The Ride of Her Life (32 page)

“How much is it?” Trip asked.

“Five cents a ride or six rides for a quarter.” Forest smiled at Lilly. “It won’t cost you or your boy a thing, Mrs. Hart. Nick already made that clear. You two always ride free.”

Lilly’s cheeks warmed. “I won’t need a ticket, but thank you anyway. Can I still go in and watch?”

“Sure thing.”

Trip laid a quarter on the counter. “Give me six. If we don’t use the other two today, I’m sure Marguerite will by the end of the week.”

“Don’t be so sure about that,” Lilly muttered.

“Marguerite, you’re going?” Emily’s eyebrows shot up.

“Of course I am.” Marguerite shot her a look of warning.

“But—”

Marguerite linked arms with her husband. “Oh, good. The line’s not long, so we won’t have to wait. Emily, you can leave the baby with Lilly so you can ride with Carter.”

While Carter purchased their tickets, Emily lifted Kate out of the carriage. At Forest’s suggestion, they rolled the carriage behind the ticket counter, and Emily and Lilly walked side by side down the paved walk to the loading station.

“Lilly, who’s that talking to Nick?” Emily asked.

Lilly scanned the station, and her breath caught. Auburn locks hung loose down the woman’s back to her impossibly thin waist.

Ruby.

Maybe that’s why Nick had been so scarce for the last three days. A knot of jealousy formed in her throat. She swallowed it down. No, she had finally made a decision. She had faith in Nick, and she would continue to trust him until he gave her a good reason not to.

Ruby ran her hand along her bodice in a way that made it hard for Nick to miss his former fiancée’s assets. He averted his eyes and saw Lilly approaching with her friends. His chest warmed. Had she come to ride after all?

“So, Nick, can we meet to talk following the show tonight? Say, nine o’clock? I won’t have had so much as a morsel of nourishment all evening long.” She smoothed her hands along the sides of her narrow waist. “Maybe we could grab a bite to eat.”

He called to one of the men to oil the chain lift. “Ruby, I haven’t been done here by nine o’clock all week. If I do finish by then, I need to spend some time with Lilly.”

“Surely she won’t mind a couple of old friends catching up.”

“We aren’t old friends. We were engaged, but we aren’t now. We aren’t anything anymore.” He glanced at Lilly again, her expression unreadable. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

She caught his sleeve. “You’ve done well for yourself, Nick, and I’d like to hear more. If you can’t meet tonight, how about tomorrow? Lunch? We can even invite her.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

She tipped her head and gave him a come-hither smile. “All right, but I hope you know I’ll be back every day until you change your mind. We will talk, Nick Perrin, and I won’t take no for an answer.”

Ruby sashayed away, the feathers on her elaborate hat waving in the breeze. She passed Lilly on the station’s stairs and gave her a syrupy smile. She spoke to her, but Nick couldn’t hear the exchange. If Ruby said anything rude to Lilly, he was going to wring her pretty little neck.

He met Lilly at the top of the stairs, and his chest swelled at the sight of her. If they weren’t in a public place, he’d have kissed her right then and there. “You don’t know how good it is to see you.”

“Funny, you appeared to have plenty of company.”

While Lilly’s words were teasing in nature, he heard a note of hurt in her voice.

“She still wants to get together to catch up. I told her no, but she’s never been one to take no for an answer.”

Trip glanced at Marguerite. “Kind of like someone else I know. So, Nick, how fast does your coaster go?”

“Nearly fifteen miles an hour.” Nick pointed to an empty car. “Who’s riding with whom? Levi, you want to ride with your mama or me?”

Lilly’s eyes widened. “He’s not—I’m not—we’re not going. We’re here to watch. I’m tending Kate for Emily.”

“Oh.” He couldn’t hide the disappointment in his voice.

“Can I ride with Mr. Nick, Mama?” Levi looked up at her with blue eyes full of hope. “Tate and Faith are going.”

She scowled at Nick, then turned to Levi. “Remember what I said about pestering me?”

He hung his head and drew a circle on the platform with the toe of his boot. “Yes, ma’am.”

Nick ruffled his hair. “Maybe later, Chipmunk.”

“Is this safe for everyone, Nick?” Emily glanced at Marguerite.

“Sure. Children, old folks—they’ve all ridden on it. No problem. Marguerite and Trip, shouldn’t be much different than sailing for you. A little speed and some ups and downs.”

Lilly locked her gaze on Marguerite. “Ups and downs. Ought to be a lot of fun.”

“It is.” Nick grinned. “So far, not one complaint.”

When the car at the top of the lift hill began its descent, screams rent the air. Nick chuckled and led the group to the loading platform. After Lilly took baby Katie from Carter, he helped Tate and Faith into the front seat of a waiting car. Trip and Marguerite sat behind them. Emily and Carter offered to take the next car along with two people they didn’t know. Percy pushed the Andrews family’s car around the bottom of the lift hill. Seconds later, it began to make the forty-two-foot climb.

Once the car was well on its way, Percy brought Emily and Carter’s car around. Nick glanced at Lilly and noticed she’d not taken her eyes off Marguerite’s car. Was she that afraid for them? Didn’t she believe he and his men had done everything possible to make this the safest ride possible?

A minute and a half from the time the car left, it returned. No sooner had Sean applied the brakes than Trip was helping Marguerite from the car. Her face, a sickly shade of green, told Nick the woman had not taken well to the roller coaster ride.

Nick took her other arm. “Are you okay, Marguerite?”

Lilly hurried to his side. Before she could even say anything, Marguerite broke free of the two men’s holds and raced down the stairs.

Trip started to go after her, but Lilly grabbed his arm. “No, let me.” She thrust Katie into Nick’s arms. “Take care of her until I get back. Levi, stay here with Mr. Nick.”

31

With her skirt balled in her fist, Lilly ran down the steps. She found Marguerite behind the ticket office, hunched over, wiping her mouth with a handkerchief.

Lilly scrunched her nose at the stench and laid a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Better?”

Marguerite stood and leaned against the shed. “Just say it.”

“Say what?”

“‘I told you so.’”

“I wasn’t gonna say that.” She pointed to a park bench with a view of the roller coaster. “Why don’t we go sit down? It will let you catch your breath. You want to lean on me?”

“No. If Trip thinks I can’t walk, he’ll probably carry me all the way home.” Marguerite wobbled a bit as she straightened but managed to walk slowly to the bench. She sank onto it and patted her disheveled hair. “How do I look?”

“Like a haint.” Lilly’s lips curled.

“A haint who feels a little foolish.” Marguerite sighed. “Make that a lot foolish. Wouldn’t you think a woman my age would know better?”

“You’d think so.” Lilly glanced at the loading station and saw Trip now at the bottom of the steps. “Here comes your husband.”

Marguerite pressed her hand to her forehead and moaned.

Trip jogged over to meet them. “Marguerite, are you feeling better? Do you need a doctor?”

“No. This is nothing more than a little seasickness.”

Trip quirked an eyebrow. “Lilly, thanks for seeing to her.” He sat down beside his wife and took her hand. “I’m surprised the coaster bothered you. We’ve been on sailboats that hit swells worse than any of those dips, and you handled those fine.” He snickered. “Except when you were in the family way, of course.”

Marguerite glanced at Lilly, and Lilly raised her eyebrows.

Trip caught the exchange. “Marguerite? Are you . . . ?”

“Maybe.” She fiddled with the seam in her gored skirt. She peeked at Trip. “Probably.”

A grin spread across Trip’s face, then slid away. “You knew this and you still went on the roller coaster?” He stood and paced. “What were you thinking? Didn’t you realize how dangerous that could be? You put yourself and our baby at risk.”

She rubbed her temple. “I wanted to ride it, and I knew you’d forbid it.”

“I certainly would have, but not to keep you from having fun.” He shook his head in disbelief. “So you kept our baby a secret from me?”

Lilly crossed her arms in her best I-told-you-so pose.

Trip whirled toward her. “And you knew too? How could you let her do this?”

“Let her?” She fired a glare at Marguerite. “I don’t let her do anything. She gets in trouble all by herself. Always has. Always will. The only difference is now she’s your problem, not mine.”

“She tried to talk me out of it.” Marguerite stood, swayed, and pressed a hand to her stomach.

Trip caught her arm and urged her back to the bench. “Easy.” He sat down beside her again and rubbed circles on her shoulder. “We’ll talk about all this when you’re feeling better. By the way, for the record, I’m thrilled about having another child. Lilly, do you think she needs a doctor?”

“No. There are no pills for stupidity, or I’d have had the doctor give me a bottleful for Ben’s folks.” Lilly glanced at Marguerite, her head now resting on her husband’s shoulder. “Take her home and love her, Trip. Yell at her if you have to, but be glad you have her. You never realize what you have until it’s gone.”

Slipping a fresh apron over her head, Lilly eyed Eugenia’s first batch of cinnamon rolls. Light and fluffy, the rolls had risen beautifully, and the whole kitchen smelled of cinnamon. Eugenia had even watched the rolls so carefully that not one of them had a dark spot on the top.

“Eugenia, these are gorgeous. You are truly becoming quite a baker.” Lilly set a blue crockery bowl on the counter. “Did you want to put icing on them?”

“Oh yes. That’s the best part.”

Lilly tapped the blue bowl. “Do you know what to do, or do you want me to walk you through it?”

“I think I remember everything.” Eugenia reached for the butter crock. “Thank you, Miss Lilly. You’ve been such a good teacher, and I know I haven’t been the easiest student.”

Laughing, Lilly stirred the ham and beans on the stove. “Every day you get a little better, but lately you’ve grown by leaps and bounds. Your mother would be proud of you. I know I am. Perhaps you should save her one of the rolls.”

Eugenia poured milk and vanilla extract into the confectioner’s sugar and butter. “Truth be told, there’s only one person I want to give a roll to.”

“Hmmm, I wonder who that could be?” Lilly grinned. “I think Mark will be quite impressed too.”

After beating the frosting, Eugenia tasted a bit on the tip of her finger. “Delicious. I still can’t believe I know how to do these things.”

Lilly handed her a knife. “After you spread the icing on the rolls, you can start on the dishes. If you’re lucky, you’ll have them done in case Mark stops by again.”

“But, Mama . . .” Levi attempted to skip a rock across the lake, but it sank with a splash only a few yards from the shore. “I’m big ’nough.”

Lilly sat down on a bench and pulled out a sock from her mending basket. The pink-tinted sky seemed to be lowering its sleepy eyelids. With the days getting longer, she had more daylight to enjoy after her work at the diner was done, and she’d come to treasure these moments at the close of the day. If Nick could get away today, he planned to meet them. Their time together had seemed sparse since the roller coaster opened and Ruby arrived.