by A. J. Marcus
“He’s got a bunk in the front of his horse trailer,” Catherine replied. “This way.”
“Yeah. A nice homey place,” Dale mumbled. “Bed’s just big enough for two.” He looked at Austin through unfocused eyes.
“I’m thinking you need to sleep it off tonight,” said Austin. Inwardly he cringed. Here I go, missing a perfect opportunity to take advantage of the hottest guy here. I need my head examined.
“That might be for the best,” Catherine agreed.
“Don’t I get a say?” Dale asked as he stumbled on a tree root that stretched across the narrow trail leading down to the corral. “I might need someone to keep me warm in these cold mountains.”
Austin’s T-shirt clung to his sweat-soaked back. It was warm enough for anyone tonight. He could tell now that Dale was drunk enough he wasn’t being subtle with his attempts at flirting. Wishing the man wasn’t drunk, and cursing Jasmine for overdoing the booze, he wondered if he would ever get another chance for Dale to flirt with him… and maybe do more than flirt.
“The evening is warm enough, my sweet,” Catherine purred. “Over here.” She led them across the parking lot, where several trailers of various sizes, including the one for the elephants, sat. A large white pickup sat unhooked in front of one trailer that looked like it had an extended front.
“Dale, where’s your key?” she asked, stopping at the door.
“Let Austin dig it out,” said Dale, wobbling a bit as they stopped.
“Dale, don’t be silly, you can get the key.”
“It’s in my right pocket.”
“I’ll get it,” Austin replied, pushing his hand into the tight pocket of Dale’s jeans. Dale’s muscular thigh was firm under his fingers. He wondered what it would be like to feel it without the fabric between them. He found the key ring, pulled it out, and handed it to Catherine. She took a couple of minutes finding the right key while Dale leaned heavily against Austin. Dale’s groped him clumsily. Austin hoped his groping was more coordinated when he wasn’t drunk. Over the years, he’d known a few men who were awkward, drunk or sober.
“Found it,” Catherine said as she swung the door open.
Dale straightened up for a moment and looked at her. “You have been a perfect lady tonight. Thank you for seeing me and this fine gentleman home. I shall find you in the morning. Perhaps we can all have breakfast… or maybe lunch.”
Catherine laughed. “Thank you for a fun evening, Dale. Now go to bed.”
“Can you help me in?” he asked Austin as he took an uncertain step toward the trailer.
“Sure, let’s get you tucked in,” replied Austin. He stepped a little ahead and braced himself to help Dale up the two short steps. As Dale hauled himself in, Austin steadied him so the two of them wouldn’t go crashing back into the dirt outside. Once in, Austin felt around the side of the door for a light switch. He flipped one and nothing happened.
“Try the other one,” Catherine called from outside.
The second switch illuminated the small trailer. A bed waited a few steps from the door, on the other side of a small two-seat table. He angled them toward the bed without closing the door.
“You could stay,” Dale said, running his hands over the tight expanse of Austin’s T-shirt.
“You make a tempting offer, my dashing jouster,” Austin said as he pushed Dale down onto the bed. “But let’s see if you’re still interested when the buzz wears off.”
Dale caught his hands and pulled him down toward the bed. Austin was just off-balance enough that he fell forward, pushing the two of them back across the narrow mattress. He whacked his head on the wall. Stars filled his vision.
“Sorry,” Dale mumbled.
“You two okay in there?” Catherine called from outside.
“Will be,” Austin called back, rubbing his head and trying to sit up from where he was sprawled across Dale’s massive chest. It would be nice to just lay here a bit, but he needs to go to sleep. Hands on the firm shoulders, he pushed himself up. Dale caught him around the back of the neck with a large hand and pulled him back down. Their lips met. Even through the rum-scented breath, it was a very electrifying kiss. I have to get out of here before I totally take advantage of this really hot, totally wasted man. Austin caught hold of Dale’s hands and held them as he leveraged himself off the bed.
“Get some sleep. If we’re lucky, our paths will cross again,” Austin said as he stepped away from the bed. He turned out the light as he walked out of the trailer. Catherine tossed the key ring onto the floor before he closed the door.
“Thanks for helping get him home,” she said as loud snores started from the trailer. “Please be discreet.” She took his arm, just like she would in character, and started walking him back toward the campground. “You’re from around here. You know how people can be. Dale’s a good man. I’ll explain what happened to him tomorrow. Will you be around tomorrow?”
Austin shook his head. “We’re leaving for Denver early, but we camp out on Saturday nights.”
She nodded as they walked through the campground. “I’ll let him know that.”
Chapter 11
Dale O’toole’s head pounded. For some reason it matched the pounding someone was doing on his door.
“O’Toole, are you in there?” Max’s voice boomed louder than the pounding.
Forcing himself to sit up, thankful the room wasn’t spinning around him, Dale glared at the door.
“Just a second, Max!” he called out. His mouth was dry and foul. He recognized the taste of last night’s rum. He still had his clothes on; that was a good sign. Wobbling toward the door, he stepped on his keys. The sharp metal bit into his sock-covered feet. “Shit!” He grabbed the edge of the table to keep from falling down.
Finally, he reached the door and looked down at Max. The bright sun was almost too much for his hungover eyes.
“’Bout time you woke up.” His boss grinned up at him. “Had a little too much fun at Chipmunk’s party last night?”
“I guess so,” he replied, not trusting himself to nod.
“Well, get yourself going. Practice started ten minutes ago, and you and John have to get the bugs out of your death scene before Saturday. He gets to win this weekend.”
“I’ll be there in a few,” Dale replied. He waited for Max to turn and walk off before closing the door.
He pulled off the rumpled black shirt and didn’t see any vomit stains on it. At least he could hope he hadn’t spilled his guts everywhere in front of people he didn’t know. He shouldn’t have had the drinks, but they had been tasty, and Catherine promised to look out for him. It had been the first time in several years he’d had more than one drink in an evening. With any luck, he hadn’t made too big a fool of himself. There were only a few men on the fair site he found attractive. He tried to remember if any of them had been there. There was that pirate, the one who had poked Champion with his pretzel pole. The last thing he really remembered was talking to the pirate while Cat ran to the bathroom.
Digging out his padded practice clothes, he fought to recall what he and the handsome pirate had talked about. When he wasn’t mad at the man, he was actually fairly cute, with his long brown hair, goatee, blue eyes, and tufts of hair curling over the collar of his skintight T-shirt. That was it; he apologized for bumping Champion. His name was… Austin?
Someone knocked on his door as he struggled to remember if he’d accepted the man’s apology or not. He opened the door to find Catherine standing there with a cinnamon roll and a cup of coffee.
“Max said you were running behind this morning and I figured you could use this after last night.” She smiled up at him.
“You’re a lifesaver,” he said, motioning her in. “So how bad a fool did I make of myself?”
“I think we got you out of the party before you started dancing on the bar.” She laughed; the normally pleasant sound shot right through his head. “Austin helped me get you back here.”
“I remember ta
lking to him. He’s the pirate, right? Long hair?”
She nodded as he reached for his boots. “That’s him. Seems like a really nice guy. You seemed to take a liking to him last night.”
“So I accepted his apology, then?” Dale struggled to force his feet into his boots.
“Appeared so. He didn’t run off when I asked for help getting you back here. He might even like you too. At least he didn’t punch you when you kissed him.”
“I kissed him?” Dale paused after he stamped his boot on the floor to settle his foot more firmly. “I’m such a messy drunk. I’m so sorry I did
that. Those drinks were just tasty, and stronger than I realized.”
“Why don’t you find him and apologize to him too?”
“Do you know where to find him?” he asked, reaching for the coffee.
“They were leaving this morning to go back to Denver, but he and the gal that was helping Bertha at the bar will be back this weekend, and they camp out on Saturday nights.”
“So I’ll track him down this weekend.” Dale stood up with his coffee and roll in hand. “Hate to rush out after you brought me breakfast, but need to get to the joust field. I hope we’re off horse this morning. Not sure I could stay in the saddle if I had to.”
“Sweetie, you go have fun. I’ll find you later and we can discuss all the good gossip I heard after we got you into bed.”
As the mace whistled down toward him, Dale artfully rolled at just the right moment to make it look like the mace struck his side. Luckily John pulled the blow so all it did was strike the padded practice shirt. Dale let himself go limp as he hit the ground. The fall managed to jar his head, which still throbbed from the hangover.
“Very good,” Max called from his seat in the royal box. The afternoon sun beat down on the jousting field, managing to raise the heat enough that everyone was soaked in sweat. They’d been practicing for nearly three hours, and this was the first time Max had liked the hit. Dale’s side ached from where he’d landed on it so many times.
“Two more like that and we can call it at day,” Max yelled out.
John offered Dale a hand up. “You rolled better that time.”
“And you pulled the blow perfectly. Let’s do it again.” Dale tried not to fall on his face as he retrieved the practice sword John had knocked from his hand before the final blow. Two more rounds, now that they knew what Max was looking for, and they would be ready for the joust crowd on Saturday.
“You guys take the rest of the day off, and tomorrow too,” Max said, walking down onto the field. “I’ve got some things to handle tomorrow, so we won’t be practicing. Just don’t lose what you’ve got now and we should look great on Saturday.” Max turned and marched off the field in the direction of his trailer.
“You seemed a bit off today,” John said as they gathered their gear.
“Had a bit too much to drink at Chipmunk’s party last night,” Dale replied.
“Ah, Chipmunk’s parties, a bit too much debauchery for me,” John replied. “Besides, Wednesday is church night, particularly since we are working on Sunday right now.”
“Lady Catherine wanted to go, and I had no other plans,” Dale replied as they started toward the far end of the field.
“And how are you getting along with the fair Lady Catherine? Any chance of you making an honest woman out of her?”
Laughter and giggles floated around them before Dale could answer. Catherine and a couple of the women from the court strolled toward them.
“My Lord John, did I hear you use my name and the words ‘honest woman’ in the same sentence?” Catherine laughed. Like a lot of women, her hearing was acute to the point of annoying. But John did have a booming voice, and so far Dale hadn’t heard him modulate it much.
John saved himself with an unconscious blush. “My good lady.” He bowed in a courtly manner. “It is the wish of every God-fearing man that every woman should find herself a husband.”
The two women with her giggled as Catherine put her hands on her hips and stared at him. The look on her face was something between indignation and humor.
“John,” she sighed. “I do not need you or any other man trying to play matchmaker for me. I know I have a very well-deserved reputation here at fair and in the other circles I move in as well. I enjoy my life and live it to the fullest. Can you say the same? Should the time ever come that I wish to limit myself to the tight piety you so swaddle yourself in, I will gladly come running to you and plead for your help in finding a husband to rule over me. Until that time, I will do as I please.” She looked at Dale, her eyes dancing mischievously. “Now then, my Lord Diederik, once you have made yourself presentable, we have dinner reservations.” She swirled away. Had she been in costume, the skirt would’ve twirled, but as it was, the heels of her boots clicked and she and her two friends strolled away.
“That one needs taming,” John said.
Dale chuckled. “I pity the man who tries. She has a mind of her own.”
“Just be careful she doesn’t lead you down to hell on her arm.” John scowled. “Women like her are part of the problem with our world today. They have forgotten their place.”
“She doesn’t strike me as the barefoot and pregnant type.” Dale resumed his walk toward the shed near the corral, where the gear was kept.
John huffed. “Well, just be careful of her.”
Dale laughed to himself. This confirmed his suspicions that John was one of the cast who couldn’t handle finding out he was gay. That could make for a very awkward situation in the performance. John didn’t like Catherine, and right now, being with her kept Dale safe.
Chapter 12
“Do you happen to have this in a four extra-large?” the heavyset woman in front of Austin asked, holding up a pink T-shirt with a skull and crossbones on it and the words “Pirate’s Booty” in sparkly letters across it. “It’s for my daughter.”
With practiced ease, Austin bit back the comment that threatened to come pouring out of him. “Let me go in the back and check for m’lady. If you don’t mind.”
The woman giggled. “It’s so cool how you folk talk here.”
Austin sighed and headed for the storage room. He doubted they had any of the shirt—it had been their best seller in the women’s shirts last weekend—and he had no idea how many of them Jasmine had sold while he was off peddling pretzels this morning. He’d managed to catch the noon joust and enjoyed watching the show. Dale hadn’t been in the parade—it was the white knight’s week for that—and then during the second joust, Austin had been up on the other end of the fairgrounds, trying to keep the elephants from grabbing pretzels as he sold them to the people there. He’d hoped to see Dale, if only to say hi, but so far the man was proving elusive as a four XL pink T-shirt.
After a futile search through the box of pink shirts, Austin headed back out front empty-handed. The large woman was still standing at the counter.
“Begging m’lady’s pardon, but it does appear we are currently out of stock on that size. The largest I was able to find was a double XL,” he explained.
“Well, thank you for looking. I suppose I’ll just have to get her one of those treasure chest snow globes or something.” Leaving the smaller shirt on the counter, the woman waddled over to the nearest display of souvenirs.
Austin looked over the few people in the shop. The temperature was nearly a hundred outside. It seemed to send the crowds home early, because he was sure there had been more people in the lanes when he was pretzeling.
A flash of dark blue and black caught his attention as two people strolled into the shop and past the displays.
“Lovely. We have caught you at a slow time,” Lady Catherine announced as she walked up to the counter. Dale stood next to her, looking more uncomfortable than he had several nights before. “I think I will peruse your wares while you two gentlemen chat.”
She swirled away before either Austin or Dale could say anything. Dale looked uneasy but smiled at A
ustin.
“She’s trying to keep my character safe,” Dale said softly. “I wanted to come in and apologize for getting so drunk the other night.”
“Hey, you’re new to the altitude. It can affect your tolerances,” Austin replied. His mind reeled at being sought out by Dale. He wished they were somewhere more private.
Dale nodded. “Even so, I would like to make it up to you. Lady Catherine says you camp overnight on Saturdays. Would you and your bartending friend care to join us for dinner tonight? Catherine knows most of the good restaurants around. It will be my treat for acting so unbecomingly at the party.”
Austin stood there in shock. His heart thumped madly in his chest. Was Dale O’Toole, hottest man at the fair, asking him out? Well, him and Jasmine? Sure, Lady Catherine would be there too, but it sounded a bit like a date with beards in tow. Dale’s hazel eyes looked even prettier in the light of the shop than they had under the harsh outside lights at the party. There wasn’t any way he could say no.
“Sure. Where would you like to meet up?” he answered before the offer was rescinded.
“We can take my truck. There’s room for four,” Dale said, looking pleased. “How about at the corral about eight? That will give us time to clean up a bit before going. If I can rein in Catherine, it won’t be anything fancy.”
“Oh, I don’t see a man around here strong enough to rein me in,” Catherine said, coming up behind the jouster. “If you two have this all worked out, the crowd is building and we should be on our way.”
“See you tonight.” Dale smiled at Austin before turning, taking Catherine’s arm, and walking out of the shop.
“You won’t believe what just happened!” Austin nearly screamed at Jasmine when her latest customer finally walked away with a cup full of beer.
“What?” she asked. “And why aren’t you at the shop?”