by Dana Corbit
“How’d he get so privileged?”
Nikki leaned forward as if to share an important secret. “Reverend Fraser asked Mr. Donovan himself. I guess your brother couldn’t make it until late in the day, and Reverend Fraser said we make more money if the kids can throw stuff at grown-ups.”
Dinah nodded. Just because what her father had said was true didn’t make it right for him to rope Alex into it. And why was Jonah too busy for the dirty duty, anyway? Whatever his reason, she would remember in two months when it was time to buy his Christmas present.
Wasn’t it bad enough that she was a preacher’s daughter? Now Alex had to endure cream pies to the face and a dunk in freezing-cold water just to have dinner with her? A cancellation probably had been placed already on her answering machine for their dinner tomorrow night.
“That’s sure not the best way to recruit new church members,” she answered, because the girls appeared to expect her to say something. “You’re supposed to bring a pie to a visitor in your congregation, not smack him with it.”
The teens laughed as she’d hoped they would.
“Mr. Donovan didn’t seem to mind,” Nikki told her. “Earlier he was trying to get the crowd riled up, yelling, ‘Come on, buddy. Let me taste some of that cream pie.’”
Since Dinah had no trouble picturing Alex getting into the taunting role, she doubted her father pressured him into serving as a pie and dunk target. “Who was throwing the pie?”
“Brandon, of course,” Gina said with a grin.
Now that, Dinah could picture, too. “Did Alex get to eat any of that pie?”
Both girls shook their heads, looking disappointed.
Dinah couldn’t help chuckling as she turned back to her own booth. Her stockpile of filled popcorn boxes had all but disappeared into the hands of hungry carnival-goers. “Well, duty calls.”
She crossed back to her booth and started filling boxes again. Just as she was lining the first few on the table again, the man she’d been secretly searching for all night sauntered right up to her table, his hair tousled and wet and a mischievous grin on his face.
Dinah hated to remind him of unhappy things when he looked so happy, but she had to know. “Did you hear anything from Mike?”
The smile didn’t disappear as she expected it would. Alex nodded. “He called yesterday. He’s fine. Apparently, there were problems with the communication satellite.” He paused before he added, “You were right.”
“I often am,” she said with a grin. She studied his wet hair for a few seconds. “Afternoon at the beach?”
“Under the waves, anyway.”
“I take it you weren’t as successful in the dunk tank as you were with the pies.”
“I thought they were pretty equal—” He stopped and lifted a brow. “How do you know about the pie-throwing booth?”
With a shift of her head, she indicated the girls across the way. “Your fans.”
“Those two are telling you a different story because they were definitely cheering against me, not for me.”
“They said Brandon missed his target with the pies.”
One side of Alex’s mouth lifted. “His aim improved later. In fact, there are a couple of teenagers here with good throwing arms. I definitely prefer the banana cream to the coconut cream.” He licked his lips as if he could still taste it.
“By the time I did my stint in the dunk tank, I was looking forward to the bath. Do you know how hard it is to get meringue out of your ears?”
Dinah shook her head, chuckling. “Sorry. Haven’t tried that yet. I’ve just been here popping and popping and popping.”
“And we’re all so glad you have.” He reached for the box of popcorn right up front. “Are these a special order, or can anyone have one?”
“Anyone with enough tickets.”
Alex was already reaching for his wallet with his free hand, but he looked back at her again. “Tickets?”
“You know those things we purchase at the ticket booths and then use for all the games, rides and food booths.” She pointed to the container on the edge of the table that listed the price of popcorn as two tickets and three for cotton candy, and then she indicated the ticket booth across the parking lot, the one with a line about twenty bodies deep.
“Ah, man,” Alex said as he stared at the same line.
“Here. It’s on me.” Removing her gloves, Dinah unzipped the fanny pack at her waist and withdrew a long strip of tickets. She tore off two and pressed them into his palm. For the briefest moment, his hand closed over her fingertips, and their gazes met. The connection ended almost as quickly as it began, but it still took her breathing several seconds to return to normal.
“Thanks.”
He couldn’t have been as affected by her touch as she was by his because he appeared calm while he popped a handful of popcorn in his mouth and chewed without choking and collapsing to the ground.
“Eat much?” she said.
He chewed several seconds longer and then swallowed. “Not today. A few globs of pie filling weren’t exactly…filling.”
“Then I’m glad I could help.”
“You could help me more if you could take a break right now and enjoy some of the carnival festivities. I’m not scheduled as the door guard in the bounce house for a little while.”
“Uh, I don’t know.” Dinah turned her head to the right and left, for the first time realizing that their whole conversation had been observed by workers in her food booth as well as by the girls across the way.
Dinah had a good idea what goldfish felt like swimming around in a bowl for their crowd of spectators, and she wondered if Alex felt just as exposed. Tomorrow would only be their second date, and they were having to share their baby of a relationship with the larger church community. It was too soon.
“Shouldn’t you be checking on Brandon and Chelsea?” Her question sounded feeble in her ears, but it was all she had.
Alex set the popcorn box aside and brushed off his hands. “Already done. They’re both on duty at the beanbag toss for another hour.”
Her thoughts raced. Sure, she wanted to spend time with Alex. Her anticipation for their date tomorrow bordered on giddy. But tonight in front of all these people worried her.
With a quick glance at the couple behind her still painting themselves with cotton candy, she turned back to Alex and frowned. “I shouldn’t really leave here. There’s no one to take my place and—”
“Oh, you go on ahead, Dinah,” Andrew Noble said from beside her.
Dinah startled, wondering how Andrew could have approached from behind her without her noticing. His sugary cologne alone should have been enough of a clue.
“Sure, we’ve got it under control,” Miranda said. “Besides, you haven’t had a break in hours. Just leave your walkie-talkie with us.”
“What if you guys get backed up again?”
“Then one of us will come over and help,” Nikki announced from the next booth over, as if she’d been a part of the conversation all along.
“Ooo-kay,” Dinah said, as the last of her arguments fell away. Why was she arguing, anyway, when all she’d wanted all day was the chance to see Alex, to seize whatever chance she had to be near him?
“Well, great then. I do need a break.”
Untying her apron, she tucked it and her gloves under the counter, handed off the walkie-talkie and followed Alex toward the midway rides. She still was uncertain, still wondered if this public announcement of the two of them as a couple was premature, but there was no turning back now.
Chapter Ten
A lex had already split one sugary elephant ear with Dinah and tossed a few beanbags toward, if not through, the giant clown smile when they reached the line for the Ferris wheel. Lit by thousands of clear-glass bulbs on the exterior wheel and on each spoke, the attraction towered above the church building and stood out like a beacon against the now-black sky.
When Dinah leaned her head back so far that she lost her
balance, Alex pressed a hand beneath her elbow to steady her. She rewarded him with one of those glowing smiles that he’d come to recognize as her gift. Just one of many.
“Did I happen to mention my fear of heights?” Dinah glanced once more to the wheel, its laughing riders sitting with their feet dangling toward the ground. She shivered, though she wore jeans and a hooded sweatshirt with a fleece jacket over it.
“Six or seven times minimum, at least three in front of Chelsea and Brandon at the beanbag toss. You probably mentioned it in a few different languages, too, but I couldn’t understand them all.”
“Those were prayers.”
“I’m sure God liked the variety of the Germanic and Romance languages.” They laughed together, and for the hundredth time this week, Alex longed to draw her into his arms.
“You’re sure this thing is safe?” The dubious look she had trained on the ride operator announced that she wasn’t so sure.
“Of course it is. You checked the amusement company’s safety record yourself, remember? It was top-notch.”
“I guess.”
Because she still didn’t sound convinced, he reached over and patted her arm. “You know, we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
“Are you sure? You’ve been talking about the Ferris wheel all week. You’ve been telling Chelsea how amazing it’s going to be.”
“Chelsea’s already been on it. Brandon took her on this bad boy four times in a row as soon as we got here today.”
“Chelsea rode this thing?”
Dinah didn’t add and lived to her question, but Alex figured she was thinking it. That a twenty-five-year-old woman could still be afraid of a ride that just spun like a vertical pinwheel made him want to smile, but then so did everything about Dinah Fraser.
This was a woman who got a kick out of diet soda explosions and double dates with adolescents. She saw the world not only for what it was but also for what it could be. Then she rolled up her sleeves to do her part in the transformation.
“Sure, she rode it. Didn’t the fire alarm clue you in about what a thrill-seeker my little cousin is?”
Instead of answering, Dinah looked up at the Ferris wheel again. “If Chelsea rode this scary thing, then I’m definitely up for it.”
She jogged over to the rear of the ride’s line and gestured for him to follow.
“Now you’re sure?” he said when he caught up with her. “I thought you were scared.”
“‘The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid.’” She peeked at him out of the corner of her eye. “That’s from Psalm 27.”
“Leave it to the preacher’s daughter to have a Scripture to match any situation.”
“I was trying to remember one that warned against climbing on huge wheeled contraptions that didn’t go anywhere, but I came up empty.”
“Maybe you’ll have to ask your dad for backup on that one, but somehow I doubt even his concordances could help him there.”
Dinah rolled her eyes at him, but she was still smiling as they neared the front of the line.
“You mean I’m paying again?” Already, Dinah was reaching in her fanny pack and pulling out more tickets. “First the popcorn, then the elephant ear, then the beanbag throw and now this?”
“Hold up and I’ll get some tickets.”
She gripped his arm before he could get out of line. “You know I’m kidding. I have to use these up, and I bought too many, anyway. But if I’m going to be expected to pay again tomorrow night, could you let me know ahead of time so I can get to a bank machine?”
“That’s not going to happen, and you know it.”
“You won’t tell me ahead of time?”
He opened his mouth to clarify that he considered it the guy’s responsibility to pay, but he frowned at her teasing grin. “Okay, big spender, would you pay for my ticket already?”
“The things I have to put up with.”
She sighed, making a show of tearing off four tickets for her ride and another four for his. She handed them to the ride operator as they passed and then sat in the open ski-lift-style seat. Sliding in beside her, Alex watched the other man latch the door that crossed their laps, locking it from the outside.
“You see, this isn’t so bad,” he said as the ride lurched forward only to jerk to a stop again when the next ride car came into position for loading and unloading.
“Just a few more minutes and we’ll be hurled into the black sky.”
“Hurled?” He chuckled at that. “You keep talking like that and you’ll have me begging to get us both off this ride.”
“You mean that’s all it would take?”
Because she looked up to the challenge, he shook his head. All day he’d been hoping for a minute alone with Dinah, and it looked as if this was the closest he would get. Besides, this had the added benefit of helping her conquer her fear of heights, so it was self-sacrificing in addition to being utterly selfish.
“I can’t figure out how you could have gone through twenty-five years of your life without ever riding a Ferris wheel, anyway.”
“I didn’t have anyone to twist my arm before.” With one hand, she twisted the other wrist to demonstrate. “And I didn’t have any nine-year-old who could brag that she was braver than me.” She paused then, as if considering. “Well, none since my little sister, Ruth, was nine.”
Having seen Ruth climb into the dunk tank right after he’d pulled his wet self out, he didn’t have a hard time picturing the youngest Fraser as an Evel Knievel type, but he kept that perception to himself. The only Fraser who held his interest was the one putting up a brave front while white-knuckling it on the ride’s hand grip.
“Just relax. You’re going to love it. And if it gets scary, I’ll keep you safe. Remember, I’m a firefighter.”
“You mean there’s going to be a fire, too?”
Dinah started giggling, a playful, girlish sound that was different from her regular laugh. She was going to be just fine—no panic attack or anything. Good thing, because they were in a cramped space if she were to wig out or something.
“Only if you really want a fire,” he told her when her laughter finally calmed.
“No, thanks. I’ve seen enough of the Chestnut Grove Fire Department lately.”
“Anyone in particular you’re getting sick of seeing?”
Her sidelong glance came with a coordinating half smile. “I don’t want to mention any names.”
“How polite of you.”
“You’ll have to tell my mom that at least one of her offspring hasn’t forgotten her manners.”
Every minute or so, they would lurch forward as riders in one of the cars behind them unloaded and new riders boarded, and with each lurch, they would climb nearer to the top. Because the line wasn’t long right now, the operator was filling only every other car.
Each time they moved higher, the temperature seemed to drop by equal increments until Alex turned up the collar of his corduroy field jacket to cover his ears and buttoned the top button. When would he ever learn to wear a hat?
Dinah became quiet as she stared out into the sky, filled with the stars of a perfect, clear night as well as some lights of Chestnut Grove. He had to agree with her awed silence. It was the most beautiful night he could remember, and that was due in part to his breathtaking company.
“You’re not really afraid of heights, are you?” he asked as the ride came to a stop with them at the top. “You just wanted to save all your tickets for cotton candy and the bake sale. Am I right?”
“Right,” she answered, but her voice was tight.
“And I was worried that I didn’t remember to bring a paper bag for you to breathe into in case you hyperventilated.” Because her only answer was a shrug, he kept talking. “This feels like the top of the world, doesn’t it?”
He chuckled then, but she didn’t join him. In fact, she didn’t say anything at all. “Are you okay?”
She continued to sit stiffly
but still didn’t answer.
“Dinah, I said, are you okay?” He didn’t have to ask it again. He knew she wasn’t all right. Her hands were holding that bar in a death grip, and she couldn’t have sat straighter if she had a backboard attached to her back.
She nodded just as the wheel moved again, this time rolling their car backward until they sat two steps down from the top. “I’m fine as long as I don’t look down.” Her voice quavered on the last word.
“Then don’t look down.” He injected as much humor as he could into his retort, but he felt like a slime for putting her in the situation. There was nothing charitable about making her feel this uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry, Dinah. I shouldn’t have forced you to come on this ride.”
“Forced?” Though the rest of her didn’t change much, she watched him out of her side vision and lifted an eyebrow. “When I mentioned a fear of heights, did I also tell you I have a stubborn streak a mile long? That’s why my brother, Jonah’s, teasing never got me on any ride more adventurous than the bumper cars.”
“Why’d you do it this time?” And would this woman ever cease to intrigue him?
“I just figured it was time to conquer my fears.”
Alex couldn’t help smiling because her reasoning was so similar to his, even if his had been a lot more selfish.
“And because I wanted to be here. With you.” She paused a long time before she said the last, but it was those final two words that made his heart thud.
“I wanted that, too.”
The words were out of his mouth before he even thought to form them, and he had just as little power over his hand as it reached up to settle over one of hers that still gripped the bar. It surprised and pleased him when her grasp relaxed instead of tightened.
Curving his fingers between her thumb and forefinger, he separated her skin from the cold metal. Her fingers were just as frigid. Again, she relaxed instead of squeezing tighter. Taking his time, he turned her hand until it was palm up and laced his fingers through hers. As his fingertips brushed the delicate skin on the back of her hand, he was struck by how well their fingers fit together.