Shadow in Serenity

thirty-three


Logan was secretly relieved that Carny opted to go back to the hotel while he met with the second banker that afternoon. It didn’t pay to have her around too much when he was wheeling and dealing. One inconsistency could blow everything, and he had no doubt that she was mentally recording every word that was spoken. Maybe the scene with Gastineau had been just what she needed to convince her.

If it had, the scene with Alex Green, the president of First Trust Bank, would have sent that faith tumbling down.

Logan looked out the window as the sun began to set and told himself he could relax now. There was no harm done.

But he hadn’t been so sure of that when he’d driven up in the limo, gotten out, and told the bank officer who greeted him that he had an appointment with Mr. Green.

Mr. Green had turned out to be a woman. If Carny had heard him make that slip after he’d told her he knew all these bankers, it would have been a dead giveaway. Fortunately, Ms. Green never had to know about the mistake, and neither did Carny.

But Alex Green had been as difficult to deal with as he’d expected Mr. Gastineau to be. Logan had ramped his charm up full tilt, but if it affected her, he couldn’t tell. He’d showcased his intelligence, citing figures and statistics and comparative analyses of other parks. Her continued reluctance became an even bigger challenge, and he found himself nursing the same kind of adrenaline burst that he felt when he pulled off a particularly challenging scam.

By the end of his interview, he had persuaded her to come to Serenity to tour the area so she could decide for herself whether her bank’s money would be well spent there. She had finally agreed, and as he left, instead of feeling energized by the success, he was exhausted.

He paid the driver for the day’s use of the limo, plus a tip, then went up to his room and collapsed on his bed. He couldn’t believe how much harder it was to pull off the truth — albeit with a few variations — than to pull off pure fiction. How could that be? Hadn’t enough been at stake before, when he feared getting caught and sent to prison?

The difference, he told himself, was that there was more than prison at stake now. If he succeeded, he’d be a hero in the little town he’d come to care so much for. Carny would trust him entirely. Jason would continue to look up to him. And he would still be treated as though he belonged.

All he had to do was accomplish the impossible, make no mistakes, and perform a couple of miracles.

After shedding his coat and tie, he went to Carny’s room.

“Tough day, huh?” she said with a smile.

“Yeah, but it was worth it.” Jack inched around Carny as Logan came in, and Logan stooped down to pet him. “Hey, boy. You’ve probably been wondering where I was, haven’t you? You didn’t think I left you, did you?”

The dog licked his face and neck, and Logan laughed. “I think he’s getting used to me, don’t you?”

“Yeah. Slade would feel real good knowing he’s happy.” Closing the door, she turned back to him. “I walked him a few minutes ago. So how did it go?”

Logan got to his feet and handed her the bottle of wine he’d been carrying. “I stopped on the way back and bought us a bottle of wine. Sort of a pre-celebration celebration.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that we’re getting real close to having something to celebrate.”

She went to the wet bar in the corner of her room and found a corkscrew. Deftly, she peeled the foil off the cork, dug the corkscrew in, and pulled the cork out. “So when do we know for sure?”

“Could be weeks,” he said. “I have lots more meetings. But you and I need to put our heads together tonight and decide exactly when we can come back to pick up Gastineau and some of the others on his board and take them to Serenity. Then we’ll plan another day to take Ms. Green and her people. Are you up to this?”

She poured wine into a glass. “Depends. Are you paying me?”

“Of course. Although I was hoping to combine some of these trips with my flight lessons, so I can log some hours. Can that be done?”

“Sure,” she said. “As long as an instructor’s along.”

Smiling, he took the wineglass and waited for her to pour herself one, but instead she stuffed the cork back into the bottle. “Aren’t you drinking with me?”

“I don’t drink.”

“Well, you sure opened the bottle like a pro.”

“I have lots of experience at things I don’t do anymore,” she said, going to the couch that sat in front of the huge picture window overlooking the city.

He sat down next to her. “A little glass of wine won’t hurt.”

She smiled and pulled back her hair. “Maybe not, but I don’t need it. I have lots of fun without it.”

“Don’t you ever just want to relax? Sip a glass of wine, put your feet up?”

“With my background, Brisco, there’s a fine line between relaxing and running amok.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that with a little juice, I could either sleep for ten hours or do a trapeze act on the power lines. It could go either way.”

“So you have a problem with alcohol?”

She shook her head. “I’m a woman of extremes. Of course, if I don’t drink, I don’t have a problem.”

Disappointed, he swirled the wine in his glass and watched it slosh against the sides. “I was just hoping we could have a toast together.”

Her laughter shot through to a place in his heart that wasn’t frequently visited. “I know what you’re up to. You were hoping to get me drunk so I’d pass out, and you could steal my plane.”

He grinned. “You got me.”

“Yep, the jig’s up, Brisco. Not gonna work on me.”

He went to the sink and dumped out the wine. “All right. If you don’t drink, I won’t either.”

When he turned back, he saw the guarded pleasure on her face. Their eyes met, but she quickly looked at her feet. “I think Jack needs to go out again,” she said.

He looked at the dog lying on the carpet. It was clear he wasn’t dying to go out. “What’s the matter, Carny?” he asked with a smile. “Afraid to be alone in here with me?”

“Hey, it was your idea to bring the dog.” She got her key card.

He smiled and opened the door. “Come on, Jack. Carny and I are going to walk you whether you need it or not. My mere proximity in this suite is scaring her to death.”

Carny slapped his chest, and he grabbed her hand and pulled her out. Jack followed them to the elevator.

“I’m not scared of you, Brisco.”

“Oh yeah, you are.” He kept smiling as they got on the elevator. “And truth be known, maybe you should be.”

He had finally rendered her speechless. They reached the first floor, and she followed him out to the pool area. Jack headed for a cluster of trees at the back corner.

Carny took off her sandal and dipped her foot in the pool. He watched her with longing in his heart. “So, let me ask you something,” he said finally. “If you had never nursed this tremendous doubt about me, if you believed who I said I was, if you thought I might have a shred of decency … would there be any chance for us?”

She looked unabashedly into his eyes. “To do what?”

He grunted, which made her smile. “To get involved. To have a relationship. To get to know each other better.”

“Is this how you sweet-talk all the notches on your briefcase?”

“Every one,” he said, his gaze dropping to her lips. “But you know, there haven’t been any ladies on my radar in Serenity. Not that there haven’t been opportunities. I just haven’t taken them.”

“And why not, pray tell?”

“Maybe I had my eye on first prize,” he whispered. “My heart wouldn’t let me settle for less.” With the admission, he felt as scared as he had on that bungee cord.

“And what does your heart have to do with it?”

Was she teasing him? “Everything,” he said. “Believe it or not, Carny, with me there’s a lot of heart involved.”

She laughed, and to his surprise, he felt hurt. “You don’t believe I have a heart?”

Her grin faded then as she considered that for a moment, and her eyes softened infinitesimally. “Yeah, Brisco. I know you have a heart. I’m just not sure you know what to do with it.”

Maybe she was right. Maybe he didn’t know what to do with it. He’d never really had the chance to learn. “I told you, I’m a quick study,” he whispered.

She swallowed, and her gaze fell to his lips. “Yes, you are,” she said. “I just wish I knew how much you needed to learn.”

“A lot,” he assured her, as serious as he’d ever been. “I need to learn a lot. About love. Commitment. Friendship. But I don’t give up easily.”

“Guess we have that in common.” Her hand came up to touch his face.

That simple touch beckoned him in a stronger way than he’d ever been beckoned before, and before he had the good sense to stop himself, his lips were hovering over hers, offering her the chance to pull away or knock him to his knees. But she didn’t move.

He wasn’t sure if it was he or she who breached the final millimeters between their lips, but when they came together, it was a dual effort. Her hand came around to the nape of his neck, up through his hair. He lost himself for that moment.


Carny felt weak as she melted further into the kiss, as though her heart would collapse, as though her breathing would stop, as though all sense and logic would abandon her. She had felt something close to this on her father’s roller coaster once … the one that had later jumped the track in a trial run and crashed into the dunking booth. And that was just what she feared would happen now.

Slowly, she broke the kiss. “Well, Brisco,” she whispered, her forehead still pressed against his, “I can see that’s one area that you don’t need to learn about.”

He smiled. “Another thing we have in common.”

His lips touched hers again, and for a moment, she let herself fall into the warmth of his kiss, the security and commitment of his embrace. But she was no fool. They were miles apart in their value system. He wasn’t a believer in God, and she couldn’t see herself in a relationship with anyone who didn’t share her faith and care about the things she cared about. He was wrong for her on so many levels.

Again, she broke the kiss, and pressed her hand on his chest. “I have expertise in other areas, Brisco. Like getting involved with the wrong men.”

“What makes you so sure I’m the wrong man?”

“Because I still don’t entirely trust you. Because I still question every move you make. Because I don’t really know who you are. And what I do know scares me.”

“I’m whoever you want me to be,” he said. “I’m whatever you need.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she said softly. She turned and saw Jack plodding back toward them. “I don’t want a custom-tailored man, Brisco. How can I trust a chameleon?”

“A chameleon?” he repeated. “You think I’m a chameleon?”

“You change according to your environment. One minute you’re the good ole boy shooting the breeze in the barbershop, the next you’re riding in a chauffeured Rolls and going to meetings with bank executives.”

“So I can relate to all types of people. Is that a crime?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“The problem,” she said, thinking hard, since she wasn’t entirely sure what the problem was, “well, the problem is … the problem is that I was dead sure you were a con artist. Dead sure. And then the dog, and Slade … and Jason … and today I saw you with those people, only … I’m still not sure it all rings true. I’m still not sure I trust you.”

He looked genuinely hurt as he bent to scratch Jack’s ear. “So you still don’t believe I’m legitimately trying to help Serenity?”

She turned over the things in her mind that she did believe. “I think I believe that you’re trying to build the park,” she said, “although I’m not absolutely sure that you’re as far along as you say. I think I believe that you genuinely like the people in my town, and that you’d like to help them.”

“You think you believe?” he asked. “Thanks, Carny. Thanks a lot. And what about you? What do you think you believe about the way I feel about you?”

“I think I believe that you’re attracted to me,” she said. “No, I take that back. You’re obviously attracted to me. But that may partially be because of the challenge I represent. I don’t think you’ve been rejected by many women in your life.”

She could see that she’d hit a nerve, and his face reddened. “You missed your calling, Carny. You should have stayed in the carnival as a fortune-teller.”

“You know as well as I do that the biggest talent a good con artist has is the talent to read people. I was raised learning to read people, Brisco, and I think you were too. After a while, you start noticing details about people, expressions, words they use. Slowly, your mind works out the puzzle, until you’ve got all the pieces in place, and you know how that person feels, how they think, how they’d react …”

“And what about the margin for error?”

“Yes,” she said. “There is that. But I haven’t often been wrong. And neither have you.”

His eyes were soft, sweet, as he stepped closer. “I don’t want to hurt you, Carny. I really, really do like you.”

A gentle smile crept across her lips. “Believe it or not, Brisco, I really, really like you too. And there’s a part of me that really hopes you’re genuine.”

For a moment, he couldn’t answer, as though he’d never had a better endorsement, or a more touching affirmation. Finally, he managed to smile.

Carny only smiled back. “So are you gonna feed me or what?”

“Sure,” he said. “I’m taking you to Bon Ami, like I promised. You did bring the red dress, didn’t you?”

“You bet I did. Jason insisted.”

“Yeah, Jason and me … we’ve got a strategy.”

“A strategy for what?” she asked with a laugh.

“For finding you a husband,” he said, going to the door. “Whether you want one or not.”

Carny hit him in the stomach as they led Jack inside.