Tia took a defiant bite out of the mustard-slathered soft pretzel. “Yup. And I’m just as certain about the hot dogs, kettle corn and red-velvet funnel cake I plan to eat... Hold on.”
She handed him the pretzel and pulled a park map out from the back pocket of her skirt.
“Right after I ride the Thunderation coaster,” she said. “Says here it’s a runaway mine train that provides riders with a scenic view of the Ozarks before an eighty-one-foot drop at forty-eight miles an hour and then a race through an underground tunnel.”
Tia shoved the map back into her pocket, and Ethan returned her jumbo pretzel. To his credit, he let the subject of her food choices drop, but not his attempts to curb her amusement-park buzz.
“We’re not here to have fun.” He brought a hand to his face to shield his eyes against the sun as he looked around them. “You’re supposed to be helping me find my grandmother.”
Tia shook her head. “No, sir.” She pointed her half-eaten cotton candy at his chest. “You’re the one hunting down Carol.”
And good luck to him, Tia mused. She’d finally been able to reach Carol when they’d stopped back at the rest stop. Her friend and Glenn had been standing in line for tickets to a matinee performance of A Tribute to Motown on the other side of the resort town. They didn’t plan to scratch the Outlaw Run roller coaster off the bucket list until later during the park’s special senior-citizen discount night.
“But...” Ethan began.
“But nothing. Your ultimatum terms were I accompany you to help convince her to return home,” Tia said. “When you find Carol, I’ll see what I can do. Until then, I’m eating as much junk food and riding on as many rides as I can.”
Tia took a huge bite of her cotton-candy torch to emphasize her point. Ethan muttered something about checking with the park’s first-aid station to see if any senior citizens had been hauled away from the roller coasters via ambulance today.
Leaving him to his melodrama, Tia polished off her cotton candy and pretzel en route to her first roller-coaster ride. Still, as she stood in line, she couldn’t help wishing Ethan had come along.
“You rode this coaster before?”
Tia turned in the direction of the deep voice coming from behind her. “No, first time,” she answered.
The baritone belonged to a man over six feet tall with smooth, butterscotch skin and an engaging smile.
“You?” Tia asked.
“Yeah, as a teenager it was one of my favorites, but I haven’t been on it in years,” he said. “From what I remember, it’s not the scariest coaster, but it’s still a fun ride.”
“This is my first time on a roller coaster, period,” Tia confessed.
“Really?” His brown eyes widened. “Then I’d be delighted to show you the ropes.”
Tia had figured it for a cheesy pickup line until he began rattling off tips on maximizing your coaster ride.
Friendly. Nice face. Fit body. Why was he alone? Tia wondered. A man like him usually had a woman at his side sporting either an engagement or wedding ring, and if the woman wasn’t wearing either, she had a plan in place to get them.
Maybe Ethan was right. She was a buttinski, because her curiosity got the better of her.
“You’re riding solo, too?”
He nodded. “It’s my weekend with my daughter, so I brought her and her friends,” he said. “I thought I was the cool dad, until they dumped me the moment we walked through the gates.”
Tia laughed as they boarded the ride’s car, which was fashioned to resemble an old-fashioned train.
“By the way, I’m Sam,” he said, sitting down next to her.
A bar clicked into place, securing them in their seats.
“Tia.”
“Well, Tia, don’t forget to raise your arms in the air for the drop,” Sam said.
Tia gasped as the car took off like a bullet. It sped along the narrow track, taking twists and turns before hurtling through a dark tunnel. As it surfaced back into daylight, she could hear the clink of a huge pulley drag the car straight up a stretch of steep track.
Screaming, she threw her arms in the air as the car plunged into a drop that for a few seconds made her feel absolutely weightless.
“What a rush!” Tia exited the ride alongside Sam, chatting animatedly.
“Thanks for the tip about raising my arms,” she said. “It made me feel like I was flying.”
“When I’m riding a real hair-raiser, I keep my eyes open and pretend I’m driving instead of riding. Makes me feel more in control,” Sam said.
“I’ll try it when I ride the Outlaw Run,” Tia said.
“Great, that’s the next one on my list,” Sam said. “I’d love to have some company. It’ll make me feel less like the loser single dad whose kid ditched him.”
“Cool. Sounds like a plan.”
“Enjoy the ride?” a deeper, masculine voice chimed in, this one with a delicious familiarity, and Tia turned away from Sam to see Ethan had joined them.
“It was amazing,” Tia gushed, still reveling in the exhilaration of the two-minute ride.
“So what’s next?” Ethan asked.
His tone seemed hard for a simple question. Then she noticed the two men surrounding her weren’t looking at her but at each other, neither seeming pleased.
“Tia and I were headed over to the Outlaw Run,” Sam said.
Ethan glanced at Tia before returning his attention to Sam. “You’re welcome to tag along with Tia and myself this afternoon,” Ethan said. “If it doesn’t make you feel like a third wheel.”
What the...? Tia frowned at Ethan and turned back to Sam, who looked slightly surprised.
“I didn’t realize you were here with someone,” he said.
“But it’s not like that,” Tia blurted out. “Ethan and I are just...”
She paused midsentence, unsure of what they were to each other. They weren’t exactly friends, but conversation flowed between them as if they’d known each other for years. They weren’t lovers, but they’d come dangerously close, and there was no denying it was what they both wanted.
“We’re here together,” Ethan supplied.
Sam’s eyes narrowed. “The lady implied there’s nothing to you and her,” he said. “So I think I will tag along and get to know her better.”
“Suit yourself,” Ethan countered.
Tia looked from one man to the other and rolled her eyes. On any other day she’d be flattered to have two fine specimens of masculinity vying for her attention, but not today.
This afternoon was all about making the most of her visit to Silver Dollar City.
“You fellas work it out,” Tia said. “I smell freshly popped kettle corn.”
Leaving them to their pissing contest, she let her feet follow her nose to the concession stand. She was struggling to balance her mouthwatering haul of two hot dogs, a bucket of kettle corn and an extra-large cherry slushie when Ethan lightened the load by taking the kettle corn.
They sat on a nearby bench, and Tia took a big bite of the first hot dog, washing it down with a sip of the sweet, ice-cold drink.
“What happened to Sam?” she asked. “You scare him off with your boorish behavior?”
“Maybe.” Ethan helped himself to a handful of her popcorn.
Tia snorted. “And you call me a meddler,” she said. “He was just being friendly, you know.”
“Yeah, right. I saw the way he was looking at you.” He threw back another handful of popcorn. “He wanted to be your friend, all right.”
Tia reached into the barrel of popcorn and scooped up a handful. “Suppose he does. What’s it to you?”
Ethan stared at her long and hard. The sweep of his deep brown eyes over her face had the effect of a caress. It was as if he wa
sn’t just looking at her but into her very soul.
Tia swallowed a lump of confusing emotions elicited by his gaze, and a wave of heat crept over her that had nothing do with the blazing sun overhead. Time became irrelevant, minutes moving like hours. She wasn’t sure how long they sat there motionless, on a bench in the middle of a buzzing amusement park, merely looking into each other’s eyes.
Ethan opened his mouth as if he was about to speak and then closed it. He briefly shut his eyes and shook his head, breaking the connection.
“It’s nothing to me if another man is interested in you,” he said.
Tia averted her eyes, focusing on her food. Disappointment pricked her like a small child who’d just had their balloon popped.
“Yet.” Ethan touched his knuckle to her chin, tilting her head upward until they were once again staring into each other’s eyes. “This chemistry or whatever you want to call this thing between us is growing stronger, and at a pace I can’t explain or control.”
“I know,” Tia whispered.
“But we agreed to wait until I get my grandmother back home.” He hesitated. She could almost see the battle going on in his head. “Right?”
“Yeah, once this Carol thing is sorted out.”
Ethan smoothed his knuckle down her cheek. He turned his attention to the food she was holding.
“Are you really going to eat all of that?” he asked.
Tia smiled up at him. “Every bite. Then you’re going to make good on all that talk in front of Sam and go on some rides with me.”
“Okay, fine. Maybe we’ll luck out and run into Grandma and Glenn.” Ethan sighed.
“What’s your backup plan?” she asked, knowing Carol was watching a show across town.
Tia polished off the second hot dog and was beginning to feel full. However, there was no way she was letting the rest of the kettle corn go to waste.
“According to the EMT at the first-aid center, the park is deeply discounting senior-citizen ticket prices tonight starting at eight,” Ethan said. “Grandma may have changed, but not enough for her to miss a bargain. If she’s going to ride her bucket-list roller coaster, she’ll do it tonight, and we’ll be waiting on her.”
“Wonderful,” Tia said weakly.
Dang it, she thought. She and Carol had assumed they had their bases covered, but they’d underestimated just how well Ethan knew his grandmother’s tendencies.
Now Tia had to implement a backup plan of her own. It was simple. She was going to drag Ethan through every inch of the fifty-five-acre amusement park and get on as many rides as they could along the way.
She glanced down at his watch. Three o’clock. Ethan was already tired from all the driving he’d done today and the night before. In a few hours, she’d have him too exhausted to do anything but call it an early night.
Polishing off the last of the kettle corn, Tia reached for the map in the back pocket of her skirt. “I figure we’ll work our way up to the Outlaw Run and start out with the giant barn swing, the WildFire, the PowderKeg...”
“Just how many rides are we talking about here?” Ethan asked.
“All of them,” Tia insisted. “It’ll give me time to decide between the red velvet and the Oreo-cookie-and-cream funnel cakes.”
Ethan snorted. “The way you’ve been packing it away, why not both?”
“Why, Ethan,” Tia said in her best Tennessee drawl, “I do believe that’s the best idea you’ve had all day.”
* * *
Ethan stood at the base of the mammoth wooden roller coaster, the screams of the riders currently being spun, flipped and plummeted along its tracks echoing in his ears.
He’d read a brief description of the Outlaw Run on Tia’s map, but seeing it up close made the hundred-and-sixty-two-foot drop, banked turns and three inversions a spine-chilling reality.
Well, his grandmother could just forget about scratching this one off that bucket list of hers, he thought. No way he was letting her get on this thing.
Hell, he didn’t even want to ride it.
“Chicken?” Tia sidled up to him, polishing off the last of a four-scoop ice-cream cone. In between rides, she’d also made pit stops for funnel cakes, peanuts and a slice of pizza.
Ethan made a squawking noise and flapped his elbows, eliciting a chorus of giggles from her. He usually wasn’t one for goofy gestures, but he liked the sound of Tia’s laughter. It was worth sacrificing a little dignity.
“Since you scared away poor Sam, it’s your duty to ride with me.”
“I already told you. Your friend Sam left because his kid called him,” he said. “Besides, are you sure you want to jump on this thing after eating your way through most of the park? It looks pretty intense.”
More screams coming from the direction of the park’s premier roller coaster filled the air. Tia flicked her eyes toward the Outlaw Run and back to him.
She lifted a brow. “You riding or spending the rest of our journey listening to me retell the story of the big bad blackmailing lawyer who ran away from the itty-bitty kiddie coaster like a little girl?”
“Kiddie coaster?” Ethan said incredulously before catching on. “I suppose that was your pathetic attempt to goad me.”
Tia grinned. “Did it work?”
Ethan inclined his head toward the line forming at the entrance to the ride. “Let’s go.”
Soon afterward the ride came to a blessed end, and Tia could now tell the story of the big bad lawyer who screamed like a little girl for the entire minute-and-a-half course of the thrill ride, Ethan thought, chuckling to himself. Not that she’d been a slacker in the screaming department, the sound of her shrieks still ringing in his ears.
“So what did you think?” he asked as they exited the ride.
When Tia didn’t answer right away, Ethan figured she was catching her breath. They’d ridden on nearly every ride in the park, but this last one had been phenomenal.
“Ethan,” she called his name.
He stopped in his tracks and took a good look at her. One hand was on her stomach, and the color had drained from her face.
“Ethan,” she said his name again. “I don’t feel so good.”
“Bellyache?”
Tia nodded, confirming both his assumption and his fear as he’d watched her mix the park’s joy rides with an overdose of junk food.
“I shouldn’t have eaten that ice cream,” she murmured, resting her head on his shoulder.
The sight of her looking so utterly miserable pained him. “You were just enjoying yourself.”
So was he. Ethan then smoothed a hand down her cheek. It was true. In the past few hours, he’d had more fun than he’d had in years. He’d temporarily set aside his problems and allowed himself to be drawn in by Tia’s over-the-top enthusiasm.
The woman leaning against him possessed a quality he hadn’t seen in any other woman or, for that matter, in many people. She lived in the moment, making the best of any situation, and it made him feel good just to be near her.
In one swift motion, he scooped her off her feet and into his arms. “Let’s get you checked out.”
Tia shook her head in protest. “No, Ethan. I’m scared I’ll throw up all over you.”
“I don’t care about that.” He brushed off her concern and silently added, I care about you.
Ethan could almost feel the fight go out of her as she sighed and rested her head on his chest. He hustled her over to the first-aid office, staffed by an EMT, and hovered nearby as the medical technician asked Tia a few questions and did a quick assessment.
“Is she going to be okay?” Ethan asked.
“I think so.” The tech smiled reassuringly and nodded his balding head. “Feel free to get a second opinion, but it looks like she overindulged at the concession stand
s and has an old-fashioned stomachache. We get a lot of eyes bigger than bellies around here.”
Ethan had figured as much, but when he looked at Tia, he just wanted to make her feel better and put the ever-present smile back on her face.
“What can we do to make her more comfortable?” he asked.
“A ginger ale or Pepto-Bismol should help settle her stomach.” The medical tech shrugged. “Eventually, it’ll come out of one end or the other.”
The EMT had been right.
Ethan grimaced listening to Tia retch in the bathroom of the hotel suite he’d checked them into immediately after leaving the park. He’d opted for the two-bedroom suite because he hadn’t wanted to leave her alone while she was sick.
The bathroom in her room finally went quiet, and he resumed pacing the sitting area adjoining their rooms, debating whether to follow her wish for privacy or his instincts.
She began to retch again, and Ethan’s instincts won out. He strode through to Tia’s room. When he got to the bathroom, she’d stopped heaving, but was so exhausted she sat on the floor with her head resting on the toilet seat.
Tia motioned for him to go, but he ignored her weak protests. Instead, he smoothed her hair off her face with his hand and helped her off the floor, flushing the toilet.
He turned the sink’s cold-water faucet on full blast, and she scooped gulps of water into her hands to rinse her mouth.
“What can I do?” he asked.
“Toothbrush,” she murmured between gulps of water from the faucet.
Ethan looked into her bag he’d brought in from the car and rummaged through it until he unearthed her toiletry kit. He stood sentinel at the bathroom door in case she got queasy again while she brushed her teeth and washed her face.
When she was done, he lifted her and cradled her in his arms. She rested her head on his chest and over the heart she’d touched in the short time he’d known her. A heart that ached knowing she wasn’t feeling well.
“Thank you,” she whispered as he carried her to the bed. Her voice was raspy from gagging, and her breath carried the minty scent of mouthwash.
Every Road to You Page 11
