Ten shook his head. “I’m always worried that if I take something that will make me tired, even low-dose Benadryl, there will be something wrong with the kids or Ronan and I won’t wake up in time to help.” His answer was only part true. The other reason Ten didn’t want to take any sleep aids was because he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to break free from the nightmare, if it came back.
“I hear that. I took NyQuil a few months back when I had a cold and slept right through Delta screaming her tiny head off in the middle of the night. Barb was afraid I’d taken too much and put myself into an inadvertent coma.” River snorted.
“I reached out to a friend this morning to see if there was something she could do to help me with this nightmare, but I haven’t heard back yet.” Even though he trusted his brother to keep his confidence, Ten kept his mouth shut about Everly’s situation. The last thing Ten wanted was for Everly to pick up on this conversation and think people were talking about her behind her back. Ten didn’t want anyone else to know what was going on. The fewer people who knew, the better. For now.
“We’re here!” Jace called, sounding like he was one of the kids. He pointed out the window, where the soaring edifice of the Boston Garden was visible. “Wait until you see the surprises I’ve got in store for all of you!”
Ten snickered when Ronan’s happy expression turned a bit green. He didn’t need his gift to know Ronan was thinking about the clowns. There had to be something he could do to allay his husband’s fear. Maybe if they put a clown face on Ronan he’d be able to relax more around the others. Or he’d end up running back to Salem in record time.
Fifteen minutes later, the van was parked and unloaded. Delta, Ezra, and Lizbet were strapped into their strollers and everyone was ready to roll. Jace led the way to a door where a man dressed in black stood guard. “Good morning, Mr. Lincoln.”
“Good morning, Lucas. Are you bringing your family to the dress rehearsal later this week?” Jace was all smiles.
“I sure am. My wife and kids can’t wait to meet the clowns.” Lucas didn’t look so enthusiastic.
“They all need to have their heads examined,” Ronan muttered.
“I couldn’t agree more, Mr. O’Mara, but you know the saying, ‘happy wife, happy life.’” Lucas looked less than enthusiastic.
“I do indeed,” Ronan agreed.
“Just an FYI, they’reeverywhere.” Lucas’s entire body shivered, making him look like he was doing a crazy dance.
“Thanks for the heads up.” Ronan coughed. “I’m not feeling too well. I should stay in the van.”
“Not a chance.” Fitzgibbon wrapped an arm around Ronan’s shoulder and led him into the building. “The only way to overcome your fear is to face it head on.”
“Why are we friends?” Ronan gave Fitz a playful shove. “Forcing me to walk into this fun house of horrors doesn’t sound like something a bosom buddy would do.”
Jace led them through the back of the building and into the locker room usually used by opposing basketball teams. Set up inside were long tables with lighted mirrors and more cosmetics than an entire drug store, where a dozen clowns were applying their makeup.
“Clowns!” Everly, Aurora, and Brooke shouted together. All three girls took off running toward the pink clown at the end. Lizbet undid her buckle and climbed out of her stroller, to follow after the other girls.
“Seriously?” Ronan muttered.
“Come on, how scary is Pinkie?” Ten pointed to the clown the girls were losing their minds over. She was dressed in different shades of pink from head to toe, including her rubber nose. “Why don’t we introduce ourselves?”
As Ten spoke, Pinkie hoisted Lizbet onto her lap and put a pink nose on her. Lizbet squealed, while Jude snapped pictures.
“Okay,” Ronan agreed, sounding like he’d rather cover himself in honey while standing on a fire ant hill.
As they approached, Pinkie started to draw a pink butterfly on Lizbet’s cheek. All of the girls insisted they wanted a butterfly too.
“Ronan, why don’t you get your face painted?” Fitzgibbon suggested. “Might help you overcome your fear of clowns.”
“Who’s afraid of clowns?” The frowny-faced clown in front of Pinkie asked.
“This guy.” Fitz held Ronan’s hand up.
“Asshole,” Ronan muttered.
“Let’s turn that frown upside down! I’m Sad Sam. It’s nice to meet you.” He held out a gloved hand, which Ronan shook.
“This is Ridiculous Ronan!” Jude said, laughing at his joke.
“Very funny. Ha. Ha.” A small smile lit up Ronan’s face.
“Come on, Daddy, don’t be a grump!” Everly called over her shoulder. Pinkie was painting a butterfly on her left cheek. Lizbet and Aurora already had theirs.
