work. I didn’t know what to do. Mark came in while I was on my hands and knees doing damage control and helped me clean up the mess.”
The rest of the team caught up, and while their looky-loo pace was sometimes hard for Danae to deal with, she was in a good-enough mood that she was happy for them to look their fill. Perhaps she didn’t have to power walk everywhere on this trip. Maybe. If they were on schedule.
The group entered the building together and walked over to where the carousel was spinning, the vintage organ providing the soundtrack. The period artwork painted across the top added to the classic feel, as if they’d stepped back in time.
“Aww, look at all the happy kids,” Danae said.
“See how they’re reaching for that mechanical arm?” Vanessa pointed, raising her voice and addressing the entire team. “There are these brass rings you try to snag, and if you get one, you win a free ride.”
“Along with bragging rights,” Mark added with a smile. He scuffed his shoe against the wooden floor. “I might’ve been the reigning champ of my family when I was a kid. My parents brought us here a lot during our summer trips with our cousins. There were six boys, so as you can imagine, we got a bit rowdy, despite threats from our parents.”
Danae cocked her head and studied Mark. He could be opinionated and stubborn—traits she also had in spades—and don’t even get her started on how he said he would add items to his calendar and immediately forget, but she could hardly imagine him as a rowdy boy. She found she liked the image of little Mark and all his cousins, so carefree, their eyes wide with adventure.
At least Dad let me run wild on the sailboat. Her childhood might’ve ended earlier than expected, but those days building sandcastles and pretending to be a fierce female pirate at sea had allowed her to fully be a kid. They had spurred her imagination and enriched her childhood. Thanks to Dad’s always referring to her ideas as brilliant, she wasn’t scared to take risks, either, which had served her well when it came to out-of-the-box marketing ideas.
The person running the carousel stopped the ride, waiting for the kids to climb off so the next group could go, and Paige yelled, “I call the dragon with the rainbow wings!”
“Not if I get there first,” Franco yelled, and the two of them took off at a sprint, faster than Danae could scold them.
Then she was glad she hadn’t, because she hadn’t seen the two of them that excited for anything on this trip. If they could capture some of that childlike magic she’d just been fondly recalling, they should go for it.
As long as they didn’t shout out the company name.
“This looks amazing on film,” Vanessa said as she clicked away on her phone. Naturally she had cool filters to experiment with, adding more old-timey effects before switching to one with color pops. “The shorter the films, the better these days, so I’ll take a mix of pictures and videos.” She pocketed her phone and backpedaled toward the carousel entrance. “Do me a favor? Can you take a few pictures and videos of me so I can share them on Quest Obsessed and earn my stickers?”
“Of course.” Danae moved closer to the white picket fence that bordered the carousel. Several members of her team climbed atop horses, including Mark. Danae took several pictures, snapping extra of Vanessa for her innumerable apps.
She sensed Josh at her side, and a flutter careened through her. She pressed her forearm against her tummy, as if that would help it calm down. Sure, the guy standing next to her evoked a thrill similar to a carnival ride, but his moods also had as many ups and downs, as last night had attested. Plus, this was a short trip, and a work one at that. Clearly, her self-control needed to get its act together.
“Come on, Danae.” Franco beckoned to her. “You, too, Josh.”
Paige parroted his request. Even though she hadn’t won the race, Franco had let her take the first ride on the colorful dragon. Vanessa and Mark, on two buckskin horses, added their pleas for her to “come on already.”
“It’s for kids,” she shouted back, earning a mock dirty look from Vanessa.
“Don’t give me that lame excuse. I’m older and therefore wiser…”
Luckily, the carousel carried Vanessa too far away to continue the discussion.
“I’ll go if