Page 36 of For the Birds

His face lit up as he pulled away and sat back. “Let’s give it a go, and if we hate it or you feel uncomfortable, we’ll leave.”

“Okay.”

I opened the door, but Levi was out in a flash and came around to take my hand as I got out. “I’m gonna leave my purse in the car if that’s okay,” I said. “I don’t want to carry it around.”

“Of course. I keep a bag in the back for when I’m on call, so I’ll be locking itup.”

I got a few odd looks but not as many as I’d feared. The carnival was one of the traveling kind and only had six rides, one of which happened to be a Ferris wheel. Levi bought a long string of tickets, and we headed toward the first ride, a tilt-a-whirl, joining the line of about twenty people.

I watched the ride in progress, then leaned into Levi and whispered, “Do people get sick on that thing with all the spinnin’ around?”

He turned to me in surprise. “You’ve never been on one before?”

“I told you I’ve never been to a carnival.”

He blinked in confusion. “What about a themepark?”

I didn’t answer, feeling embarrassed. Up until now, I’d kept most of my childhood from him, not wanting him to know about the abuse I’d endured from my mother. How she’d kept me from every childhood normality.

His face softened and he placed a hand on my upper arm. “Rose, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“No, it’s nothing,” I said, glancing back at the ride, which had now stopped.

“No,” he said, cupping my face and gently turning me back to face him. “Clearly it’s not.” He paused, and I could tell he was carefully weighing his words. Finally, he said, “There’s a lot I don’t know about you. I feel like I’ve told you so much about me, yet I have so many questions about you. I’ve waited for you to feel comfortable enough to share with me—and I’m so appreciative for the little bit you shared in the car. I won’t push you for more now, but I want you to know I’m eager to listen when you’re ready totalk.”

“Thank you, Levi. That means alot.”

“Would you rather do somethingelse?”

Someone caught my attention out of the corner of my eye, and I saw one of James’ men, Brett, standing by a ring toss game. He was watching me, but he quickly glanced away. I couldn’t believe he was there by coincidence. Was James having me watched because his brother was missing? Or was it for his own personal curiosity?

But Levi was waiting for an answer. “No,” I said, trying not to sound distracted. “I want to tryit.”

The line started to move, and Levi put an arm around my back and ushered me toward the ticket taker. I cast a glance over my shoulder, but Brett wasgone.

The ride was fun, fun enough that I wanted to go on it again, much to Levi’s amusement. After our third time, we moved on to the next ride, one with swings hanging from chains that spun around a base, and then on to an octopus ride. I couldn’t believe how much I loved them, from the spike of adrenaline to the way my stomach dropped.

“The rest are pretty tame compared to what we just rode,” Levi said with a huge grin. “So it’s probably safe to get something toeat.”

“Oh,” I said, realizing it was close to eight. “You must be starving.”

“I’ve been having too much fun withyou.”

We walked over to a food vendor and ordered pizza and fried Twinkies. Before we sat down at one of the picnic tables, Levi made sure the seat was clean for my skirt. We talked about all the times Levi had gone to carnivals as a kid and then as a teen, one time on a date that had ended in disaster on the tilt-a-whirl.

“Let’s just say alcohol was involved,” Levi said with agrin.

“Which one of you threw up?” I teased.

His eyes twinkled. “I plead the fifth.” He offered me the last bite of his fried Twinkie, but I shook my head. “So what did you do on dates when you were a teen?” he asked before stuffing the last piece into his mouth.

The pizza and fried food twisted in my stomach. This was when I admitted that my life had been a lame waste of time until a yearago.

“Rose!” I heard a woman say. “Fancy seeing youhere!”

I turned to face Dena, both grateful for the temporary reprieve and a little uneasy because she was with Joe. It helped that Joe looked every bit as uncomfortable with the situation.

“Hey, Dena.”

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