A Moment To Dance (4 page)

“Thanks.” Tony glanced at the envelope, but he didn’t bother opening it. He stuffed the thing in his pocket. “I didn’t know we were having company.”

Carlota filled him a mug of coffee and handed it to him. “Here. Take this and go sit down.” She spoke in a don’t-give-me-any-back-talk voice. “Our guest is going to think I haven’t taught you any manners.”

Ella couldn’t help but notice his reluctant obedience as he moved toward the table. How could a guy who respected his mother be all bad? Perhaps she should give him a second chance.

Tony took the seat across from her. Instead of looking at him, she added yet another spoonful of sugar to her already sweetened brew and made a point of stirring thoroughly.

Seconds of strained silence ticked by before Carlota joined them at the table and jump-started the conversation with glowing compliments about the improvements Tony had made to the ranch. Ella noticed how he stiffened when his mother sang his praises. He definitely didn’t come across as vain, even though he sounded quite accomplished at keeping the ranch afloat.

“He’s even a member of the volunteer fire department. They’re sponsoring the dance competition. It made for a great title. I mean, who could resist Dancing with the Firefighters? Some of the proceeds will go toward revitalizing the town square and the train depot, but I already told you that.” His mother snapped her fingers. “Darn memory keeps failing me today. What are you guys planning to do with the fire department’s portion of the proceeds?”

Tony leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms. “I’m sure Ella isn’t interested in the new equipment needed at the fire station.”

“Don’t mind him.” Carlota waved her hand as though to shush her son. “Besides being a worthy fundraiser, the dance will be the biggest social event to hit the county in years. We’re fashioning it after that dancing show on television.”

“The contest was all my mother’s idea,” Tony chimed in, the pride evident in his voice. “She’s gone above and beyond the call of duty to not only help the fire station, but also to find a way for the entire community to pull together to help the town. She’s even lined up a panel of three qualified judges to entertain the audience with their commentary.” Carlota’s face beamed as her son continued to brag about her accomplishments. “And if that isn’t enough, she somehow finagled a car dealership into sponsoring the whole event. There’s even going to be a dinner for the audience before the show, and the audience gets to take part in the contest by voting for their favorite couple.”

“That’s so impressive.” Ella turned to Carlota, truly awed by her organizational skills. “You’ve done an amazing job.”

The woman waved her hand in a nervous gesture. “I can’t take the credit. An entire committee worked hard to pull this event together. I only did my part. Everyone in Whistle Stop is excited about revitalizing the town and attracting new business. The first step is fixing up the town square. And what better way to raise money than by having some fun? Even Tony bought a couple of tickets.”

His brows scrunched together. “You mean the ones you forced on me.”

Tony certainly had Ella’s full attention now. He held two tickets he apparently didn’t even want. The paramount question was, would he give them to her? They certainly weren’t on the best of terms, but if he didn’t want them, someone should put them to good use.

Ella swirled the spoon around her cup before taking a sip. The liquid rolled over her tongue. Definitely too much sugar. She nearly choked on the syrupy coffee. With great effort, she swallowed.

The brew hit her stomach, making her feel nauseated. Or was that Tony? He wasn’t going to make this easy on her. Not at all. How exactly should she ask for his tickets?

“Ella’s interested in entering the contest,” Carlota uttered before Ella could muster up the courage. “Since you haven’t found a partner yet, maybe you two could team up.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

Oh, no. He wasn’t going to dismiss the idea that easily. He had absolutely no clue at the depth of her desperation. At this point, she had no backup plan, nowhere to go. She needed to retain ownership of the cabin and make it livable again.

Before she could formulate a rebuttal, Carlota continued, “You just got done telling me this morning that the court investigator complained about you spending too much time overseeing this ranch. If you participate in the contest, you’ll not only be helping the community, but you’ll also be participating in the same fundraiser as Johnny. Remember, he’s singing in the opening performance. You’ll be teaching him social responsibility.”

Tony crossed his arms. “When you came up with this idea, I told you I didn’t want to be involved. That hasn’t changed.”

Carlota turned back to Ella. “What my son keeps forgetting is that he’s the fire chief. He has an obligation to participate in the Dancing with the Firefighters Contest.”

“And what you insist on forgetting is that I don’t dance.” Tony’s tone was firm.

“You can learn. And besides, consider how you’ll be helping Whistle Stop by aiding one of its teachers. You know how hard it is to attract teachers to these remote desert towns. And if the board hires her on permanently, she’ll eventually be Johnny’s teacher. So you’ll be helping everyone by dancing with her.”

Wait. This wasn’t exactly what Ella had in mind.

She eyed Tony’s towering height and broad chest. The thought of him holding her close revolved in her mind at a dizzying pace. He was certainly attractive enough, but she had no intention of being swept across the dance floor in his very capable arms.

Her fingers tugged at her long-sleeved T-shirt. She wasn’t about to give this macho man an opportunity to stumble across her ugly secret, and then have to stare into his milk-chocolate eyes that would be filled with either pity, or worse, revulsion. Been there, done that. The last man she’d felt secure enough to share her physical imperfections with had been repulsed to the point of walking out on her. She wasn’t dancing with Tony. No way. Never. There had to be someone else she could dance with.

“Ella, why don’t you stay for lunch?” Carlota turned to her. “I’m going to grill some burgers. With this being a working ranch, we eat what we raise.”

“I’d love to try one.” Anything would be a welcome change after a steady diet of ramen noodles. More important, she wasn’t about to give up on the contest. Tony didn’t want to dance with her or anyone, so maybe she could talk him into giving her both of his tickets. Surely finding another dance partner couldn’t be too terribly hard.

“Good. I’ll fire up the grill.” Carlota started for the back door when the phone rang. She frowned and hesitated, as though contemplating whether to answer it. “I’ll take this in the other room. If it’s about the fundraiser, it could take a while. Why don’t you two get to know each other better while I’m gone?” Her eyes twinkled with mischief as she smiled at both of them before withdrawing to the other room.

Tony moved to the tiled counter and placed his cup in the sink. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say she had that phone call planned so she could leave us alone together.”

“She wouldn’t do something like that, would she?”

Tony faced her. “I learned long ago to never underestimate my mother.” He chuckled. “Since I haven’t bothered to find a partner for the contest, she’s made a point to parade almost every single female in the county past me. I’m guessing you are her last-ditch effort.”

His words stung. Ella attempted to shrug it off, but she couldn’t let it slide. “I’ve never been considered a last-ditch effort by anyone, least of all a total stranger—”

His eyes widened. “Whoa there. Slow down. I didn’t mean it the way you took it. I’m sure you’d make someone else a great partner.”

Just not him.

If only she could get her hands on his tickets, she’d be better off finding someone else to dance with. An out-of-towner—someone she’d never see again—would be more desirable. Someone incapable of stirring up such an influx of emotions.

She’d learned a long time ago to hide her imperfections from the world behind a veil of cloth, no matter how high the mercury rose. Her mind spiraled back in time. She recalled being a little girl and fighting her way toward the back bedroom to try to save her mother and brother. The fire had engulfed the mobile home quickly. When part of the ceiling fell, it hit her outstretched arms. Later, in school, numerous kids had made pointed comments about her ugly scars and avoided her because she was different. She’d learned quickly to keep her scars a secret.

“You’re wrong about your mother.” Ella wanted to make sure to drive home this one point. “She invited me here so I could return something of Johnny’s. I doubt she’d try to fix you up with me, especially since she doesn’t even know me.”

“Yes, she would. She loves playing matchmaker, but I refuse to play along.”

“You don’t have to worry about me. I’m not interested in a relationship.” When his eyes filled with skepticism, she added, “Not with you or anyone else. I already have enough to deal with.”

“That’s good to know. I’ve got to go.” He pushed the back door open and walked away.

He didn’t have to sound so pleased about her lack of interest in him. Ella pursed her lips as she glowered at his retreating figure.

She had moved to this out-of-the-way town with every intention of leading a quiet life. Here, no one knew her or her past. She was just Ella Morgan, schoolteacher. And it’d stay that way, provided she got her hands on the money to save her home from ruin—

The contest prize!

She’d been so distracted, she’d nearly forgotten about the tickets.

She couldn’t let Tony walk away.

“Hey, wait.” She tore off after him.

CHAPTER FOUR

T
alk about a narrow escape.

Tony turned the corner of the house and stopped. But now he had another problem to deal with. He yanked the ominous envelope from his back pocket. This wasn’t his first correspondence from the school. A band of stress tightened around his chest as he scanned the brief, hand-scrawled note. Johnny’s grades showed no improvement.

The paper crinkled in Tony’s fist as his back teeth ground together. None of the study guides or flash cards had helped. A drastic step was needed to snap Johnny out of this downward spiral.

“Tony! Wait.”

He lifted his head just as Ella bounded around the corner of the house. She barreled straight into him. The force of the collision caused her to stumble backward. He instinctively reached out. His hands gripped her waist, pulling her to him. She stared up at him with the most entrancing blue eyes. His gaze slipped down past her pert, little nose to her lush, pink lips.

She pulled free of his hold. “Sorry.”

He continued to stare into her mesmerizing eyes. Their color was unique. They were as light as the summer sky, and yet there was a depth to them, as though they’d witnessed much—perhaps too much.

He tugged at the neckline of his T-shirt. Boy, the sun was unusually hot today. Then he noticed the long shadow the house cast over them. Not even the gentle breeze did a thing to cool him down. Was he the only one who was hot and bothered?

“Uh…no problem.” He cleared his throat and shuffled his feet. What had he been thinking to let himself get lost in her eyes? “I’ve got to get back to work.”

“Wait. This won’t take long.”

“What won’t?” Surely she didn’t intend to push the subject of them hooking up for the contest. That wasn’t going to happen. Especially not with a woman who eroded his common sense with just one look and had him wondering about the shadows lurking in her eyes.

Ella tilted up her chin. “How much do you want?”

“For what?”

“Your tickets to the dance contest.”

He crossed his arms. “Why should I do you a favor? You won’t even promise to keep yesterday’s episode between us.”

“I won’t lie to people, but I promise not to bring up the subject.” She sighed. “Besides, with your loud mouth, half of Whistle Stop must have heard you yesterday, and by today the other half has heard the gossip.”

“They won’t know the details. They won’t know how I screwed up. Not unless you tell them.”

“If I give you my word I won’t go around talking about you, will you sell me your tickets?”

Was she blackmailing him? Nah. A woman who refused to lie wouldn’t sink low enough for blackmail. He gave her a long, hard look. He wouldn’t consider himself an expert at reading women, but he’d swear that look in her eyes was one of desperation. What had put it there? Was she in some sort of trouble?

“Why should I sell them to you?”

“Because you aren’t going to use them.”

“Says who? You heard my mother. I need to get more involved with the community.”

Ella’s cute, little mouth pressed into a firm line, as though she was trying to figure out her next move. He could easily imagine her as a child, stubborn and determined.

“Are you serious?” she asked. “You’re really going to participate?”

“Maybe.” He sure didn’t want to, but he had to do whatever it took to impress the court.

He glanced back down at the teacher’s note crumpled in his hand. Maybe he was looking at this situation all wrong. Now would be the ideal time for him to swing a deal to get Ella to help Johnny with his studies. He’d certainly failed. And his mother hadn’t fared any better. Perhaps a certified teacher might have some proven techniques to get through to his nephew.

Tony hesitated. She wasn’t much more than a stranger to him. His gut told him she was a good person, but what did his gut know? A little more than a year ago, he thought he and Jessie would be an old married couple by now, with a baby on the way. He couldn’t have been more wrong.

Instead, Jessie had skipped out on him when he’d needed her the most, and in place of having his own baby, he now had his brother’s child to raise.

Damn
. These memories weren’t welcome.

“Name your price for the other ticket.” Ella’s voice drew his attention back to the present.

The suggestion of them partnering for the dance came across as a terrible idea. Letting her get closer to him would just give her another chance to observe his parenting skills. If she didn’t approve of what she saw, what would she do?

Then again, what choice did he have but to trust her? His back was against the wall. He either found a way to turn around Johnny’s grades, or risk losing him.

The school would have already done a background check on Ella before hiring her. And she’d won Johnny over when she’d helped with the puppy. So what was he waiting for?

Tony swallowed hard. “I want you to tutor my nephew after school.”

She shook her head. “I meant a dollar figure.”

“I don’t want cash. Johnny must pull up his grades. I can’t afford for the court investigator to give the judge an unfavorable report.”

“Why me?”

“He gets frustrated when I show him how to get the answers, and my mother is too much of a pushover to make him listen. I looked into hiring a teacher in the area, but they’re in short supply. The ones I talked to have families of their own and can’t spare the time.”

“I don’t think so. We didn’t get off to a good start.”

Tony kicked at a stone. The woman was as frustrating as she was beautiful. “How long are you going to hold that against me?”

“Not you. Johnny.” She craned her neck to look up at him. “He wasn’t happy when I stretched his T-shirt trying to pull him out of the roadway.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that.” The tension in Tony’s shoulders eased. “You totally won him over when you helped with the puppy. He even thinks you’re pretty.” Now why in the world did he go and add that? But as a splash of pink tinged her cheeks, his only thought was of how cute she looked. His nephew certainly had good taste.

“I don’t know.” She clenched her hands and glanced away.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to make this work.”

“So you’re offering to be my dance partner if I tutor your nephew?”

Dancing was the absolute last thing he wanted to do. “Yes, I’ll be your partner. Do we have a deal?”

“The thing is, I must win. I need the money to pay the back taxes on the cabin and repair the hole in the roof before the wind and rain destroy it.”

So that
had
been desperation he’d seen in her eyes. He now realized why she was so eager to get his extra ticket. The thought of her in a run-down shack gave him pause. She wasn’t exaggerating about her need to win. He wasn’t Fred Astaire, but he’d give it his best attempt. They both had a lot riding on the outcome of this contest. She needed the money, and he needed Johnny to improve his grades so his adoption wasn’t held up, or worse, denied.

Tony lowered his arms, hitching his thumbs in the corners of his jean pockets. “I understand. I’ll do my best to see that we win. So is it a deal?”

“Slow down. Can you dance?” Her gaze searched his.

“A…a little.”

The sunlight made her flaxen hair shimmer. “Not good enough. I need someone with experience if winning is to be an option.”

This opportunity was slipping through his fingers. He had to find a way to make it work. Johnny was counting on him. “You’re new to town. Where else are you going to get a dance partner on such short notice?”

“Good point. But if you aren’t any good, it’d be a waste of time.”

Tony paused, considering the problem. And then it dawned on him. If he was going to help his nephew and score points with the court, he’d have to pull out all of the stops—no matter how uncomfortable it made him. “What if I spring for dance lessons?”

Her eyes rounded. He’d finally succeeded in leaving her speechless. It took some of the sting off the thought of wasting his time learning to dance. He sure hoped he was a quick learner.

She studied him with those very astute blue eyes. “Are you that worried about Johnny?”

Tony shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He really didn’t want to go into details of just how bad things were, but if he wanted to get help for his nephew, he had to suck it up and lay it all out on the table. He’d do anything for Johnny, from dance lessons to groveling.

“Yes, I’m worried.” He cleared his throat. “I’m afraid they’ll hold him back a year. But most of all, I’m worried they’ll take him away from the only family he has left. So will you please accept my proposal?”

“Uncle Tony! Uncle Tony!”

They both turned to find Johnny running toward them, his arms pumping and his little legs pounding the ground.
What the…?

“What are you doing here?” Tony approached his nephew. His gut churned with unease. “You’re supposed to be at Melissa’s place, working on your science project with Bobby.”

The boy sniffled, wiping his tears with his arm. “I was worried about Patch. He didn’t eat this morning.”

“Calm down, little man. Maybe he just wasn’t hungry.”

“Uh-uh.” Johnny shook his head. “Something’s wrong with him. I don’t want him to die, too.”

Sympathy washed over Tony as he crouched down to talk to the boy. “Does Bobby’s mother know you’re here?”

Johnny nodded. “She brought me home so I could check on Patch.”

“She did? But I was going to pick you up later.”

“Bobby’s mom said she didn’t mind. She wanted to talk to Grandma about the dance contest.”

The dance seemed to be the only thing on people’s minds anymore. His mother had certainly thought up a very popular fundraiser. He was proud of her, but he wished he could have been left out of the entire affair.

Tony escorted his nephew to a bench on the patio. He glanced up, catching Ella’s concerned gaze. He turned back to Johnny and put his arm over the boy’s slim shoulders. “I know you’re worried about the puppy, but I want you to listen to me. This morning the vet said we can only do so much for him. The rest is up to the little guy.” They talked for a minute before Tony got to his feet. “I’ll be back. I’m going to go thank Melissa for bringing you home. I’m sure Miss Morgan won’t mind keeping you company.”

Johnny’s wary gaze moved to Ella. “I don’t need her to watch me. I’m not a baby.”

“No one called you a baby. Now sit and don’t move.”

♥♥♥

Talk about bad timing.

Tony had just been starting to let down his guard and let her in. And though Ella knew better, she’d liked it—she liked him. The burly giant had a heart of gold. And he loved his nephew. That was abundantly clear.

Ella moved to the bench and gazed down at Johnny. “Mind if I join you?”

The boy shrugged and scooted to the far end of the bench. For a long time, neither spoke. Ella, having lost her own mother at about his age, felt an immediate bond with the boy. She wanted to reach out to him and let him know he wasn’t alone, that she understood his deep, agonizing grief. The words teetered on the tip of her tongue, but she hesitated. Experience told her those words coming from a stranger wouldn’t be of any comfort.

“Uncle Tony just has to make Patch better.”

She had to strain to hear Johnny’s mumbled words. “I hope he can. Patch is very lucky you found him. You saved his life.”

Johnny looked up at her. “You helped.”

She smiled, feeling the beginning of a friendship firming up. In truth, she hadn’t done much, but her chest warmed at the boy’s insistence that she’d assisted in some small way. “I’m glad I was there at the right time.”

A couple of minutes later, Tony exited the ranch house and approached them.

“Can we go take care of Patch now?” Johnny sent his uncle an expectant look. “You have to get him to eat.”

Tony’s shoulders slumped. “Johnny, you must realize that even if he recovers, it doesn’t change the fact we can’t keep him.”

“Just don’t let him die.” Johnny’s voice cracked with raw emotion.

“Did you try canned puppy food?” Ella piped in, grasping for anything that might help. “I bet that’s pretty appetizing and easy to digest.”

“I picked some up when I ran errands in town this morning,” Tony said. “Wait here. I’ll run and grab it from the truck.” In no time at all, he returned with a small paper bag in hand. “Okay, let’s go.”

Johnny rushed to his uncle’s side, but then he paused and turned to Ellie. “Do you want to come see Patch?”

She worried her bottom lip, holding back her response. The truth was she couldn’t wait to see the little guy, but she didn’t want to overstep. She shot Tony a questioning glance over Johnny’s head. He nodded his agreement to the idea.

She turned a smile to Johnny. “I’d love to.”

“Great.” Johnny reached for her hand. “Come on.”

Hand-in-hand, all three set off for the barn. She hesitantly sent a glance over the boy’s head to his uncle, the gentle giant. For just a moment, she imagined this was what it must be like to have a family of her own. A smile tugged at her lips.