PROLOGUE
Ronan
June 1997…
Fourteen-year-old Ronan O’Mara felt like he was king of the world. Well, not quite king. Not yet. He was sitting in the front seat of the Viper with his friend Craig Feeny riding shotgun as the car began its climb to the top of the coaster. It was rumored that on a clear day, you could see Mount Washington, New Hampshire’s tallest peak from the summit. Not that Ronan cared about that.
What hedidcare about was proving to the entire freshman class at Sacred Heart High School that he wasnotall talk. The annual trip to the Fun-A-Rama amusement park was the highlight of the entire school year. A reward for a job well done, as it were. Students needed a grade point average of 2.8 or above to be invited to make the annual pilgrimage. Ronan had barely made it, thanks to a last-minute extra-credit assignment courtesy of his algebra teacher, Mr. Hawke. Ronan and two other boys spent all of last weekend doing chores for the aging man. They’d mowed his lawn, bagged the clippings, planted vegetables, and washed his car. Truth be told, Ronan would much rather get his hands dirty in the soil than sit and try to figure out algebra with not one but two letters to solve for. Honestly, when the hell would he ever need to use an equation like that in his life as a police officer?
Once Ronan had earned the extra credit and a solid C in algebra, all he’d been able to talk about was the Viper. How he was going to ride over and over again in the front seat with his arms thrown in the air. His classmates all thought he was full of shit. Somethought he’d ride it once and then toss his cookies, while others thought he wouldn’t have the guts to ride it at all.
The roller coaster was the newest attraction at the park and featured two loops and a corkscrew. Commercials for the ride had been all over television for the last several weeks. He couldn’t get enough of listening to the riders’ screams and the announcer’s deep voice challenging people to tame the Viper.
Ronan’s mother, Erin, on the other hand, could. The video used in the commercial had been shot by someone sitting in the front seat of the Viper. The first time Erin had seen it, she’d turned green and said, “They should call the coaster the Puker because that’s what everyone’s gonna do. They’ll puke on the loop, and it will hit the other riders in the face, which will make all of them puke. Same for the people on the ground watching all the barf-stained riders come off the coaster. Then they can rename the park Barf-A-Rama.”
Every time the commercial came on from that day forward, all Ronan could think about was chain-reaction barfing. He supposed the only thing worse than being too chicken to ride in the front seat of the Viper was to throw up on it and his friends.
As the day drew near, Ronan felt sick to his stomach. He’d been too nauseous to eat pizza with his mother the night before, instead having buttered toast, which had sat like a lead ball in his stomach all night. He hadn’t eaten breakfast so that if the worstdidhappen, all that would be in his gut was some water and bile. He wasn’t even sure he should go to the park, but he’d run his big stupid mouth, and as a result, his big stupid stomach was going to have to buck up, or he’d be the laughingstock of his school.
Ronan listened to the clunk of the coaster as his car finally reached the top. It paused for a moment, and he was able to see the entire park spread out in front of him. He could see theteacups, which was a baby ride. The Tilt-A-Whirl, not as badass as the Viper, but still cool. The Ferris wheel was the only ride taller than the roller coaster, which was spread out beneath him. The double loop looked small from his perch, but it didn’t look as fun from this vantage point as it had from the safety of the ground.
“Fuck, yeah!” Craig shouted, throwing his hands in the air.
Ronan couldn’t help but notice a tinge of fear in his best friend’s eyes. Knowing Craig was a little scared gave Ronan a burst of courage. “Fuck, yeah!” he echoed, throwing his hands high. The car swept down the tracks. His ass lifted from the seat, but the shoulder harness held him in place. He could feel the car gaining speed, which he knew it would need to do in order to fly upside down through the double loop. Before Ronan knew what was happening, he was looking down at the ground from the top of the first loop. He screamed louder as the car completed the first loop and thundered through the second one, which thankfully wasn’t as scary. Next came the corkscrew, which turned the car on its side. Both boys screamed the whole way through it. Finally, the car righted itself and sailed to a stop at the platform.
“Let’s do it again!” Craig said, his eyes glowing in triumph.
“Fuck, yeah!” Ronan agreed as the shoulder harness clicked open. He lifted it over his head and scrambled out. He ran after Craig to queue up for a second ride.
“Ronan! Ronan!” Other classmates cheered, making Ronan feel like he was actually the king of the world. He lifted his arms in the air, flashing his classmates a double peace sign.
Joining the end of the line, Ronan couldn’t help but think how much fun it would be to bring his own family to this magical place one day. He’d ride the Viper with his son while his husbandand daughter licked ice cream cones and watched their feats of daring do.
When his daydream came true, Ronan truly would be the king of the world.
1
Ronan
June, present day…
Ronan sat on the edge of Fitzgibbon’s pool with his legs submerged in the cool water. The summer sun was hot on his face. Everly, Aurora, Ezra, and Wolf were playing a game of Marco Polo with Tennyson, who was losing, while Cope floated along with Lizbet, who was belted into her inner tube and was wearing a big floppy hat to keep the sun off her face. Every so often, she shrieked with delight, making Cope laugh. Jude and Fitzgibbon sat at the patio table, talking over what to grill for dinner. Jace was on his way home from the shelter and would pick up the grocery order.
“I hate to say it, but we’ve had too much steak lately.” Jude sounded lost.
“I hear that,” Fitz answered. “What about pork chops?”
“I don’t like chops!” Aurora called from the pool.
“Gotcha!” Ten shouted in triumph, tapping Aurora and opening his eyes. “You’re it!”
“I hate this stupid game.” Aurora crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.
“We talked about being a good loser, didn’t we?” Fitz’s eyes crinkled with amusement.
Aurora sighed loudly. “Congrats, Uncle Ten. Good game.” A sneer curled the little girl’s lips as her teeth ground together.
“If she keeps that up, all of her baby teeth are gonna turn to dust and fall out,” Jude whispered.
