Chapter Five
Ronin
We’re later getting to Castle Island than I wanted, but the place is still busy, the late-afternoon sun still warm enough to keep everyone out.
The Cadillac looks sharp after the wash and wax I had one of the guys give her this morning, and a few heads turn as we pass.
I can’t say I don’t like the attention she gets.
I worked hard fixing her up, and she’s a beauty, but what I like even better is Alannah beside me in it, looking sweet with her hair pulled back in a high ponytail tied with a soft pink scarf that matches her dress, the ends falling over the collar of the cardigan I had her put on.
I risk a look at her and catch her sitting forward in her seat, trying to get a better look out the window as she takes in the boats, the water, and the people walking along the boardwalk.
She looks over at me then, blue eyes bright, her mouth curving into a smile. “It’s beautiful,” she says, and I have to make myself look back at the road before I drive us into something. I reach over and squeeze her knee. “Wait till you see the fair.”
“I can’t wait,” she says, sitting back in her seat.
I’ve been looking forward to this all week.
Work’s been nothing but headaches lately.
Shipments have been coming in light for a while now.
At first, Da and I figured it was bad counts, a crate missed here, or some idiot not checking the numbers close enough.
But it’s happened too many times to be a mistake.
We’ve got a thief in the mix.
And that pisses me the fuck off because the men close enough to touch those shipments are either Da’s crew, men who watched me grow up, or mine, lads I grew up beside.
Da’s put me on finding out who, and Mick’s been helping me go back through the counts, trying to see where things stop adding up.
That’s how we ended up late getting here.
Mick caught me before I left, swearing he was close, and I told him where I’d be if he found something.
But for the next few hours, I don’t want to think about any of that.
I want to take my girl on a few rides, win her a prize, and buy her something sweet.
It’s been too long since we’ve had time like this, just the two of us, and I plan on enjoying every damn minute of it.
The noise from the fair gets louder the closer we get to the entrance—music from the carousel, the crack of rifles at the shooting gallery, kids shrieking over each other.
I pull into a spot as close to the gates as I can, then walk around to Alannah’s side.
The air smells like fried dough and popcorn, sweet and greasy, and when I open her door, she steps out beside me and takes a deep breath, like it’s the best thing she’s ever smelled.
Then she grabs hold of my hand and gives it a tug, trying to pull me forward. “Where do we start?” she asks, looking back at me over her shoulder.
I let her pull me half a step before tugging her back into me, my hand catching at her waist. “Games first,” I say, nodding toward the booths along the midway. “Let’s see if I can win you something.”
She ducks her head, but I can see her fighting a smile. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know,” I add, a smirk tugging at my mouth. “But I’m going to anyway.”
We stop at a booth where a young guy with his shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows is stacking milk bottles into a pyramid, calling out over the crowd.
“Step right up! Three balls for a dime. Knock ‘em down, win your lady a prize!” I reach into my pocket, pull out a dime, and slide it across the counter. The kid snaps it up, then drops three worn baseballs in front of me. “Let’s see what you’ve got, pal,” he says, loud enough for the small crowd passing by to hear.
I pick up the first ball and weigh it in my palm, getting a feel for it. The kid is watching me like he expects me to miss, and that alone makes me want to knock every damn bottle down.
The first throw takes the top bottle clean off.
The second catches the next row, two bottles clattering hard against the wood. A couple of kids nearby stop to watch, and Alannah lets out a small laugh beside me. My mouth pulls up at the sound.
For the third, I aim low and catch the bottom corner. The rest of the pyramid goes down, bottles scattering across the booth floor.
The kid throws his hands up and slaps on a grin for the crowd. “Another winner! See, folks? Easy as that. Step right up, don’t be shy!” As soon as he turns back to me, the grin drops. He reaches up, tugs a stuffed pink bear from the line overhead, and shoves it toward me. “Here ya go.”
I take the bear from him and hold it out to Alannah.
She takes it from me, her cheeks going a little pink.
“Thank you,” she says, so quiet I almost miss it under the noise of the midway.
She looks down at the little pink bear in her hands, her fingers brushing over the fur before she hugs it to her chest. “I love him,” she says, smiling up at me.
Then she rises onto her toes and presses a kiss to my cheek.
When she pulls back, she’s still smiling, the pink in her cheeks gone darker.
I take her hand again, and we keep walking, passing the last of the game booths. The bumper cars are up ahead, and Alannah’s whole face lights up beside me. She points toward them before turning to me. “Can we go on those, please?”
“Course, doll.”
We get in line, and when our turn comes, we each take a car.
The ride jolts to life. She grips the wheel with both hands and tries to steer away from me, but she barely makes it a few feet before turning too late and clipping another car.
I catch her from the side, and she shrieks, jerking the wheel as she tries to get away again.
After that, it turns into a chase. She keeps trying to lose me, and I keep cutting her off, bumping her every chance I get.
When the bell rings, she twists in her seat and looks at me, eyes wide, like she can’t believe I spent the whole damn ride chasing her.
I climb out and meet her at the gate, still grinning at the look on her face.
Her ponytail sits a little crooked from the ride, some of her hair falling around her face.
“That was mean,” she says, trying to sound put out as she tucks the loose strands behind her ear.
“You loved it,” I tell her, still catching my breath from laughing.
She opens her mouth like she might argue, then presses her lips together and looks away, but not before I see her trying not to smile.
“That’s what I thought,” I say, reaching for her hand. “C’mon. Let’s go on the Tilt-A-Whirl next. It was my favourite growing up.”
She lets me lead her past a few more rides until the Tilt-A-Whirl sign comes into view, bright bulbs glowing around the painted letters.
Alannah stops beside me, and when I turn to check on her, her eyes are wide and fixed on the ride as the cars spin around the platform, tossing everyone inside against one another while they laugh and scream.
“That was your favourite when you were a lad?” she asks, and it comes out in a squeak.
I smirk. “You scared, doll? We don’t have to go on if you don’t want.”
She looks from the ride to me and clears her throat.
“No. It’s your favourite. Let’s go.” Then she heads straight for the line, pulling me with her, like standing there any longer will make her lose her nerve.
We take our place at the end, and I bite back a grin when her fingers tighten around mine.
Every time the riders scream, her eyes dart to the cars, then away again, but when our turn comes, she still climbs in beside me.
The second we’re seated, she takes hold of my arm and doesn’t let go.
The ride jerks us forward the second it starts, hard enough to knock her shoulder into mine.
She gasps, then lets out a startled laugh, and I can’t help grinning as the car spins and throws us sideways across the seat together.
Every sharp turn has her fingers digging into my arm.
Then the car spins hard, throwing her into me again, and she shrieks as she buries her face against my shoulder, gripping me tighter.
When the ride finally comes to a stop, her cheeks are flushed, and she’s still pressed against my side.
We climb out, and she wobbles the second her feet hit the platform. I catch her by the waist before she can tip sideways, keeping hold of her until she finds her balance. “Okay?” I ask.
She nods, breathless. “That was… a lot.”
I huff out a laugh and take her hand as we step back into the crowd. A few booths down, I spot a taffy stand with glass jars lined along the counter, each one filled with bright twists of wrapped candy. Taffy’s one of her favourites, and I’d been hoping there’d be some here, so I steer us over.
“Go on,” I say, nodding toward the jars. “Pick what you want.”
She grins and leans over the counter, taking her time as she points out one flavour, then another.
The woman behind the counter drops each piece into a small paper bag, and when Alannah’s finished choosing, I pay and hand it to her.
“Thank you,” she says, smiling down at the bag before fishing out a peppermint one, unwrapping it, and slipping it into her mouth.
She holds the bag out to me as we keep walking.
I pick out a lemon one and pop the candy into my mouth.
Ahead of us, the Ferris wheel comes into view, taller than anything else on the grounds and turning slow against the darkening sky.
Alannah tips her head back as we get closer, her eyes following the cars as they lift people above the crowd. “That’s high,” she whispers.
“It is,” I agree. I lift my hand to her face and tip her chin up, waiting until her worried blue eyes meet mine. “But I’ll be beside you the whole time.”
Her lower lip catches between her teeth, but she doesn’t look away. After a moment, she gives a small nod. “Okay.”