“I think so, yeah.”
“Why do they call you Boone anyway?”
“They nicknamed me after Daniel Boone, the greatest Kentuckian to ever live. I used to be a searcher, my old man said, just like Boone. I could never stay anywhere too long. I was always searching.”
“Although you stayed in Kentucky your whole life.”
“Actually, I didn’t. Like all of my siblings, as a very young man I took off to find my fame and fortune too. And I became a very successful businessman in just five short years. Very successful. But after my kid brother died, my mother needed me, so I returned home. I decided to become a cop and right the wrongs in this town, as I saw them anyway. I liked it, so I stayed.”
“Ever got married? Ever had kids?”
“Never married, no.”
“Kids?”
There was a hesitation in Boone. A long one. Then he answered, “No. She died.”
Charly’s heart dropped. “Ah, man. I’m so sorry. What’s her name?”
Boone looked at Charly. He appreciated that she didn’t act as if his little girl was now nameless because she was gone. “Courtney,” he said. “Her name’s Courtney.”
Charly smiled. “That’s a pretty name. I’m sure she was adorable.”
Boone smiled a weak, painful smile. “She was. She was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“How old was she?”
Boone exhaled. “Two,” he said.
Charly nodded and stared at him. She knew he was a hurt individual. But she thought it was a woman. She wanted to ask him how did it happen. But she waited for him to tell her.
He did.
“I was on the phone arguing with my baby’s mother and ran a stop sign. A car ran into us. They tried to save her, but they couldn’t. She died at the hospital.”
Charly exhaled that time. “So sorry,” she said, although it sounded hollow even to her.
Then Boone looked at her. He had to move on. “What about you?” he asked. “Any kids?”
Charly shook her head. She had no such hesitation. “None,” she said. “Darryl didn’t want any.”
Boone stared at her. “Did you?”
Charly nodded. “Oh, yes. Plenty would do. But I wasn’t going outside of my marriage.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
Charly smiled. “How do you know that?”
“Because I know that. You aren’t the type.”
Charly continued to stare at him. “Are you?”
Boone looked her dead in the eyes. “Are you asking if I’ve ever cheated on the various girlfriends I’ve had in my life? The answer is yes. I’ve cheated on all of them. They’ve all cheated on me.”
That was a crushing admission to Charly.
“I forgot to warn you,” Boone said. “I’m brutally honest.”
Charly smiled.
“Or was that too honest for you?” he asked.
“No, I’ll take honesty every time thank you. Even if it hurts.”
“So what’s your verdict on me? That because of my past, I’m not husband material?”
Charly laughed out loud. “Husband material? You aren’t even boyfriend material!”
Boone laughed too. Although, inwardly, he felt ashamed.
And their conversation slowed.
Until Charly leaned forward. “I have a question,” she said to him.
Boone looked at her breasts, and then into her eyes. He was still sitting sideways. He still had his legs crossed. “What’s your question?”
“How did you come back? From what happened to your daughter, I mean.”
Boone thought about it. “I don’t think I ever did,” he said. “You’re never the same.”
“No, that’s true,” said Charly, thinking about the trauma in her own background. “That’s very true.”
And then they just sat there and waited on their food as the music improved from the oldies but goodies to more modern tunes. And when one song in particular came on, an upbeat Post Malone tune called Sunflower, Charly smiled. It was obvious to Boone that she liked that song.
“Let’s dance,” he said, without asking if she wanted to, and he stood up and reached his hand out to her.
Since Charly was game, she accepted his hand. “I’m happy to dance,” she said as she stood up too. “But there’s one problem,” she added.
“What?” Boone asked as he continued to hold her hand.
“I can’t dance,” Charly said.
Boone laughed. “Don’t worry, kid,” he said, “I’ll show you the ropes.”
That was funny to Charly, the idea that some white boy was going to show her how it’s done. But she accepted his challenge and went on the dance floor with him.
Because the song was upbeat, she had an easier time of it. But what shocked her was that Boone wasn’t kidding. That man could dance! He had moves that would put Beyoncé’s dancers to shame. Charly couldn’t quite keep up. She really did have two left feet. But she hung on and actually enjoyed herself.
Boone enjoyed himself, too. He was always the life of the party, and this time was no exception as other couples on the dance floor seemed to start taking his lead and trying out the same moves he was making. Charly couldn’t believe how natural the chief seemed to be. It was like he was in his element.
He was a far cry from the stern authoritarian he portrayed, not only when he was working, but seemingly all the time!
But when that song ended, and a slower song quickly came on, most of the couples remained on the floor and began to slow-drag. Charly was about to leave. One song was plenty for her. Besides, slow-dragging was a tad intimate.
But when Boone pulled her back, and then eased her against him with one hand holding her hand against his shoulder and his other hand on her back, she didn’t resist him. She wasn’t sure if she could.
It was Celine Dion singing Diane Warren’s Because You Loved Me, and the beat was so simple that even Charly could keep up.
“You were my strength when I was weak.
You were my voice when I couldn’t speak.
You were my eyes when I couldn’t see.
You saw the best there was in me.
Lifted me up when I couldn’t reach.
You gave me faith ‘cause you believed.
I’m everything I am,
because you loved me.”
Boone pulled Charly closer and held her tighter. Charly hadn’t been held that close in so long that it stunned her senses. Everything seemed so vivid. His big hand on her. His big body against her body. His breath in her ear. The rough stubble of his face brushing against the softness of her face. His cologne. Him.
Boone felt it too, and he was starved for affection. He was with a woman, usually a different one, almost every night. But no woman had ever felt this good in his arms. No woman had ever made him want to hold her forever. Most times, he didn’t want to even say good morning to his previous ladies.
He felt as if he could say good morning forever to Charly.
It spooked him. What was happening to him? He almost released her and walked away.
But he couldn’t.
He stayed right where he was.
And held her even tighter. He even closed his eyes.