Chasing Hope_A Small Town Second Chance Romance

by Nancy Stopper

  John shifted in his seat and studied the file in front of him. “It does appear that she’s had a clean record recently. A big change from before.”

  “Yes, sir. She’s not skipping classes anymore, she’s checking in with me every day, and meeting curfew each night. Her dad’s changed jobs so he can be around more when she’s out of school. She’s turning her life around. Please, give her this chance to see that we believe in her. When kids don’t think they have anyone on their side, it’s easy to be drawn in by guys and drugs and parties. Let’s show her that all of her hard work hasn’t been in vain.”

  He held his breath while the mayor and sheriff carried on a silent conversation with their eyes. It wasn’t often that Tanner found himself in front of the two people in town that could make or break his center. But Sandra had come a long way and she needed this chance.

  The sheriff scribbled a few notes in the file and then put his pen down. “If I have your word that she didn’t participate, then I’m comfortable not pressing charges. But I’d like to see a plan for her to do a hundred hours of community service. Cleaning the garbage around the store where her friends ripped off the owner sounds like a good plan. Maybe she’ll think twice about who she chooses as her friends after that.”

  Tanner grinned and then tempered his reaction. He stood and extended his hand. “Thank you, Sheriff Ballard. You won’t be sorry. Sandra and I will develop a plan and I’ll bring her in next week to meet with you.”

  “I’m not sure I believe her, but I trust you. I don’t have to tell you that I was against your teen center when it was first proposed. But it’s done good things for the community, I can’t deny that. You’ve proven me wrong time and again, and I can only pray that you’ll do the same this time.”

  “I will, sir. Thank you. And mayor, thanks for your continued support. I know this is just the chance that Sandra needs.”

  “Just make sure.”

  Tanner thanked both of them again and then hurried out of the office. By the time he was standing on the sidewalk in front of Town Hall, his hands had finally stopped trembling. He flopped down on one of the benches that flanked the door. After catching his breath, he ripped his phone off his belt and pressed a few buttons.

  “Jason’s House, this is Monica.”

  “Hey Monica, it’s Tanner.”

  “How’d it go?” Anxiety laced her voice. Everyone at the center, employees and volunteers alike, had gone to bat for Sandra, helping her with her schoolwork, introducing her to hobbies that would keep her out of trouble. They were all as invested in her future as he was.

  “Sheriff agreed to not press charges. She needs to do a hundred hours of community service.”

  Monica blew out a breath. “Thank God. You did it again, Tanner.”

  This was a good day. A day he helped another teen. Sometimes he wondered if it was all worth it, when so many bad days were strung together. He wrapped up with Monica, disconnected the call, and dropped his phone on the bench beside him. He really should head back to the center and tackle the ever-present mountain of tasks that were piled on his desk, but he needed a few minutes. He ripped at the tie that practically strangled him. It finally loosened and he unbuttoned the collar.

  He was much better working with kids than dealing with politicians and law enforcement. He’d spent so much of his teens trying to keep his younger brothers out of trouble, his heart racing every time the sheriff’s cruiser headed down their dirt road to the ranch house. The mere sight of law enforcement had him going back to those days. But if this was what it took to keep his kids safe and on the right track, he’d do it.

  A few pedestrians, business people on break from work, or parents with kids getting ready for school passed him on the sidewalk. He had yet to take Hayley to get school supplies, and she had outgrown most of her clothes from last year. Besides, she’d said that there was no way she could wear her same old clothes on the first day of school. When in the heck was he going to find the time for shopping?

  He couldn’t worry about that just now. Not when he had two more grant applications to complete and a pile of paperwork as tall as he was waiting for him back at the center. When, then? She’d understood the last two times he’d had to postpone their shopping trips. But he hated that he’d had to cancel in the first place. These were the types of things they should be doing together as a family, including Hayley’s mother. If only she was still around.

  Sure, Hayley could go with Mary, the live-in nanny he’d found to take care of his daughter, but shopping for back to school was a parent’s job. And as much as Hayley loved Mary, he pushed far too many things off on her. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to spend this time with Hayley, because he did. He just could never seem to get a break.

  Many of the teens at the center came from single parent homes. He knew better than anyone else the struggles they faced. But it also worried him that he wasn’t spending enough time with Hayley. If he kept this up, in a few years, the center might be the only place he’d see his daughter, and that just wouldn’t do.

  He resolved then and there to carve out more time for her. She would know that he was there for her. That she could talk to him about anything. He’d make this work. It was too important not to.

  As he headed back to his car, a poster on the window of the sandwich shop caught his eye. It wasn’t the words on the sign he noticed, but the striking figure of a ballerina, tutu spread out wide from her body, arms above her head, her foot pulled up to her knee. The words “Open House” were scrawled above the photo of the dancer, along with details about the event being held the next day.

  This must be the new studio the mayor had mentioned. The open house might be just the thing to give him some quality Hayley time. He’d take her to the studio in the morning and then maybe into Philadelphia to the store with the dolls that she loved. They could make a father-daughter day out of it.

  Chapter Two

  Isabella Harper spun, her leg flying out and then back in with each rotation. Her eyes caught the mirror each time her head snapped around. Faster, faster. Her thigh and calf burned. She almost had it. Just one more turn.

  “Dammit,” she yelled as she collapsed on the ground.

  She rubbed at her kneecap, cursing the injury that had reduced her to where she was today. Unable to perform the signature move that had been second nature to her just one year earlier.

  Clap. Clap. Clap.

  Natalie stepped in front of where Izzy lay sprawled on the floor, her hands on her hips and her short, blonde bobbed hair framing her face. She may only be five-foot-two, but there was a lot of energy packed into that little package. “That was great.”

  Izzy threw a frustrated look at her best friend, shifted her feet beneath her, and pulled herself upright. Sweat dripped off her forehead and trickled down her chest. “It wasn’t great. Not by a long shot. But it’s getting there.”

  “From where I was standing, I couldn’t tell you were ever injured.”

  Izzy would let her friend live in her fantasy world a bit longer. She felt every muscle twitch, every strain of the tendons and ligaments in her knee that just wouldn’t behave the way it used to. And after all that time recovering and avoiding physical activity that might strain her healing knee, the rest of her body also wasn’t in the tip-top shape that it had been before.

  She strode over to the rack in the corner and snatched a towel off the shelf. To everyone else her gait might appear normal, but Izzy felt the way her left leg lagged just a bit behind her right. Enough of a difference to end an otherwise promising career. She swiped the sweat off her forehead and finally met her friend’s gaze. “Is everything ready?”

  “Yep. The plumber just finished with the touch-ups in the bathroom and kitchen, and the final barres were hung an hour ago. The tent and table are set up outside. All we need is… well, you.”

  Here goes nothing. Izzy chucked the towel in the basket and headed for the door. Today had to go perfectly. This was her last chance, he
r last opportunity to, in some little way, prove that she could still cut it as a dancer. Although a small dance studio in her hometown of Cedar Hill, Pennsylvania was hardly the premiere ballet company in New York where she’d ended her performing career. But she would prove to everyone who said she’d never walk again, much less dance, that Izzy Harper was not through making a name for herself.

  All she’d ever wanted to be was a dancer, and it had taken a long time after her surgery to accept the fact that her career was over. At least by opening the studio, she’d still be able to dance every day and share her passion with a new generation of kids, like Madame Kline had done with Izzy from the first day she’d twirled in a tutu. “How much time do I have?”

  Natalie glanced at her watch. “About thirty-five minutes, but people are already starting to mill around outside. I think the push we made on Facebook and Instagram and the posters around town worked.”

  Starting a business was tough, especially a word-of-mouth and reputation-based business like a dance studio. But Izzy wasn’t afraid to put in the hard work necessary to make this succeed. “Just give me fifteen minutes to shower and I’ll be out.”

  Natalie nodded and stepped up beside Izzy. She laid her hand on Izzy’s arm. “I know this has been hard for you, but the studio is beautiful and you looked great. There are a whole crop of boys and girls who can’t wait to get on the stage and dance like the great Isabella Harper. And they’re waiting right out there—” she gestured toward the window “—with hopes and dreams just like yours when you were a little girl. This town has needed a dance studio for a long time, and I’m so excited to be opening it with you.”

  When did Natalie get so introspective? Izzy had met her best friend the first day of ballet class all those years ago, and they’d shared their love of dance ever since. Natalie had never aspired to New York like Izzy had, but that hadn’t stopped them from each pursuing a career in dance. Natalie’d been teaching at a studio in Philly with a temperamental director who left the dancers in tears on a daily basis. That wasn’t the kind of studio Izzy planned to run. She’d had enough of that attitude with her partner in New York. Natalie was thrilled to join Izzy to get Studio Rhythm up and running. Between the two of them, they had a full slate of classes scheduled. Now all they needed were the students, which they wouldn’t have if Izzy didn’t get in the shower.

  “FitzGerald’s tonight?” Izzy yelled behind her as she headed for her private office at the back of the studio.

  “Oh, yeah.” Natalie’s response followed Izzy down the hall. She chuckled. Natalie would never turn down a chance to go out for drinks and dancing. If only she’d meet a nice guy and stop hooking up with losers who never called her again.

  Thirty minutes later, with only a few seconds to spare, Izzy brushed her hands down her leotard and pink wrap ballet skirt, patted her bun, and stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the studio.

  “Ms. Harper?” A man with a pad and pen in his hand approached her. “Derek Johnson with the Philadelphia Journal. I was hoping to interview you. I’m writing a story about a prima ballerina returning to her hometown.”

  With her tail between her legs. The reporter didn’t have to finish the thought. It had been the soundtrack in her mind for a long time now. Not that she didn’t love being back home with her older brother Justin and her younger twin sisters, Serena and Alexis. But she hadn’t planned on her previous career ending the way it did.

  Izzy was thankfully saved from being trapped with the reporter when Natalie waved her arms from the booth, a line of kids and parents in front of her. “I’m sorry, maybe later. Right now, I’ve got to go.”

  Izzy ran away from yet another potentially uncomfortable encounter and hurried into the tent. Natalie handed her a bottle of water.

  “Thanks. And thanks for the save.”

  “I tried to send him away earlier, but he was insistent. They all want to talk about the star of the show coming home to Cedar Hill. You’re big news in town, and I’m happily riding on your coattails and thankful to get away from Madame Dracula.”

  “I’m glad I could be of service.” Izzy plastered on a smile and turned to the line of giggly girls. She had put her career as a professional dancer behind her and was focused on her future with the dance studio. There were so many opportunities she was looking forward to offering her dancers. “And who do we have here?”

  For the next hour, Izzy’s head spun. In each of the girls and boys she spoke with, she saw a younger version of herself, when she had stars in her eyes and big dreams as a dancer. Her dreams may have changed and her idyllic image of a career as a dancer tarnished, but she had picked herself up and was excited about the possibilities ahead of her.

  Chapter Three

  “Hayley, slow down.” Tanner nearly tripped over his own two feet as his daughter dragged him down the street. She had squealed and jumped up and down when he’d told her last night that he was bringing her to the open house today. She was growing up way too fast. And the older she got, the more she would need a mother in her life. To discuss those things that a girl was never comfortable discussing with her father. To do mother-daughter things together. It was times like this that he could curse Vanessa for running out and leaving him to raise his daughter alone.

  But he was trying and that was all he could do. He’d grown up with four younger brothers and sisters, their own mother having died when he was a teen. After having to pitch in and help Dad raise his siblings, he thought he would never want kids of his own. But he’d fallen in love with Vanessa and those plans changed. He’d had a wife he loved and a beautiful daughter to dote on in no time. What he hadn’t expected was for Vanessa to take off when Hayley was just a toddler, leaving him to fumble through parenting alone. He loved Hayley and they had a special bond, but seeing the girls lined up with their mothers had Tanner’s heart aching.

  Sure, he had Mary, and Hayley loved her like a grandmother, but it just wasn’t the same. Shadows would fill Hayley’s eyes when she talked about what her friends had done with their Moms. Today’s father-daughter day would help, but nothing could replace what she had lost.

  Hayley tugged harder on his hand. “Dad, come on. The line is already sooooo long. I want to meet Miss Isabella. Meghan said she used to dance in New York. Do you think I could be a dancer when I grow up? That would be so cool. Look, hey, there’s Meghan.” Hayley waved her hand wildly and jumped up and down.

  Tanner waved at Lori, Meghan’s mom. Tanner had more friendships with women these days than men, the moms of Hayley’s friends being the primary adults he socialized with outside of work. If you called birthday parties and sleepovers and trips to the mall socializing.

  Hayley ran up to Meghan, and the two girls giggled and put their heads together.

  “So, this is the girl’s newest idea, huh. Dance?” Thankfully they’d found Lori and Meghan, so he wasn’t the only parent way out of his league here.

  Lori laid her hand on his arm. “Meghan is so excited. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the studio director.”

  “She used to dance in New York.”

  “Yeah. She grew up in Cedar Hill, and it was big news when she was selected as the prima ballerina for a company in New York. Supposedly she was injured during a rehearsal and she hasn’t danced publicly since. She and her partner were also an item or something like that, and he dumped her after she got hurt. Either way, she’s opening a dance studio here. And as you see—” she spread her arms wide. “She has kids lining up to take classes.”

  Tanner tried to imagine what it was like to grow up in Cedar Hill. His childhood had been spent outdoors, riding horses and running around the ranch in Colorado. He’d gone to college in New York, leaving his western roots behind. He and Vanessa had moved to Philadelphia after college. But after Vanessa left, he decided he didn’t want to raise Hayley in the city. They moved to Cedar Hill right before Hayley started school. He’d never regretted the move. He loved his small town.

  While they
waited for their turn, he tried to catch a glimpse of the woman everyone was talking about. There were two women in the tent, but he couldn’t see either of them well for the crowd of parents and children that gathered around them. One of the women took a group of parents and kids into the studio, leaving the other alone in the tent.

  He and Lori chatted about the upcoming school year as the line inched toward the front. As they moved up in the line, Hayley crept closer to him. By the time they were next in line, she was plastered to his side.

  “Is that her, Daddy? Do you think she’ll like me?” Hayley’s chin was tucked to her chest, and she refused to look him in the eye, as if she was afraid she’d see something she didn’t like if she did.

  Damn Vanessa. Hayley had a hard time meeting new people, especially women. He could blame her fear of rejection squarely on the fact that her mother had run out on her all those years ago. Hayley’d been seeking approval from the women in her life ever since, afraid each one would leave like her mother did. “I think that’s her. Of course she’s going to love you, honey. What’s not to love?”

  Just then, the mom and daughter ahead of them moved aside and in front of them stood… her. She looked every bit the dancer Hayley made her out to be, but younger than he had expected. For some reason, he had an image of an older woman, gray at the temples on either side of her wrinkled cheeks. He certainly didn’t expect the young, slender woman standing in front of him. He also didn’t expect the jolt that shot through him when she turned her magnetic smile and gentle eyes his way. She gave him a quick nod but then turned her attention to his daughter. “Hey, sweetie, what’s your name?”

  Hayley crept out from behind him. He whispered in her ear. “Go ahead.”

  “I’m Hayley.”

  “Hi, Hayley, I’m Miss Harper. Do you like to dance?”