She giggled. “You mean en pointe? Yes.”
“I heard that’s hard. You must be really good.”
“I’m okay.” Though it was rude to brag, Bethany knew she was actually a pretty good ballerina. Not fantastic, but better than a lot of other girls in the class. “I’m in a dance company. We’re performing The Nutcracker for Christmas.”
“That’s cool.” He looked impressed, which made her feel kind of good.
“Jeremy, now!” Mr. Glover called out.
“Sorry, Mr. Glover!” He turned back to her. “Hey, I’ve got to go.”
She giggled again. “I know. I do too.” But still, she didn’t move.
And neither did he.
He smiled at her. “So, well . . . uh, have fun. I’ll call . . . Shoot, I never got your number. What is it?”
He was asking for her number!
“Jeremy!”
“One sec!” Turning back to her, he winked. “So . . . can I have your number?”
He was a good three feet away now. No way was she going to call it out to him like that. “Maybe I’ll give it to you tomorrow.”
He grinned at her before running to catch the car.
She smiled all the way to choir. There was something good happening between the two of them, she was sure of it. There was something so good that she didn’t even care that he was new to the school and not a part of her group of friends. Or that he was a little shy and kind of awkward.
Not even that he was a foster kid and had a social worker. No, all she really cared about was that he seemed to feel the same way about her that she felt about him.
CHAPTER 9
the land of snow: Where the Nutcracker takes Clara after defeating the Mouse King in battle. There, they dance among a flurry
of snowflakes.
Gunnar was close to losing his mind right there in the middle of his living room. After taking a deep fortifying breath, he said, “Mama, what did you just say you were fixing to do?”
“I said that I’m going on a swing cruise right after Christmas.”
Hearing that a second time over the phone line didn’t make the statement easier to handle. Had the moment he’d been dreading just arrived? Was he going to have to start parenting his parent? Keeping his voice firm, he said, “I don’t think you should do that.”
“I don’t know why not. Everyone says it’s a lot of fun.”
He was now beet red. “Have you told anyone else about this? Thinking of his eldest brother, he added, “Have you told Martin?” Because Martin was going to have a fit.
“No, dear. You’re the first.”
Lord, have mercy. He was one of four kids and the only one who lived outside of West Virginia. But when it came to their mother divulging secrets, he always got the weird stuff. Always.
Weighing his words—and her sweet nature—carefully, he said, “Mama, I promise, there’s easier ways to meet men than to go um, swinging on a boat. Plus, I don’t think you even know what you’re talking about.” His mother might go around thinking she was a fifty-nine-year-old woman of the world, but he knew better. She was small town and sheltered.
“I’m looking at the brochure, Gunnar. It’s fairly easy to understand. Even for a simple, ole country gal like me,” she said, sarcasm thick in her voice.
He was still trying to figure out what a “swing cruise” brochure could possibly say. Surely nothing good. Honestly, just thinking about his mother adrift on such a boat gave him the willies.
He needed some support, stat.
“Mama, what about Darcy? Have you spoken to her about your plans?” Darcy was number two in the Law children lineup, and she’d always been the enforcer in the family.
“I haven’t told her yet either, Son. Like I said, I just paid the deposit.”
He hadn’t caught that. But if she’d already paid money, there was a chance she wasn’t going to get it back. “Well, maybe you shouldn’t tell Darcy about this adventure of yours.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not proper.” And because Darcy would have a hissy fit if she found out—and that was putting things mildly.
“It’s not a sin, Son.”
“Heck yeah, it is.”
“Don’t say ‘heck.’ ”
“Mom, really?”
“No, don’t try to excuse yourself. You’ve got an impressionable boy at home now. Plus, everyone knows what you’re thinking when you say words like that.”
Correcting his not-swearing had finally pushed him too far. “Everyone’s going to know what you’re thinking if you go on some freaking swinger’s cruise!”
Jeremy’s door opened and he poked his head out. When their eyes met, the boy’s bright blue eyes appeared shell-shocked.
And who could blame him?
Gunnar slapped a hand over his face. Honestly, he just couldn’t win right now.
On the other end of the line, he heard his mother gasp. Then take a deep breath . . . then burst out laughing.
He held the phone away from his ear, because she never could not laugh like a hyena. He waited for a couple of seconds . . . but it still sounded like she couldn’t catch her breath. After another few, he started to get irritated. “Mama—”
“Oh, good night. It’s not a swinger’s cruise, Gunnar. It’s a ballroom dancing cruise.”
“You said ‘swing.’ ”
“You know, like swing dancing.”
“Swing dancing?”
“There’s a difference, Son,” his mother continued, her voice sounding as stern as all get out. “A fairly big difference. One is dancing the jive and the other is . . . not. You need to remember that.”
“Yes, ma’am.” His face was probably purple, he was so embarrassed.
“Are we clear now? I want to go on a cruise in the Caribbean Sea, walk around at shops and such during the day, and practice ballroom dance lessons at night.”
“Yes, ma’am. I understand.”
She was sounding snippy now. “And just for the record, the cha-cha is more my style.”
Why had he even picked up when she called? “Gotcha. I . . . I obviously misunderstood.”
“I would say so.” She giggled. “I swear, just when I think I’ve heard everything . . . I can’t wait to tell Martin, Darcy, and Andrew about this!”