She squirmed.“It’s not an option.I was too shy to be her assistant even when I was little.There’s no way I could get up there…alone.”
The word hung out there like a balloon, but then it was as if the string was cut.Her chin snapped up, and her gaze drilled into the stage.Energy started pumping from her, and her lemonade hit the table with a smack.
Uh-oh.Zac’s warning antennae started vibrating.He recognized that look.He’d seen it in her eyes before, right as she’d jumped nearly butt-naked into the Inndigo’s pool.
She twisted in her seat and flung her legs over the bench.“Excuse me.”
“Hold on.Where are you going?”
She was rushing off towards her sisters.“Don’t let them close the registration table.”
Chapter Nine
What was she doing?
Maxie sat in the audience in front of the stage, her hands clenched in her lap and both heels digging into the ground.Second thoughts assailed her…and then third and fiftieth and thousandth thoughts… She was beginning to learn that she and impulse didn’t go together well, because when she submitted to an urge, she went all out.
Why had she thought this was a good idea?
Because it was, the devil on her shoulder responded.The idea was perfect, a way to honor her grandmother and her new family at the same time.
But it demanded more out of her than she normally was able to give.
She squeezed her hands so tightly, her fingers started going numb.Determinedly, she flexed them open wide, but her nails dug into her thighs when she settled them on her lap.She looked around the crowd.She was seated on a folding chair next to Dan Cramer, owner of Indigo Falls’ only hardware store.Roxie was near the front beside some kids and Lexie sat halfway back on the far side.She watched as her sister shooed Cam away when he tried to take the seat next to her.The look on his face was so comical, Maxie nearly laughed.Somehow, she doubted the man had ever been shooed before, but this would never work if he was seen with Lexie.
After all, the key to magic tricks was diversion.
Her stomach filled with butterflies.She’d been excited about the idea, and Roxie had been over the moon.Lexie had been more reticent, but she’d agreed to play her part.Maxie just didn’t know if she could live up to hers anymore.The longer this took, the louder her nerves were singing.As the final entry in the talent competition, they would be the last to perform.
Perform.
She hadn’t been able to do that when she’d been in the third grade.Her teacher had assigned her the role of second pilgrim from the left for the Thanksgiving play.All she’d had to do was stand quietly as others recited their lines, but when the time came, she hadn’t been able to step out on the stage.What made her think she could do this now?
Because her sisters were here this time.Her support system.
She glanced over her shoulder and found Zac watching quizzically from the back row.She’d been in such a rush, she hadn’t had time to share her plan with him.He looked intrigued but a bit uneasy.
She knew how he felt.
She blew out a breath and tried to stay calm as a juggler dropped his bowling pins, and then Laura’s daughter tap danced.Audrey and Martin were up next.Their voices blended together seamlessly on the gospel hymn.They’d performed together for years and were the ones to beat.
Although it would be a victory for her if she didn’t go running for the trees.
She caught a reassuring wink from Lexie, but her sister didn’t look all that composed either.She was sitting with her legs crossed, but her top foot was bouncing up and down faster than the beat of the music.
At last the emcee came back onstage as the crowd applauded the Shimwells.“Exquisite, weren’t they ladies and gentlemen?”He waited for the clapping to subside as he read his agenda sheet.“We’re down to our last act, and it’s Maxie Miller, who’s here to carry on her grandmother’s tradition.Maxie, please come amaze us with some magic.”
Maxie stopped breathing.Here they went.
The emcee turned towards the curtains at the back of the stage.“Maxie?”
She felt weighted down as she stayed in her seat, her attention focused on the stage.People in the crowd started to turn.Most people knew her, and they’d seen her sitting with them.
Only when heads turned throughout the crowd, they turned in different directions.
That was Roxie’s cue.
She stood in the front row.“Here I am.”
