Free All Fixed Up by Linda Grimes Page A

mouth, making a big show of weighing the matter, and finally handed her a twenty. “No more Christmas ties,” he said, his voice laced with threat.
    Molly stuffed the bill into her pocket, a wicked gleam in her eye. I was pretty sure I knew exactly what she’d be getting for Billy. And he’d wear it, too, grumbling the whole time.
    I cleared my throat. “Oh, look. There are only two seats on it. Guess I’ll wait out here and watch your charming Doyle faces on that handy-dandy screen,” I said, pointing at the monitor next to the ride. The current occupants seemed to be enjoying themselves, if in a rather terrified way.
    â€œNo!” Molly said, grabbing my hand. “I want to ride it with you, Ciel. Today is supposed to be girl time. Billy won’t mind riding with a stranger. Pleeeease…”
    She employed the Doyle eyes, full force. I could feel myself weakening.
    â€œYou heard the kid, cuz. She wants you.” Billy tried to disguise the I’m-getting-my-way gleam in his eye, but I could still detect it.
    â€œBut your motion sickness…” I said, as delicately as I could. Molly couldn’t even go on a merry-go-round without plastic bags. I shuddered to think what being tossed around inside a small capsule on the end of a giant robotic arm would do to her delicate constitution.
    â€œI’m getting better! I didn’t even feel a bit sick in the taxi on the way here. Besides, Billy says you have to keep stretching your limits if you want to get over something.”
    Yeah, I was familiar with Billy’s line of thinking on stretching your limits. I even agreed with it, in theory. But I wasn’t fond of being barfed on, and neither was Billy. Which, I was sure, was why he’d arranged to keep his promise to Molly while staying safely out of the splash zone.
    â€œFine,” I said with a final glare at her brother, and allowed myself to be loaded into the machine. “But I’m warning you—if you hurl on me, I will hurl back on you.” It was only as the words came out of my mouth that it occurred to me if I was pregnant ( please, please, please no ), this might not be the best activity to participate in.
    I was about to signal the ride controller to let me out when Molly said, “Deal! This is going to be awesome !”
    Then it was too late. The last view I had of Billy’s face as the door closed over us was dominated by his dimples. Naturally. It was to be expected—his evil plan had worked. The disturbing thing was what I glimpsed several yards behind him: Alec Loughlin.
    â€œCrap,” I said, evoking Molly giggles. The slim possibility of pregnancy fled my mind in an instant.
    â€œDon’t worry, Ciel. Even if the ride makes us feel sick, we probably won’t barf until after we get off.”
    Comforting as that thought was, it didn’t help with my dilemma. How could I warn Billy without frightening Molly? Had that even been Loughlin? The glimpse had been so brief, and I was extra sensitive about him since the funeral. Maybe I was seeing things.
    Then I remembered the monitors. Surely Billy was watching us. I searched the cabin. There. There was the camera. I gestured madly at it, trying to get across “look behind you” with hand motions.
    â€œCiel! It’s starting—quick, take the controls! You don’t want us to crash, do you?”
    â€œUm, yeah. I mean, no.” I grabbed the stick beside me and tried to hold it steady with one hand while mouthing “Behind you!” at the camera. Only there was a big swoop, and it felt like the seat was falling out from under me, so if Billy was reading my lips, he might possibly have deciphered it as “Oh, shit!” followed by “Fuuuuck!” My mouth tends to have a mind of its own in certain situations.
    Molly was whooping wildly next to me, having the time of her life. Which didn’t necessarily mean she wasn’t going to