself. I feel that I do my very best under pressure, that is when inspiration must be summoned from within, which I feel like makes me stronger."

"Superb answer!" The MC praises, quickly moving on to the next contestant. "Miss Rodriguez? Would you care to tell us what inspires you most?"

Isobella, an aurban haired classic beauty with deep olive skin and a sweet Latina accent, nods, taking the microphone in her nervous shaking hands. "I think my biggest inspiration is drawn from the natural world around us. The environment is so integral to our survival as a species, yet it is so fragile. Taking the time to appreciate the wonders and beauty of nature inspires me to want to protect it and leave a beautiful world for the next hundred generations to walk."

"What a wonderful cause!" The MC smiles kindly at the poor girl, seeing her shaking and trying to offer her a little moral support before moving on. "And what about you, Miss Nash? What is it that inspires you most?"

Dallas takes the mic, holding it confidently up to her lips before her eloquent expression begins to flow. If I didn't know just how hard she worked to prepare for the pageant I'd swear her speech was effortless. She makes it all look so easy. "My inspiration for everything I do is my mother, for all her acts of kindness and generosity. For her bravery and courage. For her intellect and her wit. And most of all, for choosing the most amazing person on this planet to look after me in her absence. I stand here today as a strong young woman, to honour her memory, and to show my love and gratitude to my family." Dallas big blue eyes drift to the side of the stage where we stand. "To my uncle Logan and his beautiful wife Shelby, the people who believe in me and support my dreams, no matter how crazy they might be. I owe everything to my family. They are the reason I believe in myself."

The crowd whoops wildly, finding her answer relatable and endearing, just as they have done at each and every turn.

As the applause settles I glance sideways to see Logan brimming with pride as he smiles at his niece, blossoms into a beautiful and intelligent young woman before his eyes.

"What sweet sentiments!" The MC takes the microphone back from Dallas with a peppy cheer.. "Now that we have heard a final word from each contestant, it's time to announce the winner of this year's Miss Darkport crown!"

Soft and suspenseful music begins to play as the lights change from warm to cool in anticipation of the long awaited announcement..

"And the winner is." Fumbling with a small white envelope, the MC makes a real meal of drawing it out as he unfolds the card inside with a smile on his face. "Miss Dallas Nash!"

"I won?!" Dallas' mouth falls open as the silver and gold confetti begins to fall. "Really?!"

"Woooooo! Go Dallas!" I howl, jumping up and down like a lunatic as Logan whistles loudly beside me.

"Congratulations, Dallas!" The MC cheers as he hands her an enormous bouquet of pink and white lilies while from behind the red velvet curtain the previous year's winner emerges to crown her successor.

"Thank you!" Dallas giggles through impossibly pretty tears. Pure happiness and youthful exuberance shining from her sweet smile, the promise and potential of her beautiful life laid out before her.. "Thank you so much!"