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He had never been happier in his entire life. They always told him that guns were bad, that he was going to hurt someone. He tried to tell them that he didn't want to hurt anyone, but they never believed him. He just liked shooting and everyone thought that he meant that he liked shooting people, shooting things. But he didn't. Now, though, James had the job of his dreams. He was shooting every night with Kate, putting on a show for all the families.

It was exactly what he wanted to do. And he was so happy. And she was happy. She was beautiful. She was smiling every night when she was with him. No longer was she the cold girl that he saw the first night that he came to the carnival.

One night, somewhere in the Dakotas, James and Kate were talking. They were on their way to Montana. The summer show was going to end soon ad then they would have a month break before starting up their fall show.

"How did you get into shooting?" he asked her, taking a sip of his bourbon.

"My father showed me. He was in the Army, like you, and when he came home he showed me everything I know about guns and shooting. I was eight years old when he taught me how to shoot a gun," Kate said, taking a sip of her water.

"What did people think of that then? A girl knowing how to shoot."

"People thought I was weird. People didn't understand why my dad was teaching me that. They thought it would send me down the wrong road and I wouldn't be a housewife," Kate said, pausing. Then she laughed. "I guess they were right. Look at me. A shooting carnival cowgirl."

James laughed along with her and then looked out of the window of her moving trailer. Plains were passing by them at sixty miles an hour. "I never thought I would travel like this," he admitted, taking another drink of his bourbon.

"But you did travel with the Army. Wasn't that your plan all along?" she asked him, playing with her hair.

James looked at Kate and then shook his head. "No. I never really planned anything. I was moved from foster home to foster home when I was young and then stole shit from stores. Food, toiletries, candies, guns," he said nonchalantly.

"Guns?" Kate repeated, her green eyes wide with shock.

"Yeah."

"You stole guns when you were younger? Why?"

James sighed. "Because I had to protect myself. My parents weren't there. Nobody was there for me. I had to take care of myself."

"Have you ever shot anyone?" she whispered.

James shook his head. "No. I can't. I can't kill people."

"But you were in the Army!" Kate countered, taking a drink of water.

"Doesn't mean I killed anyone, Freckles."

It was the first time that he had called her that. But it took working with her for a couple of weeks to notice the freckles that dusted her cheeks and nose. And it was tonight, in the middle of nowhere with the moonlight shining through her trailer, to realize how beautiful she was. How the freckles enhanced her beauty.

"Freckles, huh? Is that my new name?" Kate asked with a soft smile.

"You bet it is," he replied, smirking. Then he tipped his glass and finished the bourbon, shaking his head when he swallowed. "Have you ever killed a man?" he asked, setting the glass on the vanity.

Kate stared at him, unresponsive. She took a drink of her water and then set the glass down softly, still looking at James. "Once," she finally admitted after a few beats of silence.

"Why?" James whispered.

"It was an accident. A bullet ricocheted off the target and hit him. It was in St. Louis a couple of years back. I couldn't stop crying for days. Jack stopped the show until I got my act together," Kate murmured, looking down at the ground.

"How long have you been working for Jackie boy anyways?" he asked.

"About six years now. I left home when I was 16. I loved my parents but I needed a change. School was boring. Teenagers were mean. I went to the carnival when it stopped in Iowa and met Jack. I did the one on one with the cowgirl then. I beat her. He saw how good I was an offered me a job. Got rid of the other girl a couple of months later," Kate replied.

"Doesn't like to keep people around long, does he?"

"Jack is a good man. He is greedy, but he is good. If it wasn't for the carnival I would still be in Iowa. Probably working at the diner with my mom."

"Well, it's a good thing he found you then, Freckles. I would sure be lonely without you on the road," James said with a laugh.

Kate smiled and finished her water. "Thanks, James."

"You're welcome. Now, we should probably get some sleep; we should be getting to Montana in the next couple of hours."

And with that, James stood up and walked the few steps to the couch, where he was going to sleep. Since they were moving he obviously couldn't go back to his own trailer. Kate got up from her chair and went over to her bed. She lay down and watched the fields pass through her window. "Goodnight, James," she said softly.

"Goodnight, Freckles."