LITMIR.BIZ

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a family of your own? You’d make an awesome father.”

      He shrugged, intensely focused on his drink. “Never felt right. I was on the move with the marines, and then focused on my law-enforcement career. Now working with the church keeps me busy and there seems to be a great deal of kids without fathers in their lives.”

      Well, that put her in her place, since her own kids were pretty much fatherless. She started stacking the cookies in an airtight container.

      She stopped and turned to the radio. A giddy feeling made her heart bubble. “Jake, it’s our song!”

      His brows shot up in a question. “I didn’t know we had a song.”

      Hands on her hips she shook her head at his cluelessness. “As chair of the prom committee, I selected the song for the king and queen dance. I knew we had received the most votes.” A sad smile formed. “I picked it for us.”

      His forehead wrinkled. “You danced it with Tommy.”

      “’Cause you never showed up.” She pointed the spatula at him. “You had the most votes. You were voted king. Because you weren’t there I had to dance with Tommy.”

      He dared raise his eyebrows and give her a stunned look. “I didn’t show up? I waited for two hours under the bridge. You told me you would meet me at Second Crossing Bridge. I was so worried I finally went to your house. Your mother took great pleasure in telling me you went with Tommy. What did you expect me to do?”

      “Mother surprised me with Tommy and a limo.” She turned away from him and looked out the window. She had been such a coward. She needed to stop blaming her choices on her mother. “I didn’t tell her I was meeting you. She never told me you came by the house. It should’ve been our dance.” The last sentence dropped to a whisper, her chest tight. Silence and sadness surrounded her. The ticking of the old clock erased the years.

      She felt the warmth of his presence as he moved closer to her. He stopped two steps away from where she stood.

      “We could dance it now.” His voice low.

      She looked over her shoulder. The half grin eased the hardness of his face and the pain in her chest.

      “Miss Victoria Lawson, may I have this dance?”

      She turned toward him. He stood so gallant, hand out to her, waiting. One heartbeat, two, she hesitated. With a deep sigh, she made a step forward and put her hand in his.

      One quick turn and he had them out of the kitchen and in the living room. An arm placed at her waist gently guided her through the small gap. His strong hand intertwined with her fingers. He led her in a tight circle around the old coffee table.

      She closed her eyes and the dingy trailer slipped away. A million tiny white lights filled the new space in her vision. The soft material of her long gown swirled around her legs.

      Hanging on to the moment, she took in all the details of the night they should have experienced. “Why didn’t you come to the dance?” she whispered, afraid to break the mood but needing to know the answer.

      “I did.” His voice low and hoarse. “You were dancing with Tommy.” Another turn as the music faded. “I figured you’d made your choice.”

      It was her fault? “I think Mama might have known I was going with you and set it up to make sure I went with Tommy, instead. I thought I would ditch him and find you.” They stood face-to-face in the current reality, no music to transport here to another time. “When you didn’t show, I thought you had given up on me.”

      He pressed his forehead against the top of hers.

      Vickie remained still, listening to him breathe. Afraid, she kept her eyes closed, head down. “Do you ever wonder where we would be today if I had stood up to my mother and gone with you?”

      Jake’s strong hands cupped her jaw and brought her gaze up to meet his dark chocolate eyes. “We were so young.” He gave her his best half grin. “And maybe a bit dumb. I don’t know what would have happened.”

      She leaned forward and closed her eyes. “You left town, and I was so impatient and couldn’t wait to start my family. Now I’m a full-fledged, messed-up adult with two kids to raise. We can’t get this right, can we?”

      Jake held her face in his large hands, tilting her head up. He studied her eyes with the most forceful look she had ever seen in him. Her throat went dry as he moved in closer. His stare now focused on her lips. She stopped breathing, his head lowered. His breath, sweet from the lemonade caressed her skin.

      Ashley threw the front door open and burst into the room. “Mommy! Mommy!”

      Jake jumped back and coughed.

      Vickie couldn’t stop the giggle that sprang from her wrecked nerves. She blinked a couple of times to refocus.

      “What is it, sweetheart?” She wrapped her arms around Ashley’s shoulders as her daughter collided into her. Determined to settle her stomach down, Vickie forced a smile.

      “Papa Jack’s favorite mare had its foal last night and we got to see it and touch it. It has a blond coat, like me. She is so pretty. I’m so in love with her.”

      “I imagine she fell in love with you, too.” She stroked her daughter’s hair back from her face.

      “I think she did. She tried following me out. Her legs are so long.” Ashley turned and faced Jake, now sitting on a bar stool at the counter. “Hello, Officer Torres.”

      Seth followed a bit slower and much to Vickie’s surprise, he almost wore a smile, reminding her of the boy she used to know. “Hey, Seth, so did you enjoy the horses, too?”

      He shrugged. “Yeah, Papa Jack said he can start teaching me to rope. If it’s all right with you.”

      Her father walked in behind the kids with a concerned look on his face. “Vickie, why didn’t you tell me the steps were about to collapse?”

      “Daddy, they’re not that bad, and I’m taking care of it.”

      Crossing the small room, Jackson Walker Lawson, the fourth, called J.W. by everyone but his daughter and grandchildren, shook Jake’s hand.

      “Crazy, stubborn girl. I should have come over earlier to make sure it was livable.”

      “It’s livable, Daddy. It just needs a little work.” She waved a hand toward Jake without looking at him. There was no way she could make eye contact with him now and not fall apart. “Jake has offered to teach Seth and me to build steps.” She turned to Seth. “Doesn’t that sound fun, building something with our own hands?”

      He shrugged again. “I guess.”

      Jake stood. “Hey, Seth, are you ready to play some football?”

      Seth shoved his hands in his pockets and dropped his head. “I don’t know. I’m not very good. The whole throwing or catching the ball thing seems to be too hard for me.”

      Jake stood. “Hey, me, too.”

      Seth shot him a classic teenager skeptical glare. “Really?”

      “Yeah, that’s why I like chasing down the guys with the football.”

      Confusion shadowed his eyes. “If you don’t have the ball, why bother playing?”

      Vickie bit her lip. That sounded every bit like Tommy’s glorious words of self-righteous wisdom.

      Jake’s jaw went hard. “Football is a team sport, Seth. You don’t have a real game without protectors and defenders.”

      J.W. walked over to Seth and patted his back. “Don’t worry about what your dad said, son. You’re almost twelve and growing fast. At your age I could barely walk without tripping.” He gave Vickie and Ashley a hug. “I’m heading out. Call me if you need anything. Love you.”

      She kissed him

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