Free Circus Wolf by Lynde Lakes Page A

a
few minutes and learn more about her intriguing new assistant.
    He winked. “Sure. Why not?”
    They headed for the refreshment tent with its red
and white awning.
    “Magnesium water for me,” she told the counter boy.
    “Sorry. We’re out.”
      “Then, I’ll
have a bottle of Arrowhead Springs water.”
    “Make it two,” Hugh said.
    After they were seated across from each other, she
lifted her bottle as if in a toast. “To your good health. This water is reportedly bottled from the local mountain springs.”
    “Interesting, but I find you more interesting. I
have to ask, what enticed a classy, talented lady like you to join a traveling
circus?”
      She intended
to quip that she liked to travel and loved animals, but his seriousness and
something indefinable in his ridiculous clown made up face and unsmiling eyes
and the unreality of the moment, made her want to give him a touch of something
real of herself. “My foster dad was a ringmaster and I was raised in a circus
atmosphere.”
    He smiled. “Awesome. But you said foster dad. What
happened to your birth dad?”
    She dug her nails into her palm . “I doubt you really want to hear about him.”
    “Oh, but I do. Please.”
    She glanced at her watch and sighed. “He was a
thirty-year old absent, philandering Scotsman who traveled the world. He met my
mother while in Africa and promised to marry her and take her to the United
States where she could live like a queen. Her father, a chieftain who practiced
witchcraft, became enraged when the lying scum failed to keep his promise and
deserted my mother who was only fifteen at the time. Not knowing she was
pregnant, the chieftain cursed him and his offspring. ”
    “What happened to your mother?”
      Tigra forced
a laugh and glanced at her watch again. “We’ll save that saga of my life for
another time.” She shredded a napkin with her dagger nails. She wasn’t willing
to reveal the rest: that when her terrified pregnant teen mom, with no means of
support, bore a cursed, growling tiger-child that she dumped her in the hills
where the ringmaster found her.
    She only knew the early history because of Madam
Mystic. Or had the wily African mystic lied? The colorful crystal-gazer was
known for her wild tales.
    None of it mattered now. But it was lucky for her,
the ringmaster was fascinated by her duality and he took her into his heart and
raised and educated her as his own. “That saga is too long a story for the short
time we have. But we have time to hear about you. Why did you join the circus?”
    He grinned. “You’re right. My story is short and
straightforward. I love animals and travel. I’ve read about the world and now I
want to see it.”
    She doubted his reasons were that uncomplicated.
Everything about him carried a web of mystery. She pointed to her watch and
stood. It was time for him to join the rest of the clowns for the night’s
opening pre-show parade. “Have fun with the clowns, but don’t wear yourself
out. I need you sharp and alert for our act. And if you have time, ditch the
clown garb. It seems to agitate the tigers.”
    She watched him jog away, looking foolishly hugable .
    Telling Hugh even that small amount about her life
had stirred memories of her ringmaster dad. He was more like a granddad and she
called him Grandy. Unmarried and childless, he opened his heart to all
children. Especially her. His many wondrous stories of
the animals and his travel experiences made her content to call the circus
home. Grandy was knowledgeable about every phase of the circus, the good and
the evil, and taught her all he knew. Raised in a circus atmosphere, her
empathy and understanding of the animals made her a natural trainer and
handler. Grandy had always kept her secret and no one knew of her duality,
except the mystic, who for her own reason never spilled the beans. Tigra felt a
wistful smile tug at her lips. It was natural for her to stay on after Grandy
died. She’d wondered about