At the end of a bloody trail, Johnny Redd finds an incredible secret. While struggling with a bullet in his chest, he crawls along the ground until he finds himself surrounded by a maze of quaint carnival tarps. Inside is a world of color, costumes, false hair, nails, eyelashes -- and a man who dresses like a woman. It’s a world of trickery, deception, and lies. Johnny makes it just inside the tent when his strength fails and he faints dead away. When he awakes, he’s reminded of the bizarre reality that surrounds him. It’s that he learns he has been taken care of by a man – er. woman -- by the name of Frenchy Starr. The name rolls from the tongue of this fallen angel, this princess of darkness, this twilight queen. She’s a mystery, a dangerously beautiful mystery, and Johnny slowly becomes ensnared in the trap which she sets. After one night of incredible love, a jealous fan shoots Frenchy. Thinking her dead, Johnny’s heart is broken and he leaves in search of something to fill the hole she left in his heart. Enter Kit Dalton.

Carnival Cowboy

Finally Kit stomped away, anger and regret eating away at his stomach. He thought of the barn dance, so having nothing else to do, he mounted his horse and went in search of laughter, happiness and good times, but when he arrived and heard all the laughter, he knew right away that he simply wasn’t in the mood.


Just about that time Cal came out for a breath of fresh air, and saw Kit. “Hey, Kit, you showed up after all.” He looked around for whoever he might be with. “Did you bring someone?”


“No,” Kit said. “I just stopped by on my way home.”


“Well, not much happening in there. Looks like I’m the wallflower tonight. So what now? Want to do something else?”


“What is there to drink inside,” Kit asked, “I’m so dry I’m spittin’ cotton.”


“Now you’re talkin’,” Kit said. “Come on in with me while I do some serious damage to that punch bowl.”


Chapter 9