by Amie Denman
He was being selfish, wanting something he couldn’t have. And his life wasn’t entirely his own. His decisions were Ross’s, too, and the boy was too young to understand and decide for himself.
“I’ll just be a minute,” Mel said when June pulled into the driveway of the neat brick ranch-style house he’d grown up in. He should ask her in to say hello to his parents. But Mel didn’t want to give them a reason to worry about him, and he was afraid of their inevitable questions.
They wanted him to be happy. And they’d already seen him give his heart to a woman who couldn’t wait to get out of town. He hated admitting he was making the same mistake again.
Even though June was not Sandi. He’d known her almost his entire life. Knew her family. Knew her heart...he thought. And in the two months since June had met his son, she’d shown more interest in the boy than his own mother had. Maybe this isn’t a huge mistake.
“Next stop, my place, so I can change into something better for dining out. I’m always afraid someone will ask me to fix something if I wear my uniform outside work.”
“Occupational hazard,” June commented.
“And we could leave your car at my house,” he added as June backed out of the driveway and turned toward Mel’s place without even asking directions.
She sent him a questioning glance, both eyebrows lifted slightly. “We won’t need the car anymore?”
Mel wished he’d planned a romantic dinner. A tablecloth and candles, a meal he’d put some thought into. Was that what June wanted? Intimate time alone with him at his place? He thought about the toy truck under the tiny kitchen table and the building blocks and crayons on top of it.
No. His plan was definitely more romantic.
“We can walk to our evening destination,” he said. He pulled out his cell phone and checked the time. “I’ll change fast and then we won’t have to hurry.”
June made full stops at all the intersections between Mel’s childhood home and his current one. She used her turn signal. Looked both ways twice.
“I had no idea you were such a careful driver,” he commented.
“Living in New York scares you straight,” she said. “Not that I drive much there. One of my friends keeps a car in the city that we use sometimes, but it’s usually public transportation.”
“You’re saving yourself a lot of hassle. Maintenance, insurance, tires.”
“But I miss the freedom of having my own wheels,” June said. “Life is slower and freer here. Not so much competition and pressure from every angle.”
Mel reached over and put one hand on June’s leg.
“Why didn’t you tell me you had an injury when you came home?” He hadn’t meant to ask, had told himself to let it go and not read too much into it.
She stiffened. Tightened her grip on the wheel.
“Sorry,” he said. “None of my business.”
“You have no idea how hard it is to perform at that level,” June said. “One sign of weakness and you’re out. They’ll replace you like a dead lightbulb.”
“You can show weakness in front of me,” Mel said, his words barely above a whisper.
June took her eyes off the street and looked at him, lips parted, eyes wide. Her grip on the wheel loosened just enough to make him hope she understood him.
Mel held his breath for the next block and a half until June turned into his driveway.
“Please come in while I clean up,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind kid clutter.”
She smiled. “Not at all. I have clutter all over my half of my apartment in New York. It would drive Evie out of her mind.”
“Who do you share the apartment with?” Mel asked as they walked up to his front door.
“Cassie. You met her when they visited a few weeks ago.”
Mel laughed. “I couldn’t tell her apart from the other one.”
“Macy. She shares an apartment with Ian one floor down from me and Cassie.”
“Are they dating?”
“Just friends like the rest of us.”
“So you’re a close-knit group?”
June shrugged as Mel found one key out of the many on his ring. “All the dancers are close. When we’re not competing with each other.”
* * *
JUNE FOLLOWED MEL into his living room, which was much neater than he’d led her to imagine. It was also sparsely furnished with a big recliner, a smaller one and a table in between. Both chairs faced a wall-mounted television. A blue plastic bin next to the smaller chair overflowed with plastic blocks, wood blocks, magnetic letters, cars and trucks, and a large monkey.
“I’ll take a superfast shower,” Mel said. “Please grab anything you like from the fridge while you wait.”
“I’m fine,” June said. “I’ll work on this puzzle while you change.” She sat in the big chair and picked up the box of pieces with a picture of a red race car on the front.
“Just don’t put in the last piece. Ross always gets the honor,” Mel said.
June laughed. “I wouldn’t steal the thrill from him. And I probably won’t get that many pieces put in anyway.”
While she listened to the water running just on the other side of the living room wall, June sat back in Mel’s recliner. Breathing in his scent, burrowing into the comfortable chair, she imagined herself living there. What would it be like to come home after a long day of dancing at Starlight Point and put her feet up in this chair?
Just for experiment’s sake, June pulled the lever on the side and popped out the footrest. She kicked off her shoes and settled her feet on it. Just right. She closed her eyes and felt an immense peace. She snuggled deeper into the chair and pushed the backrest into a reclining position. Heaven. Why didn’t she have a chair like this in her New York apartment?
She had no idea how long she dozed in Mel’s big comfy chair, but the next thing she felt was his lips on hers.
“This is like a fairy tale,” he whispered. She opened her eyes and found Mel leaning over her. “I find a beautiful woman asleep in my favorite chair.”
“Sorry,” she said, struggling to sit up.
Mel laughed as she fought the chair into an upright position. “Don’t be. That chair gets me every time. I hated to wake you up, but we have tickets on the sunset cruise leaving in half an hour.”
June slid on her shoes. “I’m ready.”
Mel shoved his wallet in the back pocket of his khaki pants and held open the door for her. It was a beautiful summer night.
“I decided on the sunset cruise because you won’t get home too late,” he said as they walked the short distance downtown to the public plaza and dock. “I know you’re leaving in the morning for your audition in New York.”
“Very thoughtful,” June said. It was. “But I can always sleep on the plane. Unless I’m too nervous. Which I am.”
Mel stopped and hugged her while they waited for the walk light. June didn’t care who saw them. This was just what she needed. Wanted.
“You’ll be wonderful,” Mel said. “There’s a reason your agent was able to get you this audition. He obviously believes you can do it.”
“I hope so.”
They approached the dock and lined up with the other couples ready to enjoy a romantic evening. It was only a two-hour harbor tour, but it came with a bar and a spread of hors d’oeuvres as part of the ticket price. There were several older couples, some Mel and June’s age, and a few teenagers on perhaps a first date.
They reminded her of the summer she was eighteen. The summer she left Mel and Starlight Point behind forever. Or so she’d believed. She swung Mel’s hand and they walked across the gangplank onto the boat. She felt eighteen again. Although seven summers had passed since then...was it too late to go back and start over?
“We’ve never
talked about it,” she said aloud. Mel put his arm around her as they sat on a bench along the outer wall of the boat.
“What have we never talked about?”
“That summer.”
“Oh.”
“I’m sorry I hurt you,” June said.
She tried to read the expression on Mel’s face. The years had been good to him. A handsome teenager and young man, age and maturity had made him more attractive. June wondered when he’d gotten those tiny lines around his eyes and realized with a wrenching pang of regret that she’d missed the last seven years with him.
By choice. She knew that.
“If you did hurt me, you’re not to blame.” He kissed her temple and looked out over the water. “You never lied to me. Never made me any promises.”
His kiss seared her skin and sent waves of feeling from the spot.
“We were just kids then,” she whispered.
“But we’re not now,” he said. He turned her face and kissed her on the lips, only breaking the kiss when the boat’s horn blasted a warning that it was leaving the dock. They both jumped and Mel laughed, his broad smile making June wish the evening would never end.
* * *
TWO NIGHTS LATER, Evie pulled into the quick pickup lane at the airport. June was already on the curb, carry-on bag over her shoulder. It was a clear dark night and June had watched the moon on her descent into the metro airport. The same moon shone over New York, but it was brighter away from the city. No one stopped to look at the moon in New York. There were other lights so much nearer and brighter. And more distracting.
She climbed into the passenger seat of their mother’s black car and barely had time to click her seat belt before Evie pulled away.
“Are we in a hurry?”
Evie nodded to the signs posted along the lane. “Five-minute parking only,” she said. “Or they’ll tow you.”
June laughed. “New York would drive you nuts.”
“Probably,” her younger sister acknowledged. “When Jack and Mom and I came to your last three shows, I couldn’t wait to escape the madness. Even though you were great, of course,” she added, turning a quick smile on her sister before merging onto the highway. “So, did you get the part?”
June shrugged. “I don’t know yet. I have to wait to hear from my agent. There will almost certainly be callbacks since I wasn’t the only one who wanted that part.”
“When will you know?”
“A few days, I think. I’m hoping for a callback. Pins and needles until then.”
“Good thing you have plenty of things to keep you occupied while you wait.”
They drove in silence a moment.
“How is your knee?” Evie asked.
June’s breath caught. “What makes you ask that?”
Evie shrugged. “You left your laundry in the dryer. I hauled it to your room and put it away for you.”
June didn’t say anything. What was the harm in confiding to Evie now that it was better?
“I’m nice like that,” Evie continued. “You’re welcome. So, anyway, there was a knee brace and one of those microwave heating pad things. In addition to being angelic in nature, I’m also perceptive.”
“My knee is fine,” June said. “Now. I’ll admit it. One of the reasons I came home this summer was to rest my knee. All that dancing takes its toll.”
“Full-disclosure time,” Evie said. “How bad was it?”
June watched streetlights out the side window for a moment. “I saw a specialist in New York. The same one who sees all the dancers. Knee problems are as common on the stage as blisters are at the Point. He said I should take it easy for a few months. And then see how it is.”
“So you didn’t come home to revive the theaters totally out of the goodness of your heart,” she said.
“I never said I did.”
“True, but I wondered. Either way, it’s been good to have you home. The theaters are amazing. And your knee is apparently ready to take you back to Broadway.”
“It is. Filling in for Brooke a few weeks ago was a big test for me.”
“I’m glad you passed the test. If you ever decide to come home for good, I want it to be because you want to. Not because you have to.”
“Me, too,” June said without thinking. Did she really just say that?
Evie glanced at her but didn’t say anything.
June cleared her throat. “Anyway, if my knee can survive the miles of walking at the Point every day, I believe I’m good to go for another season on the big stage. Starlight Point is a one-hundred-day marathon every summer. I don’t know how you do it.”
“I plan to hibernate all winter and store up my energy,” Evie said. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it last year.”
June pictured herself hibernating in Mel’s dangerously comfortable recliner. She might climb out of it every now and then to build a snowman with Ross or drive him to school.
What was she thinking? She’d just flown in from her audition and she was dreaming about settling down back where she’d started?
She had to get a grip.
“What’s the news on the insurance situation from the fire?” she asked, hoping a practical matter would slap some sense into her.
“Good news,” Evie said. “The state fire marshal took a few weeks to make his official ruling and do the paperwork, but the fire was judged accidental. Just like we knew it was.”
“So this means we can go ahead with rebuilding?”
Evie nodded. “Jack and I are meeting with the planners next week to talk about the design. Since we have to rebuild it anyway, we have the opportunity to change it a bit.”
Something about changing Starlight Point made June’s heart sink. “I liked it the way it was,” she said.
“Since when do you want things to stay the same? Aren’t you the one who wanted to change the theaters at the beginning of the season?”
June shrugged.
“The games area is tacky,” Evie declared.
“You just hate the games in general,” June said.
“Absolutely. People throwing money away for a chance at a cheap toy. I swear I’ll never understand it.”
“It’s the thrill,” June said.
Evie scoffed.
“Taking chances is exciting and dangerous.” She should know.
“Foolish,” Evie said. “People are too anxious to toss away what they have in hopes of something better.”
Even though June knew her sister wasn’t directly talking about her, the words cut deep. She stared out the window as the road took her closer to her hometown.
CHAPTER TWENTY
TEN DAYS AFTER the summer storm, the ballroom was ready for hundreds of employees anxious to blow off steam—thanks to Virginia Hamilton’s exuberance and touch of eccentricity. July 25. Christmas in July.
“You like it?” Virginia asked.
“It’s sparkly,” June said, an approving smile lighting her face.
“And on budget,” Evie added.
“The snack tables look fantastic,” Jack said. “Gus has been busy, and so have the other vendors.” He bent low, kissing his mother on the cheek. “You’re amazing. And people are going to have a great time.”
“Beginning with dance lessons,” June said. “Party starts at ten thirty as soon as the park is clear, but lessons start at nine for anyone interested and available. I hate seeing bad dancing, people just flailing their arms and shuffling around the floor.”
“Are you teaching?” her sister asked.
June nodded. “Me and some of my summer crew. Their last show is at seven, so they can be here.”
“I heard you’ve been giving private lessons to Mel Preston,” Virginia said.
Jun
e rolled her eyes.
“Maybe I just assumed that’s what you’ve been doing those...uh...three late nights you were out in the last week.”
“Two.”
“Maybe the other one was just past my bedtime,” her mother said.
Jack stuck his fingers in his ears and looked at the ceiling.
“Back to the dance lessons,” June said.
“That’s what I was talking about,” Virginia said. “Teaching Mel some excellent moves. Makes me wonder what you two are going to do about your...tango.”
June hated the way this conversation sounded in the cavernous ballroom with her whole family standing there. Evie was grinning and Jack was still studying the overhead lights.
“I think Mel’s looking for a permanent instructor.”
“And?”
“And I’m still leaving at the end of the season. Just like I’ve said all along. Nothing’s changed.”
Virginia raised her eyebrows. “It seems like something’s different to me.”
June blew out a sigh and her siblings abandoned her by slinking off to supposedly check out the rest of the decor and tables.
“Your father and I fell in love in this ballroom,” Virginia said. “Long time ago now.”
“I know.”
“I know you know,” her mother said. “I’m just bringing it up for myself. It’s a happy memory I want to keep with me tonight.”
June nodded, unsure of what to say.
“Life is short,” Virginia said. “I know you know that, too.”
June waited for the lecture she’d been expecting all summer. The one where her mother reminded her that things were different now that her father had died and she should come home and help out.
“I’ve always been proud of you, June. Your talent is one thing, but what I really love about you is your ability to go for what you want. If you want the starring role in any show, I believe you can get it.”
Her mother hugged her while June fought tears.
