Imperfect Magic (Dancing Moon Ranch Book 11)

by Patricia Watters

  The audience seemed as stunned into silence as Maddy. There was no way Dimitri could have gone around the wall because it was always in plain view. So it appeared the only way he could have gotten from one side to the other was to go through.

  A sudden burst of applause from an enthusiastic audience startled Maddy, and after she'd collected her wits, she glanced over at the table where her parents were sitting and saw that her father was clearly baffled, just as she was, because what they'd just seen Dimitri do bordered on quantum physics. A man just couldn't walk through a wall, yet it appeared he'd done just that.

  By intermission, during which time the water tank was rolled out onto the stage before being filled with water, Maddy was certain the members of her family in the audience were as impressed with Dimitri as she was.

  However, at the end of the water torture cell escape, when Dimitri came bursting through the curtains and went into his usual fit of coughing, and Maddy rushed over and took his arm as choreographed, she found herself smiling at him because he looked so incredibly appealing with his wet hair plastered against his face and spiking his eyelashes, and when he smiled and winked, she found herself smiling back. It was a special moment, and for the span of several heartbeats she wasn't aware of anything but the amazingly handsome face of the man holding her gaze, a man who seemed to be casting a magic spell on her because, against her better judgment, she couldn't deny a little voice was luring her back to Sin City.

  Dimitri was the one to break the spell by standing and pulling her up with him. But after he released her hand to acknowledge the enthusiasm of the audience, Maddy looked at her parents. There was no enthusiasm on their faces. Instead, her father sat with his arms folded, a dark look on his face. Her mother leaned toward him and said something, and he unfolded his arms and closed his hand over hers, as if reassuring her, because she looked deeply troubled, and Maddy had a fair idea why.

  So, her goal now would be to convince her family that, even though her job as Dimitri's assistant was fun and entertaining, there was no way between now and the end of eternity that she'd follow him back to Las Vegas. She hoped it wouldn't be yet another stage untruth.

  CHAPTER 7

  Misdirection, Maddy decided, was the secret to handling her parents after her mindless decision to wear the hot-pink outfit the night before. Both of her parents were in the kitchen for breakfast, which wasn't the norm. Her father usually left early to tend to ranch work, but the fact that he'd hung around the house later than usual meant he had something to say, which, after seeing the look on his face at the end of the show, she expected. She was thankful Dimitri's swimsuit stretched from his waist to his knees because it made the water cell escape seem less like the lead-in to a male stripper's act. In Las Vegas it wouldn't have seemed that way, but this was cowboy country, and cowboys flaunted their assets by wearing tight jeans and chaps.

  On entering the kitchen, she found both of her parents looking at her as if they had something to say, but before they could start, she said, "I hope you enjoyed the show last night, and Dad, I want to get started on my arena as soon as Dimitri pays me, so maybe you could set a little time aside in early July." Without waiting for his response, she took a plate from a shelf over the counter, went to the stove where she dished up some hash browns and scrambled eggs, and sat at the table as if it were just another day.

  "Dimitri is really very good," Grace said, "but why doesn't he have an assistant?"

  "I guess the one he had found other work," Maddy replied.

  "But you told us she walked out during the show."

  "Dimitri didn't tell me why she left and I haven't asked," Maddy said. "He seems to be a pretty private person. I hope my outfit wasn't too bright. It didn't look all that bright at the store but when I got on stage I was afraid I might look like a giant pink flamingo."

  Jack eyed Maddy over the rim of his coffee mug. "Adam said the night he saw the show you were wearing a low-cut black gown and a pair of heels so high you could hardly walk. Who's paying for all these clothes?"

  "Well, Dimitri is," Maddy said. "It's basically stage costumes and he'll take everything with him when he leaves because technically it all belongs to him."

  "Except the boots you bought," Jack pointed out.

  Maddy stared at her father. "What makes you think that?"

  "Your mother found the credit card receipt on the hall floor."

  So that's where the receipt went. Maddy hadn't expected to pay for the boots at all, but the shirt and pants used up the money Dimitri gave her and she had to have the hot-pink boots to match.

  Jack set his mug down with a thud. "A hundred-and-eighty bucks is a lot to pay for boots that aren't good for anything but letting men know you're available after the show."

  "It was a fashion statement," Maddy said. "Dimitri plans to reimburse me for them."

  Another stage untruth. She didn't intend for small fibs to become a habit, but her parents were jumping to erroneous conclusions, though she had no idea where she'd wear the boots and outfit after Dimitri left. She could hardly wear hot pink in a Fourth of July parade where everyone else would be dressed in red, white, and blue.

  Her father leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, which was a signal to Maddy to be on guard because he'd be making a point she'd have to defend. "Dimitri's without an assistant and he's buying you clothes and teaching you the routine," he said, "so he's obviously grooming you to be his assistant in Las Vegas."

  "That's absolutely not the case," Maddy replied, although there could be some truth to it. Dimitri had mentioned after each performance that she was a natural as an assistant, but he never followed up with anything, which could be more misdirection—lead her to believe she's good then let her build her own castle in the sky, or in this case, castle in Las Vegas.

  "He's paying you three-thousand dollars a month," Jack said. "It'll be years before you make that kind of money with your arena, with all the expenses of running the place."

  "Look, Dad, I'm not on my way to Las Vegas," Maddy said. "I'm having fun with what I'm doing because I'm learning some magic tricks, but that's all there is to it. I'm not in the least interested in working for Dimitri after the end of this month."

  "Honey," Grace said to Maddy, "sometimes things happen we don't expect. Dad and I are concerned because Dimitri's a very handsome and charismatic young man who has the ability to captivate and hold an audience, and we saw the way you interacted with him after the water tank escape."

  Maddy's heart started hammering, not because her mother's words were a reminder that Dimitri had winked and smiled during a private moment in which she smiled back, but because her parents saw it. "That's part of the act, to make the crowd think Dimitri nearly drowned."

  "Winking and smiling isn't the behavior of a man who almost drowned," Jack pointed out.

  "But it is the behavior of a man who enjoys what he's doing, and that's all there is to it," Maddy snapped. "You're both making a mountain out of a molehill." She shoveled the rest of the food on her plate into her mouth, anxious to leave and end the interrogation.

  That done, she said, "I have to run. It's time for Dimitri's riding lesson and he wants to finish early so he can start building a big box for a disappearing donkey illusion, speaking of which, can he use the shop tools? He builds all his own props, including the water tank, so he knows how to use power tools, otherwise he'll have to buy new tools in town, even though he has a full workshop at home."

  "Whose donkey?" Jack asked.

  "Well, actually, Homer," Maddy replied. "Dimitri figures if he can make Homer disappear, he can make a horse disappear, and if he can do that he'll get his own show on the strip, but he'll try the disappearing donkey illusion at the Coyote first to see if it works."

  "And if doesn't work, what will he do then," Jack asked, "travel around the country from nightclub to nightclub like a vagabond magician?"

  Maddy had to bite back a snide retort because she'd learned early on that it never worked
with her dad. "I'm sure Dimitri's father has connections, or he might be preparing Dimitri to take over when he's ready to retire. I really don't know. Dimitri and I haven't discussed his future. In fact, we haven't discussed much of anything except what he needs to know about handling a horse, and what I'm supposed to do on stage. So then, can I tell him he can use the shop tools to build his donkey box?"

  "You can tell him he can come talk to me about it and I'll decide then," Jack replied.

  Maddy felt irritated. It was as if her father was putting hoops in place for Dimitri to jump through because he was a Las Vegas performer and her father was a throwback from the Victorian era. "Just keep in mind that Dimitri is Genie's brother, which could be embarrassing for Josh and Genie if you start lecturing Dimitri the way you do sometimes."

  When she caught the dark look on her father's face, Maddy knew she'd made an unwise comment because her father saw right through it. His take would be that she assumed he'd lecture Dimitri about staying away from her because he'd already concluded the low-cut gown, stiletto heels, body-hugging hot pink outfit, and a pair of hot-pink boots that set her back a hundred-and-eighty bucks, had been intended to impress Dimitri, which maybe they had, she silently conceded. But so far, Dimitri had not responded in any way except to kiss her a couple of times, well, maybe three times, and once on her hand, and a short sweet kiss the night before, all probably in fun.

  She glanced out the window, and seeing Dimitri standing near the stable while surrounded by a pack of kids, she said, "Got to go," then left quickly, anxious to be out of hearing range if her parents tried to call her back to continue their grilling.

  Her eyes focused on Dimitri, who had the most engaging look on his face as he addressed the kids, like he was enjoying what he was doing, she was startled when she felt a hand on her arm, and annoyed when she looked back to see Adam. Placing himself squarely between her and the stable, he said, "I want to talk to you for a few minutes."

  Maddy looked up at Adam, who continued to tower over her, just as all six of her big brothers did, whereas she'd stopped growing when she was eye level to their chests. "Maybe later," she said. "I'm late for Dimitri's horse lessons."

  Adam eyed her the way her father did, which annoyed her even more. He wasn't her father, yet from the time she first learned to walk, he'd been the one to hover over her and look out for her, well, Marc was there too, both thinking because she was a girl she was incapable of taking care of herself. When she tried to dislodge her arm, Adam's hand remained firm, as he said, "I told you before Dimitri can come on the afternoon rides with me and I'll give him instruction on caring for horses, and he can still pay you for my time."

  Maddy tugged her arm from Adam's grasp, braced her hands on her hips, and said, "How about, you go on your afternoon ride while I teach Dimitri how to wash a horse."

  "While wearing that?" Adam eyed her snug, yellow, Dancing Moon Ranch T-shirt.

  "T-shirts dry quicker that western shirts when they get wet," Maddy said.

  "They also stick to you when they're wet. Is that what you want, for Dimitri to see you in a tight wet T-shirt?"

  Maddy glared at Adam. She knew exactly what he was implying and it really pissed her off. But she also needed to get him off her back. "To relieve your mind, I'm not in the least interested in Dimitri, and Las Vegas is the last place on earth I ever want to be. It was fun when I was there with Beth and Hannah, but now I've been there, done that, so if you'll excuse me, I need to get on with washing Tut and taking Dimitri for a short ride afterwards."

  Adam looked at her in alarm. "A short ride where?"

  "Not to the cabin," Maddy said. "But if we do happen to end up there, Dimitri and I are not you and Emily, so your next niece or nephew will not be conceived there."

  Adam stared at her, as if he didn't know what to say, which was understandable. From the time he'd sat her down when she was thirteen, to inform her he was a father, and that Emily had conceived Jesse while they were at the cabin one afternoon, it had never been mentioned again. "You're right," Adam said, "you aren't Emily, and Dimitri is definitely not me, but the male-female attraction is always there and things can happen you don't expect."

  "I'm not thirteen, Adam. I do know about male-female attractions."

  "You're still my little sister, and even though you grew up with six big brothers, a man like Dimitri is different from the guys we brought around here. You always handled any of them in short order. I'm concerned you could find yourself doing things you never expected to do and I don't want you making the same mistake I did."

  "You have Jesse, Emily and Gracie," Maddy said. "Do you still think you made a mistake?"

  Again, Adam stared at her, like he didn't know what to say.

  Knowing he was only looking after her best interest, Maddy said, "I appreciate the concern and I'll be careful." She gave him a peck on the jaw and stepped around him.

  While continuing toward Dimitri, Maddy saw he was performing a trick with cups while standing behind an old, overturned wine barrel. As she approached, he looked up from what he was doing, and when he saw her, his eyes scanned the length of her, paused midway on her chest, then moved to her face, where he held her gaze and smiled, which had her breath quickening and her heart pattering. It occurred to her that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to wear the tight shirt because Dimitri could read into it exactly what Adam had.

  "Okay kids," Dimitri said. "Time for my riding lesson."

  In unison, the kids cried, "No, do the trick again.

  Dimitri restacked the three cups. "Okay, I'll do cup and balls one more time, then we'll break until tomorrow." As he set up for cups and balls, which Maddy recognized as cups and jacks, she was determined to watch closely this time and learn the secret, but after he'd completed the trick, she stared at the three balls sitting on the wine barrel, completely baffled as to how he made three cups go through the solid bottoms of three cups.

  "So there you have cups and balls," Dimitri said. Opening a bag with a drawstring, he tossed the props inside and pulled the cord. "I'll see you all tomorrow for more magic."

  After the kids left, Maddy said, "Can I see the cups in your bag?"

  "Sure." Dimitri opened the drawstring and handed her the bag.

  Maddy pulled out the cups and scooped the balls out of the bag and examined them, and finding nothing irregular, she said, "I am your assistant, so you should at least show me how you did this trick. I know it's a simple trick with a simple explanation."

  "You'll learn in due course," Dimitri replied. "Meanwhile, what are you teaching me today? I'm beginning to like this cowboy stuff, especially if it makes me look like a stud."

  Maddy was distracted by the way Dimitri's eyes brightened and his lips curved in a wry smile when he was teasing, the same way he looked just before he'd kissed her each time, and she wondered if he would have kissed her if they'd been in the stable, away from plain view.

  "Are you with me?' Dimitri asked.

  "Oh, umm, yes. What I'll be teaching you. You'll be learning how to wash a horse." Her mind in gear again, Maddy started toward the stable.

  "Are we talking, dunking him in a tank of water, or swimming him in a river?" Dimitri asked, as he walked alongside Maddy.

  "Neither," Maddy replied. "Since you probably won't have a river or a tank of water near where you'll stable your horse, I'm going to show you how to hose Tut down. The idea is to approach this from Tut's perspective. When he sees the hose coming at him his reaction will be, not only is bathing stupid and unnecessary, it's weird and scary, keeping in mind everything Tut encounters he takes personally, like it's something out to get him."

  "So, are we talking washing my horse all the time, or every once in a while?" Dimitri asked.

  "That depends," Maddy replied. "Since you'll have him on stage, he wouldn't look very good under the lights if he's caked with mud and manure after rolling in the pasture just before you picked him up from the stable for the show."

  Dimitri glan
ced to where Homer was standing at the fence, looking their way, and said, "A donkey would be a whole lot easier to wash."

  "You've got that right. He'd be done with a bucket and sponge, but since you've got to make a horse disappear, learning to wash a donkey won't give you the experience you need to wash a horse," Maddy replied. "Besides, Homer likes being hosed. He plays with the water."

  "And Tut doesn't." Dimitri looked regretfully at Homer.

  "Right again. Incidentally, my dad said to come talk to him about using the shop. I told him you had a workshop and knew how to use power tools."

  "Then what does he want to talk to me about?" Dimitri asked.

  "Beats me," Maddy replied. "Meanwhile, go get Tut and cross-tie him in the washing area. It's boxed in all around so you won't be spraying everywhere else while you're trying to spray him. He's sometimes not too cooperative."

  "Will I need to strip down to my skivvies?" Dimitri asked.

  "Maybe not your skivvies, but you might shed your shirt," Maddy said, feeling a little shot of adrenaline as the image of Dimitri standing by the water torture cell emerged.

  After shrugging out of his shirt, Dimitri went to fetch Tut, and as he was leading him back and tying him between two posts, Maddy couldn't help thinking Dimitri looked almost as amazing stripped down to jeans as he did in the tiny black swimsuit. She imagined he'd look pretty good in chaps too. Jeremy left a pair behind, which she'd offer to Dimitri, just to see if he'd look the way she imagined, with a pouch of faded denim poking between the leathers.

  "Is something wrong with my pants?" Dimitri asked. "I'm hoping they're standard cowboy jeans because I'm trying to look the part."

  "Cowboys wear chaps when they ride," Maddy said, while shifting her gaze upward, "and Jeremy left a pair behind that you could use."

  "Chaps fasten kind of quirky," Dimitri said, smiling.

  Maddy tried to ignore how engaging he looked when he teased, and how sexy he was. She hadn't considered him sexy at first. She'd just been dazzled by what he could do, but he was definitely sexy. "My brothers claim chaps are designed for easy access when nature calls," she said, the gist of the conversation awakening an area that normally lay dormant.