Page 109 of Kiss an Angel

“Check on Tater. I’ll come with you.”

“Don’t glower at him this time.”

“I never glower.”

“Last time you glowered. It hurt his feelings.”

“He doesn’t have—”

“He does, too, have feelings.”

“You spoil him.”

“He’s spirited, not spoiled. There’s a big difference.”

He gave her a pointed look. “Believe me, I know all about the difference between spirited and spoiled.”

“Are you implying—”

“It’s a compliment.”

“It doesn’t sound like one.”

He bickered with her all the way to the elephant trailer, but not for one moment did he let go of her hand. And not for one moment could he manage to wipe the smile from his face.

18

During the months of June and July, Quest Brothers Circus reached the heart of its tour, winding its way west through the small towns of Pennsylvania and Ohio. Sometimes they fo

llowed the rivers, large and small: the Allegheny and the Monongahela, the Hocking, Scioto, and Maumee. They played the little towns that the big show had forgotten: coal-mining towns with empty mines, steel towns that had been abandoned by the mills, factory towns where the plants had closed. Big industry might have forgotten the everyday people of Pennsylvania and Ohio, but Quest Brothers remembered, and the show traveled on.

By the first week of August, the circus had crossed into Indiana, and Daisy had never been happier. Each day was a new adventure. She felt as if she were a different person: strong, confident, and able to stand up for herself. Since Sinjun’s escape, she’d earned the respect of the others and was no longer an outcast. The showgirls traded gossip with her, and the clowns asked her opinion of their newest tricks. Brady searched her out to argue politics and bully her about improving her muscle tone by lifting weights. And Heather spent time with her every day, but only when Alex wasn’t nearby.

“Did you ever study psychology?” she asked one afternoon in early August as Daisy treated her to lunch at a McDonald’s in the eastern Indiana town where they were performing.

“For a while. I had to change schools before I finished the course.” Daisy picked up a french fry, took a nibble, then set it back down. Fried food hadn’t been settling too well in her stomach lately. She cupped her hand over her waist and forced herself to concentrate on what Heather was saying.

“I think I might want to be a psychologist or something when I grow up. I mean, after everything I’ve been through, I think I could help a lot of other kids.”

“I’ll bet you could.”

Heather looked troubled, which wasn’t unusual. There was little of the carefree teenager left about her, and Daisy knew that the stolen money still weighed heavily on her conscience, although she never mentioned it.

“Does Alex—I mean, does he ever say like what a dork I was and everything?”

“No, Heather. I’m sure he doesn’t even think about it.”

“Whenever I remember what I did, I could die.”

“Alex is used to women throwing themselves at him. To tell you the truth, I don’t think he even notices anymore.”

“Really? You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

“He likes you a lot, Heather. And he definitely doesn’t think you’re a dork.”

“You sure had a cow when you walked in on us.”

Daisy repressed a smile. “It’s very threatening to an older woman when a younger woman goes after her man.”

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