A smile lifted the corners of his mouth. "You just butchered that line, you know." Will stopped beside his car, wrestling with his thoughts. It was a short round. He tossed his portfolio onto the pa.s.senger seat. "I'm not going back to the office."

Wary, Drake asked, "Why not?"

He tried to make it sound nonchalant, for his own benefit as well as for Drake's. "I've got some time coming to me. I think I'll take the rest of the day off and go to the carnival grounds. Tell Carter I had some personal things to attend to." High on the smell of triumph, Will knew his boss wouldn't mind him not coming in.

Will was making less and less sense to Drake. "There're nothing but squirrels running around there now, Will."

He thought of Audra, looking up at him with supplication in her eyes. And of Denise, who had a very different look in hers. Different but d.a.m.n enticing, nonetheless.

He laughed, getting behind the wheel. "Well now, there's where you're definitely wrong."

Drake was left standing in the parking lot, looking at the back of Will's disappearing Jeep. "I hope so, Will. I sure hope so."

It was hard for some people to look at the barren tract of land, pockmarked with weeds and envision the houses that were to be. Will had no such difficulty. All he had to do was think about them and the houses seemed to rise up before his eyes.

But he wasn't thinking about the development-tobe when he drove his Jeep onto the area that would, in a matter of a couple of days, be roped off as the carnival's parking lot. He was thinking about all the carnivals that had been here before. And all the carnivals that wouldn't be here in the future.

Maybe it wasn't the development that was bothering him, he thought, maybe it was the idea of change. Despite his chosen profession, he'd never really been one for change. And things around him were suddenly changing rapidly.

If he thought about it, it seemed to him that so much of Serendipity was changing. It was far from large by big city standards, but he could remember Main Street when it had only three stores on it and it wasn't the main street-it was the only street. The town had been named Serendipity because that was the feeling it generated if you should happen to wander into it. But now it was finally growing. Bit by bit, nature was giving way to civilization.

And he was helping that come about. He supposed he liked to feel that his designs made the transition more esthetically pleasing, but pleasing or not, there was no arguing with the fact that he was still bringing the changes about.

He wondered if he should be applauded or d.a.m.ned for that.

Even his family was changing. His brothers were getting married, probably starting families of their own in the future and for the first time, Will felt as if he was really left standing on the sidelines. He'd always been a player before, most of all in his family. A main player.

This was a turn of events he was going to have to work on to make right, he mused. And he'd better do it fast. Hank and Fiona's wedding was less than a month away.

Climbing out of the Jeep, he shut the door. If he were being completely honest with himself, he wasn't exactly sure just what made him come here. It certainly wasn't because of any encouragement, silent or otherwise, he'd seen on Denise's part If he'd read her right, she would just as soon he didn't come wandering by while they were setting up. The invitation was for when the carnival was up and running, not before.

Maybe he was just trying to recapture that lost youth he'd been thinking about. Or maybe it was a sense of guilt that compelled him to come here, to absorb the area as it was before it changed.

Or maybe it was a woman with flashing blue eyes, a firm chin and an independent att.i.tude.

Will shoved his hands into his pockets, crossing to where he saw activity going on.

"I've been waiting."

The voice, with its little old lady intonation, made him smile even before he turned around to look down at Audra. She was standing behind him, her hands fisted on her small hips and her booted toe tapping on the dirt Undoubtedly mimicking her mother, he thought.

He could feel amus.e.m.e.nt taking hold. "You were that sure I was going to come?"

A smile broke out and before he realized it, Audra launched herself at him. He barely had time to drop to one knee and make the catch. Looking contented, she wrapped her arms around his neck. A warm feeling slipped over him. What would it be like, he wondered, to have one of these to come home to every night?

"Uh-huh, I was that sure. Wanna see what they're doing?" She pointed toward the grounds. It looked like the aftermath of a storm, with the skeletal components of rides fanned out in all directions. "I can splain things if you want."

He bet she could, too. He'd been around enough children to know that some came equipped with souls that seemed to have been born old. He'd had one himself.

Will tried to look properly solemn for Audra's benefit as he nodded. "I'll be sure to direct all my questions to you if I have any."

He had the oddest feeling that he was being watched. Turning, with Audra still in his arms, he saw Denise standing in the distance, looking in his direction. Even at that distance, their eyes met.

"There's your mom." He pointed toward Denise. "She doesn't look very happy."

Audra sighed mightily, as if she knew and it troubled her. "She's not. Mama's always worried about something."

Feeling he'd make faster progress if he carried the child, Will crossed to where Denise was standing. "What is she worried about?"

"Grampa's not feeling well, and Harry left this morning," she recited.

"Harry?" Was that the name of someone who was figured significantly into Denise's life? If he was, maybe his departure could explain the woman's testiness this morning.

Audra nodded, obviously enjoying imparting information. "Uh-huh. He took care of the merry-goround for Mama." She looked sad. She'd liked Harry. He told funny stories. "He said he was tired of running around all over the place and he was going home."

"I see." The complaint was easy enough to understand. What was hard to understand was how a woman like Denise Cavanaugh could be content with this kind of nomadic life, even part of the time. "Where's home for you?"

In response, Audra pointed to the trailer behind him. "There."

He'd forgotten how literal children could be. "No, I mean when you're not traveling around. When you're not on the road."

"But we're always traveling around," she protested. "That is home."

Was it possible that she was right? That they went from one place to another twelve months out of the year instead of just six to nine?

Denise looked at him sharply as he approached. "Change your mind about suing?"

He placed Audra on the ground. He found he couldn't read Denise's expression. It was impossible to guess if she was kidding or not.

"No, I decided to take your daughter up on her invitation and come by." He gestured toward the line of bulldozers that stood off to the side, silent yellow sentry that were a constant reminder that this was the carnival's last year in this spot. "I guess I just wanted to look around before the bulldozers started their work."

A black look entered Denise's eyes at the mention of the vehicles. In the last few years, it seemed to her that more and more carnival grounds were disappearing. The number of carnivals taking place was shrinking. It was no easy feat to constantly keep coming up with new places to go so that their income didn't shrink along with the grounds. Right now, with compet.i.tion coming from the other companies that found themselves in the same situation, they were just a shade over breaking even. They needed more than that to remain in business.

"You mean destruction, don't you?"

He'd hit a nerve, Will thought What would she say if she knew he was directly connected to that destruction?

"Bulldozers?" Audra echoed in a voice that was properly appalled. "You mean we're not having a carnival here after all?"

He shifted uncomfortably at the look Denise gave him. "I'm sorry, they're not breaking ground until after you leave," he told Audra. "I didn't mean to give you the wrong idea."

"There's no right idea about bulldozers," Denise informed him tersely. "They come in, tearing up the grounds, making way for foundations of an army of houses or office buildings, all of them squatting on land like so many eyesores."

No, she definitely wouldn't take to the idea that his signature was on those squatting eyesores, Will decided. For now, he wouldn't mention it.

"Well, not all of them," he argued.

Denise tossed her head, her hair flying over her shoulder. "Never saw a house I liked better than an open field."

That wasn't strictly true, she amended silently. She had seen one. The house that had belonged to Audra's father. David Donnelly had belonged to another world, the so-called right side of the tracks. And he had the castle to go with it.

At least, it had seemed like a castle to her when she'd seen it. He'd seduced her there, simultaneously introducing her to heaven and h.e.l.l at the same time. It had been heaven to be in his arms, and h.e.l.l to discover that it hadn't meant anything to him-certainly not the way it had to her.

She'd been born on the road, just as Audra had, and had never known anything more than a couple of rooms in a motel and even those were sporadic and temporary.

You could have your houses, she thought, She'd take the open road every time.

Suddenly it became important to him to have her change her opinion. Whether to a.s.suage his conscience, or just because he didn't want her thinking this way, he didn't know. "Maybe I could show you a few to change your mind."

"I doubt it." Leaning over, she took Audra by the hand. "Well, if you'll excuse us, we have work to do."

Audra's face lit up. "Me, too, Mama?"

She'd been younger than Audra when she had begun pitching in. There was nothing to be gained by babying Audra. Besides, if she was busy, maybe Audra wouldn't keep trying to match her up with men.

"Well, with Harry gone, I've shifted things around a little." She smiled down at Audra. "You can be in charge of hosing down the carousel horses, and then polishing them."

Audra's eyes gleamed. At last, she had a big people job.

"Heard about you losing a man."

Turning, Denise raised an eyebrow at the wording. "I didn't lose a man, he decided that he wanted to do something different with his life. His choice."

She was touchy about that Had Audra's father walked out on her? Will didn't know why, but he'd just a.s.sumed the man had died. If he'd left her, that might explain her less than friendly att.i.tude toward men. "I'm free for the afternoon if you need an extra set of hands."

Instead of taking or declining his offer, Denise took his hands in hers and examined them, first on one side, then the other. There were calluses on his palms. Always a good sign. Suddenly aware that she was holding them, she dropped his hands.

"What do you do for a living?"

The slight crimson tinge on her cheeks was becoming. "I build things."

She c.o.c.ked her head, suspicion entering her eyes. "What kind of things?"

"Buildings." It was a cagey answer and he watched her face for a reaction.

"You're a carpenter?" Why was he being so guarded? Denise wondered. Was there something he was trying to hide? Just what sort of things did he build?

"In a way," he allowed.

He was definitely hiding something, she decided. "In what way?"

Evasion had never really been his way and it didn't feel right now. "I'm an architect."

"That's pencil and paper." She looked down at his hands again. Why did an architect have calluses? "Just how big is the pencil you push?"

He laughed and managed to coax a half smile from her as well as a giggle from Audra. "I believe in hands-on experience."

She was wasting time standing here, talking. "I can't pay much."

Was that what was bothering her? "I'm not asking to be paid." He looked down at Audra and winked. "I'm volunteering."

There had to be a catch. Didn't there? "For free?" Denise asked.

He spread his hands, as if to show her that he was hiding nothing. "For free."

"Well, that's the right price. C'mon, let's see about getting you a change of clothes and then putting you to work." Turning on her heel, she led the way to her trailer.

Standing on her tiptoes, Audra covered the side of her mouth and said in a loud whisper, "You'll like working for Mama. Just nod when she raises her voice."

Too bad Denise didn't have some of her daughter's charm. "Does she raise it often?"

"Uh-huh." Audra's golden head bobbed up and down. "But only when she's mad. Or worried," she added as an afterthought.

Denise turned around to see them lagging behind. And whispering. Now what?

"Audra..."

"Or calling me." Audra grinned at him as she pulled her hand from his and ran off to catch up to her mother. "I'm coming."

Watching them, Will had to wonder who ultimately was the bigger handful-the mother or the daughter.

3.

Pulling off her work gloves, Denise shoved them into her back pocket. After almost three hours of hard labor, the area was finally beginning to bear some resemblance to a carnival.

"Want a soda?" Coming up behind her, Tate held out a can to his daughter.

"Thanks." She took it from him gladly. "As long as it's wet and cold, I don't care what it is."

Denise pressed the can against her forehead and then her throat before popping the top and drinking deeply. She hadn't realized just how thirsty she was until this minute.

Pausing, she looked over toward the carousel, where Will was now working with Skip and Tim. Before that, he'd helped fit the giant slide together with Roy and Cecil. She'd known exactly where Will was every minute of the last three hours. She'd kept tabs, expecting him to flag at any minute and withdraw his offer to help. He hadn't He'd taken on one job after another, working as if he enjoyed it. As if his livelihood were coming from erecting these metal giants.

She couldn't figure him out.

Well, she had to admit he wasn't afraid of work. She also had to admit that he was very easy on the eye to watch while he worked. Her father's shirt was a little tight on him and she could see every muscle straining as Will helped lift and fit the horses into their proper positions. Without realizing it, her grip tightened on the can, indenting it slightly. She forgot to drink.

Tate grinned. He knew exactly where she was looking. "Works hard," he commented.

Caught, she shrugged indifferently as she looked away. "For an outsider."

He'd heard her use the term often enough, and it had begun to worry him. His once outgoing, gregarious daughter was withdrawing more and more from everyone outside their small, ever shrinking, tight circle. That wasn't a good sign.