“Wednesday night, and then they’ll all roll out on Thursday and head home for the winter,” Liz answered.

Maddie nodded and glanced back toward Danny Boy’s stall.

“I’m sorry.” Liz swallowed hard a couple of times before the lump in her throat went away enough that she could talk. “I can’t imagine how worried you are. If we lost one of the Vanner horses, I would cry for a week, and I didn’t raise them from babies. I shouldn’t even be talking about a party when Danny Boy is hurt.”

Maddie smiled and reached across the short space to pat Liz’s hand. “Honey, we need a party worse now than we did two days ago. Danny Boy is going to be fine, and by Wednesday night, he’ll be almost new. My mama is so excited to meet all your carnival family. She called four times this afternoon to see about Danny Boy and to talk about your party. She wants you and Raylen to play ‘Fire on the Mountain’ and ‘The Devil Went Down to Georgia’ together. She says that’ll put the icing on any party.”

“Well, if that’s what she wants, it’s what she’ll get. Will she mind if some of the other folks bring their instruments and play?” Liz asked.

“Oh, no! The more the merrier. She loves music, and she’s convinced you are at least part Irish,” Maddie said.

“When she sees Mama and Aunt Tressa, she’ll believe it even more. They both have red hair and tempers. My dad was pure Latino. His name was Eddie Garcia,” Liz said.

“Was?” Maddie asked.

“He died a few weeks before I was born. He and mother married on a whim. When the new wore off, he decided he didn’t want a carnie wife. The divorce wasn’t even final when he died. Mama gave me the Hanson name to avoid confusion, but if she’d given me his name, I would be a Garcia.”

Maddie stood up. “Well, he and your mama sure made a pretty daughter. I’m going back to the house. Now that I’ve seen Danny Boy one more time, I can sleep better. If you need anything, holler and I’ll send one of the girls or Dewar down here with it, or I’ll bring it down myself.”

“Thank you,” Liz said.

When Maddie had been gone five minutes, Liz moved over to snuggle up to Raylen’s side. “You reckon she could send one of the girls with a big king-size bed and some satin sheets?”

He buried his face in her hair. “I’ve gotten to see you every day for the past week, but I miss you every hour I’m not with you.”

“I feel the same way,” she said. “It seems like days since this morning.”

He reached up above his head and flipped a switch. The stall went dark, with the dim lights out in the center aisle barely letting him see the hot desire in her dark eyes. He kicked the stall door shut and grinned.