Dancing With Danger: Book 8: Dancing Moon Ranch Series (15 page)

Yeah, he was a pretty pathetic man, he decided.

Standing, he adjusted his wide
black suspenders over his polka-dotted shirt, yanked his multi-colored beret from the pocket of his oversized pants and stuffed the big pockets of his pants with small bottles of soap bubbles, and little plastic water pistols, and boxes with eight crayons in them. Then he headed for the stock barn to fetch Ferdinand.

The road crew of
the great illusionist
—he realized he was being cynical but couldn't seem to stop himself—had set up folding chairs, which were quickly being filled by ranch guests, along with the wives and grandkids of Seth, Deke and Gabe. Abby, Jesse and the other kids sat on the ground in front of the people in chairs. It had been decided the day before that he'd arrive riding on Ferdinand, who'd have helium-filled balloons tied to his tail, and his pockets would be filled with party favors for the kids, after which he and Ferdinand would do their stuff, the cake would be cut, presents opened, and the kids would take turns riding Fancy. A simple plan that would make a memorable day for Abby…

Until a big black bus
that looked like the kind Darth Vader would ride around in arrived to blow the plan, or at least put a barn-size damper on it.

As he
walked toward the barn, he noticed that the bus was set up like a stage, with a full-length canopy that rolled out from the side of the vehicle, and which was propped up with poles. A folding platform created a floor, and a horizontal cross-pole framed the area with side curtains.

When he arrived
at the barn, he was surprised to see Genie. "What's going on?" he asked.

"I came to bring you those balloons." She pointed to where a cluster of plastic, helium-filled birthday balloons were tied to his anvil.
"I also wanted to see you before the party got started."

"You mean before I make a
jackass of myself out there."

Although he didn't elucidate exactly how he'd be making a
jackass of himself, Genie was right on when she said, "I'm sorry Dad arrived when he did. Abby's happy he's here, but I know it spoiled your plans for her. I just want you to know that
I
appreciate everything you're doing, and if you weren't covered in grease paint I'd kiss you, but if I came out of the barn with bright red lips with a big white circle around them, people would get suspicious."

Josh tried to find the humor in Genie's words, but the fact was
, he was pissed. "Maybe later," he grumbled. "I could probably use some condolences by then."

Genie
put her arms around his neck. "You need to reflect on why you're dressed the way you are, and it's not to please a bunch of adults. Kids love clowns, and even though Abby's happy her daddy's here, she'll be far more impressed with you and Ferdinand than with Dad and his illusion. And I really wish I could kiss you. Would it be hard to put all that makeup on again?"

Josh peered into the animated eyes of the woman he loved and his
spirits immediately lifted. Pulling her to him, he said, "Yeah, but it would be worth it."

But a
millisecond before their lips met, Genie stopped him, and said, "The way I'm feeling now if I kiss you that grease paint will end up smeared all over our faces, but maybe I'll come to your place later tonight. Will all that stuff be gone by then?"

"Are you serious about coming?"
Josh asked.

"I am at the moment
," Genie replied.

"What about your father? Won't you be spending time with him?"

"He's only here for a couple of hours."

Josh moved his hands around her and ran them down her back and pressed her to him and said,
"If you're really serious about coming, I'll make sure I'm scrubbed clean, all over."

Genie smiled
in a way that had him thinking anything
but
being a clown, and left.

"Okay, Ferdinand," he said
, as he slid back the latch to the stall. "Maybe you could be a little aggressive this time, like coming at me with your horns. I need to get rid of some excessive testosterone quick. I have a problem that could be an embarrassment if the kids start asking what's in my pocket." Ferdinand responded by nuzzling him for an alfalfa nugget.

"Sorry pal. You have to wait until I put your hat on and tie a bunch of balloons to your tail. I'm not going to be the only fool out there."
After completing those two tasks, Josh led Ferdinand out of the barn and launched himself onto his back.

As Genie
said it would be, the kids loved clowns, laughing their high-pitched kids' laughter as Josh slid backwards off Ferdinand when he sat down, and grabbing for the balloons he untied from Ferdinand's tail to loop around each child's wrist, and crowding around with big smiles on their faces when he passed out the party favors. And when it was done and he saw Abby jumping up and down, telling everyone she knew the clown, then raised her arms for him to pick her up, Josh decided he'd rather be the biggest fool there, with Abby wrapped around him the way she was, then the man in tails, top hat and white gloves, who was staring at them, and not in a friendly way.

"Okay, honey," he said to Abby, when she seemed perfectly happy to stay where she was. "I need to take Ferdinand back to the barn, and I think you're Dad's ready to put on his show."

Abby looked around, and when she saw her father stepping to the front of the
makeshift stage, she grudgingly left Josh's arms and went to sit cross-legged on the ground with the other kids. And Josh headed for the barn, intending to stay there until
the great illusionist
was done.

At least that was his plan
. But after turning Ferdinand out into the pasture, he found himself stepping to the open doors of the barn where, on hearing the concerted gasps from the viewers, he decided to see what the man was all about. He was Genie's father, and if Genie could come to terms with having a bullfighter for a husband, the man would be his father-in-law …

What I've heard so far is it's all about Josh Hansen…

Deciding to shove aside Adam's comment, which kept emerging like an obnoxious weed, he walked over to where the bus-stage was set up and was surprised to see Genie standing with her father. She'd changed into something white and glittery and clinging that her father must have provided because he didn't imagine she'd brought it to the ranch, but it definitely got his attention the way it emphasized her female curves. She also looked at ease with what she was doing, which, for the moment, was angling her body toward her father and holding her arms in a relaxed way, but with her hands and fingers positioned so they drew eyes away from her to her father, except that
he
was having a hard time focusing on the man when he could look at Genie.

But when Sebastian Matthias stepped
forward and started speaking, Josh found himself captivated by the mesmerizing look in the man's eyes and the deep, almost hypnotic quality of his voice, as he said, "When one witnesses an illusion they perceive something that does not correspond to what exists in the real world, but if we talk about an illusion with almost two hundred years history behind it, the illusion that comes to the minds of many is
one created by the French illusionist, Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin. In fact, Robert-Houdin's
illusion
of the Marvelous Orange Tree was so
extraordinary he took the secret to his grave so no illusionist other than himself could ever perform it. He began the effect by having an assistant bring onto the stage an orange tree without flowers or fruit on it."

Sebastian
stepped aside, and with a flourish of his hand, directed the audience toward Genie, who went behind a curtain and came out pulling a low wooden cart. On the cart was an orange tree in a wooden container. After positioning the cart with the tree beside her father, Genie took her position as before, directing everyone's attention back to her father.

"Yes," Sebastian said,
while studying the tree, "it was an orange tree similar to the one you see here, a tree barren of blossoms or fruit. Illusionists have tried to learn the mystery of Robert-Houdin's orange tree illusion but all have failed, and yet, audiences believed what they saw because they wanted to believe, and maybe that's what Robert-Houdin's illusion was all about—people wanting to believe that oranges grew before their eyes. And then, perhaps it was magic that has been lost to the ages."

Sebastian
walked to the back of the stage and took something from a small table and held it up. "What happened next, it has been said, was that Robert-Houdin placed a vial with elixir beneath the tree and lit the elixir." Striking a match, he set the elixir on fire and placed it under the orange tree, then stepped behind the tree. After a few seconds ticked by, Sebastian's eyes sharpened, and he appeared to be looking intensely into the foliage.

Addressing the audience again, he said,
"It was told that vapors from the blue flame caused the leaves of the tree to spread, and as the smoke reached the leaves, blossoms started sprouting." As he said the words, there was a concerted gasp from the onlookers as blossoms begin to slowly emerge from within the leaves.

Genie picked up a small battery-operated lantern from a table and
walked over to stand beside her father then raised the lantern above the tree, casting light on it while revealing the presence of delicate orange blossoms.

Sebastian
took a few steps across the stage while appearing to be contemplating something, because his hand was to his forehead, and his eyes were looking downward, then he moved back to the tree, and said, "It was also alleged that Robert-Houdin possessed a wand that, when waved it over the tree, would accelerate time and the blossoms would miraculously begin turning into oranges."

In an instant, a wand appeared in
Sebastian's hand as if from out of thin air, bringing more gasps from the onlookers. Sebastian waved the wand over the tree, and gradually the blossoms disappeared and oranges began to emerge in their place.

"Some in the audience dou
bted that the oranges were real and demanded to see them," Sebastian continued, "so Robert-Houdin plucked one from the tree…" he picked one of the oranges "…and tossed it to someone in the crowd." Catching Josh's eye, he tossed the orange over the onlookers' heads to him.

Josh
caught the orange and studied it closely. It had the look and feel of a real orange. Not convinced, he peeled away a portion of the rind and pulled apart some of the segments and stared at them, stunned. There was no question, it was a real orange. He looked back at Sebastian, who picked another orange from the tree and tossed it to Adam, who took out his knife and sliced it in half and touched his tongue to it before staring at the sections in bafflement.

After tossing
all but one of the oranges to the spectators, and giving them some time to examine them and look back in puzzlement, Sebastian plucked the last orange and held it up. "On rare occasions it was reported that the larva of a monarch butterfly would leave its milkweed plant and burrow into an orange where it would finish its life cycle, and that Robert-Houdin, on waving his wand, would open up such an orange, and from it would emerge a perfectly formed butterfly." His wand appeared in his hand again, as if from out of thin air, and when he waved it over the orange, the orange split open, and a black and orange Monarch butterfly emerged and flew away from the audience and through the opened door of the bus and vanished inside.

"
Now enough about Robert-Houdin," Sebastian said, as Genie wheeled the orange tree away and disappeared with it behind the curtain. "I have another illusion I'd like to share with the young lady standing in back." He pointed, and when Josh turned, he saw Annie, who looked frozen in place.

"Come on up, don't be shy," Sebastian said, while
motioning for Annie to come forward.

For a moment Annie didn't move
from her place beside Ryan, but when Ryan gave her a little nudge, she began making her way forward until she was standing and staring at her father, who stared back at her. It was a long silent moment, which was finally broken when Sebastian said to the onlookers, "For the next illusion, I will illustrate the Parable of the Palace and the Pigeons."

H
e turned toward Annie, as if addressing her only, and said, "Once there was a king whose palace was ransacked by barbarians. The king was not concerned about the furnishings because they could be replaced, but for the crown jewels, which had been passed down for generations, he could not be consoled because the jewels were scattered throughout many lands, the most precious of them taken to the farthest reaches of the globe. But the king had a daughter, and in her wisdom, she told the king that they should train pigeons to search for the jewels and return them to the palace. So the king and his daughter trained many pigeons to recognize the crown jewels and carry them back on their journey."

As if from out of nowhere
, a live pigeon appeared in Sebastian's hand. After the rush of excitement from the onlookers settled down, Sebastian released the bird, which flew off. "Each day the king and his daughter released a few more pigeons," he continued, "and after some time, the pigeons started returning to the palace with some of the crown jewels. One returned with a small gold bracelet with emeralds set into it, and dropped it in the King's hand."