Then he stood up to walk out.
“Don’t you dare!” I yelled at him. “Don’t you dare put all that on me then walk out like a coward without giving me a chance to say anything!”
He turned, folding his arms across his broad chest, his hazel eyes darkening with fury.
“This should be good,” he muttered.
“You have no idea what Kes and I have been through to get here,” I yelled. “I’ve known him since we were ten years old. I’ve loved him all that time, and I am not throwing away our second chance because Sorcha held him hostage by playing on his weaknesses, his reading…”
I ground to a halt, afraid I was giving away Kes’s secrets. But Zef just glared at me.
“You mean because he can’t read? Yeah, I figured that out. I look out for my friends, but you … I don’t know you.”
“No, you don’t! But you decided I was the bad guy anyway! I can tell you just from one afternoon of looking at Kes’s paperwork that she was taking a lot more than pocket money! And for reasons that I haven’t worked out—yet—she turned down some very lucrative bookings that could have made all three of you rich. My guess is that she wanted to keep you on a short leash, but especially Kes.”
“You can’t prove any of that,” he sneered, although I could see the confusion on his face.
“Maybe not, but Kes has passed all his paperwork to a forensic accountant, and he’s come up with enough questions to…”
I forced myself to stop my furious defense. If Kes chose to make public what Sorcha had done, that was up to him, not me. Besides, anything I said would just taste like sour grapes.
“What questions?” scowled Zef.
“Forget it,” I said tiredly. “Just do what you have to do to keep Kes safe … and stay the fuck out of my way.”
I turned and walked into the bedroom, thumping the door shut behind me. But Zef followed, slamming the door open again.
“What questions?” he shouted.
“None of your fucking business!” I yelled back.
He prowled into the room, his eyes narrowed and his lips peeled back from his teeth.
“Tell me what the fuck you found out,” he growled.
As well as angry, now I was scared. I didn’t like being cornered by this hulking brute, with his full sleeve tattoos.
When I saw Kes’s shadow behind him, I breathed a sigh of relief. Zef turned just in time to see Kes’s fist coming, and he crashed back onto our bed, narrowly avoiding knocking me over.
Kes was panting with fury, shaking out his hand, but looking as if he was going after Zef again.
“Someone had better tell me what the fuck’s going on!”
Zef sat up rubbing his jaw. “Ask that bitch,” he said.
Kes hit him again.
“Enough!” I snapped.
Kes took a breath, but kept his fists raised. Then Tucker came running up, out of breath, a worried frown on his face.
“What’s going on?”
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Kes said tightly.
I could feel the situation about to explode again, so I knew I had to be calm even though I was still shaking.
“I’m fine,” I said, with as much control in my voice as I could muster. “Zef and I had a slight difference of opinion, but there are things we need to talk about. All of us. Kes, can we reconvene in the living room? Family conference?”
“Family conference?”
“Yes, you keep telling me we’re all one family, so let’s try and act like it.”
“If it’s anything like my family, we’ll all get drunk and beat the shit out of each other,” Tucker added cheerfully.
I threw him a look that should have reduced him to a pile of ash, but he just grinned at me.
“Please,” I said quietly, gazing at Kes.
He looked like he was going to argue, but Tucker laid a hand on his shoulder and murmured something I couldn’t hear. Kes shrugged him off but stepped back out of the room, although still keeping a wary eye on Zef who was dripping blood onto the sheets.
Zef threw me a look full of hate, then stumbled into the bathroom.
I gave up trying to be Zen like the butterfly, and stalked into the living area.
“Was he hitting on you?” Kes growled, grabbing my arm immediately.
“No, nothing like that.”
“Then what?”
“Let’s just wait till Zef is here.”
“Fuck’s sake, Aimee! I hear you yelling at each other and he’s got you cornered in our bedroom. I mean, what the fuck?!”
“I’m fine,” I said again. “Zef didn’t touch me—just a difference of opinion. But let’s wait until he’s here so we don’t have to say it all twice.”
Kes was fuming, and when Zef walked into the room, I thought they were going to go for round two.
“You sit over there,” I said pointing at Kes. “Don’t punch anyone. And you,” I said pointing at Zef, “don’t be an asshole to anyone. And you,” I turned to Tucker, “um … don’t flirt with anyone.”
“Don’t tell me what to do!” snapped Kes.
“Fine. Fine. Sit where you like—just no more punching, please?”
He didn’t reply, but slumped onto the sofa, as requested.
“Okay,” I said quietly, as Zef leaned against a kitchen cabinet, eyeing me coldly while Tucker smirked in the opposite corner. “It’s come to my attention that there are some concerns about who’s managing Hawkins’ Daredevils now Sorcha is … out of the picture.”
“It’s not going to be you!” hissed Zef.
“Why not her?” Kes growled at him.
“No, not me,” I said firmly, and Kes scowled. “With the best will in the world, I don’t know enough about the business to be helpful. But I do have a suggestion.”
“This should be good,” Zef muttered, and I wanted to throttle him.
So did Kes, if the murderous look he was giving him was anything to go by.
“I suggest that you ask Zachary to be your interim manager. He knows the business and knows which bookings you should go for. What he doesn’t know, he’ll have an idea of where to go to find out. It sounds like he’s pretty busy running the carnival, but I’m sure he’d help out on a short term basis. Either way, it’ll give you time to find a new manager, set up some meetings for when you’re back in California. That’ll give you five or six weeks to figure things out.”
“Makes sense to me,” said Tucker with his usual, charming smile.
Zef grunted, which could mean anything, and Kes just looked surly.
“Or not,” I said tiredly. “Maybe your accountant could find an interim manager.”
Kes stood up suddenly and walked away, jumping out of the RV and stalking off through the fairground.
“Don’t worry,” said Tucker with a smile. “He’s going to find Zach.”
“How do you know?”
He grinned. “Masculine intuition. Nice catch, sweet cheeks.”
Then he strolled out and followed Kes, leaving me alone with Zef.
“You could have fucked me,” he said.
I pulled a disgusted face. “I wouldn’t let you fuck me with someone else’s dick on the end of a ten-foot pole.”
To my surprise, Zef cracked a grin. “I meant, you could have fucked me over. If you’d told Kes I’d come on to you, I’d be out on my ear and chewing my food with dentures.”
“Oh,” I said, cautiously pleased that we were communicating rather than shouting at each other.
“I thought you got rid of Sorcha so you could take over, tell the boy what to do.”
I frowned and shook my head, wondering where he’d gotten that absurd idea.
“Like I said, I know nothing about this business. Besides, I’m only here for the summer.”
Zef looked puzzled. “Just the summer?”
“Yes, I already have a job, thank you very much. I’m not looking for another one.”
“Oh right. Teacher, isn’t it?”
/> I nodded curtly.
He stood up and lurched toward me. I scrunched back against the sofa, but Zef just held out his hand.
“Truce?” he said.
“I was never fighting you.”
He smiled again. “I see that now.”
I took his meaty hand, and he shook mine gently. Then he stepped out of the RV and disappeared.
I blew out a breath. So much for this being a vacation. Right now I’d opt for extra playground duty with my third-graders. But then the pleasant ache between my legs reminded me that this road trip still had a lot of pluses.
Kes didn’t come back, so I spent the next hour puttering around and tidying up. I yanked the bloody sheets off our bed and shoved them into the washing machine. It was one of those neat little washer-dryers, but it was such a lovely day, it made sense to hang the sheets outside. I just needed a clothes line.
I wandered over to an RV a couple of trailers down from us and knocked on the open door.
“Come on in,” called a friendly voice.
I stuck my head around the door and saw a woman with blonde curly hair sitting with a young child on her knee.
“Oh hey, you must be Aimee. We didn’t get to meet last night. I’m Tonya, and this is Brody.”
“Hi, Tonya. It’s lovely to meet you. Hello, Brody.”
Tonya gave me a genuine smile, but her little boy hid his head.
“What can I do for y’all?”
“I was wondering if you had a spare clothes line? I’m sure Kes must have some around, but he’s meeting with the Health & Safety rep,” I elaborated, not entirely truthfully, “so I didn’t want to bother him.”
“Yeah, I’ve got some. If you could just take Brody for a moment…”
She passed me the boy who gave a small wail, but at least didn’t try to fight me. I propped him on my hip, and he fastened his small fingers into the strap of my tank top.
“Oh, he likes you,” smiled Tonya. “You got kids?”
“No, but I have a nephew that I adore. He’s five now.”
Tonya nodded. “You’re a natural. Ah, here it is,” and she passed me a length of twine. “You can string it up between trailers—no one will mind.”
“Thanks. I’ll do that.”
“Oh hey, I’m going into town in about an hour if you want a ride?”
I smiled, really pleased by her offer. It would be good to have a break from all of the testosterone—now there was a sentence I never thought I’d say.
I waved and agreed to meet her later.
I felt very domestic hanging out the sheets, channeling my inner homemaker. All I needed was a white picket fence and a dog.
I checked the fridge in the RV and, surprise, surprise, it was full of junk food, white bread that had a shelf-life of about a hundred years, and a lot of beers and sodas. So I sat down and made a shopping list. I decided my contribution to the summer could be to buy groceries.
I was very pleased with my list of nourishing, healthy food, but of course there was still something I needed to add: candy. A lot.
Tonya honked her horn, and I scrawled a quick note for Kes to tell him where I’d gone. Then I screwed it up, feeling stupid. He had a hard enough time with printed words—I doubted he’d be able to read my scribble. I decided to send him a text instead.
There were four trucks all heading into town. I jumped in with Tonya who said that she was pleased to have the company. Then she introduced me to her oldest son, Liam, who was seven, and explained that her boyfriend traveled with the carnie nine months of the year. She’d just driven them from El Dorado, Kansas, to join him.
“It’s hard when he’s away, on the road. We miss him, but school’s got to come first. You’ll understand when you have kids of your own.”
“Not planning on that for a long time,” I laughed nervously.
“Pity,” she said with a smile. “Kes is awesome with kids.”
“Yes,” I admitted. “My nephew adores him, and he was great when I saw him at the fair. He was signing autographs and talking to all the children for ages.”
“Hmm, sounds like someone is getting broody!”
“Not at all,” I said adamantly.
Wisely, she changed the subject.
Tonya drove us to a large supermarket on the outskirts of town and all the carnie vehicles parked together. I was one of the youngest in the group, but they were all really friendly.
I couldn’t say the same for the staff in the supermarket. As soon as we walked inside, I felt the stares. It wasn’t that anybody said anything directly, but they were definitely watching us. Maybe it was just because we were strangers, but it felt like more than that.
When the security guard started following me around the store, my hackles rose and I turned to say something, but Tonya grabbed my arm.
“Don’t. I know it sucks, but it’s best not to go looking for trouble. We’ll just do what we gotta do and get out of here.”
“Fine,” I said stiffly, grabbing a shopping cart and throwing an angry look at the security guard still trailing us around the store.
The cashier was just plain rude, eyeing us like we were trash, and snapping her gum in my face. It made me want to pull off her false eyelashes and shove them up her nostrils, but Tonya’s advice was ringing in my ears, so I restrained myself.
I was fuming when I left the store, resentful that I’d paid good money to be treated like that. If we’d known of anywhere else to shop nearby, I would have told them to stuff it. Or words to that effect.
“I know, honey,” Tonya said, her voice bitter. “You get used to it. The only way you can fight it is by being better than they are, you know what I’m sayin’?”
I took a deep breath. “You’re right, but just … ugh! Did you see that girl who rang us up? I could have smacked her. Next time I’ll send my secret weapon to buy the groceries.”
Tonya looked puzzled. “You’ve lost me, hon.”
“I’ll send Kes. Women just melt when they see him. She’ll be too busy staring at his ass to worry about what I might be hiding under the broccoli.”
Tonya gurgled and nearly choked on a laugh.
“That’ll definitely work. My Brett has a nice ass but your Kes … he has a great ass.”
“I know,” I said smugly.
Arriving back at the carnival, just a few hours from opening, anticipation was in the air, and we were all excited.
The other ladies hurried off to their respective homes, and I went back to the RV to unload groceries. Tucker was there and he leapt to his feet, helping me with the bags.
“Wow! Real food,” he said, holding up a bag of fresh vegetables and studying them as if he’d never seen anything like it before. “What’s this?” he asked, poking the broccoli head.
I stared at him in amazement. “It’s broccoli,” I replied, bemused.
“Oh, okay. Can you put it on pizza?”
“Yes,” I said quickly. “It goes great with pizza. You want some for lunch?”
Tucker smiled happily. “Cool!”
Lesson learned: if I wanted the boys to eat vegetables, put them on pizza.
“Where’s Kes?” I asked, as I stuffed a bag of pasta into one of the cabinets.
“Aw, ain’t that sweet?” he said, with a corny accent.
“What?”
“Can’t be out of his sight for more than five minutes. What’s the matter, sweet cheeks, you afraid to be alone with me?”
“Don’t push your luck, Tucker, or I’ll smack you upside the head with my broccoli. Not that I could do much damage by hitting you in the head—you’ve already landed on it too many times.”
“You’re immune to my charm, but I’ll grow on you,” he promised.
“You make yourself sound like fungus,” I snarked, but he just laughed and I couldn’t help giggling, as well.
But when Kes strode inside, the look on his face wasn’t amused. He grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the bedroom.
“Hey!” I yelped,
tugging free.
Tucker slipped silently from the room. Smart guy.
“What’s with you?” I snapped, rubbing my arm.
“What the fuck was that ambush this morning?” he shouted.
“Don’t yell at me! I’m not your servant!”
His eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared, but I could see him controlling his anger.
“Thank you,” I said, more calmly. “I didn’t ambush you. I was responding to a situation that should never have happened…”
“No, it shouldn’t!” he interrupted, his voice rising again.
“Because you shouldn’t have put me in that position,” I said firmly.
“What?”
“The Daredevils is your business, Kes, but the moment you told Sorcha to go, you didn’t think about what came next.”
“I asked you to look at my contracts!” he shouted.
“God, yes! Like I could forget that afternoon!” I took a deep breath, forcing myself to speak more quietly. “And I found you an accountant to manage your finances, but Kes, I’m not a business manager. I have no idea what your work entails. You’ll have to…”
“You know I can’t!” he yelled. “I can’t do that fucking shit!”
He was getting really worked up, so I tried to stay calm. But he was a lot more scary than my eight-year olds who were generally smaller than I was. Kes towered over me, but it was the hurt I heard in his voice that kept me from flinching at his anger.
“We can figure this out,” I said softly. “I’ll try to help—we could look at your emails together and I can help with your fan mail, but as for the rest…” I shook my head. “I’m really sorry that you felt boxed in earlier, but Zef needed to know that I wasn’t some sort of Yoko Ono trying to break you guys apart. I was trying to … I don’t know, stop it from flaring up like it did. But as for running your business, honestly I don’t know where to start. That’s why I suggested Zachary could…”
The Traveling Man Page 26
