Freaky Hearts
A Mystic Caravan Mystery Book Three
Amanda M. Lee
Contents
Copyright
Prologue
1. One
2. Two
3. Three
4. Four
5. Five
6. Six
7. Seven
8. Eight
9. Nine
10. Ten
11. Eleven
12. Twelve
13. Thirteen
14. Fourteen
15. Fifteen
16. Sixteen
17. Seventeen
18. Eighteen
19. Nineteen
20. Twenty
21. Twenty-One
22. Twenty-Two
23. Twenty-Three
24. Twenty-Four
25. Twenty-Five
26. Twenty-Six
27. Twenty-Seven
28. Twenty-Eight
29. Twenty-Nine
Mailing List
About the Author
Books by Amanda M. Lee
Copyright © 2017 by Amanda M. Lee
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
Prologue
One week earlier
“That smells great,” Luke enthused, sitting at the picnic table and smiling as he watched me toil over the grill. “I’m starving.”
“You didn’t do anything to work up an appetite last night,” I reminded him. “You were performing when everything went down.”
“That’s your fault,” Luke said, extending a finger. “You could’ve waited for me. Instead, you had to take the creepy scarecrow down while I was otherwise engaged. I didn’t even get to see him. I’m so upset, and you know emotional upheaval makes me hungry.”
As far as I could tell everything short of nuclear destruction makes him hungry. “Fine,” I said, shaking my head as Kade handed me a carton of eggs. “You’ve earned your hunger. Are you happy?”
“For now,” Luke said, glancing around. The circus was quieter than a normal Sunday morning, everyone taking advantage of our peculiar situation and sleeping in. “Do you think your new friend is going to join us?”
“Her name is Melissa, and there’s no reason to dislike her simply because she didn’t like your leotard,” I said. “And … yes … I think she’s going to join us. She’s desperate to be around people who understand her.”
“I’m not sure I’d be so keen to be a part of this group after witnessing that scene yesterday,” Kade said, pouring himself a mug of coffee as he sat across from Luke. “She went from being able to see the future to watching a dwarf in an evening gown behead a child while a pixie used her mind to shred a human scarecrow and another pixie dropped some dust on a second child and shrank her into a doll. That might put me off from being a joiner.”
“That’s because you’re a downer sometimes,” I said, flicking the back of his ear as I reached around him to grab the sausage. “I think Melissa is one of those people who like to look on the brighter side of life.”
“I like to look on the brighter side of life,” Kade argued. “Right now, for example, I’m brightening just thinking about those cheerleading photos Luke is going to show me.”
Luke snickered, earning a dark look from me.
“I’ll ban you from breakfast if you show him those photos,” I said, waving the spatula for emphasis. “You’ll starve to death.”
“You would never punish me that way,” Luke said. “I would wear you down with pathetic cries and whimpers.”
I had no doubt about that. “Well, I still think you should lose those photos,” I said. “I almost died, but lived to tell the tale. I think that is one of those experiences that deserve a favor, and the favor I want is those photos going away forever.”
“No way,” Luke said, shaking his head. “I’ll paint your toenails or something. That will be my favor.”
That didn’t sound remotely fair. “I … .”
The sound of a man clearing his throat at the end of the table caught my attention, causing me to forget what I was about to say. When I realized Max was standing there my heart dropped to my stomach. I was certain I was about to throw up all over Luke’s breakfast.
“Hey, Max,” Luke said, completely missing my newfound distress. “You missed all the excitement last night. You usually do, though. Do you want to hear all about it over breakfast?”
Max glanced at me, our gazes momentarily locking. “I would love to hear the story at some time,” he said. “I’m actually here for another reason.”
My stomach, which only seconds before had been growling in anticipation of breakfast, felt as if it was going to explode from the burning tension roiling it.
“What’s going on?” Kade asked, confused as he glanced between Max and me. “Is something wrong?”
“I guess that depends on the way you look at things,” Max said, licking his lips. “I have something I need to tell you, and I don’t believe you’re going to like it.”
Kade stilled, his shoulders stiffening. “Okay.”
Max shifted his eyes to Luke. “Perhaps you should find someone else to cook you breakfast this morning,” he suggested. “I don’t think this breakfast is going to be digestible when I’m done.”
“That sounds ominous,” Luke said. “I … do I really have to go?”
Luke loves gossip. He didn’t want to miss out on what was about to happen.
“That’s up to Kade,” Max said. “What I have to tell him is … his story.”
“He can stay,” Kade said, shifting on the bench and leaning back so there was more distance between Max and himself. He didn’t know what was coming, but he sensed it was bad. “Just spit it out, Max. You’re making it worse by prolonging it.”
“I understand that,” Max said, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s just … I never envisioned telling you this. Well, that’s not entirely true. I wanted you to know the whole story from the beginning, but your mother didn’t think that was a good idea.”
“What’s going on?” Kade asked, his voice taking on a hard edge. “I know you’ve been keeping something from me since I got here. At first I thought it was just the magic stuff, but then I realized more was going on. Just … tell me.” He was almost begging Max to do the right thing. I would do anything to save him from the hurt he was about to feel, but it was out of my hands.
“I did not know your father,” Max said, twisting his fingers together. “We were not friends and I didn’t make a promise to him as he lay dying that I would look out for you and your mother. I know that’s the story you were told, but it isn’t true.”
“Okay, what’s the truth?” Kade asked, his eyes glued on Max’s face.
“The truth is … .” Max broke off, flashing me a helpless look as he floundered. He’s the strongest man I know, but I didn’t think he was capable of doing this.
“The truth is Max is your father,” I volunteered, causing Max to widen his eyes and Luke to suck in a breath. “He wanted to be a part of your life, but your mother didn’t think that was a good idea because he was always on the road. They came to an … understanding.”
“What?” Kade’s face was a mottled shade of red as he glared at me.
“I’m your father,” Max gritted out. “I’m sorry for not telling you the truth sooner. I wanted to, but I feared you wouldn’t take it well. Your mother made up such wonderful stories about your father, and I didn’t think I could live up to the manufactured hype.”
> “You’re my father?” Kade’s voice climbed an octave as he pushed himself to a standing position. Max wasn’t a large man, but he wasn’t small either. He looked positively tiny in the face of Kade’s fury.
“I am your father,” Max confirmed. “I’m so sorry for springing it on you this way, but … I thought you should know the truth.”
Instead of yelling or screaming … instead of throwing his arms around Max and saying they could work things out … Kade turned his accusatory eyes on me. “You knew!”
“Not for long,” I said, my cheeks burning. “I figured it out about a week after you arrived and confronted Max with my suspicions.”
“Don’t be angry with Poet,” Max said. “She demanded I tell you the truth right away, but I was afraid to do it. This isn’t her fault.”
“Well, you’ve got half of that right,” Kade said, tossing his unused napkin on the table and taking a step back. “She’s not the one who told the initial lie, but she allowed you to keep telling it for the past two weeks.”
“I told him he had to tell you the truth,” I protested, my eyes filling with tears. “I threatened to quit if he didn’t.”
“She did,” Max said, bobbing his head. “She also gave me an ultimatum that I tell you today or she would. I would like to think I would’ve told you the truth without her push, but fear is a funny thing. I don’t know that I would have done it. She insisted, though.”
“This is what’s been bothering you,” Luke said, his eyes wide. “I couldn’t figure it out. You tell me everything, but I knew you were hiding something.”
“This wasn’t my secret to tell,” I explained. “I’m sorry.”
“Are you sorry for not telling him or lying to me?” Kade spat, his venom taking me by surprise.
“Both.”
“Well, that’s just great,” Kade hissed, briefly pressing his eyes shut as he rubbed his hand over his hair. “I just … I can’t believe this.”
“You need time to absorb it,” I said. “I understand you’re angry … .”
“You don’t understand anything,” Kade seethed, gesturing wildly to shut me up. “I told you how I felt at loose ends after my mother died and that’s why I ended up here. I told you I wanted to feel I was part of a family, and you knew all along that I had real family here.”
“That’s my fault,” Max said. “I told her I needed time to prepare myself. I wanted you to get comfortable here before I sprang this on you.”
“I’m not talking to you,” Kade barked, causing Max to take an inadvertent step back. “What you’ve done is bad enough, but I wasn’t sleeping in the same bed with you. I wasn’t forging a relationship with you. She lied to me! She said she wouldn’t do it again after the first big lie and now I find she’s been doing nothing but lying for weeks.”
“I’m so sorry,” I offered, tears spilling down my cheeks. I knew it would come to this. I felt it in my bones and now it was even worse than I had imagined. “I didn’t want to lie to you, but I thought the truth would be better coming from Max.”
“That doesn’t make it better,” Kade said.
“I care about you,” I said, trying a different tactic. “I wanted you to know the truth, but I didn’t know how to tell you. It didn’t seem as if it was my place.”
“That doesn’t help either,” Kade said, his jaw clenching and unclenching as his chest heaved. “That makes it worse. You don’t lie to someone you care about.”
“But … .”
“No!” Kade vehemently shook his head. “I just … no. Stop talking. I need time to think.”
I took a step in his direction, holding my hands up to signal my surrender. “Just let me talk to you. I want to explain why I did what I did.”
“I do, too,” Max said, his voice low.
“Well, I don’t want to hear anything either of you have to say,” Kade said. “I just … can’t. I need to think.”
Kade turned on his heel and stalked away, not even bothering to cast a backward glance in my direction as he fled. I had no idea where he was going, but my first instinct was to follow. Luke stilled me with a hand on my arm when I made a move to chase after Kade. I hadn’t even noticed him get up from the table.
“Let him go, Poet,” Luke said, his eyes sympathetic. “You just blew up his world. He’s going to need more than five minutes to wrap his head around it.”
“But … I need him to know how sorry I am.”
“That will make you feel better, not him,” Luke said. “I understand why you did what you did, but you had to know it wouldn’t end well. You had to know it would crush him.”
I did know that. Somehow I convinced myself it would all work out in the end, though. “I don’t know what to do.”
“All you can do is give him time,” Luke said, his gaze bouncing between Max and me. “That’s all either of you can do.”
In my head I knew he spoke the truth. My heart was another matter. I was sure my heart was breaking.
“There’s nothing else we can do, Poet,” Max said. “If it’s any consolation, you were right. I should’ve told him from the beginning.”
That wasn’t any consolation at all.
“Give it time,” Luke said, his voice gentle. “He’ll forgive you. Have a little faith.”
The fact that he echoed Kade’s words from a few hours earlier bolstered me, but just barely. “I guess there’s nothing else to do but wait.”
“No,” Luke agreed. “That’s all you can do.”
So that’s what I did. After all, it’s a circus and we have a full day of work ahead of us. The show must go on.
1
One
Eight days later
Things aren’t going well for me.
I’ve never considered myself pouty by nature. I’m not prone to histrionic fits or bouts of melancholy. Sure, my best friend Luke Bishop might say otherwise, but who are you going to believe? That’s right, me. You’re going to believe Poet Parker. I am a psychic, after all. I can read and even control minds. I can point people toward a specific fate – especially if they’re evil and I need to save the unsuspecting public from certain doom.
Apparently the only thing I can’t control is my own fate.
Life at Mystic Caravan Circus went on as if nothing changed after Kade Denton found out about his father – and the fact that I knew and hadn’t told him – and walked away from the relationship I thought we were building. Everything changed for me, though. Everything changed for him. Everything changed for my boss Max Anderson, too. The three of us floundered while the rest of the circus denizens flourished.
Okay, that sounded dramatic. I actually heard it that time. I thought Luke was making it up when he said I was being overly dramatic, but I definitely heard it that time. I can’t help it. I’m in a funk.
“What are you thinking about?”
I glanced to my left, reminding myself I wasn’t alone, and forced a smile for Luke’s benefit. He’d been my best friend for years. Sure, his nose had been out of joint in recent weeks because he thought Kade was replacing him in my heart. He stood by me, though. Now that Kade wanted nothing to do with me, things were back to normal.
Er, well, for the most part. My heart was bruised and my anger at my boss unnaturally tweaked, but other than that, things were just peachy. Peachy? Who thought of that saying? It’s a stupid saying.
“I’m not thinking about anything,” I lied, forcing my eyes to the blur of trees and buildings as we closed in on Brigham City, Utah. “Why would you think I’m thinking about something?”
Luke shrugged as he maneuvered his truck over the highway. We brought up the rear in the Mystic Caravan parade as we headed toward the location of our new performance grounds. I’d never been to Brigham City. We’d made stops in Salt Lake City, but Max informed everyone this destination would be different. He said the words before he disappeared into his trailer and dumped the endless questions that inevitably followed a blowup of epic proportions on me.
Technically I’m second in command when it comes to Mystic Caravan, but ever since Max blew my life to bits I’ve been solely in charge. Max retreated to the solitude of his trailer and left me to deal with the daily business of circus life. Part of me was angry about his cowardice. The other part was relieved because it gave me something to do besides fixate on Kade.
“I can tell when you’re chewing on an idea,” Luke said, his blond hair perfectly highlighted and in place as he stared out the window. The vehicle in front belonged to Nellie, the bearded cross-dressing dwarf who just happened to be a fan of axes and beheadings. In front of him was the truck that belonged to Raven Marko, the overly-sexed proprietress of the House of Mirrors. She wasn’t alone. Kade rode with her, which was a special sort of arrow – one tipped with poison – to the heart.
“I’m not chewing on anything,” I countered, rubbing my cheek as I forced my mind from the hard ball of anger and guilt building in the pit of my stomach. “I’m just seeing the sights. That’s allowed.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t allowed,” Luke clarified, his expression thoughtful as he slid his gaze in my direction. “Do you want to talk about this?”
“I thought we were talking about it.” I kept my voice even despite my angst. I felt like a twelve-year-old girl who had just found out her favorite movie star had a girlfriend … or maybe even a boyfriend. “I’ve never been to Brigham City. Discuss.”
Luke heaved a long-suffering sigh, one only a beleaguered best friend could muster. “Poet, you’ve been depressed and mopey for a week,” he said, reaching over to collect my hand before I could yank it away. He held onto it tightly and chose his words carefully. “I understand you suffered a blow when Kade broke up with you … .”
“Kade did not break up with me,” I snapped, cutting him off. “We never agreed that we were a couple, so he clearly didn’t break up with me.”
“That seems like a semantics argument.”
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