Two Truths and a Lie(50)

If she was being honest, Alexa didn’t mind it when, just as the canopy cover to the Caterpillar was going up, obscuring them from each other’s view, the centrifugal force threw Cam practically on top of her. But in general she was keeping it platonic, and Cam was too. He was good company, and the girls were reliable about checking in, and the time flew by, and every now and then Alexa even managed to forget about the bad men.

They met up for a late lunch with the girls in the early afternoon. When Morgan’s vanilla twist toppled from the cone and onto the ground, Cam was back in the line, buying her a replacement, before a single tear had time to form. Morgan looked at Cam not only like he hung the moon but like he was also responsible for both the Big and Little Dippers, and, when they’d finished their ice cream, they parted ways again.

As Katie and Morgan headed back to the Yankee Cannonball, Alexa pointed to the teacups. “Want to try these?” she asked Cam.

Cam grimaced. “I’m not great with the rides that go around and around,” he said.

“Aw, come on,” she begged. “You did the Caterpillar.”

“That’s different,” he countered. “There’s something about the things that go individually around that get to me.”

Alexa remembered going on the teacup ride with Peter when she was really young, maybe eight or nine, and Morgan was small enough to be pushed around in a rent-a-stroller. “Please? They don’t go very fast at all. And we can control them individually. Look! There are, like, four-year-olds on there.” It was true.

“Okay,” Cam said, relenting. “For you, Alexa Thornhill. Only for you.”

In point of fact the teacups spun faster than Alexa remembered, and, contrary to what she thought, the riders did not control the spin. The ride seemed to go on for a semester and a half. Alexa loved the feeling—she even found herself emitting an out-of-character whoop—but when she caught sight of Cam’s expression she thought she might have gone too far. Queasy was an understatement.

Finally the teacups stopped. Cam was still holding on to the center wheel. His head was bowed.

“Sorry,” she said. “Too spinny?” They were the last ones left in a teacup, and the ride operator was looking at them sternly.

“A little too spinny.” He looked up; his face had taken on a greenish tint. “A little too spinny after eating. I’m just going to—” He pointed toward a trash can, unable to finish his sentence, and hightailed it out of the cup. Alexa got herself out, located Cam’s back near the trash can and turned away, to give him privacy. But then a good amount of time passed. Not just seconds, definitely minutes. She wondered if he was okay. She turned back to the trash can and didn’t see him. She checked out the game booths. She looked in the line for the lemonade stand. Then she spotted him, over by the line for the junior sports cars. Cam was more than okay. He was smiling and laughing. He was in an animated conversation with . . . Shelby McIntyre.

Alexa walked closer. Shelby was back from Africa, apparently; she was overseeing a day camp field trip. Her hair was in a ponytail and she was wearing a T-shirt that said counselor on it in block letters.

“Hey,” she said. “I couldn’t find you, Cam. Hi, Shelby.”

“You two know each other, right?” Cam looked uneasy, but it was possible his stomach was still roiling from the teacup rides.

“Absolutely,” said Shelby. Her mouth opened and closed and she looked from Alexa to Cam and back again.

“Great to see you,” said Alexa to Shelby amicably.

Shelby did not take the opportunity to say that it was also nice to see Alexa. Shelby turned to Cam and said, “I have to get back to the kids now. But I’ll definitely call you about that thing, okay?” She touched his arm when she said that.

“What thing?” asked Alexa. Nobody answered her.

Once Shelby was gone, Alexa could feel that Cam’s attention had wandered off, perhaps following Shelby to the Jungle Bounce. She couldn’t have that.

“There’s something I want to tell you,” she said. “Nobody else knows this, but I want to tell you. Just you, Cam. Only you.” She spoke quickly, before she had time to lose her nerve. “You know Katie? Well. You won’t believe what I found out about her.”

Cam’s attention was right where she wanted it. “Something bad?”

Alexa hesitated. “I’m not sure. I mean, yes. I mean, it’s not good.”

He looked worried. “About her? That little girl? Isn’t she like ten?”

“Eleven,” said Alexa. “Same as Morgan. And it was actually about her and her mother, what I found out. About both of them together. I’m not sure, but I think it’s a pretty big deal. I just—I just feel like I have to tell someone, Cam. Like I can’t keep it a secret any longer. I’m scared.” With each word she could feel the power of Shelby McIntyre receding.

“Scared?” he said. “What are you scared of?”

“Never mind,” she said. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sorry.” She lowered her eyes, and then she looked up at him out of the corner. She was nailing this.

Maybe Cam Hartwell was not so perfect after all. Maybe, like everyone else on the planet, he was human, and he was curious. He met her eyes. His eyebrows lifted. And then she was pointing at a bench and they were sitting down next to each other and she was telling him everything.