Kiss an Angel(25)

The teenager shot her a triumphant smirk and ran after Alex. “Do you need some help?”

“Sure, sweetheart.” His voice, warm and full of affection, carried over the night air. “We’re having some trouble with the winch on the spool truck. You can help me check it out.”

Daisy blinked her eyes hard. She was an easy crier, but if she cried now, she’d never be able to face these people again. “Let me get you some cake.” She pushed a piece toward a man with shaggy blond hair and aging California surfer looks. She remembered he’d introduced himself as Neeco Martin, the elephant trainer, when he’d stopped by the red wagon.

He took it without a word and turned his back on her to say something to one of the clowns. Madeline stepped forward to help Daisy, apparently deciding it was best to get the whole thing over with as soon as possible. The performers picked up their cake and, one by one, drifted away.

Before long, only Jill was left. “I’m sorry, Daisy. I thought this was a good idea, but I should have known Alex wouldn’t like it. He’s very private.”

So private he hadn’t bothered to mention to any of these people that he’d gotten married.

Daisy forced another stiff smile. “Marriage is an adjustment for anybody.”

Jill picked up the remains of the cake on its cardboard tray and pushed it into Daisy’s hands. “Here. Why don’t you take this?”

Daisy could feel the bile rise in her throat as she accepted the cake, even though she didn’t ever want to see it again. “Gracious, it’s getting late, and I have a million things to do before bedtime.”

She fled.



For the next few hours while the big top was being packed up for its move to the next town, she dragged herself through the motions of putting everything back in the cupboards and storage closet. She was overcome with a sense of despair and so weary with exhaustion she could barely hold her head up, but she kept working.

Dirt streaked her expensive slacks, and her blouse stuck to her skin, but she didn’t care. She had wanted these people to be her friends, but that would never happen now that they knew how little regard Alex had for her. And how little regard he had for their marriage. The cake ceremony had been a small sacrament, and he had treated it with contempt.

Alex entered the trailer shortly after midnight. The place still looked as bad as it had when she’d first arrived. Although she’d finally gotten everything put away, she hadn’t had either the time or the energy to clean anything other than the cupboards. Dirty dishes were piled in the sink, and the same crusty pan sat on the stove.

He slammed his hands on his hips and surveyed the messy counters, the dusty table top, and the crumbling remains of their wedding cake.

“I thought you were going to get this place cleaned up. It’s still filthy.”

She clenched her jaw. “The cupboards are clean.”

“Who cares about the cupboards? Can’t you do anything right?”

She didn’t think. She’d worked for hours, her marriage was a mockery, and she’d been publicly humiliated by a man who’d sworn before God to cherish her. With one sweep of her arm, she picked up the decimated wedding cake and flung it at him.

“You jerk!”

His hands automatically shot up to ward it off, but he wasn’t quick enough. The cake caught him in the shoulder and erupted.

She watched the wreckage with a curious detachment. Bits of cake and icing flew everywhere. White frosting splattered his hair and eyebrows, even his eyelashes. Chocolate lumps clung to his jaw, then dropped onto the shoulder of his T-shirt. Her detachment came to an abrupt end as she watched him turn red.

He was going to kill her.

He reached up to clear his eyes at the same time that he moved toward her. She sidestepped and, taking advantage of his temporary blindness, ran out the door.

She glanced frantically around, searching for a place to hide. The big top was down, the smaller tents had disappeared, most of the trucks had pulled out. She ran across a stretch of dry weeds and shot into a narrow space between two of the vans. Her heart slammed against her ribs with sickening dread. What had she done?

She jumped as she heard a man’s voice and slipped deeper into the shadows only to bump up against something solid. Without looking to see what it was, she leaned back and tried to catch her breath. How long would it take him to find her? And what would he do then?

A growling sound came from just behind her ear.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood, and an icy trickle slithered down her spine. She whirled around. And stared into a pair of pale golden eyes.

Her body grew paralyzed. She knew what the beast was. She understood she was looking at a tiger. But she couldn’t absorb the reality of it.

The animal was so close she felt its breath on her face. It bared its teeth, stiletto sharp and lethal. She smelled its scent, heard its low menacing growl grow in volume, escalating into a vicious barking roar. Her paralysis ended as the animal sprang for the iron bars that separated the two of them, and she leaped backward.

Her spine slammed up against something very solid and very human, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the tiger. A terrible ringing sounded in her head. At that moment, the beast seemed to be the manifestation of all that was evil, and she felt as if every bit of that malevolence was directed at her. Somehow, on this feral South Carolina night she had met her destiny.