The guy nods frantically, already scrambling to help his friends up.
I turn back to Lilly and Katty. "Now, I rode twenty hours straight to get here. I haven't seen my baby sister in eight months. And I've been told this fair has the best funnel cakes in three counties."
A slow smile spreads across Lilly's face. The first genuine one I've seen since I arrived. "Are you serious?"
"Dead serious." I glance at Katty, whose expression has shifted from concern to something more complex. "Unless you two are too scared of a few unconscious rich boys?"
Katty's eyes narrow at the challenge, but I can see the corner of her mouth twitching. "I'm not scared of anything in this county."
"Prove it," I reply, holding her gaze.
The air between us practically crackles, and I realize that Lilly is looking back and forth between us with growing interest.
"Fine," Katty concedes, tossing her head. "But if we're staying, we're doing this right."
"Meaning?" I ask.
"Meaning we're getting the full Sweetheart County Fair experience." She grins suddenly, "Starting with the Ferris wheel."
Lilly claps her hands together. "Yes! Tank, you have to. It's tradition!"
I'm about to argue—riding a rickety carnival ride isn't exactly my idea of a good time—but the enthusiasm on my sister's face stops me.
"Lead the way," I say instead.
As we make our way down the hill, leaving Dylan's friends to manage their fallen leader, I notice Katty watching me.
"What?" I ask.
"Nothing," she replies, but then adds, "Just surprised. Most men who can fight like you do would be all about getting out of here, cleaning up, planning the next move."
"I'm not most men."
"No," she agrees, echoing our earlier conversation. "You're definitely not."
The fairgrounds are still packed despite the late hour, families and couples wandering between game booths and food stalls. The main fireworks display has finished, leaving the night sky clear above the colorful lights of the midway.
As we walk, I keep Lilly between Katty and me, my eyes constantly scanning for threats. But there's no sign of Dylan or his friends. Just the normal crowd enjoying a summer night at the fair.
"There it is!" Lilly points ahead to where the Ferris wheel towers over everything, a giant circle of light slowly turning against the night sky.
The line isn't long. Most people are focused on the games and food now that the fireworks are over. As we approach, I can see that each gondola is shaped like a swan, painted white with garish red hearts along the sides.
"You've got to be kidding me," I mutter.
Katty laughs, the sound rich and genuine. "Welcome to Sweetheart County, where everything is designed to be as corny as humanly possible."
"It's charming," Lilly defends, but she's smiling too.
The operator is an older man with a weathered face and a carnival worker's permanent squint. He eyes my cut and tattoos but says nothing as we pay and wait for our turn.
"Three to a swan?" he asks when we reach the front of the line.
"Actually," Lilly says with a mischievous glint in her eye, "I think I'll ride alone. I get motion sick easily."
Before I can protest, she's climbing into a swan by herself, leaving Katty and me to take the next one.
"Your sister's about as subtle as a freight train," Katty murmurs as we slide into our own swan, the metal creaking under our weight.
