Page 41 of Lion’s Den

“What happened to your parents, Sedona?”

“I never met my father. He and Mom were never a couple. They were together until the fun wore off. By that time, Mom was pregnant with me, and my father never wanted to be a dad. He died when I was three.

“Mom was quite the free spirit when she was young and beautiful. After she had me, Mom didn’t want the responsibility of raising a child, so she dropped me off with her sister. From the time I was three days old, it was just me and Aunt Norma Jean.” She frowned. “The day I turned thirteen was the worst day of my life. Norma Jean told me she had cancer. Pancreatic, and it was bad. We had almost no time left.”

“I’m sorry, Sedona,” Cam said. “How did you end up with the circus?”

“With my mom not in the picture, I had only one relative.” She smiled. “Norma Jean Hart. Aunt Norma Jean lived and worked in the circus, so I did, too.”

Cam shook his head. “That sounds like every kid’s dream.”

“That’s the truth. In a family, you have to know how to recognize the ones who are good, kind-hearted people who care about others. Then there are the others who are evil and seek to do harm to others. Even the circus has its share of rotten apples.” She sighed. “Anyway, Norma Jean figured I was old enough to decide about guardianship. She gave me a list of performers willing to be my guardian until I turned eighteen. I chose Amita Moran.”

“What was her specialty?”

“High-wire. She and Norma Jean often performed together. They were very good. I watched them for years and never saw either of them make a mistake.”

“Amazing,” David muttered.

“Yeah, they were. Anyway, after Norma Jean passed, Amita raised me until I turned eighteen. Even though she said I could stay with her as long as I wanted, I felt like I’d taken advantage of her hospitality long enough. Plus, I wanted to go to college.” Her face lit up. “I wanted to be a teacher to help kids like me make it through life. So, I read everything I could get my hands on about applying for scholarships and choosing a college. I settled on Bridgeport University.”

His eyebrows soared. The school had an impeccable reputation, and even the news media raved about the education program. Their graduates were consistently in the top five best teachers in the school from their first year in the classroom. More importantly, their students learned and scored high on their achievement tests. “The school’s reputation is amazing. I also hear the tuition is pricey. How did you swing it?”

“Scholarships and working two part-time jobs. How do you know about Bridgeport? I told no one about that part of my life.”

“I thought about applying to Bridgeport myself, but decided to enlist in the Army instead.”

“There’s something you should know about Fortress,” David said. “They tear apart the lives of potential employees and anyone connected to them. It’s a security protocol.”

Sedona narrowed her eyes to slits. “You’re telling me that your boss dug through my personal files?”

“Those security precautions protect Em and our baby.”

She thought about that for a minute, then said, “I’ll let you slide on that basis alone. However, I want it on record that I don’t appreciate Fortress being nosy.”

“I’ll pass that along.”

“Let’s get back on track.” Cam brushed his thumb over her knuckles again. “Sedona, before you attended college, you lived and worked with the circus. You never said what your specialty was.”

“My aunt and my guardian were both high-wire artists. I followed in their footsteps. Literally.”

When he realized what Sedona was saying, Cam felt the blood drain from his cheeks. High-wire? His woman had worked as a high-wire artist? He wanted to assume Sedona worked with a net under her the whole time, although he was also pretty sure they took the nets away after a certain period.

He shuddered. While he lived, there would never be a time when it was acceptable for Sedona to work without a net. “Please tell me you don’t do that anymore.”

She flashed an amused glance at him. “Not since I earned my first paycheck as a teacher.”

“Thank God,” he muttered.

The sheriff cleared his throat. “I still need clarification. You worked the high-wire act in the circus. That doesn’t explain how you knew what to do in the lion enclosure. Talk to me, Sedona. When you finish telling me the story, you and Cam are one step closer to leaving. Did you work with the lions and the high-wire?”

“I dated the man who worked with lions. Arnie made sure that I knew what to do in case some cats got loose.”

“You dated the lion tamer, huh?” Cam scowled. He hoped she preferred the Army’s Cowboys rather than lion tamers. “Was he any good?”

Sedona’s eyes glittered with amusement. “No accidents, or visits to the hospital or morgue.”

He grunted. “Heard from him lately?”