Take the Lead

by Shelley Shepard Gray

  “I seem to be collecting them left and right, and if it’s taught me anything, it’s that I always have room in my heart for one more sister.”

  “Thank you.”

  “No thanks are needed,” Traci replied, sounding hoarse. “We’re in this together, right?”

  Gwen nodded. “Yes, ma’am. All three of us are.”

  Marissa lightly rapped on the door. “Are you ready to get out of here, Gwen?”

  “More than ready.”

  “Okay. I’ll bring over the final paperwork and a wheelchair and we’ll get you out of here and home.”

  Gwen smiled brightly. All of it sounded good. Every bit of it.

  CHAPTER 44

  “Promise me we’ll always be this free, dancing for

  eternity, underneath a galaxy of stars.”

  —Christy Ann Martine

  It was late, and Traci and Matt were sitting on the couch in Dance With Me’s entryway. Traci knew it was an odd place to have a private conversation, but in this building, privacy was at a premium.

  Matt had come over for supper and all of them—Kimber, Gwen, Bridge, Shannon and Dylan, and Jennifer and Jack—had eaten together. Jennifer had made chicken and vegetable shish kabobs with baked potatoes. Gwen had helped her make a fruit trifle. It had all been wonderful.

  Matt had seemed as relaxed as the rest of them, and had even taken a turn holding Bridge when they were all cleaning up after dinner. Traci had loved seeing how comfortable Matt was with the new baby.

  “Trace, I’m happy to sit here with you all night, but you did tell me that you had something you wanted to talk to me about.”

  “I did. I was just sitting here wondering how to get started.”

  “You know the answer. Just start.”

  “Okay. Yesterday at the hospital, Gwen asked me to consider being Bridge’s foster and maybe even real mother.”

  “Real mother?”

  “Like I would adopt him.”

  “She wants to give him up?”

  “Technically, yes. I think she realizes that she’s not ready. Gwen wants to get healthy and get herself together. Finish high school, learn a trade. She doesn’t have family, Matt. She’s essentially alone in the world.”

  “But I thought she was going to stay here for a while?”

  “Yes, that’s still the plan. So, she would be the boy’s birth mother, but for all intents and purposes, I would be Bridge’s mom. He would be my son.” Her voice wavered as she tried to retain her composure. But it was hard—every time she thought about truly being Bridge’s mom, she got chills.

  “What did you say?” Matt was watching her carefully, which was making her nervous. Was he upset about the things she had told him?

  Was it going to be a deal breaker for him? Maybe he didn’t ever want kids, or at least never anyone else’s kids.

  That would be hard to hear. Her heart would also break, since she now knew she was in love with him and wanted Matt Rossi in her life for a very long time.

  But there was something about Gwen’s predicament that spoke to her heart as well. She wasn’t going to be able to turn this baby, or Gwen’s suggestion away.

  She honestly felt like there was a reason she’d met Gwen. She was the right person to help this lost girl and Bridge. But just as importantly, she’d needed Gwen to help heal her soul. She’d needed to learn to forgive her mother and father and to stop being so angry and hurt about her childhood. No, it wasn’t ideal—it had been very far from that—but Gwen had helped Traci remember that she wasn’t the only child who’d had a challenging upbringing. Not by a long shot.

  Swallowing hard, she looked into Matt’s eyes. “We’re going to wait a bit to make sure Gwen doesn’t change her mind, but I already know how I feel. I want to be Bridge’s mom, Matt. I already love him so much.”

  She could practically feel the tension in the air.

  Then, to her surprise, he smiled. “I’m glad.”

  “You’re glad? That’s it?”

  He laughed. “What did you want me to say?”

  “I don’t know. That I needed to think things through better. Maybe that I was being naive and I didn’t know what I was promising.” She looked at the ground. “Maybe that me being single and a cop didn’t make me the best candidate for single parenting.”

  “Traci.” He cupped his palm around her cheek. It felt both like he was holding her close and offering her solace. “You’re a lot of things, but naive sure isn’t one of them. Plus, you know Gwen and Bridge. Of course you are going into this situation with your eyes wide open.” He smiled softly. “And, as for the other thing? The part about you being a single mom? That’s not technically true.”

  “Because?”

  “Because you’re going to be living with Kimber, Jennifer, and Gwen, so you’re going to have a lot of support.”

  Feeling a little disappointed, though he didn’t lie, Traci nodded. “You’re right.”

  His expression warmed further. “Then there’s the fact that you’ve got me and my family.” He took a breath, shaking his head slightly. “No, I mean you and Bridge will have me and my family.”

  “We will?”

  “You know how much I like you, don’t you?”

  “Yes?” And yes, that was a question. Because she wasn’t a hundred percent where they stood together.

  He linked his fingers with hers. “Hmm. I don’t think you do know.” He wrinkled his brow. “Have I never said?”

  “Not in so many words.” Not that she had either.

  “Traci, from the moment I first saw you in that emergency room, fighting for a girl who it looked like everyone else in the world had given up on, I knew you were someone special. Then, after I got to know you more, I started seeing you as Traci Lucky. Not just a cop. Not just a champion of girls in need. Someone pretty incredible.”

  “That is very sweet.” And yes, she was probably sounding very lame.

  He chuckled. “Is it? I think it’s the truth. But, just so you know, what really made me realize that I was falling for you was the first time we waltzed.”

  “Matt, I stepped on your toes!”

  “You did. And I gripped your waist too hard, like I was afraid you were going to run off. But, before I knew it, we were dancing.” His voice softened. “We were listening to Shannon’s crazy ballroom tapes and moving in sync and all I could think about was how lucky I was to have you in that moment. And how glad I was that you’d already said yes to going to Anthony’s wedding with me, because then we would have to keep taking lessons together. I would get to see you again.”

  No one had ever spoken to her that way. Everything he was saying was sweet and wonderful and made her feel like she wasn’t as flawed or as damaged as she’d always feared she’d been.

  Those words also gave her the courage to reveal more of her heart.

  “I’m falling in love with you, Matt.” Inwardly, she winced. Here Matt had just listed a half-dozen beautiful reasons why he liked her—and all she could come up with was seven words. “Sorry. I mean—”

  “Don’t say sorry. Just tell me again.”

  “I’m falling in love with you, Matt.”

  “I’m falling in love with you, too, Traci.”

  She smiled at him then. She was no poet, and was sadly lacking in the expressing herself department. But Dr. Matteo Rossi liked her anyway.

  No, he loved her anyway.

  CHAPTER 45

  “I’m going to dance in all the galaxies.”

  —Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

  “Have you ever heard of so many people going to so much fuss over a wedding?” Traci asked as she tried on dresses for Anthony’s wedding and reception.

  All of her roommates were sitting in the living room and making Traci go back and forth from her room as she tried on each outfit. So far, she’
d had to go back there, put on a new dress, a pair of her new “dancing” pumps, and then walk out to the peanut gallery to hear everyone’s opinions four times.

  And boy did everyone have a lot of those!

  “Ah, yes, I actually have heard of a lot of people going to a lot of trouble,” Shannon said. “Don’t you remember my wedding?”

  “It didn’t feel like it was this big.”

  “That’s because it wasn’t. Plus, my mother did everything, and you just had to wear the bridesmaids’ dress I assigned to you.”

  “I still think I could have made that dress work for this wedding.” She certainly wanted to. It was a two-hundred-dollar dark-pink dress that was just sitting in the back of her closet. “Should I go try it on?”

  “No,” Jennifer, Shannon, and Kimber said in unison.

  “But—”

  “No offense, Shannon, but that dress says ‘bridesmaid’ all over it,” Jennifer said.

  “As in all over it,” Kimber agreed. “You are not wearing it out on a date.”

  “Wow, guys,” Shannon said, sounding hurt. “All of you told me you liked them.”

  “We did like them,” Kimber said. “But I’m just saying that we liked being your bridesmaids more, so we would have said we liked anything you picked out.”

  “So, none of you want to wear your dresses again?”

  “I do,” said Traci.

  Gwen, who was bottle-feeding Bridge on the couch, frowned at Traci. “No offense, Traci, but I don’t think dark pink is your color. You’re not really much of a pink kind of woman.”

  “I can’t argue with that. Fine, I’ll go change into one more dress. But it’s the silvery blue one.”

  “That’s my favorite,” Kimber said. Standing up, she said, “Come here and I’ll unzip you. You’re in this one pretty good.”

  Traci stood while Kimber unzipped her. “I can’t believe you do this all the time.”

  “Do what? Wear clothes?”

  “Ha-ha. Kimber, you know what I’m talking about. This is so hard, putting on things and having a bunch of people analyze it.”

  “It’s not like this, honey. It’s ten times worse. First of all, I’m practically naked under the clothes, because no one wants any lines to show. Next, half the designers are always gonna say that the fit or the cut or the design or something is perfect and that I’m the problem.”

  “You could make a potato sack look good,” Jennifer said.

  “Thank you, but we know that’s not true.” She smiled. “It’s fine, though. I mean, it’s given me a good living.” She shooed Traci out.

  Back in the bedroom, Traci stepped out of that dress and finally put on the last one. It was a vintage-style gray-blue-satin strapless number that was fitted in the bodice and flared out to mid-calf. She felt exposed in it, but she couldn’t help feeling pretty in the thing too.

  After slipping on her shoes, she stepped in front of the mirror and gaped. It was extremely flattering. The cut made her athletic figure almost look delicate, and the color didn’t clash with her fair skin and dark hair. It actually made both stand out.

  This was the dress. Even if all the girls said it was all wrong, she knew she was going to wear it.

  Having made up her mind, she walked out to model again. “I’m just telling you all right now that I like this one. I like it a lot.” She stopped in front of them and did a little twirl. “I can even move in it, too. See?”

  When she turned back around, she realized all of them were staring at her.

  “Now what’s wrong?” she asked.

  Kimber spoke up first. “Not a darn thing. You are going to make Matt stop in his tracks.”

  “Really?”

  Kimber smiled at her. “Really.”

  “She’s right, Trace,” Shannon said. “You look beautiful and you’re even going to look beautiful waltzing in it.”

  “It’s way better than your pink bridesmaid dress.” Jennifer winked. “No offense, Shannon.”

  “You guys, stop.” Shannon said.

  Traci looked at Gwen. “Well? You might as well chime in, doll. What do you think?”

  “You don’t look anything like Officer Lucky in that dress,” she said.

  Traci smiled at her softly. “I’ll take that as the best compliment.” Glancing at her watch, she said, “And, I’ll be right back in sweats to take Bridge. You need to get ready for your tutor.”

  “Okay,” Gwen said with a smile.

  * * *

  Twenty minutes later, Traci was dressed in comfortable sweats, Shannon had gone home, Jennifer was in her room and Gwen was in Traci’s old room with her tutor.

  Traci was sitting with Kimber in the living room. She had a cup of hot tea by her side, and little Bridge asleep in her arms.

  So much had happened in the last two months, she still sometimes couldn’t believe it. After she and Gwen had their talk, Traci had contacted Melanie and a judge she’d become on pretty good terms with. They were still in the middle of the process, but for now, Gwen was still technically Bridge’s mom and Traci was being approved for foster parenting.

  Everyone assured her it was all just a formality. Traci was an upstanding member of the community, had a big support system and a lot of people in her corner.

  Gwen was also in complete support of giving up her formal rights, which was also helping to move the process along.

  At first Traci was worried that she wouldn’t do well as Bridge’s new mommy, or that it might be awkward between her and Gwen, but the opposite was becoming true.

  Gwen seemed so relieved to just be a teenager again. She was happy to have her side jobs with Jennifer and Shannon, but she was also happy to be enrolled on her online schooling too. She hadn’t even balked when Traci suggested getting a tutor for her. If anything, Gwen seemed grateful to have someone looking out for her.

  And as for Bridge? Well, he was simply wonderful. Traci had moved down to the room that Shannon and Dylan had used on the second floor. Bridge’s cradle was down there with her, and she was spending lots of sleepless nights as a new mom.

  When she was on a rare night shift, the other women and Gwen took a turn. And the other night, Matt came over to help out with nighttime feedings so she could get some sleep as well.

  It wasn’t perfect, but it felt pretty perfect for her.

  Now, sitting with Kimber, Bridge in her arms, Traci couldn’t believe how far she’d come.

  “You’re happy, aren’t you?” Kimber asked.

  “I am. Happier than I’d ever thought I’d have a right to be.”

  Noticing something in her eyes, she said, “What about you? Are you happy?”

  Kimber shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “How come?”

  “I think I want to be done modeling. I think it’s time.”

  Though Traci was secretly glad for Kimber, she was also surprised. Kimber made a really good living and was so in demand that she had to turn down jobs. She’d once told Traci that if she worked another two years, she’d be set for life. Or at least for a really long time.

  “What are you going to do instead?”

  “I don’t know. Eat.” She smiled. “Honestly, the dieting isn’t the worst part. It’s all of it. Traveling. Dealing with people I don’t want to deal with. Feeling scared all the time that everything I’ve worked for is going to evaporate before I can do anything about it.”

  “I’m sorry. I guess I’ve been so focused on myself, I haven’t asked you enough about your life. That wasn’t fair.”

  Kimber blinked, then smiled as she reached out to run a finger down Bridge’s cheek. “Life isn’t fair, Traci. We’re living proof of that. But, every once in a while? Everything turns out just fine.”

  Feeling a lump in her throat as she took a moment to appreciate that she was sitting in a building o
wned by one sister, sipping tea with another sister, mentoring a girl who was so grateful for everything, and becoming the mother of a small miracle, Traci knew Kimber was absolutely right.

  CHAPTER 46

  “To be fond of dancing was a

  certain step towards falling in love.”

  —Jane Austin

  “I didn’t expect you two to be the entertainment for the evening,” Anthony said to Matt during the middle of the reception.

  “We’re hardly that,” Matt replied. But damn if he and Traci weren’t pretty close to resembling Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Not only had they danced three waltzes together, they’d actually enjoyed dancing them.

  His brother raised his eyebrows. “You’re working on it.”

  “Are you ticked at me for doing what you asked me to do?”

  “No. Hell no.” He grinned. “I just didn’t know you had it in you.”

  “I would agree with you there.”

  And that was pretty true for everything that had happened over the last three months. He’d not only helped a girl, but had fallen in love with a cop, and there was a very good chance he was going to be a father to an adorable baby boy in the very near future.

  “I just wanted to say I think it’s great,” Anthony said. “I know we’ve always been close, but I probably haven’t told you enough that I’m proud of you.”

  “I haven’t done that either. Marie’s great, Anthony. I hope you two will have many happy years together.”

  “Tony, come on!” his bride said. “We have to go say hello to Mr. and Mrs. Arnold before they leave.”

  “I’ve gotta go,” he said. “See you later.”

  “I’ll see you after the honeymoon. Have fun.”

  Matt smiled at his brother’s retreating form, glad they’d had a few minutes to talk. He was also glad that the reception was winding down and people were beginning to leave. He, for one, couldn’t wait to be alone with his girlfriend.

  “There you are!” Traci called as she walked toward him. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

  “Sorry. I was spending a couple of minutes with Anthony.” He scanned her face. “Is everything all right? Last time I checked, you were sitting with Vanny in the corner laughing.”