Carousel Nights (16 page)

Mel crossed his arms and tried to paste a friendly expression on his face. “How long are you staying in the area?”

“We're staying in this hotel right here two nights,” the other blonde said. “And then we have to get back to our show.”

“I'll try to make sure the fire alarm doesn't disturb you anymore tonight,” Mel said. Even though he wasn't sure he meant it. “Enjoy your visit. Good night.”

He turned to walk away.

“Mel,” June said behind his back. “Are you headed home in a little while?”

“I hope so. Hour or so.”

“Would you drop me off at home on your way?”

He should say yes. She was a friend. More than a friend. And he wanted her to get home safely. But he didn't have space for drama in his life right now. Did he want to fight the appeal of her friends and her dream from the big city?

Not tonight. He had a job to do and a son waiting at home.

“I saw your brother in the lobby,” he said. “He'll be going your way in a while. I'll tell him to find you before he leaves.”

June set down her glass and drew her eyebrows together. She looked like a little girl who wasn't having a good time at her own birthday party.

Whatever was going on with June and her friends, Mel reminded himself it was really none of his business, no matter how much he wanted to pull the fire alarm and run away with June while no one was looking.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

T
HE
F
OURTH
OF
J
ULY
was an explosion waiting to happen. Weather forecast calling for scorching heat and humidity, presale tickets off the charts and a June flame under his collar had made Mel stand in a tepid shower a long time before putting on his uniform. As the head of maintenance, he could give himself the holiday off, but he never did. Anything could happen with that many people, that degree of heat and that drain on the park's power systems.

Last year's fireworks show had been reduced, saving money but not making much of a dent in the celebration. Mel had carefully avoided taking sides with the Hamiltons over this year's expenditure. Jack wanted to go big with the fireworks and spend the same kind of money Ford Hamilton used to. Evie wanted to be conservative, as always. He had no idea what June wanted, if she even had a say.

The Starlight Point fireworks show was a huge draw and a local tradition, with people already staking out their chunk of shoreline over at Bayside Park for a great view across the bay. But a few extra mortars and minutes didn't mean life or death to Mel. Decisions like that reminded him he was glad he wasn't in charge.

From a practical perspective, he could see why June didn't want to be tethered to Starlight Point.

But he couldn't imagine how she could leave.

Or what he was going to do when she did.

With an hour to go before the park opened to the flood of July Fourth guests, heat saturated the midway and sent trickles of sweat down Mel's back.

In front of the Star Spiral, in a relatively open and quiet part of Starlight Point, June had dreamed up a Fourth of July live show. Summer crew mixed with year-round carpenters had built the stage in sections, waiting until this morning to haul it over and set it up. Throughout the day, June would oversee its decoration while Mel's electricians set up lights and ran wire for sound. It was an insane plan for an insane day, but Mel had to admit it would be a firecracker of a show.

The fireworks would be set off right behind the stage, on the beach. He had no doubt the singing and dancing would draw a crowd, and who could argue with fireworks for a grand finale?

“Busy day,” Jack commented as he leaned against a light post near the temporary stage.

“Lots of presale, I hear.”

“Thirty thousand. And I'd guess that's about half of today's total.”

“Hot weather.”

“But dry. No rain, no storms. Wall-to-wall people and sun.”

Mel flipped some switches on the temporary breaker box he'd set up on the stage. He shielded his eyes from the morning sun, straining to see which lights came on. Satisfied, he switched them all off and sat on the edge of the stage.

“We'll be ready,” he said.

Jack sat next to him, drinking coffee out of a white paper cup.

“Too hot for that stuff,” Mel said, leaning back on his elbows and crossing his long legs at the ankles.

“Yep, but Gus made it for me, so I couldn't turn it down.”

“Newlywed,” Mel said, chuckling. “As I recall, July Fourth is some kind of anniversary for you two.”

“Rumor has it.”

The rumors had flown like fireworks last year when Jack and Gus finally surrendered to the sparks between them. His invitation to a fireworks viewing on the Star Spiral had spawned plenty of jokes about their long private ride.

Jack polished off his coffee and crumpled the cup. “You got any special plans for the fireworks tonight? Bringing Ross?”

Mel shook his head. “Too much chaos here. I'm taking a few hours off this afternoon. Bringing Ross to a picnic at my parents' house. They'll take him downtown Bayside to watch the fireworks tonight.”

“Better view from there anyway,” Jack commented.

“And it keeps him out of the crowds and traffic. I'll come back and be on duty tonight. With the heat and thousands of people, you never know what could happen.”

“Party in the lot afterward?”

“Why not? Ross is staying the night with my folks, so I have no reason to rush home.”

Jack leaned back on his elbows, mirroring Mel's relaxed posture and crossing a long set of legs—just a little longer than Mel's.

“Notice how I have carefully avoided grilling you about my sister.”

“Uh-huh.”

They exchanged a quick uncomfortable glance.

“Not sure how things are between you, and I'm not going to ask,” Jack said.

“Appreciate that. I'm not sure what I'd tell you, if I was going to say anything about it.”

“Glad her friends from the big city didn't stay long,” Jack commented. “I gather they were disappointed when she refused to go back with them.”

Mel shrugged. “June can make up her own mind about her future.” Mel watched one of the food vendors shoving a big cart with a bad wheel and made a mental note to have someone fix it later. He turned to Jack. “Did June hurt her knee a while back?”

Mel knew his best friend well enough to know the look of surprise was genuine. “Not that I know of,” Jack said. “Why?”

Mel shrugged. “I must have misunderstood something.”

It was strangely reassuring that June's own brother didn't know about it, either. Trusting June with his heart—even a tiny bit of it—was the most dangerous thing Mel had done in a long time. He knew he was playing with fire.

They were both silent a minute, watching dozens of summer employees scattering around the midway, preparing to take up their posts for a busy day. Mel wondered where Jack stood on the whole issue of June's leaving. Had he and Evie asked her to stay? What kind of partner could she be from hundreds of miles away? All the Hamiltons were tight, Mel being the only outsider who'd ever been roped into the family circle. But there were still things he wasn't going to ask.

“Glad we talked about it.” Jack stood up, towering briefly over his longtime friend. “If you need to know anything, I'd recommend asking Evie. That's where I get all my information.”

Jack walked away and Mel turned his attention back to the electrical panel.

Today's heat would tax air conditioners all day long. Mel had the prickling fear that some of the older transformers wouldn't be able to handle the load. Even if only one of them blew, it would cause a massive diversion to the others and they could fall like dominoes.

“Maybe this wasn't such a great idea,” he muttered, eyeing the huge lights and speakers on the stage.

“Why not?” June asked, surprising him by ducking out a hidden entrance on the side of the stage.

“Too much to handle,” he said, smiling at June.

“Too much electricity?” she asked, laying a hand on his shoulder and standing much too close.

“Uh-huh.”

“And heat?” she asked.

“Way too much.”

“My show will be totally worth it.”

“I'm sure,” he said. “Are you sad your friends didn't stick around a few more days to see it?”

June's face clouded and Mel wanted to kick himself for taking a piece of sandpaper to a raw nerve. Why had he brought them up?

June removed her hand from his arm and took two steps backward.

“The friends I care most about are going to see it,” she said.

Mel swallowed.
What did that mean?

* * *

T
HE
SHOW
WAS
a success. June knew it from the first number, and the energy kept the crowd totally jazzed until the end. It was hers. Totally hers. There had been years of summer theater at Starlight Point, but this was different.

The fireworks scheduled to go off in only five minutes would be icing on the cake. June hated to see the show end. The red, white and blue sparkly costumes with a little gold and purple thrown in were pure magic from Gloria and crew. The live musicians drawn from the best of the shows played like they owned the place. And they did. Until the dancers came on stage and stole the show.

It wasn't just June's opinion. The crowd gathered in front of the stage had plenty of opportunity to leave and take advantage of a hundred other diversions. They weren't in seats in a darkened theater where leaving would be rude and obvious. They stood under the stars on a hot night on concrete that still clung to that heat. And from their faces and enthusiastic applause—they loved it.

“No way to top this,” Megan said. “Glad I had a three-hour nap this afternoon or I wouldn't have survived even watching that show.”

June smiled sympathetically at her stage manager. “I can't imagine being eight months pregnant and on my feet.”

“I'm actually fifteen months pregnant. I just wear it well,” Megan said.

“Are you staying for the fireworks? They'll start any minute.”

“Nope. My husband is waiting just outside the employee entrance with the car. If we figure it right, we'll be pulling in our driveway just as everyone else is lining up for the traffic jam on the bridge.”

“You'll be missing a great show.”

“I've already seen one tonight. And I can't stand much more excitement. I'll watch the fireworks next year. There's always next year.”

Megan slung a small bag over her shoulder and waddled toward the employee gate tucked behind the Scrambler. June watched her go, wondering where she would be next year and if Megan was right. Was there always next year?

“That's a pretty serious expression for a woman who just pulled off the show of the century.”

Mel's familiar scent—Dial soap mixed with a little bit of sweat and motor oil—tingled her senses even with a hundred other distractions. Of course he was hard to ignore. He was standing so close their clothing touched.

“I was just worried about Megan. Hope she gets home okay.”

“Her husband is right outside the gate. I saw him a few minutes ago. Windows rolled up in his car, air conditioner on blizzard mode.”

“True love.”

“My work truck has air-conditioning and it's parked at the gate,” Mel said. “We could go sit in it and watch the fireworks through the windshield.”

June trembled despite the heat. Even though she'd just pulled off a show worthy of Broadway, Mel made her forget everything outside of the here and now.

“I'd go to blizzard mode for you,” Mel said. “Even though the condenser doesn't really work unless you get the RPMs up on the motor. We could still try.”

“I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“Shoot. Thought I had you at ‘blizzard.'”

“Absolutely. But the fireworks should start in about thirty seconds. Especially if Evie is in charge of the timing.”

“Evie has a license to fire off pyrotechnics?” Mel asked.

June laughed. “Nothing about my sister would surprise me. I'm starting to think she won't be happy being an accountant forever. Like there's more out there for her.”

And me.

The first of the shells exploded into the dark sky over the lake, raining red, white and blue streams of light in a huge arc. June leaned back against Mel, and the cooling night air combined with his body heat in a perfect combination—like sugar mixed with cinnamon on toast. Sweet, a little spicy, delicious.

Snappy white sizzlers followed the initial graceful arcs of color and light. Unlike the waterfalls of color, the screamers plunged toward the lake like they were on a noisy mission. People clapped and yelled, the intoxicating noise taking them along for the ride.

“You like those?” Mel asked, close to her ear.

June shook her head slightly, not wanting to move from her position folded into Mel's body. “Nope. Too loud and they're over too soon. I like the ones that fall forever until they disappear.”

“I like the blue ones,” Mel said. “Just-before-twilight blue. Like this outfit you're wearing.”

“How can you tell in the dark?”

“Saw you in it earlier. Memorized the way you look.”

June wondered if anyone had ever memorized anything about her before. It was one of the most wonderful things she had ever heard.

“What else do you have memorized?”

“Wiring schematics for most of the park. How many steps to the top of the Sea Devil. Dates we changed the oil on the old-fashioned cars. And everything I know about you.”

“I hope you don't have that on a chart in your office.”

“Don't need to,” Mel said.

A volley of shells streaked up, exploded into huge weeping willow shapes that took ages to fall sparkling through the sky. June counted to ten before the last of the colored sparks disappeared. In less than two months she would be far away from the scent of the lake, the sounds of the Point, the touch of Mel.

She'd be closer to her dream, but far from here.

Red fireworks shot into the sky followed by an army of white screamers.

Where would she be next Fourth of July? Summer hiatus from a Broadway show? Home for a long weekend? Watching fireworks with someone else?

June never wanted to see fireworks again unless they came with a pair of warm arms smelling like the maintenance garage—the heart and soul—of Starlight Point. But she'd made her choice.

“Ready for the grand finale?” Mel said, his lips brushing her ear. “Want me to make hand-muffs over your ears? I have to do that for Ross at fireworks and loud movies.”

“I'll tough it out,” June said.

“Good,” he said, releasing her and putting his hands over his ears. “I get my own earmuffs for once.”

June laughed, leaning against Mel and watching the furious explosions of the grand finale. She could get used to this. In fact, she already was.

She turned into Mel's body and pulled his hands from his ears. “It's over.”

“Far from it. The traffic is a better show than the fireworks. Especially with a sunburned, dehydrated crowd like this. There's an hour's worth of horn honking and hot tempers out there.”