Maggie (Tales Behind the Veils)

by Violet Howe

  A few other couples had straggled in, bringing the total couple count to seven, with a single girl in addition to bubble gum girl and one lone guy standing by himself on the outskirt.

  “My name is Mrs. Betty,” she said, as we all formed a semi-circle around her. “I will teach you the techniques you will need to master several styles of ballroom dancing, including a waltz, fox trot, cha cha, and samba, and then we will incorporate some swing if time allows over the course of this class.”

  A young guy hurried through the door, and the bubble gum girl ran over to greet him.

  “Excuse me,” Betty called out to him, her hand held high. “We start this class promptly at six, and if you intend to be late, you will disrupt every other person who has managed to be on time. So, you have a choice to make as to whether or not you’re going to be able to honor this commitment.”

  He looked as though he might throw up, and I felt sorry for him. Perhaps it was due to the stares of everyone else in the room and the public admonishment from the instructor, but I got the feeling he was already questioning whether or not he was going to honor the commitment before he ever arrived.

  “Now, as I was saying before someone was late, I can teach you the techniques, but it is up to you to practice, practice, practice. I can’t make a dancer out of you, and some of you won’t ever be dancers. But I can teach you what to do, and then you have to put in the time to master it to the best of your abilities. Now who’s ready to have some fun?”

  “Well, when you put it that way, who could refuse?” Dax whispered under his breath, and I covered my mouth to stifle a giggle.

  “You two there,” she said, pointing at the single attendees with an index finger from each hand. “You’re by yourself?”

  They both looked at each other and then at the rest of us, their expressions equally mortified.

  “Are you by yourself?” Betty repeated, and they both nodded.

  “The ad in the paper said you didn’t need a partner,” the young man said.

  “You don’t,” Betty said. “The two of you will dance together. Now, where was I? Oh, to tell you a little about me. I’ve been teaching dance for sixty-one years, and yes, that makes me as old as dirt. But it also gives me wisdom and experience, and I promise you I will know whether or not you are practicing. Now, gentlemen, we’ll start with you because you’re going to be our leaders. Line up over here, and ladies, you get to watch. But pay attention, because you’re going to need to know what they’re doing.”

  “If she’s been teaching for over sixty years, she has to be the oldest drill sergeant on the planet,” Dax whispered.

  “Excuse me,” Betty waved her hand at Dax, “I need you over here with the gentleman. She’ll be fine by herself, you’ll see.”

  She turned to face the other gentlemen, and Dax smiled at me with wide eyes as he went to join them.

  Betty carefully explained and demonstrated each step, then walked among them as they did as she instructed. Next, she turned the music on and did the demo again before standing in front of the group to critique their performance.

  I felt a measure of pride that Dax picked up the steps right off the bat, and I could see the relief on his face when she corrected others around him but simply gave him a nod of approval.

  I could feel his eyes upon me as she took the ladies through our moves, and I looked forward to the guys and girls being reunited to work together.

  Betty was a tough instructor, and she expected unwavering focus and dedication to the task at hand. She called out any instances of goofing around immediately. But she knew her stuff, and the methods she used to teach were effective.

  By the time we reached the stage of circling around the room in our waltz, Dax and I had hit a rhythm, counting together as we bobbed up and down with the tempo.

  “Frame! Frame!” Betty said, tapping Dax on his arm. “Straighten your frame!”

  “Oops,” he whispered, lifting his arms and shoulders and straightening his back as I tried not to laugh.

  We made two more rotations around the room without any admonishment.

  “I think we’ve got this,” Dax said. “I think with your professional background and my God-given talent, we’re naturals.”

  He winked as he said it, and I smiled. “You think so, huh?”

  “Yeah. She’s probably going to ask us to demonstrate our technique for the—oh shit, she’s coming.”

  He lifted his arms and straightened his back just as she got to us.

  “Too much. You look stiff. Relax. Not that much. Frame! Frame! Pay attention to your frame.”

  His face was a blend of confusion, embarrassment, and determination, and he looked so adorable that I would have kissed him if I wasn’t so scared of what Betty might say.

  We’d made a few more trips around the room when she changed the song to one with a quicker tempo.

  “I actually think it’s easier to go faster,” I said to Dax.

  He nodded in agreement. “Yeah. I’m not focused so much on the counting when we go faster. The steps seem to fit better with the music.”

  Betty was fussing at the random pairing of the lone girl and lone guy.

  “I realize you don’t know each other, but you need to be closer. He’s not going to bite you. See, look at the space between the two of them.” Betty pointed at us, and we both instinctively straightened under her microscope. “See how they move? They’re in sync with each other. They’re moving as partners.”

  Dax’s hand tightened on mine as we heard her words, and his gaze moved from my eyes to my lips and back up. I knew he wanted to kiss me as badly as I wanted to be kissed.

  Betty clapped her hands together at exactly seven o’clock, shutting off the music and asking us all to gather around again.

  “Now, tonight’s class was for testing the waters. If you feel so inclined as to return, I will be here each week at this time for a duration of ten weeks. If you miss a class, you need to contact me to find out how to make it up. I can’t teach you what you missed and teach the others what we’re moving on to. If anyone has questions, please feel free to come ask me. Otherwise, good night, and thank you for coming.”

  34 PIZZA & BEER

  Betty turned to me and smiled as the group disbursed. “You’re a quick study, but those shoes won’t cut it if you’re coming back. You need dance shoes.”

  Her tone carried me back to being ten years old and being chastised for having worn the wrong tights to class. Despite being nearly fifty, I immediately stammered out an excuse in my defense. “I didn’t know we were dancing. He surprised me.”

  Betty smiled, and her features softened. “Oh, a surprise! That’s nice.” She patted Dax’s arm. “My Roger and I have been married for fifty-four years, and he still manages to surprise me now and then. How long have the two of you been married?”

  Dax and I talked over each other as we both explained that we were not.

  “Oh,” Betty said. “Wouldn’t have guessed it to see the love between the two of you.”

  She left us to go remove her CD from the stereo.

  We stood silent for a second, and I wondered if Dax was as unsure of what to say next as I was. I avoided eye contact with him as I gathered my purse and sunglasses from the table where I’d left them.

  “Thanks for throwing me under the bus,” Dax said, grinning as he offered his hand to me once we’d left the dance room.

  I took it, relieved that he wasn’t going to address her comment. “What do you mean?”

  “He did it. He surprised me. I would have had my dance shoes if he’d only told me where we were going,” he said in a voice I suppose he intended to sound like mine.

  I laughed. “She liked that! That was a good thing!”

  We had reached his truck, and he put his arms around my waist and pulled me to him as we stood by the passenger door.

  “Was it?” he asked, his tone a bit more serious. “Was it a good surprise? Did you enjoy it?”

  “V
ery much so,” I said, sliding my arms around his neck. “Thank you.”

  His gaze shifted to my lips again, and I trembled with the certainty that he was about to kiss me.

  Our lips came together, gentle at first, but as he ran his hand up my back and cupped it around my neck, I pushed his mouth open with mine, and the kiss grew in intensity.

  Another couple exited the building and walked past us in the parking lot, and Dax released my lips but still held me in his arms.

  “I’m starving,” he said.

  “For food?” I asked, lifting an eyebrow as I grinned.

  “All of the above,” he growled with another quick kiss before opening the truck door and waiting for me to climb inside.

  We drove to a nearby pizza place and settled into a booth in the back.

  “I very much enjoyed dancing with you tonight,” he said once the waitress had taken our order. “The way your face lit up. Your eyes so bright. You were grinning from ear to ear the whole time. Definitely in your element, that’s for sure.”

  I shrugged. “It was fun. I enjoyed learning something new. Plus, it was hilarious to watch you and all the other men be scared witless by an almost ninety-year-old woman.”

  “It wasn’t only the men,” Dax said. “I felt you stiffen every time she came near us, trying not to provoke her wrath. Then you went and threw me under the bus to save face with her.”

  “I thought we already established that was a good thing! She might be tough, but she knows her stuff. I had a teacher like her once. An older lady who watched you like a hawk, ready to swoop down if you made a mistake. I was maybe ten at the time, and I was terrified of her. But I tell you what, she taught me technique and I firmly believe it was her teaching that allowed me to excel and achieve what I did at such a young age.”

  He tilted his head to the side, his eyes somber and questioning.

  “So, why’d you quit?”

  I swallowed hard and took a gulp of my beer, avoiding his inquisitive stare.

  “You obviously loved it,” he said. “Love it still. And from what you say, you were good. Damned good, it seems. I don’t mean to pry, but I can’t help but wonder why you left a successful career that meant so much to you.”

  I took a deep breath and released it in a slow exhale, unable to make eye contact with him.

  “Life,” I answered, looking across the crowded restaurant.

  He was silent for a moment, and I got the distinct impression he was waiting for more, but I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to give him.

  “When I asked the other night how long you danced, you said not long enough,” he said. “It must have been hard on you to give it up.”

  I met his eyes and the warmth I saw there made the lump in my throat grow larger.

  “I was a single mother with two young kids, and I had to choose a job whose schedule and commitment would allow me to put them first.”

  “That’s understandable.”

  My chest had tightened with the tension, and I sucked in another deep breath and squared my shoulders, trying to expand my rib cage and make my chest release.

  “I taught dance for a while under one of my former teachers. I was able to bring Cabe with me, and he participated in the preschool programs they had at the center. But when Galen was born….”

  Scenes from the past flashed in my mind in rapid succession, and my voice faltered.

  “We don’t have to talk about this,” Dax said, reaching across the table to take my hand. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  I forced a smile and shook my head. “You didn’t. Just a lot of things to process tonight. It brought back memories, you know? It was odd being back in a studio of sorts. Learning new dance steps. All of it, really,” I said, not daring to go into how my attraction to him and our budding relationship factored into those memories.

  “I’m sorry. I thought it would be fun for you.”

  “It was fun.” This time my smile was more genuine. “I had a great time dancing with you.”

  The waitress delivered our pizza, and we changed the subject. He told me about the week he’d had, and I learned more about branding calves and managing bulls in the spring mating season than I’d ever wanted to know. I also laughed harder than I had in quite some time.

  It was so easy to enjoy being with Dax.

  “Thanks again for taking me dancing,” I said as we pulled into my driveway at the end of the evening. “I did enjoy it.”

  “Me, too. The next few weeks are still gonna be crazy at the ranch, but if you want to go back and do the other lessons, I can make it work.”

  A momentary thought of panic flashed in my mind when I considered being committed to a weekly date, but the thought of being in his arms and dancing by his side was enticing, and I nodded.

  “Yeah. Let’s do it,” I said, surprised at my own willingness.

  “Finding time to practice will be another story, though,” Dax said as we walked to my door.

  “Do the drills when you can; you know, what she showed you guys in the beginning.”

  “Oh, I will. I’ll be out there in the pastures, counting off waltz steps. I just need to be careful that I don’t catch the eye of an amorous bull while I’m dancing around out there.”

  I laughed at the mental image as I unlocked the door. He didn’t move when I opened the door, and disappointment settled over me when I realized he wasn’t going to follow me inside.

  “You wanna come in?” I asked.

  “I would love to, but something tells me that I wouldn’t want to leave anytime soon, and I need to be back at the ranch for a four o’clock wake-up call.”

  I stood in the doorway, the height of the step almost putting me eye-to-eye with Dax.

  He reached to cup my cheek in his hand, his thumb lightly stroking my skin and sending little vibrations all over my body.

  “Can I have a rain check?” he asked.

  “Maybe,” I said, breathless as I watched him lean in to kiss me.

  I clutched the front of his shirt as he moved his hand from my cheek to the back of my neck, tilting my head beneath his kiss while he pulled me closer with one arm around my waist.

  “I’ll try not to let you down,” he whispered.

  I pulled back and looked at him, my eyes searching his in the soft glow of the porch light. Did he somehow know what fears were in my heart?

  “The dance steps,” he said. “I’ll do my best not to bring the wrath of Betty upon us.”

  I grinned as I straightened his collar and ran my finger along the edge of the shirt’s neckline. “You do, and I’ll have to throw you under the bus again.”

  “Again? So, you admit it,” he said, squeezing his arms tightly around my waist.

  I tossed my head back laughing, and he pressed his mouth against the exposed skin of my neck, gently biting down and sucking. It was like he’d sent a jolt of electricity straight to my loins, and I gasped as I grabbed onto his shoulders. His lips slowly made their way back to mine as I ran my fingers up the back of his neck and into his hair.

  The kiss deepened quickly once our mouths connected, and when he pulled back, we were both breathing heavier.

  “I gotta go, or there’s no way in hell I’m gonna be able to leave you,” he said, his voice thick with desire.

  “Whether you drive tonight or in the morning, it’s still the same distance,” I said, twisting my fingers tighter into the hair at the nape of his neck.

  “Oh, damn, you’re not gonna show me any mercy, are you?”

  I chuckled and took a step back, out of his embrace. “Okay, go. Get on the road. I won’t keep you.”

  He caught my hand and turned it palm up to kiss my wrist. “What about that rain check? You never did answer me.”

  “I’m sure we can work something out. Maybe I’ll drive to your place one night this week so we can practice our moves.”

  “Our moves?” His eyes were hopeful yet full of mischief.

  “Our dance moves. Goodnight,
cowboy.” I pulled my hand from his grasp and blew him a kiss before I shut the door.

  The scent of him lingered on my shirt long after he left, and I delayed taking it off as I got ready for bed just so I could breathe him in as long as possible.

  35 SCATTERED BLUEBERRIES

  We settled into an easy rhythm over the next few weeks. Though the ranch’s demands on his time were extensive, we managed to make each dance lesson, and Betty seemed pleased with our progress. She even used us to demonstrate to the others a couple of times, which thrilled Dax to no end.

  The magnitude of my emotions after each encounter would stir up panic within me, but because we didn’t talk every day or see each other more than once or twice a week, I was able to keep it at bay. I missed him terribly between our visits, and my longing for him always ended up outweighing my fears.

  I began to relax little by little. I began to believe that maybe it was possible to put my past behind me.

  I’d purchased a new dress for dancing, and I was standing in front of the bathroom mirror twisting to and fro to watch it move when my phone rang. I worried it might be Dax saying he was going to be delayed picking me up, but I smiled when I saw Galen’s name on the screen.

  “Hi, sweetheart,” I said, turning to see my profile in the mirror.

  “Hey, Mom. You got a minute?”

  I looked at my watch and considered what I still needed to do to be ready when Dax arrived. “I can talk for a few minutes. What’s up?”

  “Tate’s mom wants to serve quail, elk, and buffalo at the rehearsal dinner.”

  “Wow, that’s non-traditional.”

  “That’s disgusting! Who’s going to eat that, Mom? Why can’t she do normal food?”

  I put the phone on speaker so I could touch up my makeup as we talked. “Some people might like to try it. What else is she having?”

  “That’s it! I mean, she’s having some sort of vegetable medley. God knows what that will be. Cactus? Beets? Something horrific, I’m sure.”

  “I’m sure there will be other options, sweetie.”