"Good. Let's get back to the trailer. Both of us could use a hot shower."

"First I need to-"

"Check on Tater. I'll come with you."

"Don't glower at him this time."

"I never glower."

"Last time you glowered. It hurt his feelings."

"He doesn't have-"

"He does, too, have feelings."

"You spoil him."

"He's spirited, not spoiled. There's a big difference."

He gave her a pointed look. "Believe me, I know all about the difference between spirited and spoiled."

"Are you implying-"

"It's a compliment."

"It doesn't sound like one."

He bickered with her all the way to the elephant trailer, but not for one moment did he let go of her hand. And not for one moment could he manage to wipe the smile from his face.

18.

During the months of June and July, Quest Brothers Circus reached the heart of its tour, winding its way west through the small towns of Pennsylvania and Ohio. Sometimes they followed the rivers, large and small: the Allegheny and the Monongahela, the Hocking, Scioto, and Maumee. They played the little towns that the big show had forgotten: coal-mining towns with empty mines, steel towns that had been abandoned by the mills, factory towns where the plants had closed. Big industry might have forgotten the everyday people of Pennsylvania and Ohio, but Quest Brothers remembered, and the show traveled on.

By the first week of August, the circus had crossed into Indiana, and Daisy had never been happier. Each day was a new adventure. She felt as if she were a different person: strong, confident, and able to stand up for herself. Since Sinjun's escape, she'd earned the respect of the others and was no longer an outcast. The showgirls traded gossip with her, and the clowns asked her opinion of their newest tricks. Brady searched her out to argue politics and bully her about improving her muscle tone by lifting weights. And Heather spent time with her every day, but only when Alex wasn't nearby.

"Did you ever study psychology?" she asked one afternoon in early August as Daisy treated her to lunch at a McDonald's in the eastern Indiana town where they were performing.

"For a while. I had to change schools before I finished the course." Daisy picked up a french fry, took a nibble, then set it back down. Fried food hadn't been settling too well in her stomach lately. She cupped her hand over her waist and forced herself to concentrate on what Heather was saying.

"I think I might want to be a psychologist or something when I grow up. I mean, after everything I've been through, I think I could help a lot of other kids."

"I'll bet you could."

Heather looked troubled, which wasn't unusual. There was little of the carefree teenager left about her, and Daisy knew that the stolen money still weighed heavily on her conscience, although she never mentioned it.

"Does Alex-I mean, does he ever say like what a dork I was and everything?"

"No, Heather. I'm sure he doesn't even think about it."

"Whenever I remember what I did, I could die."

"Alex is used to women throwing themselves at him. To tell you the truth, I don't think he even notices anymore."

"Really? You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"He likes you a lot, Heather. And he definitely doesn't think you're a dork."

"You sure had a cow when you walked in on us."

Daisy repressed a smile. "It's very threatening to an older woman when a younger woman goes after her man."

Heather nodded wisely. "Yeah. But, Daisy, I don't think Alex would ever screw around on you. Honest. Jill and Madeline and all of them were talking about how he never even notices them anymore, not even if they're lying out in their bikinis. I think it pisses them off."

"Heather..."

"Sorry. It annoys annoys them." She absentmindedly shredded the edge of her hamburger bun. "Can I ask you something? It's about...well...when you have sex and everything. I mean, aren't you embarrassed?" them." She absentmindedly shredded the edge of her hamburger bun. "Can I ask you something? It's about...well...when you have sex and everything. I mean, aren't you embarrassed?"

Daisy noticed that Heather's fingernails were bitten to the quick, and she knew it wasn't worry about sex that had done that to her, but a guilty conscience. "When it's right, it's not embarrassing."

"But how do you know when it's right?"

"You take your time and get to know the person. And, Heather, you wait until after you're married."

Heather rolled her eyes. "Nobody waits until they're married anymore."

"I did."

"Yeah, but you're sort of-"

"A dork?"

"Yeah. But a nice-" Her eyes widened with the first sign of real animation Daisy had seen on her face in weeks. She set down her Coke. "Oh god, don't look!"

"At what?"

"The door. By the door. That boy who hung around to talk to me yesterday just came in. He's-oh god, he is so so cute." cute."

"Where?"

"At the register. Don't look! He's got on a black tank and shorts. Hurry, but don't let him see you looking."

Daisy perused the area near the registers as casually as possible. She spotted the teenager studying the menu. He was about Heather's age, with shaggy brown hair and an adorably dopey expression on his face. Daisy was delighted that, for once, Heather was acting like a normal teenager instead of someone with the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"What if he sees me?" Heather wailed. "Oh, shit! My hair-"

"Don't swear. And your hair looks fine."

Heather ducked her head, and Daisy knew the boy was approaching.

"Hi."

Heather made a great business out of stirring the ice in her Coke before she looked up. "Hi."

Both of them flushed and Daisy could see each of them searching for something brilliant to say. The boy finally plunged in. "What's up?"

"Nothing."

"You, uh, going to be around today? I mean, like, over at the circus."

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"Yeah, I'll be there."

Another long pause, this one broken by Heather. "This is Daisy. You might remember her from the show and everything. She's like my best friend. Daisy, this is Kevin."

"Hello, Kevin."

"Hi. I, uh, liked you in the show."

"Thank you."

Having exhausted that path of conversation, he turned back to Heather. "Me and this guy Jeff-you don't know him, but he's pretty cool-we were thinking we might hang around there for a while."

"Okay."

"Maybe we'll see you."

"Yeah. That'd be cool."

Silence.

"Okay, see you."

"Yeah, see ya."

As he stumbled off, a dreamy expression came over Heather's face, followed, almost immediately, by uncertainty. "Do you think he likes me?"

"Definitely."

"What am I going to do if he asks me out tonight, like between shows or something? You know Dad won't let me go."

"You'll have to tell Kevin the truth. Your father's very strict, and you're not allowed to date until you're thirty." Once again, Heather rolled her eyes, but Daisy didn't let it put her off.

She considered Heather's dilemma. It would be good for her to have a romance, even a twelve-hour one. She needed to behave like a normal teenager for a while instead of someone doing penance. Still, she knew Heather was right and Brady would object.

"How about if you show Kevin around? He'll like that. Then if you go sit over by the trucks, your father will be able to keep his eye on you, but you'll have some privacy."

"I guess that'll work." Heather's forehead wrinkled with entreaty. "Will you talk to Dad and make sure he doesn't embarrass me?"

"I'll talk to him."

"Don't let him say something stupid in front of Kevin. Please, Daisy."

"I'll do my best."

She dipped her head and poked her index finger at her empty french fry container. Once again her shoulders slumped, and Daisy could see the guilt cloud descending.

"When I think about what I did to you, I feel like such a shit-creep! I meant creep." She looked up. "You know I'm sorry, don't you?"

"Yes." She didn't know how to help her. Heather had tried to atone for what she'd done in all the ways she knew how. The only thing she hadn't done was go to her father with the truth, and Daisy didn't want her to do that. Heather's relationship with Brady was already difficult enough and that would only make it harder.

"Daisy, I'd never...I mean that thing with Alex was just because I was immature. He was so nice to me, but I'd never come on to him now or anything, if you were worrying about that."

"Thank you for telling me." Daisy busied herself collecting their trash so Heather wouldn't see her smile.

The teenager wrinkled her nose. "No offense, Daisy. He's sexy and everything, but he's really old."

Daisy nearly choked.

Heather gazed over at the registers where Kevin was finally placing his order. "He is so so cute." cute."

"Alex?"

Heather looked horrified. "No! Kevin!"

"Ahh. Well, Alex is no Kevin, that's for sure."

Heather nodded solemnly. "That's for sure."

This time Daisy couldn't help it. She began to giggle, and to her delight, Heather joined in.

When they arrived back at the lot, Heather went off to work with Sheba. Daisy unpacked the groceries she'd picked up and collected the produce treats she'd bought for the animals, grateful that Alex had never once protested these expensive additions to their grocery bill. Now that she knew he was only a poor college professor, she'd tried to be even more careful about their expenses, but she would cut back on their own food before she'd short the animals.

As had become her practice, she stopped first by the elephants to collect Tater, and he trailed her to the menagerie. Sinjun generally ignored the baby elephant, but this time he picked up his proud head and regarded his rival with haughty condescension.

She loves me best, you annoying infant, and don't ever forget it.

Lollipop and Chester were tethered outside the tent, and Tater took his customary spot nearby, where a pile of clean hay awaited him. Daisy walked over to Sinjun and reached through the bars to scratch behind his ears. He found animal baby talk demeaning, so she didn't coo to him as she did to the others.