Chapter Five
The first thing Kelsey thought upon meeting the carnies was—these are my kind of people. The second thing she thought was she had to capture their story through pictures. And then she wanted to sit over cherry slushies and funnel cake and hear their stories. She approached a tall thin man with wispy gray hair wearing a plaid button-down shirt paired with a clashing plaid kilt and old red flip-flops. His knobby knees were bare.
“Let me guess,” she said, “Scottish?”
“No.” The man turned to Odd Todd. “Why do people always ask me that?”
Todd shrugged, and when the man turned back to her, Todd rolled his eyes behind his back.
She grinned. “No reason at all. I’m Kelsey, and you are…”
The man inclined his head. “Sir Kenneth, at your service.”
“Just because I tapped you with my sword doesn’t mean you’re a knight,” a middle-aged woman with short marshmallow-Peep-yellow hair huffed, appearing at Kenneth’s other side. “I’m Sally, also known as the knight in shining armor when a costume is called for. Funnel cake operator when it’s not.” She bared her teeth in what passed for a smile.
“I love funnel cake!” Kelsey said. “And knights.”
“Then we’ll get along just fine, young Kelsey,” Sally pronounced. She reached out her right hand to shake, and that was when Kelsey realized her arm was deformed. Only two small stumps protruded where a hand would’ve been. Kelsey shook her stumps instead.
Sally smiled for real then.
Nick took Kelsey’s hand and squeezed before continuing with the introductions. There were thirteen of them, including Todd. She was surprised to meet four elderly brothers, the Fellinis, in their eighties. Maybe even nineties. They moved slowly. Two used walkers; the other two leaned heavily on canes. She had to wonder how much work they could do with setup and then running a carnival. She made a mental note to ask Nick about them later. She stopped short at an older woman wearing darling vintage pink and green paisley bell-bottoms.
“I love your vintage!” Kelsey exclaimed.
“Ha! I knew it’d come back in style. I never stopped wearing them!” Her face and neck were marked with discolored skin, maybe from an old burn. She preened and did a little runway walk. “Now they all want my duds.”
“No one wants your ratty old clothes, Mallory,” Sally said.
“Says you!” Mallory snapped. She turned to Kelsey. “You should check out my closet. Maybe you’d like to buy something?”
“I’d love to!” Kelsey exclaimed.
“No money is changing hands,” Odd Todd said. Mallory’s face fell. “I called you all here for a quick heads-up. Nicky’s girlfriend here is updating our website.”
Kelsey glanced up at Nick to see if he minded his uncle calling her his girlfriend. He smiled at her with such warmth in his eyes, she couldn’t help but melt.
Odd Todd went on. “She’d like to take pictures of us all to post on the website. If you’d like her not to take your picture, you can let me know in private later.”
“I don’t mind!” a rich baritone voice called.
Kelsey turned, her jaw dropping at the vision and sounds of—she blinked—yes, he really was…an accordion-playing cowboy. He wore a ten-gallon hat, fringed vest over a plaid button-down shirt, leather chaps over denim, and cowboy boots. Everything was perfect except why an accordion? His hair was black, flowing to his shoulders, his skin was bronzed. Quite stunning.
He stopped directly in front of her and tipped up the brim of his hat. “Howdy. I’m—” he paused dramatically “—the Folk Metal Cowboy.”
“Oh!” she exclaimed. “Wait, what’s folk metal?”
He smiled, his white teeth brilliant against his bronzed skin. “It’s what I play, heavy metal with a drop of folk, care of the accordion.”
“That is so cool,” she breathed.
He squeezed the accordion in and out in a long harmonic sound of agreement. “It’s not appreciated like it should be, but I hope the people will catch on.”
“Have you ever tried acoustic guitar?” she couldn’t help but ask. “That might be more popular out here combined with the cowboy outfit.”
“Pfft. I will wait for my preferred instrument to catch fire.”
“Wish it would,” Sally muttered.
“He can’t play guitar,” Odd Todd chimed in.
“That too,” Folk Metal Cowboy replied.
Her fingers itched for her camera. This had to go on the website.
Odd Todd clapped. “Okay, you’ve met the new egg. Let’s get back to work. Curtain call is four for a live show at five!”
Everyone hustled back to their stations, except the four elderly brothers, who took forever to cross the square, headed in the direction of a large trailer.
“Well?” Nick asked.
Her mind was spinning with ideas. For the first time in a long time, her muse was back. It was like a show. The townspeople, the audience. The behind-the-scenes people, the actors. Each with a story to tell. Each story combining to make something new in a crescendo of colors and textures and joyful chaos.
She turned to him. “I hope everyone will be okay with pictures. This might be the best project I’ve ever done!”
He looked away, his jaw tight.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
He met her eyes briefly; his were suspiciously shiny. He rubbed one eye with a fist. “I’m fine. Something caught in my eye.” He kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you tonight.”
She watched him head over to his uncle to help with a small generator while she puzzled over what in the world would bring a tear to his eye.
~ ~ ~
Nick worked the Tilt-a-Whirl that night, a now familiar sense of celebration coming over him at the sights and sounds of opening night of the carnival. It probably helped that his uncle psyched everyone up with the few days of “rehearsals” before “the show.” His job was easy—take the tickets, make sure the kids were tall enough to ride, and then press the buttons to slowly start and then stop the ride. He’d work several rides in rotation, but he was most looking forward to his break when he could ride the Ferris wheel with Kelsey.
She was amazing.
And she had a hold of his heart.
When he’d seen her complete acceptance of the people he loved like a second family, that not everyone could appreciate, it got him choked up. He’d had to hide an annoying tear that stung his eye.
He sensed the moment she got in line for his ride, meeting her eyes where she stood behind a group of teenaged girls. She wiggled her fingers and gifted him with a beaming smile. His heart kicked up. Just the sight of her could do that to him.
“Hey,” he called. “Gimme ten minutes for my break.”
“I want to go on your ride first.”
He nodded once and turned back to the ride. When it finished, he waited for the riders to exit before opening the gate and watching the new group of riders go through, counting heads and making sure they were tall enough.
“Your uncle gave me the all clear for pictures,” she said as she went past.
“That’s great,” he called.
A few minutes later, after checking all the safety bars were latched, he started the ride. He found himself watching every time Kelsey whipped past, her long hair crazy in the breeze, flying all over the place. She looked like she was having a blast, at first. By the middle, she looked worried and then kinda sick. When she got off the ride, she was green.
He locked the ride, locked the entrance gate, and rushed over to the exit to check on her. “Hey, you okay?”
“Just a little dizzy,” she said, and then her eyes rolled up in her head and she collapsed at his feet.
Oh shit. He pulled out his walkie-talkie and called for his uncle before kneeling at her side. He pushed her hair out of her face. “Kelsey, wake up. Come on, Goddess.”
Her eyes fluttered open, and she moaned, turning on her side toward him. Her hair, in crazy disarray from the ride, fell in her face. He gathered the mane of hair and pulled it back from her face. “Are you okay?”
She moaned. “Your uncle paid me too much.”
“What?”
“Too much funnel cake and corn dogs,” she managed before puking. He jerked back just in time, still holding her hair.
Aww, man. This was not his forte, dealing with sick.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
He tried not to look at it. He should get back to work. Yet something kept him by her side, holding her hair back from her face just in case—
She retched again.
“I don’t think you should do the Ferris wheel tonight,” he said when she was done. When it looked like she wasn’t going to be sick again, he released her hair and pushed it back over her shoulders.
She sat up and frowned. “You’re probably right. I need to get home.” She sniffled. Uh-oh. This was not his forte either, dealing with female tears. “I was so looking forward to tonight. We’ve only got seven nights to be romantic.”
Romantic wasn’t his forte either, but he had a feeling she meant more orgasm romantic than grand-gesture romantic, which he definitely could do. His uncle arrived, looked down at Kelsey, and then turned to him in silent question.
“She’s sick from too much junk food,” Nick explained.
His uncle nodded. “I got the ride. Go ahead and take her home.”
“Thanks,” Nick said. He pulled Kelsey up, and she wobbled on her feet. Her lower lip trembled. What he did next came naturally—scooped her up and carried her cradled in his arms back to his trailer. He’d let her rest a bit before a car ride. She trembled in his arms, leaned her head on his chest, and let out a shuddery sigh. It was the craziest thing. He should be completely turned off by what he’d just witnessed, but all he wanted to do was hold her hair back until she was done with the sick and then hold her trembling body until it stilled in peaceful sleep.
He set her back on her feet when he got to the trailer, one arm around her waist as he opened the door. He guided her in and puzzled over his next move. His bed was the sofa. It pulled out, but he couldn’t set it up without letting go of her.
“Do you think you’ll get sick again?” he asked.
“I don’t think so. I just need to rest a little, and then I’ll drive myself home. It’s a short drive.”
“You sure?” he asked, but she was already settling on the sofa, curling onto her side. He hurried to fetch a trash can and placed it nearby. Then he got his fleece blanket from the top of the small closet and covered her with it. There wasn’t room for both of them. He’d end up pushing her right onto the floor if he tried to squeeze in there.
He sat next to her on the floor and held her hand. A moment later, she was asleep. He listened to her breathe while he silently freaked out. Because if he wasn’t turned off by sick, there wasn’t much else she could do to shake him loose. But they only had this week, and he had absolutely nothing to offer her.
If only he’d met her when he was at the top of his game with a bright future instead of now when he had nothing. But he couldn’t turn away the chance to be with her even if it was just for a week. She was the best thing that had happened to him since he left football.
He shook his head at the wonder of it all. He honestly never thought he could feel this good without a football in his hands.