mystic caravan mystery 02 - freaky lies (11 page)

Max chuckled. “He’s a clown, my dear. They’re all tools.”

“He has a great accent, but something seems slightly off about him,” I said. “I’m watching him. I can’t identify any one thing I specifically don’t like about him, but there’s just something … off.”

“He seems popular with the female crowd,” Max said, inclining his chin toward the far side of the fire, where Raven, Naida and Nixie struggled for Percival’s attention. “Is that because of the accent?”

I shrugged. “It’s certainly not because of the clown thing.”

“Good point,” Max said. “I’ll see whether I can find out any other useful information about him. He’s a clown, which automatically makes him odd. We don’t turn our backs on people just because they’re odd, though. You should know that.”

“I wasn’t suggesting turning our backs on him,” I countered. “I just want to keep an eye on him. Eventually we’re either going to have to let him in on the big secret or cut him loose. That’s how it is with everyone we bring in. You know that.”

“I do.”

“Speaking of big secrets … .” I wasn’t ready to let the Kade question go without pressing Max.

“I’m doing the best I can, Poet,” Max said, finally dragging his eyes from the fire and focusing on me. “I haven’t forgotten our conversation. I haven’t forgotten your ultimatum.”

“Yet it’s been more than a week and Kade still doesn’t know the truth,” I reminded him. “You’re putting me in a bad position, Max.”

“Because you love him?”

Well, that was a pointed question. “Because I care about him,” I clarified. “I hardly know him well enough to love him.” What the heck? I hadn’t even seen him naked yet. I could hardly commit to loving someone if I hadn’t seen him naked. What? I’m shallow. I can’t help it.

“Still, your feelings for him are quite … cute,” Max said, grinning as I scowled. He knew I hated being called cute. I was terrifying and mean. Everyone knew that. “I’m trying to figure out the best way to approach him. He’s still … standoffish … with me.”

Kade wasn’t thrilled when the truth about our paranormal abilities came out. He was royally ticked off when he realized everyone had been lying to him. Still, he found a way to get over it and forgive us. We didn’t know him, after all. We were merely lying to protect ourselves, and he understood that. Max was another story.

Kade knew Max his entire life. He was the gregarious friend of his deceased father who dropped in to see him several times a year. He took him on grand adventures and told him entertaining stories about the circus. Max’s betrayal stung the most and Kade still struggled with his feelings regarding the lie. I understood Max’s trepidation. That didn’t mean I could overlook the lie.

“You have to tell him, Max,” I said, keeping my voice low. “I know you’re afraid to do it, but each day you wait will make hearing it that much harder on him. He’s already going to hate me for keeping the secret.”

“So this is about you?” Max challenged. “Why do we have to tell him at all? He never has to know … or get angry with anyone. We can just let it go.”

“Because he deserves to know where he came from,” I replied, not missing a beat. “And, yes, part of this is about me. I do care about him. We’re trying to build a relationship. I know that means very little to you, but my betrayal is going to crush him.”

“And his anger is going to crush you,” Max said, blowing out a sigh as he tugged a hand through his snowy hair. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Tell him the truth,” I prodded. “He’s going to be angry, but he still deserves to know.”

“And what happens if he leaves?”

I’d considered the question myself. The last thing I wanted was to say goodbye to Kade. That didn’t mean I could keep up Max’s charade forever. “If he leaves it will be his decision,” I said, sucking in a breath as I forced my voice to remain even. “He might surprise us and want to get to know you as a father instead of a family friend. You could have a better relationship.”

“Do you really believe that?”

I shrugged. “I want to believe it,” I replied. “It doesn’t matter, though. He deserves the truth and you have to tell him. You’re his father. You owe him that.”

“I know.” Max exhaled shakily. “I’m working on it.”

“Work faster, Max. I can’t let this go for much longer. It’s not fair to him … and it’s not fair to us.”

“What are you saying?”

I gripped my beer tighter as I stood. “I’m saying that you have until we leave Nebraska Sunday night. After that … well … I’ll have to tell him.”

Max was frustrated when he met my gaze. “Do you think he’ll thank you for blowing his life out of the water?”

I shook my head. “No, but I want to move forward, and I can’t do that if a lie is holding us back,” I explained. “I don’t want to hurt you, Max, but I won’t continue to hurt him. I don’t have it in me.”

Max made a disgusted sound in his throat as he leaned back against the table. “I hate that you’re so loyal.”

“No, you don’t,” I said, a smile playing at the corners of my lips as I brushed a soft kiss against Max’s cheek. “I’m loyal to you, too.”

“Not in this instance.”

“I believe I’m doing the right thing for both of you,” I countered. “I won’t argue about it again, though. You have until we leave town Sunday. After that … well … I’ll take matters into my own hands.”

10

Ten

^“
W
hat were you and Max talking about?”

I heard the question, but seeing Kade’s shirtless form in the doorway between my bathroom and bedroom momentarily distracted me. “Um, what?”

I dragged my eyes up to Kade’s face and found him smiling. It was if he knew exactly what I’d been thinking, which was R-rated and not fit for discussion given his admission about wanting to get to know me better before taking the next step.

“Do you want me to put my shirt on?” Kade asked, his eyes twinkling.

That was the last thing I wanted. “I wasn’t thinking anything dirty,” I lied. “I was just … thinking about the body. The dead body, mind you, not your body.” That was entirely plausible.

“I asked you a question,” Kade pressed. “What were you talking about with Max?”

I opted not to lie. “You.”

“I figured,” Kade said, using the towel in his hand to wipe the beading water from his face. He was a stickler about skin care. “What did he want to know?”

“Just how you were doing,” I replied. “He said you’re still standoffish with him.”

“I don’t mean to be,” Kade said, tossing the towel into the bathroom and killing the light before crawling into the bed next to me. He was in his boxer shorts but he might as well have been naked because I couldn’t stop my eyes from roaming his impressive torso. “I’m just … annoyed … where he’s concerned.”

I didn’t think “annoyed” was the correct word. “Do you want to know what I think?”

“Not unless it’s in regards to wherever your mind went when you saw me shirtless a minute ago,” Kade replied, rolling to his back and staring at the ceiling. He seemed resigned to a heavy discussion. “Fine. What do you think?”

“I think it hurts more that Max lied to you than the rest of us,” I supplied. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think you’re happy about everyone else keeping the truth from you, but you didn’t know us and you understand why we lied.”

“It hurt that you lied to me,” Kade said, causing my stomach to flip. “I know why you did it, but I still didn’t like it. I understand, though. You had to protect yourselves, and you didn’t know you could trust me.”

“I think part of me always believed I could trust you,” I said, rolling so I could slip under the flimsy sheet and settle next to him. The trailer had air conditioning, but I preferred a fan at night. “I think I was more afraid of how you’d react than anything else.”

“And how did I react?”

“Like any normal human being would,” I replied. “You were confused and couldn’t believe what you were seeing. It didn’t take you long to come around, though.”

“Normal?” Kade cocked a challenging eyebrow. “Is this payback because I said you looked normal earlier? I’ll have you know I’m anything but normal, honey.”

“Oh, I know that,” I said, resting my head against his shoulder as he got comfortable. “I’ve seen you with your shirt off. I could never mistake you for normal after that.”

“That was a marvelous answer,” Kade said, pressing a quick kiss to my forehead before closing his eyes. “I’ll try talking to Max tomorrow. Part of me is still angry. The other part thinks it’s stupid to hold onto a grudge for something like this.”

“Really?” Hope coursed through me. Perhaps Kade would take the truth about his parentage better than I initially envisioned.

“I approached the situation as a man betrayed by a family friend,” Kade explained. “I wasn’t the only one involved. Max had all of you to protect. I think deep down he knew I could be trusted. He wanted me to get to know you guys before the truth came out. I can’t fault him for that.”

“That’s … good.”

“It would be a different story if the secret had something to do with me,” Kade continued. “You guys needed to be protected. I understand that.”

Well, crap. “I … .”

Kade kissed my forehead a second time. “I’m exhausted,” he said, blowing out a weary sigh. “Can we table this discussion until the morning? I’m not in the mood for a big thing. We’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

“Sure,” I said, my heart clenching. “Goodnight.”

“Sweet dreams,” Kade murmured, already drifting off. “Remind me to give you that massage I promised in the morning.”

“I won’t forget.”

KADE
drifted off right away, leaving me alone with my busy mind as he frolicked in dreamland. I had no idea where his subconscious went, but he had a small smile playing at the corner of his lips, so I knew he enjoyed his time there.

Because the bed was relatively small I couldn’t toss and turn until I got comfortable. Instead I was forced to remain close to Kade, his light snores filling the room until I couldn’t stand it, and I carefully disengaged from his arms. There would be no sleep for me tonight … at least not yet.

In an effort to calm my tumultuous thoughts I slunk out of the trailer, being careful to quietly latch the door before embarking on a walk around the fairgrounds. I wasn’t worried about traversing the area alone. I had magic on my side and the dreamcatcher would alert me in plenty of time should someone cross the boundary. That didn’t put my mind at ease, though. Kade’s words haunted me, as I knew they would.

He was right. Keeping the secret about our origins and mission was completely different from hiding the truth about his parentage. The big secret affected many. Max being Kade’s father affected only the two of them – and tangentially me, of course, because I stuck my big nose in Max’s business when I figured out the truth. I had no reasonable explanation for keeping it from him.

It wasn’t even midnight, but the grounds were silent as I walked the empty pathways, my flip-flops clapping against the occasional rock. Most of the games and rides were still in sections. Everything wouldn’t be erected until the following day, just in time for opening night festivities the day after. Mystic Caravan is one of those machines that runs without someone watching every move and task. Everyone knows what they’re doing. Even the people I disliked – like most of the game barkers – know how to get things done.

Before I realized where I was heading I ambled in the direction of the cornfield, listening carefully to make sure the clowns were down for the night before walking through their common area. I stopped before the edge of the dreamcatcher, tilting my head to the side and listening for the telltale signs of heavy feet in the cornstalks before taking a deep breath and crossing the barrier.

Was it a smart move? Probably not. Something drew me to the area, though, and I was capable of taking care of myself.

The field was dark, the only light coming from the muted moon. It would be full in a few days and it offered some illumination, except when clouds crossed it. I picked my way to where the body was discovered, slipping under the police tape and scanning the area as I approached.

It was quiet … and empty. There was nothing there. I don’t know what I expected to find, or even whether I was truly looking for anything other than escape from my guilt, but the area was vacant and still.

The police paid little heed to the crop as they tromped around looking for evidence. Many of the stalks were bent and leaning. I had a feeling the farmer who owned the land couldn’t be happy, but I’d never seen him despite the heavy police presence. That was odd, right? If a dismembered body showed up on your property, wouldn’t you come out to see what the hullabaloo was about? I made a mental note to research the owner the following day.

After a few moments of fruitless searching I gave up. When I shifted back in the direction of the fairgrounds, my heart skipped a beat as my eyes landed on a dark figure watching me from the waving corn.

It was too dark to make out any features. The figure wasn’t overly tall or built, the shoulders diminutive rather than broad. I knew immediately that I wasn’t looking at Kade. He hadn’t woken up alone and come looking for me. This was someone – or something – else.

I licked my lips, refusing to take a step back and give the appearance of fear. “Nice night, huh?” As far as opening lines go, it probably wasn’t my best effort.

The figure didn’t move, instead remaining unearthly still as I shifted from one foot to the other.

I decided to try a different tactic. “Are you lost? The circus doesn’t open until Thursday. I don’t think there’s anything out here for you, unless you have a late night hankering for corn.” And dead bodies, I silently added. “The highway is that way.”

I gestured for emphasis, but the shadow didn’t bother glancing in the direction I pointed. This was getting downright eerie.

“I should probably get back,” I offered. “People will be looking for me.” The lie sounded desperate to my own ears, and the figure didn’t move … or cease the relentless staring. I couldn’t see actual eyes, yet I could feel a pointed gaze crawling all over me. The clouds over the moon were thick and I couldn’t make out details in the occasional reflective sheen the limited moonlight offered.