“Absolutely.”
“All right, then, I’ll just say good night to my little girl.”
Meg stood just as Vance made his way toward Cammy. As he brushed past her, she caught the piquant scent of his cologne.
“Be good,” he told Cammy.
“I will.” She smiled up at him as he placed a kiss on her forehead. “Bye, Miss Jorgenson.”
“See you later.” She looked at Liz. “It was nice to meet you.”
“Same here. Have a good time tonight.”
“I’m sure we will,” Vance said, following Meg out the front door.
Together they walked to his truck and climbed inside.
“Cammy didn’t complain once this evening about our going out again and leaving her home.” He placed the key in the ignition and started the engine. “I think it helped that you came over to say hello. Awfully kind of you to drive out of your way.”
“It wasn’t any trouble.”
Vance pulled his Sport Trac out of the driveway and turned up the road. “I know Cammy wants you to come over again and, next time, stay for supper. She plans on cooking up some mac and cheese for you.”
“Mac and cheese is one of my favorites. I’d be happy to come over for supper one night.” Meg actually hoped she’d be invited to Vance’s home on a regular basis. “I’m just sorry it didn’t work out for me to come over earlier like we discussed. Kelly wanted me to help her dress for the dance tonight, and, of course, my dad and Grams were snapping pictures galore.”
“Hmmm, well, maybe I should’ve come get you like a true gentleman.”
“It’s not our homecoming dance. We’re just chaperones. Remember?”
“It’s still a date, so to speak, for us.” He stopped at an intersection before turning left. Then he chanced a look at her. “Isn’t it?”
His uncertainty was somehow both touching and amusing. “Yes, it’s a date.” She thought about how they’d be surrounded by jocks and giggling girls all night. “And it’ll be one we won’t soon forget, I’m sure.”
He seemed to catch her drift and chuckled. “How ’bout we drive over to Danville after the dance and get something to eat?”
“That’s an idea.” Meg smiled, pleased that this night wouldn’t end for them at ten o’clock when the dance was over. She suddenly felt that they were destined to have fun.
However, it wasn’t long before Meg questioned her presumption. After entering the decorated gymnasium, she and Vance were immediately called to duty, Vance to hall monitoring and Meg behind the makeshift concession stand where kids could purchase soft drinks and popcorn.
Monotonous country music blared from speakers situated in all four corners of the gym. The polished floor was empty except for an occasional student cutting across to the other side of the gym, and Meg had to admit the songs weren’t anything that made her want to dance.
About an hour into the event, the DJ apparently noticed the yawns coming from the sidelines and began to play a medley of oldies from the seventies, eighties, and nineties.
The floor began to fill up with couples, but Meg noticed that whenever a slower set was played, the majority of kids dispersed back to their tables and chairs.
Vance made his way over to the concession stand. “How’s business?”
“Not bad. Are you having fun?”
“I don’t know if I’d call it ‘fun,’ exactly.” Beneath his mustache, a smile worked its way across his mouth. “I caught a couple of kids trying to sneak out of the building for a smoke, but that’s been the highlight of my night so far.”
“Well, thanks for being such a good sport.” She set a Diet Coke on the counter of the portable stand. “On the house.”
He popped open the can. “Thanks.”
While Vance took a swig, Meg couldn’t help tuning in to the uptempo tune the DJ began playing. She remembered the song from when she was about thirteen years old. Mom listened to the radio constantly in the car and at home.
“It makes me feel ancient that this song is considered an oldie.”
Vance laughed. “I know what you mean.”
Meg leaned her elbows on the counter and stared out over the gym. She spotted Kelly and her boyfriend. Both had smiles on their faces and appeared to be having a good time.
A few students ambled over to the concession stand and purchased sodas and popcorn. They walked away with their food and drinks just as Celine Dion began singing, “My Heart Will Go On.”
“Yo! Ol’ Lady Jorgenson!”
Hearing her last name, Meg spun around to see Ryan standing several feet away. He waved at her with his free hand; the other was draped around his girlfriend’s shoulders.
“Who do you think you’re calling old?”
Ryan laughed good-naturedly. “I think you and Mr. Bayer—” He said Vance’s name with feigned formality. “—need to show us your moves on the dance floor. More blast from the past.”
Meg looked at Vance. “Wait till I get my hands on him.”
Vance chuckled.
Ryan’s friends joined in the goading. Before long, half the gym was chanting and clapping. Meg wanted to strangle her brother on the spot.
But Vance didn’t seem the least bit riled. He straightened and held out his hand. “How ’bout if we show these kids a thing or two?”
Meg felt so stunned by the offer that she set her hand inside of his without thinking it through.
He led her around the tiny concession stand and out to the middle of the gym. The students surrounded them with applause, and Meg felt her face flame with embarrassment.
Vance’s right arm encircled her waist and pulled her close. “I’m no Fred Astaire.” Amusement glittered in his hazel eyes.
“Now you tell me.” She placed her left arm around his shoulder.
They swayed side to side with the melody, and Meg enjoyed the feeling of being held in Vance’s arms. It felt nice, like getting a hug just when you needed one.
She stepped in closer, her temple resting against the side of his face.
He gave her a nudge. “Look.”
Meg glanced to her right and saw the scores of kids filing onto the dance floor.
“Seems we started something.”
She gazed up into his eyes, sensing that Vance wasn’t referring just to the teens. “Yes, it seems like we did.”
Chapter Twenty-one
“So what did you do next, after the dance?” Leah asked from where she sat on the corner of Meg’s desk. “Hello?”
“What?” Meg turned from the classroom window, where she’d watched Vance drive out of the school’s parking lot. He’d just picked up Cammy, and Meg hoped to see them both later in the evening. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
Her good-natured friend replied with one of her easy smiles. “I know it’s Monday, but you can’t have had that rough of a day. I saw you at recess this afternoon, and you seemed to have it all together.” A twinkle entered her eyes. “Guess your mind’s on other things.”
“It is—and I apologize.” For the last forty-eight hours, Meg’s head had been in a fantastic fog, and she’d been having trouble concentrating. All she could think about, it seemed, was Vance.
Leah waved a hand at her. “Apology not necessary” She strode forward, wearing a fitted olive skirt and white blouse. “I just wondered what you and Vance did after the dance on Saturday night.”
“Oh, well, we talked about getting a bite to eat, but instead we opted for coffee at the Hubble House. We ended up sitting there talking until about two in the morning.”
“Good thing it’s a twenty-four-hour place.”
“I’ll say. I still can’t believe how much Vance and I had to say to each other.”
“Seems you two have connected on numerous levels.”
“Seems so.” Just thinking about Vance made her insides all fluttery, and Meg felt blessed—yes, blessed!—to have finally met a guy who seemed to want the same things out of life that she did.
“Well, I ha
d a date on Saturday night, too.” Leah sashayed around half the room. “With Kent.”
“Who? Kent?” Meg didn’t think she’d heard correctly. “As in the phys ed teacher here at Fairview?”
“The one and only.”
“A date?” Meg shook her head, confused. “What happened to Dave the marine?”
Leah visibly relaxed and scooted her backside onto Meg’s desk. She gazed at Meg from across the room. “I finally got your attention.”
“Undivided.” Meg sat down in Bradley Rogers’ desk. “I’m all ears.”
“Okay, well, I got an e-mail from Dave on Friday, saying he’s got leave over Thanksgiving and he’s—” Leah wrapped her thin arms around her midsection, as if her stomach cramped with the very thought. “—he’s coming to meet me in person. I’m so nervous and excited that I can barely eat a crumb. I’ve been dying to tell you, but I know you’ve had homecoming and Vance crowding your thoughts.”
“Leah, I’m so sorry. I should have been there for you this weekend.”
“No, no—it’s all right. I’m just saying that I wanted to tell you, but because you were busy, I wound up spilling the news to Kent. He’s been super nice and understanding. His minor in college was nutritional science, or something like that, so he took me out to dinner on Saturday night. He sort of coached me on the kinds of foods I should eat so my nerves won’t be frayed and I won’t lose more weight.”
Astonishment shook her and Meg wondered if she’d misjudged Kent all this time. “Is it working? His coaching, I mean?”
“I ate on Saturday night and enjoyed each mouthful. Kent kept chuckling over each bite I took. But, see, I wasn’t nervous around him because he’s just a friend, while Dave is—well, he’s the guy I think I’m in love with. It’s just too bad I can’t think of Dave as just a friend, but I seem to have psychologically and emotionally passed that point.”
“Love sneaks up on a person, doesn’t it?.”
Leah bobbed her head in agreement. “I can’t even tell you when it happened. It just did.”
“One of the many mysteries in life.” Meg thought it might be happening to her—falling in love with Vance—and the idea frightened her a little. What if things between them didn’t work out? She didn’t want to leave Miracle in order to escape a failed love affair.
That’s what Mom always did.
And essentially, that’s what Meg had done when she fled from Chicago. Of course, her dead-end job situation had been a huge factor in her leaving, too. And if things between her and Vance went sour, she’d have to see him every day, because she had every intention of keeping this job.
Was she willing to stick it out, despite the outcome of her relationship with Vance? Maybe she should slow her feelings down a little.
“Meg?”
“Hmmm?” She refocused on Leah.
“So what do you say?”
Meg cringed, hating to admit she missed the question. “You want to know what I think about—?”
“Coming over to my house for dinner tonight?”
“Oh.” Meg considered the offer. Vance’s in-laws were still in town; they planned to leave early tomorrow morning. Vance said he’d call her if he could make time to see her between visiting with them and readying Cammy for bed. But he said that wouldn’t be until about nine o’clock or ten o’clock tonight. Grams had her quilting get-together. She hadn’t heard from either Kelly or Ryan—and when she saw Ryan next, she didn’t know whether she’d thank him or sock him in the arm for his little prank on Saturday night.
“Meg?”
“I’m sorry, Leah. Sure, dinner at your place will be great.”
A smile brightened her friend’s features. “Super. I’ll tell Mama to set another place at the table.”
“Daddy, I’m all done!” Cammy squeezed the water out of the washcloth and set the bar of soap in its plastic dish on the side of the tub. “Come and get me.”
“Coming, punkin.”
Cammy looked at the comb and scissors that Gramma Liz had placed by the sink and cringed. Every time Gramma came, she liked to cut off Cammy’s curls. Cammy usually didn’t care, but now she did.
She didn’t want a haircut. No way.
Daddy came into the bathroom, wrapped Cammy in a large, soft blue towel, and lifted her out of the tub. Carrying her to her bedroom, he set her down, and while he took the towel back into the bathroom, Cammy slipped her nightie over her head.
He returned a few minutes later.
“Daddy, are you and Miss Jorgenson boyfriend and girlfriend?”
“Looks like it. If we’re not, we’re heading that way.”
“Whoo-hoo!” She raised her arms, fists clenched, the way cheerleaders do. “I can’t wait to tell Sasha.”
He put his hands on his hips. “Well, just be careful what you say. Miss Jorgenson is still your teacher, and some kids might think that you’re getting special treatment because she and I are seeing each other.”
“But, Daddy, I always get special treatment.”
He chuckled. “Guess you do.”
Cammy saw Gramma standing in the doorway. “Ready to get beautiful?” She held the scissors in her hand.
Cammy shook her head. “I don’t want my hair cut. I changed my mind.”
Daddy gave her a curious look. “Punkin, your gramma always trims up your hair when she comes to visit.”
“But I want to grow it long now. Like Miss Jorgenson’s hair.”
A slow grin curved Daddy’s mouth.
But Gramma shook her head. “Miss Jorgenson has straight hair, and it looks nice long. But you have curls that’ll soon get out of control if you don’t keep it short. Your mama’s hair was just the same way, and I used to cut hers, too.”
“I know, but I want my hair long.”
Daddy set his hands on his hips. “Cammy, I can’t deal with long hair in the morning. It’s hard enough getting the two of us packed up and out of the house on time as it is.”
“You won’t have to deal with it, Daddy. I can take care of my own hair. I’ll keep it brushed and when it’s long I know how to put it in a ponytail. And today, after school, Miss Jorgenson showed me how the clip in back of her hair worked. She just gathers her hair and clips it. It’s really easy.”
Daddy pushed out his mouth in a way that let Cammy know he was thinking about letting her have her way.
“This is nonsense,” Gramma said. “Your hair isn’t like Miss Jorgensons’; it’s like your mama’s. It’s got to stay short or pretty soon you’ll look like a shaggy dog.”
“I don’t care! I like dogs!”
“Cammy Ann Bayer, you’ll mind your manners when you speak to your gramma.” Daddy gave her a stern look.
Cammy lowered her chin and glanced from him to Gramma Liz. “Sorry.”
Gramma turned to Daddy. “Vance, the child needs to wear her hair short for so many reasons. I’ve been through this with Angie. She’d whine and cry about wanting long hair when she was a little girl, but in the end the only practical way to manage all those curls is to keep them short.”
Cammy watched Daddy think it over. When he looked over at her, she mouthed the word “pleeeeze,” and, just as she hoped, he gave in.
“All right. Grow it long. I don’t care.”
“Cammy, don’t you want to be like your mama?” Gramma Liz tipped her head. She looked sort of sad.
In that second, Cammy felt a little confused. She wanted to always remember Mommy, but it was getting harder and harder. Cammy couldn’t even squeeze her eyes close and hear Mommy’s voice anymore. She heard Miss Jorgenson’s. She was the best teacher Cammy ever had. Miss Jorgenson told her things in a way she understood. She wasn’t just a regular grown-up. She was special. And pretty. And Daddy seemed lots happier now that he finally listened and asked Miss Jorgenson out.
Daddy looked at Gramma and raised his shoulders up and down.
Gramma Liz blew out a long breath. “Well, I pray each day for God to heal our hearts and help us move
on, put the accident and Angie’s death behind us.” She set down the scissors and smiled at Daddy. But she still looked sort of sad. “I can’t complain when God answers my prayers, now, can I?”
Gramma came over and hugged Cammy. “You’re growing up too fast, know that? But I’ll always love you, whether your hair is short like your mama’s was when she was little, or long the way you want it.”
Daddy pointed his finger at Cammy. “But I’m not dealing with unruly hair in the morning. Understand?”
“Yes, Daddy.” Happiness bubbled up inside her. “I promise I’ll take care of it all by myself.”
“I’m going to hold you to that, because if it gets to be a problem, I’ll take you over to Aunt Debbie’s friend who cuts hair. She might not do as good a job as Gramma Liz.”
“He’s right about that.” Gramma laughed.
Daddy smiled.
And Cammy couldn’t remember feeling so happy in a long, long time.
Meg sat down at the Lawtons’ cozy kitchen table with Leah, her folks—and Kent Baldwin. She hadn’t any idea Kent was coming to dinner, too, but then again she hadn’t been paying very close attention at the time of Leah’s invitation.
“So how’s school going for y’all so far?” Seth Lawton lifted the bowl of mashed potatoes and helped himself to a man-sized serving.
“Going well for me.” Meg sent Leah’s father a smile. She’d met him numerous times at church. He worked in construction and both he and his wife, Leah’s mother, had gone to high school with Mom and Dad.
“School’s going good for me, too.” Leah grinned.
“Me, three.” Kent chuckled and selected a thick piece of golden fried chicken, setting it onto his plate.
“Kent’s so good with the kids,” Leah added.
Meg couldn’t argue. Her students had only glowing remarks about their phys ed teacher.
“I love my job.” Kent filled half his plate with tossed salad.
Meg wondered about his own children. Had he been granted visitation rights yet, as he’d hoped? “Have you moved into your new condo?”
“I close this week. I can start moving in on the weekend.”
Love Finds You in Miracle, Kentucky Page 20