Carnival Ride: A Sweet Romance (Red Canyon Series Book 2)

by Laura Westbrook

  “Just like that, huh?”

  “We had a good run. I just don’t think you’re carnival material. I appreciate your work, but this is how things are going to be. Now, I need to know that I can trust you while you finish out your employment. If I hear of any funny business or you trying anything, I’ll throw your stuff out on the street and change the locks. Can I trust you, Nate?”

  Nate stared straight ahead until Barry eventually flinched. “I think you’re right,” Nate said. “I don’t think I’m your kind of material. It’s probably for the best.”

  Barry smiled and blotted his forehead with a handkerchief, which he hastily stuffed back into his pocket. “Good. I’m glad you see it that way. We’ll make nice until then. I won’t tell the other employees, just so they won’t treat you any differently. At the end of your last shift, I’ll pay you in cash for the hours worked this week so you won’t have to worry about mailed checks.”

  He held out his hand. Nate slowly stood up and deliberately turned away. Through the small mirror attached to the back of the door, probably what Barry used to check his comb-over, Nate saw Barry’s hand wilting.

  The moment Nate left Barry’s trailer, the few people standing nearby quickly averted their eyes. He wasn’t sure whether it was out of courtesy or sympathy. Either Barry had gossiped about what he planned on doing or they were pretty good at guessing. It wasn’t exactly a secret that Nate disagreed with Barry on more than weighted pins.

  He kept walking until he reached the edge of the carnival, but he didn’t stop. Bright lights and canvas tents turned into sandy soil and cacti. He spotted a boulder off in the distance and climbed on top of it. The view wasn’t as nice as when he’d sat on the hill with Chelsea, but it would have to do for now. He had some thinking to do.

  * * *

  Those little, old-fashioned diners served the best breakfasts. When Chelsea was little, her family had gone to this place all the time, and every time, she’d order the same thing: pancakes, eggs, and bacon. It didn’t matter what time of the day or night it was, that was her meal of choice.

  The only change was when she went for waffles, and the cooks in this place always put on the butter for her to the point where every little hole had a tiny bit. They either had small knives with the accuracy of a surgeon, or they just slathered on enough to blanket everything.

  She pulled the door open and was greeted by a host of smells that brought back a lot of memories. One which distinctly smelled like sausages, and the other like sautéed onions. While her mouth watered and she was tempted to order some food, instead she ordered coffee, a typical move at a diner, and cozied up in a booth.

  With a sigh, she rested back against the overly-padded seats. When Nate had texted her earlier and offered to be here, it was his idea to meet at the diner. Sure, she had to help him with the restaurant selection with him not being from the area, but he specifically wanted somewhere outside the carnival, which was fine with her. Many of their dates had been there, but it reached a point where they needed to expand their circle.

  Although, that was before the current situation had come up with talking to Harper and all that, which definitely threw a wrench into things. They needed to talk, and they both knew it. She imagined he wanted to talk about their relationship and how they hadn’t seen much of each other lately. The subject was like a ghost, never quite recognized but often around…at least since the situation had come up.

  The nice woman in her fifties who had announced herself as Chelsea’s server dropped off her mug of coffee. Chelsea had forgotten to ask for cream, but Doris clearly had it covered by dropping off two portion cups of it.

  “Now you let me know if you need any more cream or sugar or if you want some of that peach cobbler I talked about earlier,” Doris said. “It’s only on special until we’re out of it.”

  “Thanks,” Chelsea said. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  She glanced up at the clock. Five minutes after. No big deal. Stuff comes up. There might have been traffic or a late bus or something like that. She knew deep down that traffic really wasn’t an issue in Red Canyon, but she kept the excuse in the back of her mind just in case. He’ll be here.

  Just as she finished stirring her cream and sugar and prepared for the first sip, the door opened and Nate walked in. He wore jeans and a flannel shirt that made him look like he’d just walked off a lumber mill in the wilderness of Montana. It was a good look for him.

  “Sorry I’m late,” he said. “Have you been waiting long?”

  “No, not long. I just sat down and ordered some coffee. That’s about it.”

  “That’s a good idea.”

  At that moment, as if by magic, Doris appeared and patted his shoulder when he asked for coffee as well. “Table of coffee drinkers. You two will be up all night. I’ll be right back with it.”

  “How’s your day so far?” he asked.

  “Not too bad,” she said. “Sophie helped me move the rest of my storage unit yesterday, so I’ve been busy absorbing all that new stuff. Thank God I have extra closet space now, otherwise everything would’ve found a home in the yard, and it’s certainly not all waterproof.”

  “That’s good. How’s your friend doing?”

  “Brandon’s out of town for a bit, so she’s been finding things to do to keep her occupied. She’s started and abandoned three new hobbies just in the past few days, which is classic Sophie. One of them is drawing, and she only got as far as buying the pencils and pads of paper. At least she had a bit of shopping, so that cured being bored for at least an hour.”

  “I could spend an hour just looking at different types of tomato plants, but if you put me in an art store, I wouldn’t know the first thing to do or where to go.”

  She took another sip. “Everyone has their thing.”

  Even though he’d been the one to invite her there, she had a lot on her mind that she wanted to share too. It wouldn’t do to launch into it before he received his coffee, though, so she waited.

  “Is it nice seeing a lot of your old stuff that’s been in storage for a while?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Yeah, it is. Some of it is from my childhood that I don’t look at often, like my old drawings from grade school and my high school diploma and all that. It’s nice to look at, but back at my last apartment, when I had to decide between my memory boxes or clothes, I chose the latter.”

  “I don’t blame you. It’s too bad you and Sophie didn’t pick a different day. I would’ve easily helped you.”

  “I appreciate that. We got it done easily enough. Unloading the truck took a lot longer than loading it because we kept goofing around and taking long breaks. She ended up liking my lemonade too, although she kept trying to put vodka in it.”

  Nate gave a smile that was so handsome, she ached a little inside. “I’m surprised the bartender didn’t think of that idea first.”

  “That’s true. I was all for it once we were done, but I was pretty focused.”

  “It must feel pretty good.”

  “It does,” she said. “At least now, everything I own is under the same roof.”

  Doris arrived and dropped off the second mug of coffee. When she offered cream, he declined. He didn’t even put a single packet of sugar in it. A brave man. She couldn’t even start thinking about sipping her coffee until it had massive amounts of both in it.

  She pushed back her mug and clasped her hands together. It was as good a time as any. “So, there’s something I need to talk to you about. I know I’ve been a little distant lately, and I haven’t exactly been as forthcoming with you as I should’ve been, and I’m sorry for that. I’ve wanted to talk to you about it, but I just didn’t know what to say.”

  She changed her mind and pulled the mug back over to give her hands something to do. She traced the opening of the handle with her fingertip while she stared at it. “I know you said in your text that you had something to tell me too, but I feel it’s important that I get this off my chest first—if
you don’t mind.”

  He leaned back. “Okay, I’m listening.”

  “I mean, I’m sure you know what it’s about. I mentioned how Harper and I had that conversation and how it messed with my head for a little while. What I didn’t mention is how I’ve been thinking the past few days and what conclusions I’ve come to.”

  “And what are those?” There was a look in his eye that she couldn’t quite place, like he knew something he wasn’t letting on.

  “I’ve given it a lot of thought, and although I know it won’t be easy to keep things going while you’re out of state, I know you’re far too special of a person to not stick with. We haven’t exactly known each other for years, but I feel a strong connection with you and…I have feelings for you.”

  She reached across the table and grabbed his hand. “I’m saying I want to make this work, Nate. Let’s do it, and we’ll figure it out along the way.”

  For a moment, he looked down at his hands, their hands together, and when he brought his eyes up to meet hers, she felt a flurry of butterflies in her stomach. She’d done it. She’d put herself out there in the strongest way she knew how. It wasn’t the time for half measures anymore. She wasn’t going to let fear hold her back this time.

  “I have feelings for you too,” he said slowly. It was so short, just a handful of words, but they meant so much. It was a validation of everything she’d thought and felt. “I want to make this work, too, Chelsea. I’m pretty sure I’ve known for a while.”

  He pulled one hand back and rubbed the back of his neck. “Something has…come up, though. Something I need to talk to you about. Why I sent you that text earlier.” He took a deep breath. “There’s no easy way to say this, but I lost my job. I got fired, actually.”

  “Wait, what?”

  He threw up his free hand. “Yeah, Barry pulled me into his office and fired me. The smug bastard allowed me to finish out this town. Then he’s just going to leave me here in the dust.”

  She was at a loss for words. She’d known he had something to say, but she had no idea it would turn out to be this. “Can he do that? Can he just leave you here?”

  “He just did. Come time to move on, the busses and trucks will pull out and I’ll still be here. He did say he’ll toss in enough for a bus ticket back to where my car is, but that’s not much of a consolation prize.”

  She realized her mouth still hung open. “No kidding. You’d think he’d at least keep you on until the end of the tour when they drop everyone off. That probably would’ve been the right thing to do.”

  “Barry isn’t exactly well-known for doing the right thing. I didn’t even get to the part of why he fired me—because I refused to rig the games. Remember when you asked me if they’re really rigged, and I said I get in trouble sometimes for not doing it? That’s why.”

  “That’s unbelievable. I can think of a lot of reasons a person should be fired, and not wanting to cheat people out of money isn’t one of them. Why couldn’t he have made an exception?”

  “Who knows. Maybe to make an example out of me. Maybe because I was the thorn in his side. Either way, it’s not a problem for either of us anymore.”

  She realized her coffee mug was still half full and growing cold. She took a sip, but it was mostly out of obligation at that point. “So what are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know yet. I have the next few days to figure it out.”

  “Would you two like some more?” Doris asked. Her timing was impeccable—his had just reached under half full. But at the moment, coffee was the last thing on Chelsea’s mind. Still, some fresh coffee would warm up what was left in hers.

  “I know this might sound odd, since I work…worked for a carnival,” he said once Doris had left, “but I don’t like to hop jobs. I’ve been that way my whole life. Once I have a job, I like to stick with it.”

  “I can see that,” she said. “Better to keep the income study. And switching jobs loses all the equity you’ve built up.”

  “And you have to learn a new batch of names.”

  That brought back his smile, which she hadn’t seen in a little while. It pained her to see him so somber. She’d become accustomed to the man who didn’t let much bother him. Where nothing got under his skin. Yet, there he was, with a major problem and not many options. There had to be a solution.

  Chapter Twelve

  When Chelsea looked at the ceiling long enough, and halfway crossed her eyes, it almost looked like a moon shape. She glanced at the clock. It had only been five minutes since she’d checked it last. Five minutes past midnight, and she still couldn’t get any sleep. First, she tried counting sheep, and second, she tried staring up at the patterns in the ceiling—the bumpy, spiky ceiling stuff they seemed to put in every home these days.

  Their date at the diner played in her mind over and over again. Ever since giving him a kiss and driving home, she’d been rattling her mind for ideas. He was already her hero, but this time, she wanted to be the hero for him. She wanted to come up with an amazing solution, one that would wrap up the problem and impress him all at the same time.

  She turned on her other side and flipped the pillow over. Sometimes that helped her sleep better. The window was cracked open a little bit, making the room cooler than it needed to be. She probably should get up and close the window, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Even thinking about sticking her feet out of the covers made her shiver. Better to keep them under the protection of the blanket, even if she had to stuff them around her body for added warmth.

  Should I invite him to move in with me? That was the million-dollar question. In many ways, she wanted to. They were hitting it off great, and she’d already dedicated herself to try to make things work, no matter what corner of the country he went to. It would make sense, logistically speaking, but it was more than just a logical decision.

  She tried to imagine what living with him would be like. She figured if she could imagine it enough, create enough hypothetical scenarios in her mind, that the decision would materialize. She thought about how he might wake her up in the morning, how eating breakfast with him would be, what it would be like to lounge around at home and watch movies with him—even down to the sounds he might make when he brushed his teeth.

  Ultimately, she was still stuck in the middle. She wasn’t entirely opposed to him moving in with her, but it still felt early. They probably needed to develop the relationship more before that step. The only problem was, they might not have time. If she didn’t let him move in, the only other option might be for him to drive off into the sunset, and perhaps out of her life.

  She sat up, twisted around, and fluffed up her pillow. No use. It still felt lumpy, even though it was still a new pillow, purchased just two weeks ago. It was supposed to be one of those nicer ones, not quite as fancy as memory foam, but still fancy. Nicer than the cheap ones she usually grabbed from the display crates by the entrance of the home section. At first, it had been fun decorating her new house, but it still took a lot of effort.

  Her eyes shot open. That was it. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it sooner. She had a plan, and one that would solve the problem.

  * * *

  Nate missed his car. He couldn’t wait to drive it again. To be able to just hop in and go wherever he wanted—he wouldn’t take that for granted ever again. He waved to the man who had just given him a ride. As far as hitchhiking went, it had been a pleasant experience. People around the area were pretty accommodating. It wasn’t his favorite mode of transportation, but his plan required getting around.

  He stepped up onto the curb and took stock of the situation. It was just on the other side of lunchtime, and things seemed to be calming down a bit, with most people heading back to their day jobs after running lunch errands. That suited him just fine.

  Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped through. He wore his best, a button-up, long sleeve shirt. He’d been told green was his best color, so he felt he had to go w
ith that wisdom today. A blast of air conditioning rolled over him.

  A nearby employee walked over. “Can I help you?”

  “I’d like to speak to the manager, please,” Nate said.

  “Certainly. I’ll be right back.”

  Nate resisted the urge to lean against the wall or sit down. He remained standing with a wide, confident stance. This plan had to work. It wouldn’t solve every problem, but it was a start.

  * * *

  “So you’re sure your dad will be on board with this?” Chelsea asked.

  Lynn smirked. “Are you kidding? My dad has been itching to rent the place ever since the contractor finished it. Every day it’s not rented is a little bit of money out of his pocket, so yeah, he’ll be all for it.”

  Chelsea gave her a hug. “That’s so great. I really appreciate this.”

  “I should say the same thing. My dad’s going to be pretty happy about it. He might even treat me to dinner as a referral bonus or something like that. If he does, I owe you a drink. When you’re not on duty, of course.”

  “Leonard barely pays attention, so it would probably be fine either way.”

  “So, when can I tell my dad this is going to start?”

  “Before I get too far ahead of myself, I need to talk to Nate,” Chelsea said. “I’m pretty sure he’ll go for it, though.”

  “Makes sense, especially since it has to do with him.”

  Chelsea pulled out her phone. “I know he’s not working right now. Tonight’s his last shift, actually. Let me give him a call and see what I can find out.”

  “Okay, no problem. I’m here all afternoon, anyway, so talk as long as you’d like.”

  Chelsea stepped outside and shut the front door behind her. While it was ringing, she walked the short distance to the small, one-story house on Lynn’s dad’s property, the one they had recently renovated. It seemed fitting to call Nate while standing in front of it.

  “Hello?”