Family Secrets
Page 25
“No question, the carousel.” I pointed to the upper deck. “I’ve been eyeing that zebra every time we pass by.”
“Zebra it is.” He pointed out the iridescent animal just behind my intended transport. “I’m going to ride that purple-blue-green seahorse-dragon thing.”
While we waited for both of our preferred creatures to be free at the same time, we watched the sideshow acts scattered along the midway. No one could miss the tall woman, she had to stand at least seven feet with red hair that hung almost to her knees. She was dressed like a puppeteer, holding strings attached to a one-armed little boy who pretended to be her marionette. They were absolutely charming.
A few yards away, a man balanced on a large ball while juggling flaming torches. Wary parents maintained a wide perimeter, encouraging the juggler while holding their children back to avoid any fire mishaps.
“I can’t believe he’s blind,” a teenage girl said as she and her family wandered past.
“The juggler?” I asked.
“The juggler,” the father said. “Isn’t that incredible?”
It was, but no more so than anything else around here.
Across the red-brick-paved midway from the juggler, a woman hung by one leg from a hoop that was suspended between two large pine trees. She spun so fast she was a blur, and then in a blink of an eye, she was spinning by one hand. And then by only the back of her head. She mesmerized me with all the contortions she put her body through. As her routine came to the end, her spotter lowered her to the ground where she waved and bowed to the crowd. Then her spotter approached her with a wheelchair we hadn’t even noticed.
“Look at her,” I said as she positioned her right leg on the footrest. “She can only use her left leg. I couldn’t have done what she just did if I had four superhuman legs.”
“We’re up.” Tripp took my hand and led me up one short staircase to the carousel platform and then to another that led to the top deck.
We rushed like excited children to our rides. A little girl pouted when she saw me mount the zebra, but seemed to forget about it when she spotted a white unicorn with a beautiful flowing mane a few spaces up.
I looked behind me to see Tripp with a grin covering his face as his seahorse-dragon went up and down, the calliope music enveloping us in happiness. As the ride slowed to a stop—I swear, our turn lasted much shorter than the others—Tripp jumped off his mount and then helped me down. I patted my zebra on the rump and thanked him for the lovely ride.
“You ready to go home?” Tripp asked once we were back on the ground.
Before I could answer, a woman came up to us. Early thirties, dark-brown hair in a braid hanging halfway down her back, olive skin, black-brown eyes. Dressed in khaki-green cargo pants, a gray tank top, and hiking sandals, she looked like she had just stepped out of a South American jungle.
“Sorry to interrupt,” the woman said with a slight Spanish accent. “I have a couple questions for you if you don’t mind. My name is Lupe Gomez. I’m a journalist, working on a series of articles about Whispering Pines. I was hoping to get your thoughts on the circus. Who are you two? Do you live here or are you tourists?”
“I’m Jayne O’Shea,” I said, “he’s Tripp Bennett. I guess you could say we’re temporary residents. We’re doing repairs to my grandparents’ house and getting it ready for sale. My thoughts on the circus? What’s not to love? It’s a circus.”
“I agree,” Tripp said. “There are people of all ages here, from tiny babies to older folks. I have yet to see anyone who didn’t have a smile on their face.”
I looked up at him. “Someone paying you to be the circus promo guy?”
“I didn’t know there was such a job. Does it really pay?”
Laughing, I turned my attention back to the reporter. “You said your name is Lupe? Who are you writing these articles for?”
“I work for an online Wisconsin travel magazine, Unique Wisconsin. Tell me, what’s been your favorite part?”
“My favorite,” I said, “had to be the big top performance.”
“Oh, yeah,” Tripp agreed, “that was great.”
“Are you staying for the night performance?” Lupe asked.
“I don’t think we need to see it a second time,” Tripp said.
“The second performance is for adults only.” Lupe winked and waggled her eyebrows. “If you know what I mean.”
“An X-rated performance?” My face flushed as my proximity to Tripp suddenly felt far too close.
Lupe shook her head. “It’s not X-rated, but the costumes are skimpier and the performances are racier and the atmosphere, well, go see for yourself.”
“I don’t think we should miss that.” Tripp turned to me, suddenly bright-eyed and eager to see skimpiness. “Will Meeka be okay for another hour and a half?”
Meeka, my West Highland White Terrier.
“She should be fine,” I said. “She had a very busy day of standing at the end of the dock and barking at every boat, jet ski, swimmer, and fish that went past. Then she chased some invisible something-or-other around the yard. She was so tired by the time we left, I think she was passed out on her cushion before I even closed the door.”
“Then let’s go watch the racy sword swallowers,” he begged.
I paused, wondering exactly what that would entail.
“Before you go.” Lupe held up a professional-looking camera. “Could I get a picture of you two for the website?”
I propped my hand on my hip and leaned against Tripp as he draped an arm over my shoulders. Lupe snapped a few shots, promising to choose the best one. I gave her my email address, and she said she’d send me copies.
“You two are really cute together.” She smiled at the images on her camera’s screen and then clamped a hand over her mouth when she saw my scowl and shaking head. “Sorry. Have fun. I’m sure I’ll see you around. I’m here all summer.”
We walked the length of the midway, past games and rides for little kids, to the big top and entered for the second time that day. For the afternoon performance, we had underestimated the number of people who would be there. We got there too late and had to sit at the far end. Not a problem this time, either we were really early or this wasn’t as big a deal as Lupe made it out to be. The bleachers were practically empty.
It was the same tent, but the atmosphere felt very different from two hours earlier. Gone was the traditional circus setup, replaced with what led me to believe we were going to see a Cirque du Soleil-style show. The lighting this afternoon had been bright, animated spotlights. Now those spotlights were filtered to cast a rosy, romantic glow. Long fabric curtains, that served dual-purpose as a backdrop behind the three rings and a staging area for the performers, had also been swapped out. Earlier, they had alternating stripes of vibrant primary colors—red, yellow, green, and blue. Now, the curtains were black, red, ivory, and gold. Romantic French accordion music played softly in the background. I could hardly wait to see how this performance would differ from the family-friendly one we had already seen.
Tripp placed a hand on my lower back, sending shivers through me despite the hot evening air, and guided me toward seats right across from the center ring. He sat close to me, almost too close. I sure hoped this wasn’t a mistake. The entire village of Whispering Pines was already sure we were dating. At least a dozen times since we got to the grounds this afternoon, I had to explain that we were only there as friends. Although Tripp made it clear he would like to be more, I wasn’t ready to take that step yet.
Claiming the need for air flow, I scooted a few inches away and let out a slightly shaky breath. Why was I so jittery? We were two friends having fun at the circus. Maybe my sudden attack of nerves had nothing to do with us. I scanned the tent, searching for anything that could signal trouble. Nothing. It had to be all that dating and together talk people kept throwing at us.
I was an ex-cop, though, and always trusted my instincts. I’d stay alert, just in case.
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Thank you for reading FAMILY SECRETS, book one in the Whispering Pines series. I hope you had a good time and will come back to visit Jayne in the rest of the series. Word of mouth is the very best promotion. Please click here and leave an honest review. It doesn’t have to be long, a sentence or two is great! Not only will you help other readers find my work, you’ll help me to be able to continue writing more books!
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Shawn
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Acknowledgments
I had the best time researching and writing FAMILY SECRETS, but I’ll be honest, I stressed over this one. This is my first novel-length work in a genre that I have fallen in love with, and I worried that I wouldn’t get it right. I can’t tell you what a relief it was when early feedback came in with glowing results. That praise has taken me from stressed to over-the-top excited to share this new world with you!
Because books never come together on their own, I have numerous people to thank. First, to a friend so dear she’s practically a sister, Rachael Dahl. For patiently listening to my thoughts, reading attempts along the way, and for always being honest when I need to hear the truth. Thank you, girl!
My always awesome critique partners: Amy Laundrie, Susan Berk Koch, Donna O’Keefe, and Deborah Lynn Jacobs. Your advice continues to make me a better writer. I’m so grateful for you all.
To Erin Finigan, BJ Thompson, Teresa Kovach, and Rika Terblanche for hunting down those nasty typos for me. Thank you so much!
Troy Leibfried, for answering my many cop questions. Thanks for helping me bring Jayne to life.
For my fans, I love hearing from you and learning that my characters mean as much to you as they do to me. Don’t ever hesitate to drop me a line.
And as always, to Paul. This time, because you never once worried when I started talking about ways to kill people. I love you with all my heart!
Shawn’s Other Books
WHISPERING PINES Series
Missing & Gone, prequel short story
Family Secrets, book 1
Kept Secrets, book 2
Original Secrets, book 3
GEMI KITTREDGE Mystery Novellas
One of Her Own
Out of Her League
Over Her Head
THE WISH MAKERS Series:
Sticks and Stones, book 1
Break My Bones, book 2
Never Hurt Me, book 3
Had a Great Fall, book 4
Back Together Again, book 5
Short Stories
The Door
Escaping the Veil
Bio
Suspense and fantasy author Shawn McGuire started writing after seeing the first Star Wars movie (that's episode IV) as a kid. She couldn't wait for the next installment to come out so wrote her own. Sadly, those notebooks are long lost, but her desire to tell a tale is as strong now as it was then. She grew up in the beautiful Mississippi River town of Winona, Minnesota, called the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin (Go Pack Go!) home for many years, and now lives in Colorado where she is a total homebody. She loves to read, craft, cook and bake, and spend time in the spectacular Rocky Mountains. You can learn more about Shawn’s work on her website www.Shawn-McGuire.com