by Kait Nolan
“If you’d acknowledge the fact that someone other than you could run this town for a week or two, you’d probably get a lot further,” Piper pointed out.
As banter picked back up around them, Corinne unbent a little. She ate her slice of pizza in small, neat bites, observing his friends, occasionally contributing to the conversation. And the world didn’t end. Better yet, everybody made an effort to include her. Tucker considered the evening a success when Corinne snagged a second slice of pizza as she chatted with Tyler about some project or other she’d found on Pinterest.
Eventually, she checked her watch, eyes widening. “Oh good Lord. I need to get on home or I’ll miss Kurt’s bedtime story.”
“Yeah? What’re you reading?” Myles asked.
“Captain Underpants for possibly the hundredth time.”
Myles nudged Piper. “Obviously we need to add that to the library for the Peanut.”
Tucker rose as Corinne did. “I’ll walk you out to your car.”
She flashed him a puzzled smile. “That’s not necessary. I’m all the way over by the diner.”
“All the more reason for an escort, as it’s after dark.”
Her mouth opened, then closed again. “All right. Just let me run to the restroom right quick.”
As soon as she was out of earshot, the table erupted with questions.
“What’s going on?” Tyler asked.
“Corinne Dawson? Seriously?” Piper put in.
“What exactly was that?” Brody asked.
“That,” Tucker said, “is a hardworking, single mom, who’s scared to death of the lot of you, and too afraid to ask for a second chance, lest y’all judge her like everybody else in this town for mistakes that are ancient history.”
Well that shut up any replies they might’ve made.
As he spotted Corinne coming back, he leaned down to Piper. “I’ve got a favor to ask of you. I’ll call you about it later.”
She cut her eyes toward Corinne, then back to him. “Okay.”
Everybody made polite farewells. Tucker found himself grateful to step out into the hot, sticky night, if only to escape the interrogation he knew was brewing.
“I’d say that went better than you expected. Seems like you maybe enjoyed yourself a little.”
“Do you want a cookie for being right?”
He liked the sass in her tone and grinned at her as he took her hand. “Well now, a smart man never turns down a cookie. Especially not a cookie from a pretty woman.”
“How is it I never knew you were charming?”
“I never had a chance to charm you back in the old days. Besides, I’ve improved with age.”
She looked down at their joined hands as they crossed the town green. “You’re taking your reputation in your hands, you know. Risking being seen like this with the likes of me.”
At the side of the fountain, he stopped, used momentum to pull her in. “Oh yeah. Tucker McGee finally wised up and decided to go after that pretty brunette he’s been eying for more than a year. Took him long enough.”
“That’s not what they’d be saying.” But she slid her arms around his waist.
“Well, they should be.” He dipped his head to within an inch of hers.
“I like your version better,” she whispered, tipping her lips up until only the barest hint of breath separated them.
“Me too,” he murmured.
They met on a sigh. And oh yeah. He’d been wanting this pretty much from the moment he’d stopped on the roof. She melted into him. That slow, gradual release of tension was the best kind of victory. Heat licked in his blood, but he held it in check. This wasn’t the time or the place. So he kept it easy, sweet. The kind of kiss he’d imagined giving her years ago. The kind of kiss that said he had all the time in the world to savor her. That she was worth savoring.
She swayed a bit in his arms when he pulled back. That was gratifying, too.
“I’m thinking charm isn’t the only area where you improved with age,” she said, still a trifle breathless. “If you’d kissed like that in high school, I’d have heard about it.”
Tucker laughed. “I was a lot more talk and a lot less action back then.”
“I like action. God, I’d forgotten I like action.”
His body was a hundred percent on board with that plan.
She took a breath and blew it out. “But this is…I’m not… I wasn’t expecting this, Tucker. And I certainly wasn’t looking for it.”
“Not a fan of surprises?” he said lightly, working to ratchet down his own reaction.
“It’s not that, I just don’t know what to do with this. My life is a mess.”
“Seems to me you’ve been doing a damned good job of straightening out that mess since you came home.”
“I’ve got a long way to go, yet.”
He stroked a hand through her hair, then took her hand and began strolling again. He hoped it was toward Dinner Belles because he was rattled, too. “There’s no time clock on this. No expiration date. I’m not in a hurry. I just want to see where this goes. That’s all I’m asking for. A shot.”
“I’m a package deal.”
“It’s a pretty great package. Kurt’s an awesome kid.”
“Easy to say on a morning’s acquaintance.”
“Sometimes a morning is all you need. I like you Corinne. And I like your son. He’s not a problem for me.”
As they reached her car, she turned to him. “You’re one in a million, Tucker McGee.”
“Does that mean I’m getting a shot?”
“I suppose it does, if only to satisfy my curiosity about what on Earth you see in me.”
He opened her car door to keep from pulling her in again. “I’ll take great pleasure in showing you.”
She shook her head at him, as if he was a complete puzzle to her, then climbed into the car.
“See you at rehearsal, Ginger,” he told her.
That teased out the smile he’d been looking for. “Until rehearsal, Fred.”
~*~
“Watched you and Tucker on the live feed Friday night. My word, it was incredible!”
Corinne couldn’t stop the smile on her face as Mamie Landon beamed about the performance. “Thank you, Mrs. Landon. We worked really hard on it.”
“Well, and it showed. I can’t believe that back flip. I was telling Loretta how impressed I was and how we should get tickets for all the future shows. What are y’all doing this week?”
“The Charleston. I’m meeting Tucker in a little while to go over choreography.”
“You can bet I’m gonna be there Friday night.”
“We appreciate the support. Can I top off that tea for you?”
As she went through the routine of taking orders and serving, Corinne found she held her head higher, actually looked customers in the eye. People were enthusiastic about the competition and impressed with what they’d seen. Even some of her former classmates, who’d given her the cold shoulder since her return, had admitted to watching and enjoying the performance. She wasn’t under any delusion that all was forgiven and she was suddenly accepted, but maybe it was a step in the right direction.
Maybe Tucker was right. Maybe it just takes time.
Or maybe they’d started to accept her because he did.
She couldn’t account for it, but she’d somehow snared the interest of a smart, interesting, funny, kind, and—she had to admit—sexy man. And that made her feel good. When was the last time she’d felt truly good about herself? She couldn’t remember. And that was probably pretty damned sad. Corinne didn’t want to be sad. Not anymore. She knew this couldn’t go anywhere, but right now, she wanted to enjoy Tucker, enjoy his interest, and ride out this flirtation as long as it lasted. So when she left at the end of her shift, she was loaded with takeout containers of all his diner favorites.
The murmur of voices greeted her as she swung through the doors and into the fellowship hall that had become their designated practice
space.
“I brought dinner!” she called.
The babble stopped in an instant. Corinne’s smile slipped a few notches as she noticed Piper perched on a table beside Tucker. If the hurried silence hadn’t been a big enough clue, the side eye Piper shot her made it absolutely certain they’d been talking about her.
Corinne hesitated.
Tucker broke away, all smiles. “Do I smell onion rings?”
“And a bacon, mushroom, and Swiss burger.”
“Somebody’s been paying attention.” He lifted the bag from her hand and opened it for a good sniff and a groan.
“It’s all you ever order for lunch, so it wasn’t hard. You’d mentioned you had a long day in court, so I thought you might want something before we got into the routine.” Corinne shot a look at Piper, who hadn’t moved. “I’m sorry, I didn’t bring anything for you. I didn’t realize you’d be here.” It had been a stupid impulse to bring dinner. Stupid to act like this was anything more than what it was: rehearsal.
Piper waved that off. “I’ve already eaten. The only thing this baby’s tolerating right now is breakfast. I swear, it’s going to come out clucking like a chicken and oinking like a pig for all the bacon and eggs I’m eating.”
“At least it’s staying down now,” Tucker pointed out.
“Thank God. It’s a pitiful thing to be smaller at the end of your first trimester than you were at the start.”
“When I had morning sickness with Kurt, there was this citrus drink I’d make. Fresh lemons and limes—a blend of them, maybe a dozen—with a simple syrup to sweeten it up some. It helped when nothing much did. And without the chemicals in soft drinks.”
“I still get a twinge most mornings, so I’ll try it.” Piper rubbed her baby bump and didn’t move.
Corinne couldn’t imagine why she was sticking around. “Are you helping out with choreography tonight?”
Tucker looked up from where he was pulling food out of the bag. “No, she’s here to help you study.”
Her head snapped around. “What?”
He handed over her grilled chicken sandwich and snatched one of her fries. “I know you’re worried about your licensure exam and feel like you don’t have near enough time to put into it, so I asked Piper to help. We’re going to kill two birds with one stone. Piper’s going to drill you while we dance.” He said it so casually, as if him thinking to do this, trying to lighten her load a bit, alleviate a worry, was par for the course.
The whole thing made her chest tighten. She looked over at Piper. “You’re…really?”
Piper shrugged. “Been there, done that. I’ve got some general advice for how to take the test, in addition to quizzing.”
“That’s really kind of you. I appreciate it.” And she did, no matter what Piper had been saying before she walked in. “But I’m not sure if I can do that and learn choreography.”
“Sure you can. You dance better when you’re thinking about something else.” Tucker scarfed an onion ring and made nomming noises. “This is awesome. Glad you thought of it. I was gonna try to talk you into swinging by the Mudcat when we were done. This is better.”
“If you want, I can get started with the quizzing while you eat,” Piper offered.
Corinne glanced at Tucker. “How strong is your stomach?”
“Cast iron.”
“You lie,” Piper accused. She looked at Corinne a conspiratorial twinkle in her eye. “He can’t stand the smell of blood.”
“It was one time,” Tucker protested. “And the blood was coming out of me at the time.”
“Your own fault for walking old man Whitehead’s fenceline to start.”
“I was eight. And you were right there with me, thank you very much.”
“Good thing, too. Tyler freaked out. I was the one who figured out to use your belt for a tourniquet.” Piper looked at Corinne. “He fell and wound up with a nasty gash to his leg. Just barely nicked the femoral artery. Bled like a stuck pig. I was fascinated. I think that’s when I decided to go into medicine.”
“Your bedside manner has improved some over the years,” Tucker said.
They kept on like that for a few more minutes, poking at each other with the ease of long friends. They went back, Corinne knew. Way, way back. And that made it a little bit easier to accept the side eye and whatever concerns Piper might have about her. Piper was an absolute tigress when it came to protecting her friends. But if she’d agreed to this study session, she had to be giving Corinne the benefit of the doubt. It was more than Corinne had expected.
“Okay, let’s get started. What is the priority nursing action after a subtotal thyroidectomy? A) Airway obstruction, B) Hemorrhage, C) Tetany, D) Edema?”
Corinne unwrapped her sandwich. “Airway obstruction.”
“Good.” They continued drilling for several minutes, until Corinne and Tucker had finished their dinner and her chest had eased.
“Okay, pause for a bit. It’s time for the unveiling of the music.” He punched some buttons on his phone and music blasted out of a bluetooth speaker.
Corinne listened for several moments. A laugh burbled up as she recognized the tune. “Seriously? ‘The Cantina Theme’ from Star Wars?”
“Yeah. We’ll dress you up in a white dress with the bagel bun hair, and I’ll do Han. Or maybe Luke, depending on what Babette can help me come up with for costumes. It’s got a great beat for the Charleston, and I thought Kurt would get a kick out of it. I even got us lightsabers.” Tucker produced a pair of them, switching something on the hilts so the blades glowed green. “He can have them when we’re done.”
Corinne stared at him. He’d knocked her legs right out from under her. She couldn’t quite get her breath. “You did all this for Kurt?”
“Sure. Kid’s got good taste in sci-fi. Which he gets from his mother. Don’t think I don’t remember your love of Star Wars novels back in high school.”
He did? Now Corinne and Piper were both staring at him.
“Anyway, I felt like letting my geek flag fly, and I figured we’ll get pop culture votes from the online crowd.”
He’d sought to take care of her and entertain her baby. And he remembered something about her that no one in high school had known. Oh, he was playing it off, but he’d put thought into this. For both of them. No one had ever done that before. Certainly not Lance.
Something inside her warmed and shifted, and this unexpected thing between them slid right on past a simple flirtation and into something more.
As he put his hands on her, began to demonstrate the basic steps of the dance, all she could think was, Uh oh.
Chapter 9
“Okay, I’m calling it. I can’t possibly cram in any more questions or choreography tonight.”
“Sure?” Tucker asked, whipping her into a spin.
Corinne stumbled, lost her footing, and ended up plastered up against his chest, her arms clutching his shoulders. Exactly what he’d intended.
“Whoa there. I’ve got you.”
She blinked up at him, her pupils blown wide. One corner of her mouth quirked as she regained her footing and stepped away from him, bracing her hands on her thighs as she worked to catch her breath. He could pretend it was from more than the dancing, right?
Tucker handed over a bottle of water and chugged one of his own. “It’s a good start. You’ve got all the components. We just need to work on putting them all together. And it sounds like you’re better prepared for your test than you thought. I might even be able to answer a fair chunk of that test now.”
“Keep dreaming, Tuck,” Piper laughed. “Seriously, though, you’re in good shape, Corinne. We can do this again, if you like. When is your exam?”
“A week from Monday. I’ll be so relieved when it’s over. And yes, I’d love to do this again, if you don’t mind.”
“I’ll dig through my stuff at home. I know I’ve got more test materials stuffed in a box somewhere.”
“Thank you.” Corinne capped her w
ater. “I should be getting home to Kurt. It’s nearly time for bed, and we have another installment of Captain Underpants to cover.”
“Same time tomorrow night?” Tucker asked.
“Yeah, I can do that.” She smiled down at the lightsaber. “Kurt is seriously going to love this. Thanks for thinking of it.”
It was such a small thing and a fun thing. He’d just wanted to see the kid light up. But the way his mother looked at him as she handed the toy back over, as if he were her own personal superhero, made his chest swell with pride. Yeah, he could get used to that.
“You gonna tell him?”
“Oh no. He’d want to come to all the rehearsals and then we wouldn’t get anything done. This should be a surprise. Mama Pearl’s bringing him to the show.”
“Somebody will have to be sure to get a picture of his face when he sees,” Tucker said.
“It’ll be pure magic.” She grinned at him, and that, too, was pure magic.
The moment stretched out between them, full of things unsaid, gestures not made because they were both aware of their audience. They’d turned a corner, and he wasn’t quite sure how or what it meant. But there’d be time enough to figure that out later.
At last, Corinne scooped up her purse. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Tucker.”
“Tomorrow.”
“Thanks again for the study session,” she added, with a wave at Piper.
“No problem.”
They both watched as she walked out of the fellowship hall. Tucker turned back to his bluetooth speaker and made a bit of a production of turning it off, stowing it in the case.
“You know, I thought, at first, when you asked me to come drill her that this was about the competition and you helping out so you could get the most practice time. But you like her.”
“She’s been a good partner.” Tucker shrugged, putting off the inevitable for a few moments longer.
“No, I mean you like her like her.” Piper’s words came out more like an accusation.
The tone made him bristle. But he bit back the irritation and fell back on sarcasm. “What is this, high school?”
“Tucker.” A plea this time.