Several minutes later, the men headed back to the table with trays filled with chicken nuggets and fries. Wolf and Ezra tore into their food like they hadn’t eaten in a month, while the girls took their time opening their dipping sauces and laughing at a clown who walked by and blew bubbles at all the kids.
“Fucking Pennywise,” Ronan muttered, trying to suppress a shiver. Even now, just the thought of the fictional clown was enough to make Ronan avoid grease paint and red balloons and sleep with the lights on.
River and Fitz nodded along with Ronan. “Never met a clown I didn’t hate.”
“Same, Fitzy,” River agreed.
“What does everyone want to do after we finish eating?” Ronan asked.
“The Viper!” Wolf shouted.
“Not with a belly full of chicky nugs.” Jude offered his son a grimace before making a gagging sound. “I don’t want to spend the rest of the afternoon wearing upchucked nuggets.”
“Ew!” the kids chorused together.
“How about the water park?” Ten suggested. “We can catch some rays, do the water slides, and chill out.”
“Tennyson Grimm! What the hell areyoudoing here?” an angry voice shouted. “You’ve got a lot of nerve!”
Ronan turned to see a red-faced man charging toward their table. He stood and put himself between the familiar-looking guy and his husband. Jude and Fitz joined him. “Who the hell do you think you are screaming at my husband in front of our kids.” Ronan could feel his pulse pounding in his temples. He needed to take a step back before he ended up punching the douche canoe in his stupid face.
“I’m Baxter Brighthouse, owner of Fun-A-Rama!” Anger blazed in his dark eyes while his hands balled into fists by his side.
That explained why Ronan thought the man looked familiar. “You look just like your father.”
“You know my father?” Ronan’s question made the angry man take a breath and a step back.
Ronan nodded. “I came here every summer when I was a kid, either with my mom or as a school field trip. Your dad used to walk around the park in his red-and-white striped vest, making sure all the guests were having a good time and handing out free popcorn tickets to the kids.”
“Yeah, that was my father. Part of the reason the stubborn ass bankrupted this place.” Baxter rolled his eyes.
“Now that calmer heads have prevailed.” Fitzgibbon looked back and forth between Ronan and the angry park owner. “Why did you storm over here with a bone to pick with Tennyson? Do the two of you know each other?”
Brighthouse shook his head. “The man is a world-famous psychic. Where he goes, spirits follow. He brought my father back from the grave to haunt me.”
It was then that Tennyson elbowed his way into the group. “I’m not a ghost pied piper, Mr. Brighthouse,” Ten said on a sigh. “Your father was here long before I was.” He raised an eyebrow as if he were daring Brighthouse to disagree.
The man’s shoulders dropped, and he looked beaten down rather than angry.
“Why don’t you come sit with us.” Ten led the man to the table and even offered him some chicken.
“Here we go,” Ronan whispered to Jude. “Ten’s going to have to get involved now.”
Ronan and the others took their seats. All eyes, especially Everly’s, were locked on Baxter.
“Tell me how this started and what’s been going on.” Tennyson dug back into his lunch as Brighthouse grabbed a spare napkin and patted his sweaty forehead.
Brighthouse looked anxiously at the kids as if he wasn’t sure what was acceptable to say in front of them. “My father, uh, died in 1999. Before his death, he’d been under a tremendous amount of financial pressure. The park was on the verge of bankruptcy because over a million dollars had gone missing from the books.”
“Holy spit,” Jude said on a whistle. “That’s a lot of money. What happened to it?”
“My father took it.” Brighthouse sighed. “At least that’s what the story was at the time. It made sense that he jumped from the Ferris wheel because his secret was about to be uncovered.”
“How old were you when he died?” Fitz asked.
“I was fifteen.” Brighthouse took a deep breath, as if he were trying to keep his emotions under control.
“Far too young to lose a parent.” Ronan had been in his early twenties when his mother passed away. Even though he was an adult, losing Erin hit him like a sledgehammer to the chest.
