Bone Deep (27 page)

“He didn’t ‘hand him over
.
’
I
t was Tom’s choice,” the sheriff protested.

“
I
f you knew a man beat his dog and the dog was too loyal and dumb to stay away, wouldn’t you try and save it?” Anna clicked her tongue and turned to Sarah. “My husband is sorry for being a
n
arrogant
fool and making decisions in your ‘best interest’ without consulting you.”

Sarah was too excited to be as angry
at the sheriff
as she should be.
“I went to
Hastings
that day
.
The carnival had already moved on
, but I was probably right behind it. If I’d just kept going I probably would have caught up
.
Now
I don’t have any idea how to find it.”

Mrs. Ziegler nodded at her husband.
“
He
does, a
nd he’s ready to
take
you there right now.”

“I don’t know what to say.” Sarah was as shocked as if Anna had sprouted wings and waved a magic wand.
A person never knew from what unexpected corner help and support would come.
“Thank you.”

“I figured you’
ve
had enough heartache already in your life. If he is the man you want, it isn’t anybody’s right to interfere
whether they agree with your choice or not
.” She glared pointedly at her husband.

Ziegler
shrugged
. “
I’m sorry.
I thought I was doing the right thing, especially since it’s what the man wanted. I told Beach to
give
him a ride
and to keep quiet about it afterward
.” He added dryly, “But my wife
has
helped me see the error of my thinking.”

Sarah brushed past the question of blame. “So where
is the carnival now
?”

“I’ve been keeping tabs on Reed’s operation ever since he left here. Sent out a request to law enforcement in
all the nearby counties
to keep me informed of his movements and
any shady business connected to
the carnival. I’d like to find a good reason to shut
it
down.”

Sarah thought the information she had shared about Tom’s treatment at Reed’s hands should have been more than enough, but she
held
her tongue.

“Got a call from Twin Rivers yesterday
. The
carnival ha
s
set up near town. I
t’s out of my jurisdiction, of course, but I
’
d
be happy to go with you
in case you have any trouble with Reed
.”

Twin Rivers was a good three-hour drive away. Sarah nodded. “I’d appreciate that.”

Mrs. Ziegler smiled smugly. “Good. That’s settled then.” She gave Sarah a long look. “As for convincing your Tom to come home, remember he’s just a man, special mind powers or not, and prone to the
know-it-all
stubbornness of all men. But if you let him know you won’t take no for an answer,
I’m sure
he’ll be back with you before tonight.”

Chapter Fourteen

By the time
Sarah and Sheriff Ziegler
arrived at the field where the carnival was set up, it was mid afternoon. The grounds were crowded with people enjoying the entertainment on a sunny
yet
cool fall day. The flatbed trailers that transported the rides and the motor homes that housed the workers were laid out
in a little village of sorts
behind the rides, tents and booths.

Sarah
could scarcely breathe, her pulse pounding as if she’d ridden one of the carnival rides.
Tom was somewhere in the maze of trailers or
perhaps
in the
side
show tent right now.
N
ow that she was here
, d
oubts and
worries
filled her mind. Being
here
reminded her most people viewed Tom as a novelty. She
remembered
Grace telling her she had no real future with him, and
Deputy
Beach
advising her to let him go.
Was she letting her
own willful determination override her common sense
?
Maybe there
was
no
happily ever after
for them
,
and
maybe
Tom
was serious in ending their affair to walk a more familiar path.

Sheriff Ziegler had filled the ride
to Twin Rivers
with small talk, asking Sarah
about her farm
, telling anecdotes about people
they both knew
, and never mentioning the
reason for their
trip
. Now he
seemed to sense her unease and smiled reassuringly. “Why don’t you find
Tom
and I’ll go talk to Reed
and
keep him out of the way.”

Sarah nodded, but after he walked away she felt abandoned. She
made her way
through the happy
crowd. A child
beg
ged
for just one more quarter for the carousel
. A
mother
scolded
her so
n for filling up on cotton candy. A
young woman coo
ed
over the stuffed bear her beau had won for her at a game booth.
And Sarah felt utterly alone in the midst of the chattering confusion.

S
he caught sight of the garish depictions on the canvas of the freak show tent. There was no respect for these people
’s
abnormalities and the idea of her Tom being subjected to scrutiny and ridicule infuriated her. She paid and went inside, not sure of what she would say to him,
but
knowing that
somehow she had to free him from this place.

Inside the stuffy tent the mingled aromas of
people
, stale popcorn
and
straw assailed her. Her heart raced, words flying into her mind and
out again
as she steeled herself to speak to
Tom
. Would his eyes light up on seeing her? Would he smile?
Or would he try to pretend she wasn’t there
?

There was a small
group
of people in the
tent
today and Sarah shuffled along
with them,
making a slow circuit of the attractions. That was fine with her. She wasn’t ready to confront Tom. Approaching slowly gave her time to mentally prepare. She glanced
toward
where she thought he would be stationed, hoping to catch a glimpse, but a knot of people
blocked her view
.

She looked at the dwarf
, and knew his name now. It was
Bernard,
the man who’d
shown Tom some kindness and friendship over the years. She looked at the bearded woman, Greta, and knew she had healing skills. The
se
were people with hopes, desires, and dreams like everyone
. S
he wished she was invisible so they couldn’t see her
looking at
them.

Then
,
all of a sudden, there was Tom
. He sat on his seat, all of his glorious skin revealed
. The people
in front of
Sarah
comment
ed
as they studied him
as if
he w
ere
an inanimate object.

“It’s obscene!”
The woman who spoke sounded shocked and affronted
. “That’s supposed to be Eve, I think.”

“And look what she’s grabbing for
.
”
H
er friend giggled.

“No worse than the bearded lady
showing her
titties,” a man
said
. “This show’s not for kids.”

“It’s not for anyone. It’s immoral,” the first woman said, but she gaped at Tom
nonetheless.
Sarah
would’ve liked
to slap her
hypocritical, self-rightous pie-hole
.

Tom hadn’t noticed Sarah yet. He seemed to be
lost
in his own world, staring across the tent as he had the first night she’d seen him. Her
gaze
roamed over his now familiar body. She noted the bruising around his eye and nose, visible even through the blue tattoos. And she sucked in her breath at the welts across his ribs where booted feet had left their mark.

The group before her finally moved on and Sarah
moved to the front, standing
before Tom
as if
he was a painting in a museum
she’d come to admire
.

H
is
distant
gaze
dropped from th
e
point somewhere above her head
as he
registered
Sarah’s
presence. His eyes
opened wide
and
he
gazed at her—no,
into
her
.

For the space of s
everal
heartbeats they
simply gazed
at one another
, the special connection Sarah had felt with him since they’d first met sizzled and singed. T
hen Sarah simply said, “
It’s time to go home now
.”

She held
out
her hand. He
stared
at it for a moment.

“Come with me,” she said softly.

Slowly he rose from his chair and
stepped over the rope that divided the displays from the real people
. He slipped his hand into hers and his palm was warm
, the grip of his fingers strong
.

She
turned to lead him from the tent, but s
uddenly
he seized her. Hi
s arms went around her, hugging her tight, and his mouth pressed into her hair as he whispered, “I can’t believe
you came for me
.”

Her hands slipped up his back to hook over his shoulders. She buried her face against his chest, breathing him in, forgetting time and place and
simply
holding him.

After what could have been a few moments or a hundred years, the surrounding
noises
began to intrude on her consciousness.
T
he
people
around them
were
whispering
and staring
.

Sarah pulled
away from Tom and
grabbed his hand again
. “Let’s get out of here.”

“My clothes.”

She had forgotten his near nudity
. G
lancing down at the loincloth
covering
his groin, she realized it wasn’t sufficient, especially in his aroused state. “
Put
something on. I’ll wait.”

He strode away
to disappear
into
a partitioned area in
the
back.

As the crowd continued to whisper and point, Sarah
felt self-conscious and
on display
. There wasn’t a pair of eyes that wasn’t watching her, including the carnival folk.
As new arrivals entered the tent, pe
ople
shared
the story
of the woman who’d
embraced the t
attooed freak
. The crowd grew and Sarah had become the main attraction.

Blood rushed to her cheeks and she willed herself to stop blushing. She wanted to scream at
everyone
to stop looking at her. She wanted to
run away or hide
.
I
nstead she straightened her spine, lifted her chin and stared
into the distance
, pretending
she was
invisible.

“Girl.” A voice caught her attention. The bearded woman beckoned her over.

Up close, t
he woman was older than Sarah had thought.
Her
jet black
hair was clearly dyed and a
network of lines
etched her face
. Her
beard and moustache were
scant but real
and looked outlandish surrounding pink painted lips.