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

“All I ever wanted was for you and your sister to have a better life than me. All right, maybe it’s not the life you imagined. But everything I did, I did thinking about what was best for you. For you, and Annie, and your mother. I thought I raised you to do the same.”


You did, he wanted to scream, because that was what all the lies had been for, protecting them from the consequences of his actions. He’d thrown away any chance he had with Seb to stand his ground for his family, just like Pap wanted him to. And what did he have to show for it? His father’s disappointment. Continued threats from Otto. No future except maybe working up to a clerk position at the store, pretending for the rest of his life he was something he wasn’t just so he could fit in.


He could tell none of that to Pap, though.


Chapter 37