Circus in the Clouds
THE BALLOONIST CHRONICLES: BOOK THREE
L.J. Higgins
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2021 by LJ Higgins
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover by Maria Spada.
Contents
1. Lucy
2. Lucy
3. Olivia
4. Lucy
5. Olivia
6. Lucy
7. Lucy
8. Olivia
9. Olivia
10. Lucy
11. Lucy
12. Lucy
13. Olivia
14. Olivia
15. Olivia
16. Lucy
17. Lucy
18. Lucy
19. Olivia
20. Olivia
21. Lucy
22. Lucy
23. Olivia
24. Lucy
25. Olivia
26. Olivia
27. Lucy
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Books by L J Higgins
Dawn of the Dreamer
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Lucy
Bilstone, Australia
The list of issues my dad’s girlfriend, Catherine, had mentioned since they’d started dating two months ago filed through my mind.
Dress sense. Too casual.
Hair. Too flat.
Friends. Not enough of them.
Helping Dad on the farm. Too boyish.
My jaw tightened as I stare out the car’s window, the houses and trees a blur of grey and green. Teeth aching, I shook my head in an attempt to stop thinking about her unkind words.
“Earth to Lucy.” Suzan nudged my arm, and I turned to find her eyebrows raised. Pieces of her wild red hair had escaped what had started as a tight ponytail at the beginning of the day, and she ran her hand over it in an attempt to tame it.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, noticing we were pulling into her driveway.
“I’ve got some work to do,” said Martha, Suzan’s mum, from the driver’s seat. “So, Mike’s going to drive you home.”
Mike swivelled around in the front passenger seat, his piercing blue eyes locking me in place as he shot me a cheesy grin. “It’s your lucky day.”
“Do you care if I bail?” asked Suzan. “I have an English assignment due tomorrow and it’s not even close to being done.”
“Please tell me you’ve at least started it?” asked Martha.
“But you told me never to lie,” she replied.
Martha’s phone rang. She held up her finger to shush Suzan, climbing out of the car and answering her mobile while giving me a wave goodbye.
I returned the gesture.
“That’s probably one of the few times I’ve been thankful for her work phone,” said Suzan. “Do you care if I don’t come for a drive?”
“I can call Dad to come get me,” I offered. “He won’t mind.”
“Don’t be stupid.” Mike climbed into the driver’s seat. “Jump in the front so I don’t feel like a taxi driver.”
Suzan wrapped me in one of her crushing hugs when I climbed out of the car and called out, “see you on the bus in the morning,” as I climbed into the front seat.
Mike pulled out of his driveway and turned on some rock music as we made our way out of town towards the property I lived on with my dad and Olivia. Sweat from our touch football training session made my blue collared school shirt cling to my skin. I tried not to think about how flushed my face looked, let alone what I must smell like. The more time I spent with Mike, the more aware I became of the way I looked and acted. Or maybe Catherine’s criticisms were seeping in?
Trying to distract myself from my thoughts, I turned my attention to the road ahead of us. The bright blue of the sky was beginning to darken, marking the end of another day. Two more sleeps until I had to spend a day with my dad’s girlfriend, Catherine. Girlfriend. My jaw clenched again at the thought. Guess it was impossible to stop thinking about it. It wasn’t that I was against Dad dating, I wanted him to be happy. I just wished it didn’t have to be with someone who had a strong opinion on everything I did and wanted me to change who I was.
“It’s not my fault you’re in love with me.” Mike’s words pulled me from my thoughts.
I blinked and turned his way, ignoring the heat in my cheeks. “What?”
He huffed out a laugh. “I was just saying random things to get your attention. You’re off in your own world.”
“Sorry, I was listening to the music and day dreaming. I’m so tired from PE and touch training I’m going to crash out when I get home.” Had I overreacted to his words? I hoped he would attribute the pink in my cheeks to our training session.
“I like our drives,” he admitted. “It’s relaxing going on a road trip out to the country and back. Helps me clear my head. The conversation’s usually better though.” He nudged my arm, and my stomach fluttered at his touch.
For the past few weeks it’d started to do that and it made me uncomfortable every time. Stupid stomach.
“That’s because Suzan’s normally talking our ear off about something,” I said.
“Or someone…” he said.
“Sam Winters,” we said in unison.
“She’s so excited that he’s noticed her existence,” said Mike. “I wonder if I should give him some kind of warning.”
“What you see is what you get from Suzan. If he can’t see how awesome she is, then that’s his issue,” I said.
“Are you sure we’re talking about the same person?”
“Don’t be so horrible.” I nudged his arm with my elbow, eliciting another flutter in my stomach.
“If you had a sibling you’d understand.”
“I have Olivia, that’s close enough,” I said. “We get along great.”
“That’s different, you’ve known her for what? Two months…”
“Three,” I replied.
“Exactly, you haven’t spent enough time together to find things about each other annoying.”
Looking away from him with a small smile, I peered out at the fluffy white clouds hanging in the darkening sky. I was so grateful Olivia’s hot air balloon had crash landed in our paddock three months before. My life had changed so much since she’d arrived. But her balloon had been picked up from our shed the day before to be mended, and the thought of her leaving made my chest ache. She’d travelled to so many places and met so many people, all in the pursuit of finding home again. Returning to Edith, the woman who’d raised her, had always been her goal. But the thought of watching her fly away never to see her again made my throat tighten. Would I end up like the other’s she’d met on her adventure? Another story to tell when she was back home.
“Are you okay?” asked Mike. “I was only joking.”
Turning my stare from the clouds back to Mike, I forced a smile. “I know. I’ve just got a bit on my mind.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” He ran a hand over his short, dark hair. “I’m a good listener and I’m also forgetful, so anything you tell me won’t go any further because I won’t remember it.”
Looking into his deep blue eyes, I knew he wouldn’t repeat anything I said to him. As much as I was friends w
ith his sister Suzan, I liked to think he and I had also built a friendship over the past few months. Maybe that was why my stomach fluttered every time he touched me or looked my way?
He didn’t know the truth about Olivia’s time travelling in a magical hot air balloon. Just the thought of it boggled my mind. I couldn’t imagine what he’d think if I told him the real story of how she’d arrived on my farm. “I’m just nervous about this weekend. Catherine wants me to go with her to some girly spa day.”
“Spa day?” His eyes widened and he placed a hand over his heart in mock horror. “That sounds terrible. How ever will you cope?”
“Shut up.” I shot him a glare before relaxing my gaze. “She’s just very opinionated about what a teenage girl should look and act like and being around her sucks.”
“Suzan may have mentioned she had a few opinions,” he said. “I assumed she was over exaggerating. Is Catherine really that bad?”
“She wants me to be a stereotypical girl wearing dresses and makeup, never getting dirt under my nails. The opposite to who I am. But Dad likes her so I have to ignore it as best as I can.”
“Have you told your dad how you feel? He seems like he’d listen.”
“Yes. He wants me to try to get to know her better, hence this weekend. I think he’s worried I’ll grow up and leave the house and he’ll be alone forever if he lets her go.”
“I’m not even going to pretend to understand adults, but if you need a way to escape, text me the name of the spa with the word ‘help’ and I’ll come rescue you,” he offered.
“I might hold you to that,” I replied. “What are you up to this weekend?”
“You’ve got to promise you won’t tell anyone,” he said.
I mimed zipping my lips shut. “Promise.”
“I’ve joined a band.”
My eyes widened. “A band? That’s kind of cool.”
“Kind of cool. I thought chicks loved guys in bands?”
“Of course, it has nothing to do with their personality or the way they look. Give a guy a guitar or a set of drums and we can’t resist,” I teased.
“Funny. Anyway, we play mostly rock music at this stage, but I’m keeping it a secret until we’re good enough to play in front of people without making them cringe and cover their ears. We’re hoping to be ready for the battle of the bands at the end of the month.”
He always told me his little secrets, things he didn’t want others to know yet trusted me with. To tell the truth, the car rides home without Suzan were my favourite. I loved spending time with Mike, even if I couldn’t say anything because Suzan would murder me.
We pulled up the dirt driveway toward my house and part of me wished I lived a little further out of town.
“I bet you’ll be awesome. Let me know when I can hear you live and I’ll be there,” I said.
“I’ll save you a seat front and centre,” he promised as we pulled up in front of my house.
Skye, my cattle dog, barked, running around the now parked car in excitement.
“Thanks for the lift.” I grabbed my bag sitting at my feet.
“It’s my pleasure.” He held my gaze and my body warmed.
Poised, ready to open the door, I waited as he opened his mouth as though he might say something else, but he gave me a lop-sided grin and awkwardness crept over me.
“I better get inside,” I said, ending the moment and climbing out of the car.
“Maybe I can play you one of our songs sometime and you can tell me if I suck or not?” he asked.
“Sounds good,” I replied.
“I’ll see you on the bus in the morning.”
“See you on the bus.” I closed the car door, my heart racing a million miles an hour.
I patted Skye and watched as Mike drove back down the driveway, a smile spread across my face. Running up the stairs, I kicked my shoes off on the veranda before running inside. The aroma of garlic and onion hit me as I entered and I peered into the kitchen.
“What’s for dinner?” I asked, trying to ignore the buzzing coursing through my body.
Dad and Olivia were pottering about the kitchen.
“Hey Luce, how was your day? Olivia’s helping me cook a stir fry,” said Dad.
“Hope you’re hungry.” She wiped a loose red hair from her pale face with the back of her hand.
“My day was good. Dinner smells delicious,” I said. “I’m going to dump my stuff in my room.”
I made my way through the house and put my bag inside my bedroom door before pulling off my school clothes and throwing on something more comfortable.
“How was Mike?”
I jumped at the sound of Olivia’s voice, turning to find her leaning against my doorframe.
“He was fine,” I said.
“Mmm hmm.” She wriggled her eyebrows. “I noticed it was just the two of you in the car when he dropped you off.”
“You were spying on us? You know that’s creepy, right?” I replied.
“I was coming out to say hi but didn’t want to interrupt once I saw Suzan wasn’t with you. You were staring at each other without saying a word.”
“Aren’t you cooking stir-fry?” I looked towards the doorway, avoiding her gaze.
“I was cutting up the veggies but my job’s done now.” She walked into my room and sat on the edge of my bed. “I can always tell when you’ve been with Mike. You get a glow about you.”
“I do not,” I crossed my arms and turned my attention to the clock on the wall.
“He’s a good guy, Lucy, you could do worse,” she said.
“Except he’s Suzan’s brother, and she’d hate me and it would be totally weird.”
“So you admit it? You do like him.”
Groaning, I picked up my pillow and threw it at her. “Mike was right. Sisters are annoying even if they aren’t blood related.”
“Lucy loves Mike,” she sing-songed over and over.
I smacked her over the head with the pillow.
She gripped it and ripped it from my hands.
“Stop it,” I said.
“Why? Who am I going to tell? Luke?”
Luke was her cute doctor boyfriend who’d nursed her to health after she’d landed on our property in the middle of a storm. Back when Dad would let me take the quad bike out and mend fences.
“Maybe Mike’s mum is one of his patients and he’ll tell her and then both Mike and Suzan will know and they’ll stop talking to me and I’ll be a loner again.”
“Always so dramatic,” she replied. “You do like him, don’t you?”
I sagged down onto the bed beside her and leaned my head on her shoulder. “Yes. And I hate it.”
“Hate it? What could you possibly hate about the guy? He’s so sweet and looks after you,” she said.
“That’s what I hate. I hate that I don’t hate him. I hate that by not hating him I might make Suzan hate me.”
She shook her head, bewildered. “You know that makes no sense, right?”
“It makes perfect sense. Me, plus Mike, equals no more friends. And the truth is he’s not interested in my anyway. He looks at me more like a little sister.”
“I’ve seen the way he looks at you. I don’t think it’s like a little sister,” she said. “He can’t keep his eyes off you a whole touch game and as soon as you’re on the sideline he’s at your side.”
“You think so?”
“I’d know that look anywhere.”
“We did have a weird thing in the car.”
“I knew you were having a moment. What was weird about it?”
“He stopped and stared into my eyes like he was going to say something but all he did was give me a smile and didn’t say a word.”
Her eyes widened. “See. I knew he liked you.”
“Even if he does, there’s nothing I can do about it. Susan would hate me.”
“You don’t know that. Maybe you should tell her?”
“No boy is worth risking losing my friends for.”
“That’s true, but Suzan is a great friend. I don’t think she’d stop talking to you for having a crush on her brother. Maybe you should feel the waters. Ask a few questions to see what her reaction might be?”
I thought for a moment. It couldn’t hurt to feel her out. Ask what she’d think about a friend dating her brother.
“Maybe.” I shrugged.
“It’s worth a try. He’s a good one Lucy.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because during my travels I met plenty of guys that weren’t good ones.”
“We both know William wasn’t a good one,” I said, reminding her of the guy she’d given her whole life away for only to realise she didn’t love him. He was the reason she’d climbed into the magical hot air balloon and ended up crash landing on my property. It sounded terrible, but I was thankful she’d plummeted into our lives. She was part of our family now, and I couldn’t imagine a life without her in it.
“Well, that’s a no brainer. But he wasn’t the only mistake I made,” she said.
“Do you mean leaving the forest of the fae?” I asked. “Was it a mistake?”
“Mistake, no. Although, I miss my friends more than you can imagine. But my next stop wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.”
“Well, now you have to tell me all about it,” I said.
“Dinners ready,” Dad called from the kitchen.
“Of course,” I moaned.
“After dinner, I’ll tell you both about it,” she said.
The three of us sat on the couches in our small living room, watching a quiz show on television. Dad yelled out all the wrong answers, then swore he knew the real answer each time the correct answer was revealed. I scarfed down my stir fry, my eyes growing heavy as I leaned back, belly full, into the cushions. My muscles ached from all the physical activity I’d put my body through during the day. I could almost hear my pillow calling for me.
Circus in the Clouds (The Balloonist Chronicles Book 3) Page 1