“Have dinner with me,” said Caden.
Richard chuckled. “Who is the loser here?”
“Funny,” Maggie snarled before she smiled.
“Next,” the carnie called out as he unhitched the chain.
Caden let Maggie step forward before following, but not before Richard held him back by the shoulder.
“If you want her to scream first,” Richard whispered, “get her on the carousel.”
“Thanks, man.” Caden held his hand out to shake.
“I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
Caden liked the idea of that. Since keeping his distance from his brothers, Caden preferred to surround himself with likeminded people. If he stayed in Southwood, he imagined having a beer or two with Richard.
“You coming or what?”
Giving Richard a head nod, Caden headed toward the small seat. He graciously thanked the conductor for tightening the belt around their waists and securing the heavy metal bar around their shoulders and legs. To his right Maggie sat cool as a cucumber with her eyes closed, as if she was ready to take a nap.
“Nervous?” he asked her.
Maggie peeked one eye open and grinned. Thankfully the harness held his heart in place, otherwise it might have popped out of his chest. “Damn, you’re beautiful.”
“Caden,” Maggie said before rolling her eyes.
“Sorry, if I’m about to die I just needed to speak the truth.”
“You’ll feel better once you scream.”
The other riders loaded. The echo of the last harness clipped through the air up to the front where Caden and Maggie sat. Vibrations of screams rocked the seats. Within seconds of the conductor stepping back, the ride took off, pressing Caden’s head against the back of the seat. Gravity prevented him from seeing Maggie’s face and anticipating her scream. Nothing came. In the brief moment they hung upside down, her hair covered her face. The next thing Caden knew, they were upright and right back where they started.
“That was fantastic,” Maggie breathed. “Do you give up or do you want to try another one?”
The small-scale fair had a Ferris wheel, this ride and a few more fast-spinning roller coasters. Caden wiggled his brows. One of them surely was going to get her to scream. He wanted that dinner with her tonight. So together they went from ride to ride. Each one thrilled them both, but not to the point of screaming. With the sun setting, Caden decided to take a chance on what Richard had told him an hour prior. He gave her his suggestion.
“You want to do what?” Maggie visibly swallowed hard and leaned forward as if she hadn’t heard what Caden suggested.
“The merry-go-round,” Caden said with a shrug. “You’re okay with them, right?”
The line for the ride wasn’t long. Mostly it was made up of parents, with a few kids running around in circles waiting their turns. Some young couples stood with their hands locked, probably waiting to get on the two-seater ride.
“I’m not a fan.” She sniffed the air. Somewhere in the park was a batch of freshly popped kettle corn.
Caden touched her arm to pull her from the line. “Hey, now,” he said gently. He wasn’t a monster. The greenish hue spread across Maggie’s face and down to her neck. “We don’t have to go through with this.”
Maggie narrowed her eyes, obviously trying to get a read on him. She probably wondered how he figured it out. “I’m going to kill Richard,” she said, taking a step out of the line.
“Wait a minute,” Caden chuckled and stood in her way. “Before you commit a crime, are you conceding to our bet?”
The last time they shared dinner together, they’d ended up in bed. He wasn’t thinking that was a bad thing or that he wouldn’t mind repeating the past. This time he planned on sticking around with her, though.
Scoffing, Maggie crossed her arms over her chest. For extra emphasis, as if to put on a front, she rolled her eyes in dramatic fashion. “What’s it going to take? Me screaming here?”
An elderly woman walking with her equally elderly partner smiled at the two of them. She elbowed the man in the ribs and nodded in their direction. A parent in line turned around and shook her head.