“No, I'm not from Burly,” I tell him, “and no, we haven't met before.” I run a hand over the back of my neck.
Lemon doesn't know me. And I didn't want her to find out who I really am like this.
Maybe now it's time to drink that champagne. I reached for the flute and take a long drink.
When the truth dawns on Cash, he snaps his fingers. “No, I do know you. You’re Anchor from that TV show.”
“TV show?” Lemon asks with a frown. “Is that what you meant at dinner last night about fame?”
I nod, hating this is coming out like this, but I have nothing to hide.
“That reality TV show,” Cash says. “What was it called? Something like Survive This?”
Mac’s eyes widen. “Shit, you’re that Anchor? Damn. That's funny.”
“What's funny?” Lemon asks. “Why is this funny?”
“No, that's so fucking awesome,” Mac says. “I'll have some champagne and toast to you because I want to know everything. That girl on that season. What's her name? Bianca. She was fucking crazy. I remember watching that with my roommate. And we couldn't believe some of the shit she pulled.”
“I thought for a while there that she was gonna win the money,” Cash says. “And then somehow—”
“Okay,” I say, “enough. We don't need to get into this.”
“Get into what exactly?” Lemon asks, because she must be thoroughly confused. She has no idea what we're talking about.
Graham pours himself a cup of coffee then opens the refrigerator like he owns the place. Which, considering this is his family’s cabin, I guess he kind of does.
He pulls out a container of milk and adds it to his coffee then walks over to the living room and plops himself down on the sofa.
I run a hand over my chin, realizing this isn't ending anytime soon. These guys are here whether I like it or not.
I reached for Lemon’s hand. And for a moment I'm scared that she's not going to let me take it.
But she does. She's still here with me.
I just have some explaining to do.
“So, what are they talking about, Anchor? Because last night, you didn't mention anything about being a reality television star. So maybe you could fill me in before Graham keeps talking?”
“I only caught a few YouTube clips of the season,” Graham says. “You were the total villain, weren't you?”
“It wasn't like that,” I say, looking at Lemon, not wanting her to get the wrong idea. “I was only on that show because of the survival skills. I'm really good in the elements, and the whole season was set on a boat. I was raised on the water with my entire family. We lived on a boat growing up until they—”
Lemon’s eyes meet mine.
“Until they died,” I say plainly. “Anyways, I went on the show thinking I could overcome my fear of the water. And I did. Been on boats ever since.”
“So why were you the villain?” Lemon asks.
“I'm a loner and my personality didn't exactly jive with everyone else that season.”
Cash chuckles. “You could say that again. You were a fucking asshole. I remember watching that with my grandpa Woody, and he thought you were the coolest guy ever. And that's saying something.”
“Grandpa Woody thought Anchor was cool?” Lemon balks.
“Loved him,” Cash says.
“Well, that is certainly saying something,” Lemon says, biting her bottom lip.
“What is it saying?” I ask.
“He’s a loner himself,” Mac says. “He lives in a shack up in the Burly Mountains, and let's just say he walks to the beat of his own drum.”
I take another drink of coffee. “Well, sounds like your grandpa Woody and I might get along pretty well.”
“Regardless,” she asks, “did you win the show?”
Cash laughs. “Fuck yeah, he won. He won a million dollars.”
“Really?” Lemon asks, her voice steady, not revealing what she thinks of this.
I shrug. “Yeah. I mean, a bunch of it went to taxes. And the whole thing was a mistake. I pissed off a lot of people because I'm not great with crowds and group settings. You live with these people for like, three months and they film it all.”
“So you were basically out of your element?” Lemon asks, her eyes still on mine, as if trying to make a decision.
“You could say that,” I say.
“So, what are you doing for work now?” Mac asks gruffly. “Besides whatever you were doing with my sister.”
9
LEMON
We all turn to look at Mac. The awkward question hangs in the air.
“What were you doing with my sister?” he repeats.
Clearly, something has been going on between Anchor and me.
I don’t know what Anchor is going to do. I imagine most guys from Home pulling back and dodging the question because my brothers are intimidating and somehow my cousin Cash is here just piling on.
But Anchor isn't like other guys. He doesn't know the Roughs or the Rowdys and he isn't intimidated in the least.