Forbidden Spirits
during the bull riding.
    Walking over to where Josh stood with his arms propped on the top railing of the arena, Tyler said to him, "That rodeo clown just behind us and over your right shoulder. He's been staring at me for the past three days. Have you noticed anything odd about him?"
    Josh glanced over his shoulder momentarily, and replied, " Yeah, he just stands around dressed like a clown and does nothing. He's been staring at me too. I also noticed him with a woman with a little kid, not more than about a year old, over by the bull pens, mainly at Wild Card's pen. I started over a few times to see what they wanted and each time they walked off."
    "Then let's sort of make our way over to the guy and get a little closer look," Tyler said. "Maybe he's got something to say to us and isn't ready to approach us yet."
    "Might as well," Josh replied. "It's still another forty-five minutes before the bull riding begins, and Wild Card's second to last."
    Tyler eyed the man again, who turned his face toward the arena as they started toward him, like he realized he was being talked about and didn't want to appear to be staring.
    Glancing down at a discarded program on the ground, Tyler scooped it up, and said, "Look at this with me and act like we're talking while we walk over there, then we can start up a conversation with the guy and ask him if he's a regular with the rodeo circuit. Maybe he'll give us an idea what this is all about."
    Josh nodded and they started walking together.
    As they approached, the man continued looking toward the arena. Tyler glanced beyond him, in the direction of the stock pens, and spotted a woman holding a child and standing near Wild Card's pen. Turning to Josh, he said, "Is that the woman you saw with the guy?"
    Josh looked over , and replied, "Yeah, she's the one."
    "She looks like Billy," Tyler said.
    Josh took a closer look at the woman, then immediately looked at the clown, as did Tyler, and when the clown looked directly at them, Tyler knew, about the same moment Josh did, that it was Jeremy. Breaking away from Tyler, Josh rushed up and threw his arms around his twin, and when Tyler joined in, Jeremy clapped his arm around Tyler's shoulders, and said, "We're breaking all WITSEC rules by being here, but you guys are really sights for sore eyes."
    After the initial shock of the reunion was over, Jeremy turned toward Billy and motioned with a sweep of his arm for her to come over.
    B undling the child in both arms, Billy started jogging over to where they stood, and by the time she got there, tears had filled her eyes. Jeremy put his arm around her and pulled her against him, and said, "So much for remaining incognito while we're here, honey, but these two guys won't say anything to anyone, right?" He looked from Tyler to Josh and waited.
    "No one?" Tyler said. "Not even Mom and Dad?"
    Jeremy shook his head. "Mario Moretti's off somewhere right now, which is why Billy and I took a chance coming here. Normally he tags along when we leave for any distance."
    "Then you don't live around Cody?" Tyler asked.
    "We can't say," Jeremy replied. "Just keep it quiet. We don't want to be moved again, and if Mario finds out we connected with you he'll be obligated to move us, whether he wants to or not. Where we're staying is perfect for us, and Roberta, who it turns out is Mario's sister, is great. She's like Amy's grandmother. And speaking of Amy…" Shifting the little girl out of Billy's arms and holding her against him, Jeremy said to his brothers, "This is your niece, Amy."
    Amy tucked her head beneath Jeremy's chin and peered out at Tyler with wide brown eyes. The sweet, innocent look on her face caught Tyler off guard, stirring in him an odd longing that was alien to him, so he dismissed it as a touch of homesickness, brought on by seeing Jeremy again after almost two years. Still, he reached out and touched Amy's cheek, allowing his finger to linger there for a moment. "She's cute," he said.
    "Uh oh,

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