Chapter Twelve
CAM FELT SEDONA’S slight recoil and squeezed her fingers to encourage her to spill the information.
Truthfully, he was dying to know how a kindergarten teacher learned enough about lions and lion enclosures to save their lives.
He doubted she had studied the subject despite her habit of having a book or eBook at hand wherever she went.
So where did she learn to tame the beast?
“I don’t want to tell you,” she whispered.
David continued to stare hard at Sedona. “You don’t have a choice. Look, the Montgomery wives will have my hide if I toss you in jail, but if you hold out on me, I won’t have a choice. Are you hearing me, Sedona? Don’t make me arrest you.”
Another squeeze of her fingers from Cam.
“Look at me, Sedona,” he urged. When she complied, he cupped her nape and drew her closer to him.
“This was going to be part of our dinner conversation. Now, we’ll get to talk about something more fun on our date, and believe me, I have a list of things I want to know about you.
But before we get to the fun questions, we need to talk.
We have to finish this discussion before I can whisper sweet nothings in your ear. ”
Sedona laughed. “Sweet nothings?”
He chuckled. “It made you laugh, and that’s what I was after.” Cam sobered. “Ignore David. Forget he’s in the room. Focus on me. It’s just you and me here.”
The minute she did as he asked, every muscle in her body seemed to melt into his. Thank God. Hopefully, her mind would be open to talking about these obviously painful things in her past. “Tell me how you knew what to do with the lions, Tiger.”
She started to turn her head toward David.
“No, look at me. Focus on me. You saved my life. I was planning to grab my weapon and take down that cat. You saved his life, too. To kill a beautiful animal like that would have been a real shame. So, tell me how you knew what to do.”
“I used to be part of the circus.”
Cam stared. Of all the things he’d expected her to say, being part of the circus wasn’t even on the list. “You worked for the circus?”
She nodded.
“How long?”
“Years,” she said simply. “They’re my family.”
“Your parents were circus performers?”
She shook her head.
“What happened to your parents, Sedona?”
“I never met my father. He and Mom were never a couple. They were together until the fun wore off. By that time, Mom was pregnant with me, and my father never wanted to be a dad. He died when I was three.
“Mom was quite the free spirit when she was young and beautiful. After she had me, Mom didn’t want the responsibility of raising a child, so she dropped me off with her sister.
From the time I was three days old, it was just me and Aunt Norma Jean.
” She frowned. “The day I turned thirteen was the worst day of my life. Norma Jean told me she had cancer. Pancreatic, and it was bad. We had almost no time left.”
“I’m sorry, Sedona,” Cam said. “How did you end up with the circus?”
“With my mom not in the picture, I had only one relative.” She smiled. “Norma Jean Hart. Aunt Norma Jean lived and worked in the circus, so I did, too.”
Cam shook his head. “That sounds like every kid’s dream.”
“That’s the truth. In a family, you have to know how to recognize the ones who are good, kind-hearted people who care about others.
Then there are the others who are evil and seek to do harm to others.
Even the circus has its share of rotten apples.
” She sighed. “Anyway, Norma Jean figured I was old enough to decide about guardianship. She gave me a list of performers willing to be my guardian until I turned eighteen. I chose Amita Moran.”
“What was her specialty?”
“High-wire. She and Norma Jean often performed together. They were very good. I watched them for years and never saw either of them make a mistake.”
“Amazing,” David muttered.
“Yeah, they were. Anyway, after Norma Jean passed, Amita raised me until I turned eighteen. Even though she said I could stay with her as long as I wanted, I felt like I’d taken advantage of her hospitality long enough.
Plus, I wanted to go to college.” Her face lit up.
“I wanted to be a teacher to help kids like me make it through life. So, I read everything I could get my hands on about applying for scholarships and choosing a college. I settled on Bridgeport University.”
His eyebrows soared. The school had an impeccable reputation, and even the news media raved about the education program.
Their graduates were consistently in the top five best teachers in the school from their first year in the classroom.
More importantly, their students learned and scored high on their achievement tests.
“The school’s reputation is amazing. I also hear the tuition is pricey. How did you swing it?”
“Scholarships and working two part-time jobs. How do you know about Bridgeport? I told no one about that part of my life.”
“I thought about applying to Bridgeport myself, but decided to enlist in the Army instead.”
“There’s something you should know about Fortress,” David said. “They tear apart the lives of potential employees and anyone connected to them. It’s a security protocol.”
Sedona narrowed her eyes to slits. “You’re telling me that your boss dug through my personal files?”
“Those security precautions protect Em and our baby.”
She thought about that for a minute, then said, “I’ll let you slide on that basis alone. However, I want it on record that I don’t appreciate Fortress being nosy.”
“I’ll pass that along.”
“Let’s get back on track.” Cam brushed his thumb over her knuckles again. “Sedona, before you attended college, you lived and worked with the circus. You never said what your specialty was.”
“My aunt and my guardian were both high-wire artists. I followed in their footsteps. Literally.”
When he realized what Sedona was saying, Cam felt the blood drain from his cheeks. High-wire? His woman had worked as a high-wire artist? He wanted to assume Sedona worked with a net under her the whole time, although he was also pretty sure they took the nets away after a certain period.
He shuddered. While he lived, there would never be a time when it was acceptable for Sedona to work without a net. “Please tell me you don’t do that anymore.”
She flashed an amused glance at him. “Not since I earned my first paycheck as a teacher.”
“Thank God,” he muttered.
The sheriff cleared his throat. “I still need clarification. You worked the high-wire act in the circus. That doesn’t explain how you knew what to do in the lion enclosure.
Talk to me, Sedona. When you finish telling me the story, you and Cam are one step closer to leaving.
Did you work with the lions and the high-wire? ”
“I dated the man who worked with lions. Arnie made sure that I knew what to do in case some cats got loose.”
“You dated the lion tamer, huh?” Cam scowled. He hoped she preferred the Army’s Cowboys rather than lion tamers. “Was he any good?”
Sedona’s eyes glittered with amusement. “No accidents, or visits to the hospital or morgue.”
He grunted. “Heard from him lately?”
Rather than answer what he considered a polite inquiry, she laughed.
“Give it up,” David said, shaking his head. “You’ll convince no one that you’re just asking innocent questions.” He turned to Sedona. “What he’s failing so miserably to ask is if you are still seeing this lion tamer?”
“No way, and I don’t plan to either.”
The knot in Cam’s stomach loosened. “Do you know where he is?”
Sedona actually rolled her eyes. “You remember he works for the circus, right? We move on to another town after a few days. I have no way of knowing where he is at the moment unless I ask around, and I haven’t inquired about him for years.”
But she knew something. He knew it in his gut. “How do you know he’s still with the circus, Sedona? How would you contact him if you needed to talk to him?”
“I’d send him an email.”
“Give me his name and email address,” David said. “Also his birthday, if you know it, and any other information that will help me decide if I’ve got the right guy.”
She scowled at him. “Why would I help you hurt a friend?”
David flinched.
Most people wouldn’t have noticed the small reaction unless they had spent a lot of time with the sheriff. Cam had spent many hours training with the Montgomery brothers and had learned their tells. “Sedona,” he murmured.
“No, it’s okay,” David said, disappointment showing in his eyes. “The reaction isn’t unusual.”
Sedona held up her hand. “No, it’s not right. I’m sorry, David. That’s an ingrained reaction learned from my friends in the circus. Usually, people don’t trust us. If burglaries pick up in a town while we’re there, the police usually come to question us.”
“If that’s what happened to you and your friends, that’s wrong on our part. We’re wrong for suspecting circus performers with no basis for the accusations.”
“I can’t say you’re wrong,” she admitted. “Most circus performers are honest, hard-working people. But there are a handful who want to make a quick score before they leave town.”
“Is your boyfriend one of those who wants to make a quick score?”
“Ex-boyfriend,” Cam said. Both of them ignored him.
“He was. That’s part of the reason I broke up with him. I was afraid it would keep me out of college, and college was my way out of that life.”
“Did he try to stop you from leaving him?”
She tried to withdraw her hand from Cam’s hold. He wouldn’t let her. So this was a sore spot. What had the lion tamer done to Sedona? “He hurt you, didn’t he?”
She gave a slight nod.
“What did he do?” And how quickly could he locate this jerk and have a chat with him?
“Nothing you need to be concerned about, Cam. It’s in the past, where it belongs.”
He stared at her. The intimidation tactic didn’t work. She easily ignored him. He’d have to work on his mean stare.
“You should reconsider Cam’s offer of relocation,” David said.
“Why?”