“She’s not going to die,” Kade agreed. “We’re not going to let it happen, though. That includes everyone, not just you and me.”
“Fine.” Luke rarely let things go without a fight. “It mostly means me, though. I’ve known her longer.”
“You’re such a pain,” Kade grumbled, although he didn’t mount further argument.
There we were, my best friend, my boyfriend and me in the middle. We were all holding hands and walking in a line together to check out a scarecrow. For some reason it was comforting instead of strange. It was odd, don’t get me wrong, but the comfort far outweighed everything else.
Luke kept his eyes trained on the scarecrow as we approached, releasing my hand only when he was sure Kade still held the other and I wasn’t in any immediate danger. He circled the scarecrow for what felt like forever and then turned toward us with a dark look on his face. Did he sense something I had missed?
“It’s wearing two different plaid patterns, and that is just unacceptable,” Luke announced. “Who puts red horizontal plaid with blue vertical plaid?”
“I think his name is Burt,” Kade answered. “He owns the farm.”
“Or Mama,” I said, making a face. “That still bugs me.”
“I’ll never call you Mama,” Kade promised. “You’ve made your feelings on the situation perfectly clear.”
“That doesn’t explain the plaid, though,” Luke prodded. “It’s … demented.”
I found his ability to find outrage in the mundane comforting, too. It reminded me that life – and the upheaval associated with it – was always churning, but some things would always remain the same. Luke and the love and loyalty I felt for him was a shining example of that.
“I think you should take it up with Burt,” I suggested. “I’m sure the two of you will have a lot to talk about if you meet. He wears overalls.”
“That poor, tortured soul,” Luke said, pressing his hand to the spot above his heart. “I might have to seek him out.”
“If you do, ask him if the other scarecrow turned up,” Kade said, narrowing his eyes as he scanned a few nearby cornrows. “It still bugs me that the other one disappeared.”
“Do you think that’s the possessed scarecrow?” Luke asked.
“I think focusing on the scarecrow is a mistake,” Kade replied. “Even if it is somehow involved – and for the record, if it is, that’s creepier than clowns – but even if it is involved I think it’s clear someone else is controlling it.”
“Like Percival?” I asked, remembering our conversation from the night before.
“Yeah, well I’m going to run a thorough background check on him before the fairgrounds open,” Kade said. “I know you think I’m being ridiculous, but there’s something wonky about that guy.”
“There’s definitely something wonky about him,” Luke agreed. “No British guy should have abs like that. It goes against the laws of nature.”
Kade’s eyes widened. “That’s what I said.”
“We’re like brothers from another mother,” Luke teased, grinning.
Their relationship was odd, but I couldn’t help but enjoy the sometimes outrageous interaction. They were like brothers. Really competitive brothers who occasionally wanted to beat each other up, but brothers all the same.
“Don’t push it,” Kade said, shaking his head. “I wanted to make sure Poet was okay before I locked myself away with my computer for a few hours.” He cast me a sidelong look, almost as if he had something he wanted to ask but was afraid to voice. “Actually, I was kind of hoping you would sit with me while I run the search. I’ll cook you breakfast, and then you can eat while I’m doing it. How does that sound?”
I decided to answer honestly. “It sounds as if you want to babysit me so I don’t accidentally die while you’re distracted.”
“You’re not going to die,” Kade snapped, his tone serious enough to jolt me.
“I’m sorry. It was just a joke.”
“It’s not funny,” Kade said, his expression softening. “Nothing about this is funny and I’m not going to pretend I’m not worried. I didn’t even believe in magic a month ago and now I’m terrified some woman’s vision is going to come true. It’s messed up.”
“I’m … sorry.” I didn’t know what else to say.
“No, I’m sorry,” Kade said. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.”
“Meh, she threw bacon, so I think you guys are even,” Luke said. “I have a suggestion that’ll make everyone happy, though, if you’re willing to listen.”
Kade looked understandably dubious, but he patiently waited for Luke to continue.
“I’m going to run to the farmhouse over yonder and ask about the scarecrow,” Luke said. “I want to cover all of our bases. While that’s happening, Kade, you can cook Poet breakfast and whisper sweet nothings in her ear and make up in a proper fashion. That way I don’t have to see the kissing and you don’t have to hear the heckling and vomit noises I intend to make if you do it in front of me.”
“That sounds great,” Kade deadpanned, annoyed. “I’m still waiting for the part I’ll like.”
“After that you can run your search and I’ll help Poet get ready for today’s show,” Luke said, refusing to acknowledge Kade’s irritation. “That will take us at least an hour. By the time you’re done with your search she’ll be ready to go to her tent and you can take over bodyguard duty.”
My eyebrows practically flew off my forehead when I realized what they were suggesting. “No way!”
Kade ignored me. “I like that idea,” he said. “Do you promise to stick close to her until I show up at the trailer to collect her? I can finagle it so I’m outside her trailer the entire day except for every other hour when I need to walk the fairgrounds.”
“I already have a plan for that, too,” Luke said. “I’ll put that into motion during your first shift in her tent.”
“Does anyone want to hear what I think?” I asked, my gaze bouncing from face to face. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“No one is going to sit on you, baby,” Kade said, tightening his grip on my hand. “We merely like looking at you so much that we can’t bear to be away from you and your extraordinary beauty.”
That was the lamest line I’d ever heard. “I’m not agreeing to this plan.”
Luke pretended I didn’t speak. “That was a really good one, man. Smooth.”
Kade returned Luke’s impish smile. “I may be new to the ways of the circus but I know my way around women.”
“Not so far you don’t,” Luke shot back, casting me a pointed look.
“And we were getting along so well,” Kade muttered. “How long are you going to keep this up?”
“Just until you pull her rabbit out of your hat.”
Okay, this officially just got weird.
25
Twenty-Five
“Do you really think there’s something going on with him?”
I sat in a white plastic chair in front of my trailer as Luke tugged on strands of my hair in what I was sure was a vain attempt to tame the mass of unruly waves that formed when I took off in a huff and let the wind do the heavy hair lifting.
“I think there’s something going on with him,” Luke confirmed, his eyes landing on Percival as he regaled Nixie and Naida with some tall tale. “He’s a tool.”
“I thought you liked him,” I argued, wrinkling my nose as Nixie dissolved into hysterical giggles that couldn’t possibly be real. “You seemed to like him the day we interviewed him.”
“I did not,” Luke said, reaching for a metal clip. “I told you he was evil and should be eradicated.”
That’s not how I remembered things. “You liked his accent.”
“You liked his accent,” Luke shot back. “You went all weak in the knees and googly eyed. I wasn’t the only one who noticed it. Kade noticed it, and he growled like a wounded bear. True story.”
Whenever Luke says “true story” I know he’
s exaggerating. “I did not go weak in the knees.”
“Kade still growled,” Luke said. “He didn’t like the way you looked at the British clown one bit. He’s … smitten.” Luke pinched my cheek for good measure as he mulled a new nickname for a British clown. He loved mashing two words to come up with something new. “He’s a smitten kitten.”
I was used to Luke’s moods careening from high to low and then back again, but he was a far cry from the melancholy man I left in the cornfield an hour and a half earlier. “What’s up with you?” I asked, suspicious. “Did you find Burt?”
“I did. He’s a delightful man.”
He must’ve met a different Burt. “Did you see his overalls?”
“I did. I think they’re retro and have a lot of potential.”
Now he was just making things up. “Did you get to meet Mama? I’m dying to see what she looks like.”
“I didn’t get to meet Mama.” Luke sounded disappointed. “The house is charming, though. It’s right out of a television movie.”
“One of those Lifetime ones with a small budget?” I was annoyed by his hovering, so I didn’t feel bad about poking fun at Luke’s viewing habits. Although, truth be told, I’d been known to partake in a Lifetime movie a time or two … or ten … myself. Okay, we watch them all the time when we can’t sleep. Some of them are riveting, and the rest are so stupid they’re inadvertently funny.
“One of the Hallmark ones filmed on location,” Luke corrected, adopting a huffy tone. “There’s no need to give me attitude. It’s not my fault you’re living under a death omen. You should be thankful that I love you enough to protect you with my life.”
I was thankful for that. Er, well, kind of. That didn’t mean I enjoyed being smothered. “You still haven’t told me why you’re in such a good mood.” I figured steering the conversation away from my potential death was a smart move. “Did you meet a farmer who struck your fancy while you were visiting Burt and Mama? Are you finally going to churn some butter of your own?”
“You’re such a funny girl, Poet Parker,” Luke teased, poking my cheek. “I did meet a farmer who struck my fancy. His name is Burt.”
I had no idea where he was going with this. I could only hope it wasn’t a scary place. “But Burt is with Mama.”
“Not that way, piglet,” Luke snapped, shaking his head. “I liked the way he talked about his wife. He’s a nice guy. He doesn’t know what happened to his scarecrow, by the way. It’s a big mystery, although he doesn’t seem particularly worried about it. He thinks some drunken teenagers probably took it and turned it into a sex doll.”
“See, he said something similar to me and I didn’t find it cute,” I said. “I found it disturbing.”
“That’s because you’re a pain in the behind,” Luke said. “You don’t understand that people have rustic charms that surpass the chic circus world.”
Because we have a bearded lady who runs around in evening gowns and combat boots, and ten clowns who never met a whirling tie they didn’t like, I couldn’t imagine anyone ever using the words “chic” and “circus” in the same sentence together. “What are you up to?”
Luke was full of faux innocence and light as he swiped a makeup brush over my eyelid. It looked like he was going with a wild purple color that I normally wouldn’t allow near my face. Because applying makeup was the only way I could keep him from handcuffing himself to me as a form of protection, I relented. It was only for one day. How bad could it be?
“As your best friend, I have the right to have my feelings hurt whenever my favorite person in the world is suspicious about my motivations,” Luke sniffed. “In the immortal words of Stephanie Tanner: How rude!”
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. Ever since Luke forced me to watch the Full House revival – Fuller House – on Netflix, he’d been spouting every catchphrase he could remember. Kade found them irritating – especially when Luke did the “cut it out” mime routine – but I thought he was funny. I always thought he was funny … even when he wasn’t. My heart rolled as I pressed my eyes shut. I had no idea why I was so emotional.
“You’re not dying on me!” Luke snapped me out of my reverie by grabbing my shoulders and giving them a good shake. I was even more stunned by his actions than my out-of-control emotions.
“I wasn’t thinking that,” I protested.
“You’re lying.”
He was right. I was lying. That didn’t mean I would admit it. “I don’t think I’m going to die, Luke,” I said finally, happy that my voice didn’t crack when I said the words. “I was thinking how much I love you.”
“Because you’re worried you’re going to die and leave me all alone,” Luke seethed. “You’re feeling nostalgic, and that’s making you weepy. Knock it off!”
If I was feeling nostalgic, that emotion evaporated with the arrival of Luke’s bossy tone. “You knock it off.”
“You knock it off first,” Luke snapped. “I’m not joking. You’re not leaving me. You can’t leave me. I’ll kill you first.”
“Well, that sounds counterproductive,” I muttered.
“You’re counterproductive,” Luke hissed.
“All right, that will be enough of that,” Kade said, annoyance wafting off of him as he slipped a hand between Luke and me to separate us. I didn’t even notice him approaching. He’s sneaky sometimes. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” I replied, shifting my eyes to my bare feet. Luke had insisted on giving me a pedicure, too. “Did you find anything during your search?”
“It’s going to take a bit longer than I thought,” Kade replied, using his thumb to tip my chin up so he could search my face. “The internet hub is slow out here today, so I left the search running in my trailer. I figured I could head back during one of my rounds and check for the results. I didn’t get very far in my effort because it’s taking so long.”
“A watched page never loads,” Luke said sagely. “I learned that from internet porn.”
“That’s … great,” Kade said, rubbing the spot between his eyebrows. “I can’t be sure Percival is a threat, but I want to run a search on him anyway, just to be sure. We should still be vigilant in case it’s not him.”
“I still think he’s just a weird guy who likes dressing in makeup and wigs,” I said. “That doesn’t make him evil.”
“He’s a clown,” Kade said. “That makes him evil.”
“I hear that,” Luke said, pushing Kade’s hand away so he could return to his work on my face. “You don’t need to be here yet. I’m not done making her shiny and pretty.”
“She’s already pretty,” Kade said. “You can’t improve on perfection.”
Holy … crap! My cheeks burned as my feet became the most interesting thing to look at.
“Oh, look how cute she is when you compliment her,” Luke cooed. He was back to enjoying himself. “I haven’t seen her this cute since … well … forever.” His eyes took on a far-off quality as he looked me over. “Her skin is almost glowing.”
“You two are a trip,” Kade said, shaking his head. “Is this what’s been going on the entire time I’ve been gone? Have you been fighting and then almost crying because you’re both emotional wrecks about the prospect of Poet dying? I thought we agreed that wasn’t going to happen.”
“It’s not going to happen,” Luke said, puffing out his chest. “I’m here to protect her.”
“I’m here to protect her,” Kade argued. “You’re here to doll her up.”
“You know what? I’m here to protect myself,” I corrected, hopping off the chair and grabbing the hand mirror from the picnic table before Luke realized what I was trying to do. “I don’t need anyone to doll me up either. I happen to think I look pretty good.”
“You look better than pretty good,” Kade said, tilting his head to the side as he watched me lift the mirror. “Luke did a good job, though.”
I was surprised when I saw my reflection, sucking in a breath when I saw
the glittering makeup on my brow and cheeks twinkling in the sun. I generally don’t go for all the bells and whistles when I prepare for a workday, but I had to give Luke credit because I really did look pretty good. He’d tied my hair back in two loose buns, but he’d left several tendrils hanging loose close to my face, which gave me a wild look. My eyes were offset by a bright purple eye shadow that would’ve been overbearing under different circumstances. Luke actually made it look minimalistic, though.
“Wow.”
“Oh, I love it when a woman looks at herself in a mirror and says that,” Luke said, grinning. “You do look good, even if I say so myself. What do you think, Security Studmuffin?”
Kade usually blanched at the name, but he didn’t even acknowledge it this go around. “I think she looks amazing,” he said. “All she’s missing is one of those sequined skirts and a scarf.”
“I have both inside,” Luke said. “I wanted her to strip out here so I could dress her, too, but that’s where she drew the line.”
“Well, everyone has limits,” Kade said, reaching up to touch one of the curls that framed my face. “I always think you look amazing, but this is … you look like a piece of art.”
“She’s my masterpiece,” Luke boasted.
“She’s my masterpiece,” Kade countered, his voice low. “You look beautiful. I can’t wait to see you add a skirt to this. I love those skirts. Wear one with bells if you can. I like knowing where you are before I see you.”
I thought about putting up a fight but he was so earnest I couldn’t muster the energy. “I can probably manage that.”
“Good.” Kade leaned over and gave me a gentle kiss. “I’m glad I’m going to be hanging around with you all day.”
Of course he had to ruin the moment. “Don’t remind me,” I grumbled, shifting my eyes to Luke. “You never did tell me why you’re in such a good mood … and what Burt has to do with it.”
“Oh, it’s nothing really, but when I stopped at the main house to see him he mentioned never visiting a circus before, so I said I would give him tickets,” Luke said.
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