“You know I can’ttellyou.” So Tessa would have to guess.
“Derek won.”
“They still have to film the finale.”
“Derek made it into the final two.” She briefly wondered who his competition might be, but it had to Francine. From day one, Tessa was certain Francine would be her only true competition, and it made sense now if she had made it to the final round. Francine was an incredibly talented chef, worthy of a taking first place. “There’s obviously going to be a big over-the-top drama of me being caught cheating.”
“Mmmm.”
Tessa was getting warmer, but she was still missing something. “Did they move up airing that?’
“No.”
“They’re not going to call me back to compete?”
“No.” But the way Janet drug out theothis time warned Tessa a curveball was coming. “Janet, those are literally the worst things I can think up. Can you give me a hint? Just a tiny one?”
“Sorry, you know the rules.” The producers had signed a contract similar to Tessa’s but with stiffer penalties. Janet talking to a former contestant at all skated a very fine line around a gray area that if contested might or might not hold up in court. “But it’s worse. Definitely worse.”
Tessa gasped, afraid she’d figured out exactly what they wanted of her now. “They want me to be on the next season, don’t they?”
“Mmm, well . . .”
The only thing worse than being accused of cheating on air for every viewer to see was having to return for another round of the same, labeled a cheater. With her nickname, the producers no doubt wanted her to fight for redemption. Which meant she would have to go along with the angle and pretend to redeem herself. “When does it start?”
“They’re not messing around.”
“Two months?”
Janet laughed. “You’re not that lucky, doll. Change that two months out for two weeks.”
Tessa’s stomach plummeted somewhere near her toes. It was one thing to go back and win what was rightfully hers. But quite another to go along with such a humiliating lie. “They can’t do this.”
“I’m sorry, Tessa. Read your contract. I’m afraid they can.”
“I have to go.” Tessa’s voice cracked, but when she started to cry, she didn’t want anyone to know. She ended the call and dropped to the ground. She couldn’t breathe through her tears. Half an hour ago, her biggest problem was Liam admitting he’d watched her show.
She heard the scuffle of feet on dirt and looked up, expecting to see Liam. He was good at appearing in her time of need, as if they were telepathically connected. But it wasn’t Liam, or even her sisters.
“Ed.” Tessa wiped at the moisture on her cheeks and slowly forced herself to her feet. She didn’t have anywhere to run that didn’t involve a steep drop-off, but she was more vulnerable to broken ribs on the ground than standing. “Why? Why do you always find me at theworsttimes?”
The moose stood at the trail opening, tilting his head much like a dog. He was still a good twenty feet away, but he blocked her only escape.
Still facing Ed, Tessa leaned back against the wooden railing, testing it for sturdiness before she dropped her full weight against it. “The least you could do is offer some advice. I mean, what am I supposed to do about this mess?” She didn’t have a plan if the moose charged, but hopefully he’d find her stance nonthreatening.
“Theyownme, Ed. How could I have been so stupid? I never should’ve signed that piece of paper. Well, that’s not true. I never should’ve dated that rotten turd. If it weren’t for Derek and his greedy insecurity,I’dbe competing in the final two right now. Not labeled some cheater and at the mercy of a stupid contract. I might bewinning.”
Ed reached his enormous snout up and pulled down a few leaves from a nearby branch for a snack. He kept his eyes on Tessa, so she stayed put and continued to unload her worries to the bull.
“I love Liam, Ed. I do. I mean, I always have really. And even though he drives me crazy—and I mean absolutely, totally, and completely bonkers—I want the choice to go or stay to bemine. It’s not fair that they can steal five more weeks of my life.” Because if Tessa had to compete, she wouldn’t allow herself to lose a second time. The producers were probably betting on it, too.
Between bites, Ed tilted his head again. The way his unique antlers sat crooked with his angled head made Tessa smile. He looked downright goofy for a two-thousand pound creature with the ability to break most of the bones in her body.
“What do I do, Ed? Tell me.”
But the moose turned and sauntered back down the trail, leaving Tessa without answers.
Chapter Sixteen
