by Terra Kelly
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Charlene whispered.
Shawna cautiously said, “Mrs. Hawkins?”
“Yes.”
“If you plan to do what you did so long ago, please don’t bother calling him, though. Danny’s a good man with a gigantic heart. I let my own past get in the way and missed out on two years with him. I kinda regret that now. So please, if you want to make this right, and you want to put the past behind you, then call him. Otherwise…”
The phone was silent for a few seconds, but you could hear breathing on the other line. Finally, Charlene confessed, “I miss my boy.”
“Good. Then call him, okay?” Shawna persisted.
When they ended the call, she had the urge to talk to her parents. A feeling she would never get tired of…ever.
Chapter 29
He went to knock on the door but stopped when he heard Shawna talking. The front window was open only about an inch. Danny heard her say, Charlene and he went still. His mom.
Danny waited until the phone call ended before he knocked on the door. When Shawna opened the door, his heart stopped. She had her hair tied up in ponytail, one of his t-shirts on, and a spoon in one hand. He turned his head to the side and asked, “A spoon?”
“What?” Then Shawna looked down at her hand and quickly hid it behind her back.
He laughed and started to advance on her, attempting to grab the spoon from her grasp. “Whatchya got there, red? Did you eat my ice cream?” When she started to giggle and try to run away, he called out, “Wait? Did you eat my chocolate peanut butter swirl?” Danny reached forward to tickle her, as she leapt away, and stumbled back and fell on the couch. “How could you?” He straddled her body and brought her arms up over her head. “Whatever should I do with you now?” he said after a sigh.
Shawna giggled. “Maybe you should tie me up and teach me a lesson?”
Danny smiled. “You’re cute when you’re trying to be all naughty. Although, you do have some scarfs hanging in your closet.” He winked and bent down only inches from her face. “Thank you.”
She scowled in confusion. “For what? For wanting to be tied up?”
He gave her a light laugh and kissed her lips. “No silly.” He paused and then admitted, “For what you said to my mom.”
She looked surprised. “Oh.” She sighed and said, “I felt bad that I talked to her without you around. I’m glad you heard.” Shawna smiled. “She said she misses you.” Danny let her arms go, and she reached up to wrap them around his neck. “But if she fucks with your heart again, I’m going to go all “Kill Bill” on her ass.”
His eyes went wide. “You mean business don’t you?” Danny actually found her violent side pretty damn sexy. Slowly he started to move his hands up her arms. He bent to kiss her neck and then lifted his head. “So about those scarfs?”
“Wait, wait,” Shawna begged and started to move side to side. “God, I hate the feeling right before a lift. My stomach feels like it may drop out at any moment.”
Danny turned his head to the side and asked, “You do know the competition is tomorrow night, right?”
He felt a little nervous about the routines, only because they had practiced them all in front of just Anya and Gabriel. Tomorrow night they would be surrounded by family, friends, and probably the rest of the damn town. Danny moaned and leaned up against the wall. “Okay, just had a visual of the crowd for tomorrow night. Think we can skip out and pretend the competition was cancelled?”
Gabriel laughed lightly as he made his way over to Danny. “Canceled? No. There are twelve couples competing.”
“Twelve?” Shawna sounded surprised. “Wow, how the hell do we even have a chance at this thing?”
Danny nodded. “Red’s got a point there. We’re amateurs. Hell, I can’t remember when to lift her from one side to the other.”
Shawna touched his shoulder and proceeded to agree with his protests. “Right? And look at me. I can’t for the life of me shake this fear every time I need to do the lift.”
“Well, someone has to start at the beginning, right?” Eddy Hawkins said and walked to the center of the dance floor.
Anya gasped. “Eddy and Charlene Hawkins? What an honor to have you in our studio.”
Danny’s smile faded. “Dad.”
“They’re your parents?” Gabriel asked, sounding shocked.
Shawna walked up to them both and put her hand out. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you both.”
Charlene reached forward and gave Shawna the biggest hug. She whispered, “Thank you, dear.”
Danny shook his head lightly. Just two seconds prior they were all joking, and now the room felt overcrowded and stuffy. Danny had finally talked to his mom on the phone for about ten minutes a few nights ago. A part of him was still processing the exchange. His mom genuinely wanted to make things right between them. It would just take some time.
“So, lifts, want to talk about them?” Eddy asked, walking over to Charlene.
Danny struggled with how to respond. Finally, he just nodded and said, “Yeah, that’d be great.”
Charlene stepped away from Eddy. “I do still get that feeling in the pit of my stomach, too,” she admitted. “Most of the time I just try to not overthink what’s about to happen, and just go for it.” Then she ran toward Danny’s dad without hesitation. He lifted her up so perfectly.
Danny knew it took a lot of strength to have them so high up in the air, but his father’s arms were so still. Every time he had Shawna up in the air his arms would shake and his muscles were on fire. His parents on the other hand made it look so easy.
“Uh, yeah, we have a long way to go until we get there,” Shawna joked.
Eddy turned toward Shawna and said, “You’re turn.” Then he held his arms out as an open invitation. Danny could tell she seemed uncomfortable at his words. “Don’t think, just run,” Eddie said quickly.
Shawna took in a deep breath, let it out, and ran.
Danny watched at how his dad held his body before the lift, during the lift, and after. He nodded. “Okay, it’s me and how I hold you, Shawna.”
Her eyes went wide. “Um, yeah, I think so, love,” she admitted. “That felt amazing.”
For the next two hours, Danny worked with his mom on how to lift her up properly. While Eddy worked with Shawna. They all were relentless in their efforts to get the lift just perfect and never stopped practicing, not even for a drink of water.
Finally, Anya yelled out, “Okay my lovelies, you need to rehydrate.”
Danny finally stopped which ended his adrenaline rush. He slid to the floor and rested his head back against the mirror. He was out of breath and soaking wet. In between catching his breath, he said, “That was amazing.”
Shawna plopped down beside him, took a swig of her water, and confessed, “I think I may love lifts now.” She handed Danny her water. “Let’s do the full routine now and see how it all comes together.”
Charlene sat down in front of them. “When did you both start dancing together? You have great chemistry.”
Danny laughed. “Funny story there.” And then he proceeded to share how they met almost two years ago. His mom seemed surprised that they had only been together a short amount of time. Danny shrugged his shoulders. “Well, you need to give me an “A” for effort, but this woman”—he reached for Shawna’s hand and squeezed it—“she’s pretty stubborn.”
Shawna shook her head. “Yeah, he’s right.” then said, “And I was dumb. I feel like I missed out on some awesome time with your son, but my damn past…you know.”
Eddy leaned his shoulder against the mirror not far from them and said, “Yeah, we know.”
Danny didn’t know how to absorb this day; it felt almost too overwhelming. He had finally got the girl as the old saying went. Plus, in the process, he reunited with his parents—something he had never expected would happen in his lifetime. The fact that Mrs. Winters kept in contact with his parents only solidified even more tod
ay how much he truly cared about the Winters family.
If it had not been for Drew and Isabel, he would not have met Shawna. Then taking it even further, he saw how if he did not have the Winters family in his life, he would not be the man he is today. Life had a funny way of getting you to the end result.
Day of the competition…
“Did you eat anything?” Isabel asked Danny and handed him an energy bar.
“No. Probably safer not to right now,” he admitted. Eating and dancing were not a great combo for him.
Shawna grabbed the bar from his hand and took a bite. In between chewing, she said, “You need to eat, hon. We don’t want you dropping me tonight. I’m a delicate little flower and could break.” She winked and took another bite of the energy bar.
“You do know that was for him, right?” Izzy said, sounding exasperated.
Danny laughed. “I’ll be fine. What number are we?”
The hall where the dance competition was being held was huge and easily held over five hundred people. There were servers milling about ensuring the guests had drinks and food. The center of the room had been cleared away, and tables circled around the space. Off in the corner a sixteen-piece band was already playing some upbeat music for the crowd.
“Seven,” Shawna said and let out a heavy sigh. “Did you see the other competitors?”
He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her closer and then kissed the tip of her nose. “Yup, and we may be in over our heads, but let’s still plan to have a lot of fun tonight.” He nuzzled her neck and left a light trail of kisses from her neck to the sweet spot behind her ear. He whispered for her ears only, “And then have more fun later tonight.”
She moaned, tightened her hold on him, and whispered, “I like that idea. Think they would know if we skipped out now?”
There was a collective, “Yes” all around them. Danny shook his head. “Guess we’re stuck. Bonus, we get a party afterwards if we win or not.”
Joshua walked up beside him. “People were instructed to leave if you lose,” he said.
Danny turned his head to the side. “Really?”
“No,” Josh said and started to laugh. “Do you really think I would do that to you?”
Yet again there was a collective, “Yes” from the whole family.
Danny shrugged his shoulders. “Sorry man, you’re voted off the island.” He actually found it more calming to have the family there, because they were keeping everyone entertained and distracted.
Anya ran up, grabbed Shawna and Danny’s hands and asked, “Okay darlings, you ready? You’re up next.”
Danny turned to face Shawna and let out a heavy sigh. “You ready, red?” He felt the pressure of doing well for his family but also because they had worked so hard for this night.
She nodded. “Let’s do this.” As they both started to make their way to the dance floor, Shawna tugged on his arm. He turned toward her. “Danny, I didn’t join this competition to win. I joined because of you,” she admitted. “I just thought you should know that.”
He turned his head to the side and smiled. “Yeah? So if I mess up you won’t be mad?”
“Oh yeah, of course I will,” she said in between laughing and as they walked onto the dance floor.
They ended up having an amazing routine. Danny had the timing down perfectly and managed to not step on her feet. When it came time for the lift, well, that had been another story. Right when Shawna ran toward him, something happened, and she just leaped into his arms for a hug and bent her head in shame.
She slid down his chest and whispered, “I’m sorry.”
He lifted her chin. “Hey, I didn’t join this to win, either. When Isabel told me you needed a partner, I couldn’t wait to just get the chance to hold you finally.” He bent down and kissed her lips. “Thank you.”
Isabel ran up and gushed, “Shawna, you just pulled a Dirty Dancing move. Did you do that on purpose?”
Danny looked between both women. “The Dirty Dancing move? What does that mean?”
Shawna rolled her eyes. “Baby missed the jump the first time she had to dance with Johnny in the movie.” She quickly said, “And no, I seriously don’t know what came over me. Right before I felt good, then fear set in while I was running toward you. I wish there was a do over button.”
Anya rubbed her back and said, “Honey, it is a common thing. I tripped twice for my first competition. You still placed fifth. You both should be very proud with all the time and effort you put into each routine.”
Charlene walked up. “You both looked amazing out there. Anya’s right, everyone has some sort of mix up for their first competition. I think, if I remember correctly, Eddy was spinning me around and dropped me.”
Eddy started laughing. “Oh yeah, I had my one hand out to the side, and the other holding your leg. You actually needed stitches after that fall.”
There was a collective gasp. Danny turned to see all the Winters grouped together behind him. Both Shawna and his parents standing next to each other. He shook his head. He couldn’t believe that just a few short months ago he adopted a dog to keep him company because had felt lonely. Now, he had a dog, more family than he could ask for, and the most amazing woman by his side.
He smiled at Shawna who seemed to be soaking the moment up, too. He grabbed both her hands and pulled her in closer to his body. He whispered, “Think we can let go of the past finally? You and me both?”
She glanced around. “Oh yeah, only forward from now on,” she whispered. She put her pinky out and said, “Pinky swear?”
He grabbed her pinky with his own, pulled her in, and started laughing. “I think I love you, red. Is that okay?”
She started to sway back and forth with him. “It’s very okay. You have my heart and soul, my sexy firefighter.”
He laughed and dipped her back. “God, I can’t wait to see what happens next.”
Epilogue
Three months later…
Shawna grabbed Danny’s arm. “Wait. Oh my God, these paddleboards need to come with handrails.” She laughed and tried to stay up right.
Danny turned to his head to the side. “Handrails? You can do fancy turns and jumps on one leg.” Shawna swatted at his arm and Danny quickly stepped away from her and laughed. The moment he let go of Shawna, she lost her balance and fell backwards into the water.
“Oh, you’re in trouble now,” Grant said and placed his hand on Danny’s shoulder.
Once a month the Winters all tried to get together for dinner on Sunday afternoon. Danny always had to work in the past and missed out on the family fun. For the last three months he made it a point to spend more time with the Winters.
A few weeks back Shawna had suggested a beach picnic for their next Sunday dinner. Connie was excited and ended up inviting all the extended family. The Winters family was huge compared to Danny’s small entourage.
“Shawna? Are you okay?” Georgie asked and reached her hand out to help Shawna up.
Danny took a few steps back away from Shawna and gave a coy smile. “Still want to paddleboard, baby?”
She scowled. “Um, yeah, don’t challenge me, mister.” Danny could tell she was trying not to smile.
He carefully stepped up on his board. “Let’s go.”
“Have fun you two,” Grant said and shook his head.
He glanced over at Georgie standing only about a foot away. Her brunette hair was tied up in a bun with wisps of hair falling around her face. The sunlight was hitting her just right to show all her distinct features. She had several freckles peppered all over her face. Her mouth always looked thin with displeasure and jaw clenched.
Grant avoided conversation with Georgie most times because she only said about two words to him. Since they were standing together watching Shawna and Danny. He cleared his throat. “How are you liking Wilmington?” he asked and placed his hands in his pockets.
She never turned her head. “Better now,” she said and finally faced Grant.
“Yeah, why’s that?” He was genuinely curious. Grant found it hard to think standing beside Georgie. She had on a blue and green stripped bikini that was very revealing.
Now that she lived close Grant struggled with avoiding his feelings. He knew the moment Georgie was close by because his body reacted.
She stepped up closer to Grant and he sucked in a breath. “The view is much better here,” she said with a grin.
Grant was lifting his hand up to touch her cheek when Izzy yelled from behind them. “Hey you two, where’s Shawna and Danny?” He dropped his hand back to his side but never took his eyes off Georgie.
Grant pointed at what was now two small dots off in the distance. “They’re braving the ocean,” he said and finally broke eye contact with Georgie. He smiled. “Danny challenged Shawna.”
Izzy shook her head. “Well, they’ll be gone for awhile then,” she laughed. “Connie has a fresh batch of bourbon lemonades, come on over and grab some.”
Grant nodded. “We’ll be right there.” Georgie started to follow Izzy but he quickly said, “Wait.”
She glanced back with an unreadable expression. “I’m going to go grab a cocktail,” she said and turned away.
Grant felt conflicted. Should he go to Georgie or just watch her walk away? He almost chose the latter. Then something came of over him and he yelled out, “Georgie.”
Georgie stopped and stayed rooted to the spot.
He noticed her body shaking ever so slightly. Grant stepped up behind her and said, “Please don’t go.” They were standing far enough away from the rest of the family to avoid a show.
“Grant,” she whispered. “What are you doing?”
He walked around to face Georgie. “What I should’ve done a long time ago.” He reached his hands up and placed them on either side of her face. Grant pulled her closer and lightly kissed that displeasure off her lips.
Georgie placed her hands over his. “Yeah, the view is definitely much better here,” she smiled and leaned in to kiss him again.