Kiss Me Hard Before You Go (28 page)

Chapter 26

A line wrapped around the outside of the funeral home and reached all the way to the paved brick sidewalk that faced Main Street. People had arrived early, as was custom, so they could pay their respects to Evie.

Most stood in front of Gray’s casket, commenting on how good he looked, or what a great job the funeral director did. Evie never understood why people said such things. Dead was dead, and the person never looked good in that condition. Globs of make-up and a nice dress or suit didn’t make a world of a difference in her opinion.

Others told jokes, stories about Gray that tickled their funny bones, and that brought a smile to Evie’s face when she heard them. She shook so many hands that day, her wrist was limp and her voice cracked when she talked. She had uttered “thank you” too many times to count.

There were some who got caught up in the moment, and their tears wouldn’t hold back. She tried to maintain her decorum, but sometimes it was just too much. Seeing grown men cry just about did her in.

Finch sat in the front pew for the entire two hours. Most of the carnies came by, paying their respects, tipping their hats in front of Gray’s casket and muttering a few words to Evie. Most were general statements: a few who had met Gray told her how kind her daddy was, and what a smart businessman he was. She was thankful for their words.

Nate McDaniels and his wife, Julia, made an appearance. Of all the hypocritical things, Evie thought, for him to show up at her daddy’s visitation, but she knew he was more concerned about appearances. People from Haines shot him dirty looks and muttered things under their breaths. “He ain’t here to offer his sympathy,” they said with a scowl. “Sauntering in here like he and Gray were friends,” they whispered. “He wouldn’t have offered Gray a drink of water if his life depended on it,” another said. They knew. They knew the man all too well. The McDaniels men were all the same.

As much as Evie wanted to spit on her hand before she shook his, her daddy brought her up better than that, and she wouldn’t disrespect him at his own visitation. She unwillingly shook hands with Nate and received a faint hug from Katie’s mom, whom Evie never had any qualms with. She just didn’t have much respect for the weak woman.

He kept his comments to himself; Evie was thankful for that. She was likely to slug him if he said the wrong thing. The only thing he managed to ask was, “Have you heard from my Katie?” Evie shook her head no, and thought he had some nerve asking her about “his” Katie, but that was Nate McDaniels for you. At least he didn’t put on the pretense that he was sorry about her daddy, because she knew deep down he couldn’t care less. “We’re real sorry for your loss,” Julia added, and Evie acknowledged her with a quick nod and a faint smile. Nate yanked her by the arm and moved on.

The last of the line trickled to nothing, and Finch and Cooper were the only two that remained. Evie moved away from that dreadful casket and sat down next to Finch on the front pew. She took a hold of his hand and squeezed. “You didn’t have to stay,” she said.

“I’ll drive you home,” he replied, ignoring her last statement. As if he wouldn’t stay. He’d spend the night on the pew if she wanted him to.

Evie looked up at Cooper and smiled. “I’ve never seen you in a real shirt before, Coop.” He was wearing a white button down shirt tucked into a pair of dark Wranglers. His farmer’s tan was prevalent, with a white strip showing where his cap normally was.

“It ain’t nothing,” he said, smoothing the wrinkles. “Y’all need a lift?”

“Finch is taking me home,” she answered.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” he said. “They done a real good job on your daddy,” he added quietly before he left the two of them alone.

“You mind waiting while I talk to him for a second?” Evie asked.

“Take all the time you need,” Finch said. “You want me to wait outside?”

“No.” She got up and walked to the open casket and whispered into it, peering down at her father. Finch couldn’t hear what she was saying, nor did he want to. This was her time, and he felt like he was intruding being there. After a few minutes, she headed back to Finch, wiping a few tears from her eyes, and told him she was ready to leave.

***

The funeral was just as crowded as the visitation. People from Haines and neighboring towns came to pay their last respects. Evie met plenty of strangers, folks who told her how kind her daddy was and what he meant to them. “My husband died. He and your daddy went to school together. I was barely able to feed my kids, and we were fixin’ to lose our house. Your daddy sold one of his cows and gave me the money. It was enough to get me on my feet. I told him I’d pay him back and he wouldn’t hear of it,” the older woman said. She squeezed Evie’s hand and smiled. “He did it without expecting something in return. He said to me, ‘You just repay it someone else.’ And that’s what I did.”

Evie met others with similar stories. She never knew. Gray wasn’t the type to boast, and she never thought to ask where some of the money went.

She counted her blessings, that the world had been kind enough to grace her with a father who had a heart of gold. But eighteen years didn’t feel like enough time, because from the tales she heard that day, there were so many things about her father that she didn’t know. And she wondered if she had known these things earlier, would she had clung to him because a man that good can’t be ignored. A man with those qualities was like the sun on a cloudy day. But Evie realized that in life, most people don’t come to their senses about a loved one until they’re gone. Evie often heard Gray boast about his daddy, her grandfather, saying what a great man he was, and when he was alive, Gray didn’t flock to him either.

“Thank you,” she uttered to them. She was thankful to know that he touched so many lives and not just her own.

***

Finch stayed over for the night again. Evie asked him to, and he couldn’t say no. He didn’t want to say no, anyway. When he lay next to her, he slept like a log, and she felt so good to spoon with. Evie liked knowing he was there laying next to her. She liked the feel of his arms wrapped around her.

Katie raised an eyebrow when she saw Finch coming down the stairs, but Evie just shook her head and told her, “It isn’t what you think.”

Katie smirked. “Maybe not for long. Adam and Eve eventually ate the fruit, Evie. Y’all will too.”

“He’s leaving in less than a week,” she said.

“That’s just more time for y’all to skirt around the issue. I’d eat
that
fruit if it were offered to me,” she said with a grin.

“We all know where that got you,” she teased.

Katie playfully knuckled her on the arm. “Very funny.”

“Ow. That hurt.” Evie grimaced.

“Serves you right. I’m just saying if I were sleeping next to Mister Hunkster, I wouldn’t be coming out of my bedroom so early in the morning.”

“Mister Hunkster?” Evie repeated. “Where’d you come up with that?”

Katie pointed to her temple. “Right here. He’s a hunk, dummy.”

“Shush,” Evie said to her as Finch entered the room, and the room was silent.

“That’s not obvious or anything,” Finch said with a laugh.

Evie grew quiet, and Katie said, “She’s not real subtle sometimes. We were just talking about you.” She grinned at Evie sardonically.

Evie kicked her under the breakfast table. Katie winced and then kicked her in return.

“Oh yeah. What were you saying?” Finch asked, and they both looked at him.

“Nothing much, really,” Katie said.

“Okay,” Finch said, knowing to leave well enough alone. Some things were better not broached, especially when it involved two women.

Finch checked his watch. “I gotta go,” he said. He had work to do at the carnival, and Evie seemed to have things under control with the cows. “Walk me out,” he said to her, pulling on her hand. “Please.” Manners were important to Evie. Finch had learned pretty quickly that adding a few “pleases” and “thank yous” made a world of a difference with her.

She got up and followed him out the front door. They stood on the front porch. The sun had just risen, and there was still dew on the ground. Tripod hobbled to Finch and wagged his tail. Finch bent over and patted him on the head, cooing at him. Evie just shook her head in disbelief.

“What?” he asked her.

“I’ve had that dog half my life, and he is never
that
happy to see me. Animals like you,” she said.

“Feed him some bacon, and he’ll change his mind,” he said.

“You give him bacon?”

“Yep,” Finch said with a smile.

“No wonder.” She laughed. “Here I thought something was wrong with me.”

“Oh there’s still something wrong with you,” he said. He grabbed a handful of her hair and wrapped it around her ear until her ear was completely covered in her honey locks.

“Yeah,” she said. “I’ve got the worst taste in guys.”

“That was good and quick too,” he praised her. “I’m impressed.” He placed his hand under his chin and appraised her.

Before she could utter a weak comeback, he brought her to him and wrapped his arms around her. She could feel the warmth of him and took a whiff, smelling Pert shampoo and  cologne. She inched closer, kissing the part of his shirt where his heart was, feeling the soft texture of cotton and the rapidness of his heartbeat as it pulsated against her parted lips.

She stared up at him, and he leaned down to kiss her. And for that moment he forget where he was and where he was supposed to be, and how he was supposed to act, and gave into her.

Chapter 27

The fire and Gray’s death had impacted business for a few days, but things were improving. Most townies were intent on getting their cheap thrill before the week was over. Locals from neighboring towns wanted a taste of the fun and were spending their money faster than it took them to earn it.

As the sun began to move its way down the afternoon sky, Finch found a shade tree and plopped down under it ready for a nap. Kip wouldn’t notice – he was too busy counting his stack of bills and couldn’t care less about Finch’s whereabouts. The two had an ugly exchange of words after Gray died. Finch told him he was a heartless dick for opening the carnival the day after Gray’s death and then proceeded to use a few more expletives to prove his point.

Finch was at a point where he didn’t care anymore anyway. He had no passion for the job, and if Kip wanted to fire him, then so be it. His insecure side told him he’d struggle to find a job, and he should thank his lucky stars he had a weekly paycheck. Evie would tell him he was being a stupid head—another term she used a lot—for doubting himself. Finch marveled at her ability to find so many different ways to use the word “stupid.”

He closed his eyes and pictured her – in her lime green night shirt and wearing those cowboy boots of hers. He swooped the thought to the side and tried to fall asleep.

***

“Finch! Finch!” Friedrich shook Finch’s shoulders, jostling him awake.

Finch’s eyes shot open.

“You have to come now. There’s been an accident,” he said, yanking Finch off of the ground.

“What happened?” Finch asked, chasing Friedrich as he ran through the carnival. Friedrich didn’t hear him, or chose not to respond. “Is it Evie?” he yelled. “Did something happen to Evie?” He couldn’t stand the deafening silence.

An ambulance siren blared in the distance, and Finch looked at Friedrich with a horrified expression.

“No,” Friedrich answered. “No, it’s not her.”

Finch breathed a sigh of relief. For that brief moment, he felt okay.

Crowds stood by helplessly as paramedics rushed to the scene. Finch watched as they worked to pull a man, woman and little boy out of a small carriage. He placed his hand over his mouth and looked at Friedrich with disbelief. The carriage was separated from the cluster of other carriages and no longer connected to the central beam of the ride. It was smashed into a metal gate, damaged beyond repair.

Their clothes were covered in blood; the little boy’s
Star Wars
t-shirt was more red than blue, and he wailed in pain. “Mommy,” he cried over and over again, and Finch’s heart went out to him. The mother tried to soothe her son, but her eyes kept closing, and then she fell against her husband’s shoulder and passed out.

The paramedics lay each of them on a gurney. The little boy was the worst off. His leg and arm were broken, and even someone as strong as Finch couldn’t stomach the sight of that. He felt the sensation to vomit and tried to catch his breath. Never in all of his years of working on the circuit had he seen an accident like this.

On his watch, there had only been one other accident at Kip’s carnival. A seatbelt malfunction that caused more of a scare than anything else. No one was really hurt – just a few scrapes and raised pulses, but no blood was shed. It was tame, child’s play compared to this.

“How?” he said in a low voice to Friedrich.

Friedrich shook his head. “I don’t know,” he answered. “I was coming back from my show, and the next thing I know, that carriage flew up in the air and landed over there...” He placed his palm against his face and sighed. “This is awful.”

“That thing was bolted on tight. I checked it this morning,” he said. “I swear I did.” He drew in a deep breath. His eyes darted back and forth, focusing on the lone carriage, and then back at the ride.

“I did,” he repeated.

Friedrich placed his hand on Finch’s shoulder and gave him a tight squeeze. “I know.” He blinked. “I know.”

They watched helplessly as two ambulances sped off of the property. Carnies walked around in a daze, staring at the scene in disbelief. Several townies lingered and continued to gawk at the accident, talking amongst themselves.“How could this happen?” they whispered.“I knew we shouldn’t have come here,” they said.

Friedrich and Finch were too stunned to move. Doris made her way to them and wrapped her arms around Friedrich’s waist, speaking in a low voice to him. For once Finch couldn’t hear her. Whatever she was saying to him, it was between the two of them only. Mouse took off his fedora, bowed his head and said a silent prayer.

Several police cars arrived. Their sirens echoed into the wind. All of the rides had been shut down when the tragedy occurred. No one knew what to do or what to say. They never had to deal with this type of accident and sought guidance from Kip for what to do. He offered no consolation, but paced the midway, muttering things to himself and waving his arms up in the air in a bout of frustration.