The Reluctant Bachelor

“I was thinking that this would really look spectacular on film.” Though he still had no desire to do the show, the idea of filming here was growing on him. It could be just the boost the Lake Mildred economy needed. He turned back to gauge her impression. “It’s amazing here in the spring. Summer. Fall. Even winter with all the snow.”

Her eyes widened. “Snow?”

She’d probably never seen a snowflake, much less a foot of the white stuff dumped overnight. “When were you looking to film the show?”

“A live Valentine’s Day kickoff. Then live again for the finale in time for the May sweeps.”

“So snow, then budding flowers. Nice.” He looked out over the lake and took a deep breath. He’d tried the California atmosphere, but he’d been homesick for this the entire time. The clean air. The lap of the waves on the shore. Even the splash of fish, who were practically calling his name to catch them. “We could do a ski fantasy date. Or an ice-fishing expedition. Later in the spring, they could even try out for my softball team.”

“You really want us to come here? Disturb the peace of your small town?” She looked around her. “I’ll admit this would look good on television. Practically a postcard from Middle America. But we wouldn’t leave this place the way we found it.”

“Besides bringing your audience a taste of real America, you’d also be bringing local jobs for the time you’re here. Jobs that people could really use.” He stepped closer to her. “You’d need people to drive. To build. To cater. Sure, you could bring some of those people from L.A. out here, but think of what you could save by hiring locally. You could improve the town’s economy.”

She looked at him as if he’d suggested that they could cure cancer while they were at it. “We’re a television show. Don’t give us too much credit.”

“Lizzie.” He stepped closer. “My dad always told me that with our money came responsibility. I had to give back in any way I could. If I do the show, I want to be able to help the people who have supported me. Will you help me do that?”

She sighed. “You’ve given me some things to think about, but I’m going to need more than this. Where would I house twenty-four women? As well as a crew of two dozen more. The bed-and-breakfast I’m at is nice, but let’s be realistic. We need something a lot bigger.”

Rick nodded and considered the issue. “What about some of these abandoned homes? Couldn’t you rent one of those?”

“And fix it up with what money? The studio owns a mansion specifically for this show. It works for a reason.”

She always had to look on the bleak side, didn’t she? But he could see the wheels turning in her head behind the skeptical expression. She might be throwing up objections, but he could tell she saw the benefits. “What if you don’t pay me for my time on the show? What if you instead use that check to do this?”

She turned and looked at him closely. “You’d do that?” She didn’t seem convinced.

Rick knew it could work. Bring the show. Put people to work. Keep some kind of normal life while living it out in front of a national audience. It had to work. “To get the show here? Yeah.”

She crossed her arms. “Keep talking.”

“Consider the tax breaks the state would give you for filming here. The cost of living is less, so you’d be getting bargain prices on the things you take for granted in Hollywood.”

“Let’s say we could rent a house around here. Two dozen women sharing one, maybe two bathrooms? Even that’s a little too real for television.”

Rick grinned. “And a whole lot of fun.”

Lizzie held up her hands. “Okay. Show me more.”

* * *

BYTHETIMEthey got in the truck and headed back to the diner for dinner, Elizabeth was dog tired. She doubted she’d be awake long enough to eat, much less call Devon with an update. And she had to admit the idea of filming here had started to wiggle into her already clicking mind. It would be a change, something that could spark ratings for a show that was starting to show its age. Rick might be onto something.

Instead of going to the diner, however, Rick turned his truck into the driveway of a large Victorian house with a wraparound porch and pulled around back near the lakefront. Elizabeth looked at the manicured landscape outside and frowned. “We’re having dinner here?”

Rick wiggled his eyebrows. “First we’re going to catch it. Then we’ll eat here.”

Elizabeth groaned. “You’re taking me fishing? Haven’t you tortured me enough for one day?”

“Think of it as part of your Michigan experience.” He got out of the truck and retrieved fishing poles and a tackle box from behind the front seat. “And you haven’t really lived until you’ve eaten something you’ve caught.”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. This was not what she had signed up for. Still, she was hungry and she’d agreed to do what was necessary to get Rick for the show. “Fine. But I’m not cleaning any icky fish. You get that job.”

“Sure, Lizzie.”

“Elizabeth,” she muttered under her breath as she followed him to the dinghy tied to the dock on the lake.

Rick held out one hand and helped her step into the boat. She spread her arms to catch her balance before taking a seat on the narrow wooden bench. Rick untied the boat from the dock and stepped inside, pushing off. He took a seat, then pulled the chain for the motor. They putted out to the center of the lake while Elizabeth watched the sun lower in the west behind a wall of magnificent trees. She closed her eyes.

“This place is getting to you.”

She opened her eyes. “I’m tired.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Rick steered them out farther and cut the engine. He handed her a pole. “Have you ever fished before?”

“When I was a kid, my mom took me to the Santa Monica pier. Some guy let me hold his pole while he ran to get a hot dog.” She shrugged. “All I did was stand there.”

“So you’re an expert.”

He opened the tackle box and removed a small plastic container. It was full of black dirt and wriggling worms. Elizabeth wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “I’m not putting one of those on my hook.”

“Relax. I’ll bait it for you.”

He removed one long worm and wound it around her hook while Elizabeth squelched a squeal. She wasn’t naive. She understood the circle-of-life thing. Instead of allowing Rick to think she was squeamish, she accepted the pole. “Now what?”

“Cast it out toward the middle of the lake.”

She looked at him and raised one eyebrow. “Cast is something I hire for a show.”

“Ha-ha. Watch me.” He swung the rod back slightly, then flicked it forward, sending his line out in a perfect arc that Elizabeth doubted she could repeat.

In fact, she couldn’t repeat it. After three failed attempts, Rick cast the line for her. She sighed. “What’s next?”

“We wait.” He wound the reel in a bit and lifted his face to the sky, his eyes closed.

Elizabeth watched him. He had a boyish charm that the audience had loved. He was also funny and sensitive. Why he was still single after all this time was a mystery to her. He was the type of guy who should be a husband and father. “What happened after you came home last time?”

Rick opened one eye and groaned. “Do we have to talk about that?”

“I’m surprised that some woman didn’t snap you up the moment you arrived home, single and willing.” She wound the reel a couple of clicks like she had seen him do. “You still want to get married and have kids, right? So why didn’t you make that happen?”

Rick rubbed his forehead with his free hand. “Were you not there when I got publicly humiliated?”

“It’s been five years. People forget.”

“You have hundreds of letters a week that say otherwise.” He turned his gaze on her. “I guess no one wanted to date a loser.”

“You’re not a loser.” Elizabeth pulled her pole back slightly, mirroring Rick’s movements. “You are a catch. And any woman who doesn’t realize that is not only blind, but also not worth your time.”