by Tess Oliver
She waved her hand. “I’m small. I don’t take up much room.” She was a persistent little thing.
The frenzied conversations of people enthusiastically waiting for a dangerous stunt show rumbled around the portable stands. Three tiered risers were set up around the wire mesh sphere. The globe towered high above the crowd and was secured in place by long metal poles braced against it on all sides.
Gideon’s friend, Rick, scooted closer to the woman sitting next to him. I slid onto the bench next to Gideon. Megan squeezed in between me and a man who didn’t look all that upset about having a cute blonde tucked in snugly next to him.
A musician, who looked as if one of his legs was shorter than the other, stood next to the sphere playing a fiddle. The massive mesh ball dwarfed him, but the music pillowed up like a giant cloud. It was the music I’d heard earlier, and it sounded even better up close. His eyes were closed, and he looked lost in his own melody as he ran the bow across the strings. It wasn’t his legs, I soon realized. It was his back. It was contorted so that one shoulder was lower than the other. It certainly had no effect on his amazing skill with the fiddle.
I pulled out my pocket watch.
“What time is it?” Gideon asked.
“Half past eight.”
“I’ll need the car when this is over. I’m heading to Breakers after this,” he said. “I’ve got a date.”
“Really? I was going that direction too.”
Megan grabbed my hand. “Great, we can all go together.”
“I told you, Megan. I’ve already got plans.” I turned to Gideon. “Who are you taking out?”
Rick leaned forward with a grin. “Giddy is stepping out with one of the burlesque dancers.”
Megan grunted her disapproval. It was hard to ignore someone when she was almost sitting in your lap.
I looked at Gideon. He wasn’t denying it. “You work fast,” I said. “I’m impressed.”
Gideon stared straight ahead. “You think you’re the only Jarrett who can sweet talk a woman?”
“Never said that.”
Gideon elbowed me and lifted his chin to direct my attention across the way. “There’s Griggs and a couple of his lackeys.” Griggs and two of his men sat down on the risers. The other spectators scooted away. Gideon laughed. “Heck, you’d think Griggs and those two toadies had used skunk spray instead of aftershave with the way people moved out of their space.”
“Think it has more to do with the Colt jewelry they’ve got tucked in their holsters than the smell of their cologne.” I scanned the crowd for other familiar faces, wondering if Charli was allowed to take time to watch the show. It was dark and there were so many faces, it would have been hard to spot one, even a particularly beautiful one, in the sea of people.
Conversations quieted as Buck waded into the center of the show area with a megaphone at his side. He was clad in a bright red ringmaster style coat that matched the color of his beard. Two gold buttons strained the fabric of the coat that crossed his big belly. The fiddle player was so taken with his own music, Buck had to nudge him, none too gently, to get his attention. The man looked up almost wide-eyed with surprise as if he hadn’t noticed the hundreds of people sitting in the stands around him. He scuttled off with his tilted posture and his magical instrument.
“Oh, that poor, pathetic creature.” Megan’s nose turned up as she watched the musician waddle away. “Still, thank goodness that racket is over.”
I stared at her. “You must be joking. That man could play in a symphony.”
She huffed at my comment. Megan was good at huffing at anything she didn’t agree with or understand. She huffed a lot. “I’ve heard that a jazz band is coming in from New York to play at Breakers tonight. It’ll be standing room only, if they even let us in the door.” She was also extremely practiced at ignoring things she didn’t want to hear. I didn’t bother to correct her again about the evening’s plans. I would have been wasting my breath.
I turned my attention back to Gideon. “Griggs told me he’d keep a table in the back open for us tonight. Otherwise, it’s going to be a sardine can in there. I’m meeting my date here.”
Gideon opened his mouth to ask something but was cut off by Buck’s booming voice, made even more thunderous by the megaphone. “Welcome, friends, to the Starfield Traveling Show. Are you all having a good time?”
The crowd cheered loud enough to shake the rickety stands.
Buck laughed into the speaker, causing another rumble in the stands. “Well, the evening isn’t over. Now for our star attraction.” He lifted his hand to point out the massive sphere. Not that it needed pointing out. “This is the Starfield Death Sphere.”
Another round of cheers.
Buck’s voice lowered to a grim tone. “And, sadly, it has indeed claimed a life once before.”
A hush fell over the crowd. As much as the prospect of an accident lent a certain spark of anticipation to the event, in reality, no one wanted to witness someone’s death. Especially not in the midst of a rambunctious day of fun at the carnival.
Buck’s melancholy tone was shut off like a valve, and he was back to pumping up the excitement. “But, tonight, I promise thrilling stunts performed by the talented and beautiful Enchantress. Guaranteed to take your breath away.”
Another rousing cheer, the trepidation from seconds before washed away by Buck’s new enthusiasm. He cupped his thick hand to his ear. “Quiet down now. You can hear the roar of the motorcycle behind me.” Buck turned around and lifted the megaphone to his mouth again. “Enchantress, we are ready.”
Small lights had been strung on lines above the stands. They dropped a shadowy, uneven glow on the center yard. A motorcycle burst out from behind one of the parked box trucks sending off a few birds who’d come to roost for the night under the canvas signs. Gold sequins and polished red metal sparkled beneath the dangling lights. The rider raced to the end past the stands and nearly out of view before she turned around. The buzz of the motorcycle grew in intensity as she returned. Her tiny metallic costume bared her shoulders, her legs and most of her midriff. A gold headband circled her forehead and kept secure her long, wavy hair. She wore no helmet or gloves. The only thoughts to safety were the short black boots on her feet. The bike roared past at a good thirty miles per hour as she leaned down lower over the handlebars to coax more speed out of her machine.
Megan huffed loud enough that her breathy protest could be heard over the rattling motor of the bike. “Looks as if they’ve moved that naughty burlesque show outside. She’s half naked.”
My eyes stayed on the stunt rider as I spoke. “So, the possibility of injury or death is good entertainment, but a beautiful, scantily clad girl is wrong?”
“That’s right.” Megan crossed her arms in disgust. Apparently, she was all huffed out.
Gideon peered sideways at me. “Did you come with her?”
“No, she just latched on,” I said from the side of my mouth. The rider circled wider now, rolling along the outer rim of the show area and just a few feet in front of the stands. She started on the opposite side. A clamor of cheers and a flurry of flapping arms started on that side and rolled along with her like a giant human wave. As she turned the bend and came down our side, I got a better look at The Enchantress.
“Jeeezus,” I muttered under my breath.
Gideon had to yell over the noise of the crowd. “Isn’t that the girl with the snake?”
“Yep.” My chin nearly reached my chest as I watched Charli ride past on her motorcycle. The smart talking, sweet smiled girl I’d shared a ginger ale with was gone, replaced by an experienced, confident performer. She hadn’t even entered the Death Sphere yet, but she had the crowd mesmerized. A beautiful, exotically dressed woman on a motorcycle was unusual enough, but knowing that she would soon ride the bike upside down, defying the logical order of the world and space was not like anything anybody in Harper’s Cross had ever seen. Myself included.
Two workers came out
and opened up one panel of the sphere, and Charli, the girl whose fearlessness once again had me speechless, rode confidently inside. Her petite, boot clad feet pushed the pedals around like a bicycle, increasing speed and momentum with each turn. Her sleek, golden thighs were completely exposed, and I couldn’t drag my gaze away from them. A wonder-filled hush fell over the stands. It seemed even the creatures of the night, the owls and bats and raccoons, had stopped their chatter to hold their breath in anticipation. I looked briefly around. Every face in the crowd was glued to the girl in the wire mesh globe. The name Enchantress suited her. Although, she’d already caught my fascination long before she’d ridden out on a motorcycle.
The bike looped up the side, higher and higher with each pass. The crowd was wound tight with anticipation and wonder. I hadn’t noticed I’d been holding my breath until Gideon elbowed me. “She is something else, eh? What I wouldn’t give to have those thighs wrapped around—”
“Shut up and watch,” I said.
I felt his angry glare on the side of my face but ignored it.
Charli looped the bike three quarters of the way up the wall of the sphere and then dropped down the side again, gaining speed with each turn. People sat along the long stretches of wood seats, wound tight and silent with tension as they watched the rider loop closer to the top of the circle. And then, with just as much casual ease as she’d worn the massive snake around her shoulders, she swept the bright red Indian in a complete circle. For a brief moment of time she was completely upside down, ignoring gravity and everything else that kept us humans anchored to the ground. She flipped around five times and then slowed the bike, rocking back and forth up the sides a few times until the bike stopped in the middle.
The audience jumped to their feet. Gideon and Rick blew whistles that snapped sharply in the night air, but I was too busy watching the girl in the center of the mesh ball. She was costumed and wearing heavy makeup, but the smile was there. The smile that I’d started to think about even when she wasn’t around. Her copper hair glistened beneath the shiny headband and strings of lights as she waved to her fans.
“That girl is something else,” Gideon repeated. My older brother rarely got excited or worked up about anything, but he was right. She really was something else. The sphere was opened, and she rode back to the box truck, her sequined costume rippling like metallic diamonds and her long hair flowing like copper waves in the warm night air.
The deafening applause did not subside. It grew louder as a small figure came back out from behind the box car. No motorcycle this time. Just the petite, incredibly beautiful girl who had just thrilled the crowd with her talent. She waved and bowed down several times.
Gideon leaned back and looked behind me. “Megan took off.”
“I hadn’t even noticed,” I said.
“I guess once Rose is ready we can head over to Breakers,” Gideon said, still watching as The Enchantress took her final bow. “You never said who you were taking out tonight, Jacks.”
“You’re looking at her.”
Gideon and Rick’s faces snapped toward me.
“What do you mean?” Gideon asked.
“I’ve got a date with The Enchantress. Only, I know her better as Charli.”
Rick laughed. “You dawg, Jackson.”
Gideon blinked at me. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding.”
I put my hand on Gideon’s shoulder. “Brother, when it comes to beautiful women, I never kid around.”
Chapter 8
Charli
“How do I look?” Rose held out her arms, and the tiny glass beads adorning her lilac flapper dress shimmered in the frail light of the tent. The new dress had a daring v-neck line and low drop waist that fit her perfectly.
“Beautiful, Rose. He’ll be stunned into silence.” I walked over to adjust her beaded headband.
“I’ve been waiting for the right occasion to wear this little extravagance since I bought it in Chicago.” She took hold of my hands. “I’m as nervous as a rabbit in a fox hole, Charli. I’m so glad you’re coming along. What were the odds of both of us making dates with two brothers?” She frowned down at my faded frock. I was still wearing my black ankle boots. “You’re not wearing that are you?”
“To tell you the truth, I’m kind of tired. I forgot how exhausting opening night could be. I was planning to cancel.” All day I’d thought about the date, and all day I’d been convincing myself not to go. There was something about Jackson that worried me. I liked him, which was the source of my worry. Liking him wasn’t something I needed. Like came with all kinds of complications. This wasn’t the kind of life where you allowed yourself to like someone. I didn’t need the disappointment or the heartbreak.
Rose looked ready to cry. “Charli, please, you have to go, or I’ll lose my nerve. My stomach is already churning with butterflies.” Her shoulders drooped and the thin strands of glass beads vibrated with the movement. “You’re right. I shouldn’t go either. It’s wrong. I’ll be betraying Paul’s memory.” Her eyes glossed with tears as she reached up to slide off the headband.
I stopped her. “It is not betrayal, Rose. You deserve to be happy again. Paul would have wanted it.” I sighed in resignation. “I’ll go, but I’m wearing this dress, even if it looks like a flour sack next to that lovely lilac confection you’re wearing. I’ll just change out of my boots and into some heels.”
Rose clapped with excitement. “Thank you, Charli.”
I sat on the cot to unlace my boots. “Where is Emma?”
Rose sat down to her mirror to put on some last touches of face powder. “Last I saw, she was flirting wildly with one of those scary looking men that Buck’s been making deals with. Do you know your stepfather has five crates of moonshine piled up in his tent? Now he’s got some notion of starting a fight ring with gambling and everything. It won’t be long before the federal marshal comes in and shuts this whole thing down.” She spoke almost animatedly about the possible demise of the show. For Rose, it would be a hardship, but it would give her an excuse to leave the life of an exotic dancer, a life she was never really suited for.
“That’s the last kind of man Emma needs to be throwing herself at.” I buckled the narrow strap on my black patent leather shoes. They had a small row of silver beads curled around the two inch heels. They were the one frivolous thing I’d allowed myself to buy that was new and fashionable.
The generator had been shut down, and only a few gas lanterns and the stars above provided light outside the tent. The carnival looked like a ghost town where an extremely messy herd of phantoms had washed through, littering every open speck of ground with paper wrappers, soda bottles and crumpled handbills. The crew would have to be up early to clean before the next wave of mess.
The two tall figures waiting near the main tent were easy to recognize, the Jarrett brother with unruly black hair, who was as tall and broad as Hector, the strongman, and the nearly as tall brother, whose straight posture, fine build and handsome face made him look as if he’d walked out of a fine mansion in Manhattan. Tiny red sparks trailed from the ends of their cigarettes as they waited for Rose and me to walk toward them.
“They are a fine looking pair, aren’t they?” Rose whispered.
“You at least look ready for a night out. My very non-spectacular dress is going to look sorrowful next to his crisp black suit.”
“I’ve seen the way that man looks at you, Charli. Don’t think he’ll be noticing your dress.”
Shyness was rare for me, but one glance from Jackson’s intense blue gaze and my tongue deserted me. Rose, on the other hand, took hold of Gideon’s arm and led him confidently toward the exit. Stomach butterflies? They’d either flown off quickly or I’d been had.
Jackson and I walked behind them without a word, until he broke the awkward silence with small talk, something that we hadn’t tried yet. “You look very nice.”
“Thank you, but I’m feeling rather frumpy next to the rest of you tonight. I don’t
really have glad rags for a night out.”
“I like the dress. Besides, I’m sort of relieved.”
I turned my face to him. “Relieved?”
“I’ve met you riding a giant horse through the forest with your dress hitched up your thighs.” He leaned his head closer. “Riding attire I heartily approve of, by the way. The next time I met you, you were wearing a man-eating snake like a scarf. A look, I’m not as keen on. And just an hour ago, I saw you again as you exploded out of nowhere on a shiny red motorcycle wearing not much more than a sequined handkerchief. Again, my hearty approval on that particular outfit. I wasn’t completely sure what would happen on this fourth occasion. Sweet and pretty, I like it.”
“Glad I didn’t shock you too much this time. But if we want to be accurate, this would be our fifth encounter. We met when our truck was pulling into town. And that brings us back to the first few times I saw you, equally interesting, but I don’t feel the need to describe those moments or comment on your attire . . . or the lack thereof. I’m sure you remember it all well enough.”
“I do.”
Gideon and Rose were a good fifteen feet ahead.
“Turn left onto the road,” Jackson called to his brother. “There was no room to park when I got here tonight. Why didn’t you tell me you were The Enchantress?”
“I guess it never came up.”
“It never came up because never in a million years would I have expected it.”
“But you knew The Enchantress was a woman?”
“Yes but— I guess I was expecting someone a little less—”
I peered up at him questioningly. “A little less—?”
“Well, less womanly.”
I laughed. “That’s what might be referred to as ignorance.”
He was quiet at first, and I was about to apologize for once again shooting stinging words at him. Then he laughed. “I’d say you’re right on that. I’ll have to work at being more open-minded about things in the future.”
