In 1934, life in Brookburn, Indiana, is quiet, simple, and peaceful, but young dreamer Levi Beckerman yearns for more. When the carnival shows up for the Fourth of July, he’s entranced by its many temptations. None is more seductive than the charismatic barker, Sebastian Gustineau.<br><br>Seb’s been a part of the carnival for almost a decade. Once, it provided him the escape he needed from a life he thought he didn’t want, but now, he craves things it can never offer. Flitting from dusty town to dusty town, he loses himself in pretty dalliances. Levi seems like the perfect distraction, until a single conversation convinces him that preserving Levi’s innocence and way of life is more important than his momentary satisfaction.<br><br>However, his plan to discourage Levi goes horribly wrong. When Levi’s family is threatened, Levi fights to protect them, doing what he can to hide the secrets he’s sheltered his entire life. The only person he trusts is Seb. He just isn’t sure if the growing bond between them is enough to save them all.

A Simple Charm

His waistcoat was a riot of color, reds and blues and purples woven into a tapestry that hugged his trim form, though his shirt remained loose, open at the collar to expose a strong neck and the hint of hair curling across his chest. That on his head was a lighter brown and hung longer than the fashion, tied with a leather strap at his nape, but shorter strands had fallen free, flipping across his angular cheekbones with every sly glance he tossed off to his audience. As he walked up and down the wooden stage at the side of the tent’s entrance, he swept his arms out to encompass them all, throwing smiles to the onlookers like pennies to vagabonds. The same impish humor twinkled in his dark eyes, lined at the corners from hours in the sun and lots of laughter.


Levi was entranced. If this man was any indication of what the carnies were like, he’d walked into heaven, indeed.


Chapter 3