Justus squatted by the chair. “Hey Alyssa, how would you like to sit on my shoulders for a bit?”
“Yes!” The little girl scrambled from Dakota’s lap so fast one might have thought he’d offered her a lifetime supply of candy.
Dakota gave Justus a look of thanks. He only nodded and squatted down so Alyssa could scrabble up his back and onto his shoulders.
Good with kids. Chalk up another tally mark in the pros column. Not that she was keeping track.
“Okay you guys,” Marie called for their attention. “I saw the looks you all were giving us this morning, and I know this is asking a lot from all of you, but I promise you we are going to have fun with this. So here’s how it’s going to go. First our song, ‘I Will Always Love You’, is going to start out nice and slow and Reece and I are going to start the dance, then the song is going to splice into a faster version and we want you six to come in. We’re going to do a little routine that will be fun and wow all the guests, and then it will morph back to the slow version and will end with just Reece and me on the floor again.”
“What about me, Mommy?” Alyssa called from her perch. “Do I get to dance?”
Marie smiled at her. “Not this first dance, baby. You will get a chance to dance with Reece later, but for this one you’re going to sit with Grandma, okay?”
Alyssa bent around and peered into Justus’s face, her eyes all asparkle. “Mr. Reece is going to be my daddy!”
Justus gave her a smile. “And I bet he’s going to be a good one, too, don’t you think?”
“Yep.” Alyssa gave a definitive nod of her little head. “Yep, I do.”
Reece’s feet shuffled, and he kicked at something on the floor with the toe of his cowboy boot.
Dakota felt the sting of the tears that sprang into her eyes. She had loved watching God bringing this family together, and now tomorrow their long journey would finally come to both an end and a beginning.
Something made her glance up at Justus. Justus frowned, taking in her tears. He glanced from her to Reece and back again, a look of speculation in his gaze. And with dread Dakota realized he’d mistaken the reason for her emotional state.
But it was too late to quietly correct him, because Marie was dispersing them to the spots she wanted them to enter the dance floor from, and Justus was busy setting Alyssa down and pointing her in the direction of her grandmother.
When they once again stood side by side, he was stiff and sullen.
“Justus,” she whispered his name, wetting her lips as she waited for his attention, because somehow it was suddenly very important to her that he understand she did not have feelings for Reece.
He dropped his focus to her.
She shook her head. “My tears were ones of happiness for what God is doing in the lives of my friends, and not for any other reason.”
His brow lowered. “So…you don’t have feelings for him?”
She shook her head. “No. But I do have a confession to make…”
He folded his arms and leaned into his heels. “A confession?”
“I can’t dance.”
Brows arched, he gave her a bit of an exasperated look. Then he chuckled. “You’re serious?”
She grinned. “Utterly and completely. I’ve never danced a day in my life, and I’m going to have to learn with a gimpy leg. You and I are probably going to end up in a heap on the floor.”
His laugh was full and long this time. “That’s what you started to tell me back in the car before the boy ran out in front of us, wasn’t it? You said we needed to talk about my toes and—” he scratched his head— “I have to tell you, I had this whole image of you wanting me to take my shoes off so you could look at my feet. I was a little worried, and my weird-girl-radar was clanging pretty loudly.”
Reece and Marie’s song started, and Dakota leaned a little closer to him to be heard over the notes. “You want weird-girl? You’re about to experience her firsthand”
He grinned. “You are stressing about this just a little too much. You just go out there and move your feet in time to the music. We don’t have to look all professional, or anything. Just follow my lead. It’s a basic four-step song.”
She gave him a pointed look and thrust her booted foot into the air.
He chuckled this time. “My dad used to have my sister stand on his feet. We could have you do that to me.”
A blush washed over her at the mere thought of being so close to him, not to mention smashing his toes with her weight. “I think I’ll take my chances, thanks.”
“Okay, so we have a few seconds before our part. Let me show you.”
Before she could even blink, he stepped right in front of her and took her crutches. He leaned them against a table to their right, then rested his hands on her shoulders and studied her carefully. “How’s your ankle? You going to be able to do this?”
The way his nearness was impacting her, if she fell flat on her face it would have nothing to do with her twisted ankle, she felt sure about that. She managed a nod and wished she could pull up even one of the items on her cons list.
“So…” he cleared his throat. “This hand goes here.” He lifted her right hand to his left shoulder and settled one palm against her waist, clasping her other hand with his free one. “And the steps are easy. I start with my left leg and you with your right. You are going to step back while I step forward.”
“Backward!?” She tossed a glance behind herself to make sure the path was clear.
He gave her a trust-me look. “Don’t worry. I won’t run you into anything, I promise. Ready? So two steps back…” He guided her through the moves and she felt like a stiff marionette on broken strings. He was chuckling by the time they finished the second step. “And then one step to your right like…so.” He squeezed her hand gently. “Good. And then we repeat.” The music’s pace picked up. “And this is our cue to step in, so here we go.” He spun her out onto the floor, and Dakota spent the whole first round counting steps and making sure her feet followed Justus’s lead.
The music wound down and Marie clapped her hands in delight. “Thanks you guys! This is going to be so special and mean so much to us.” She motioned to the person in the sound booth to cue the music up again. “Let’s go through it one more time just so you’re all comfortable with the steps, and then we’ll work on positioning and putting it all together.” Both Reece and Kylen groaned audibly, and both Marie and Taysia smacked them at the same moment. Dakota snickered as Marie called, “Not much longer, I promise” and the music started.
If she’d thought being so near to Justus the first time around had been bad, this time was infinitely worse. Mostly because she was comfortable enough now with the easy rhythm that she didn’t need to stare down at their feet or count her steps, and she wasn’t quite sure where to look.
She concentrated on the center of his T-shirt but then became aware of the ripple and play of well-defined muscle beneath the dark blue cotton and liked it just a little too much. Her face heated and she tossed him a quick glance to see what he was doing.
His attention was fixed on her face, his lips tipped up in bemusement. “You’re a fast learner, Dakota Trask.” He leaned slightly closer. “And very pretty when you blush.” One eyelid dropped in a quick wink.
She wanted to look away. Should look away. But her eyes refused the instructions her brain tried to send them. Feeling the pulse of heat beating in time with her heart, she tucked her lower lip between her teeth. “That’s a little bold for ‘just friends’, don’t you think?” Her outright flirtation surprised her and increased the temperature of her face even more. She did manage to look away then. But only for a second and then she was once again entrapped by the blue magnetism of his gaze.
His voice was warm and low. “Mmmmm, maybe.” The humor in his expression seeped away, and his focus drifted from her eyes to her hair, brushed across both her cheeks, and swept down to her lips, where it paused. He swallowed and seemed to give himself a litt
le shake. And then the intensity in his gaze was gone, replaced again with his casual soft scrutiny.
The song ended and he released her. She gimped a couple steps away to give herself some space and get a hold of her emotions.
Marie floated over, all aglow, and wrapped Dakota in a big hug. “Thanks for all you’ve done to help me prepare for tomorrow. I couldn’t have done this without you!”
Happy for the distraction, Dakota hugged her back. “Absolutely. I’m so thrilled for you guys.”
“Are you thrilled for me, Aunt Kota?”
Dakota bent to peer into the round face with sincere brown eyes and bopped Alyssa on the nose. “Yes. I’m thrilled for you too.”
They spent the next thirty minutes practicing a bit of choreography for the dance, and Dakota prided herself on the fact that she was somehow able to morph into work mode and simply get the learning done without thinking about the man she was dancing with…too much.
Finally Marie called, “Alright everyone, our reservations at the restaurant are in thirty minutes, so let’s all mosey on that way, okay?”
Dakota’s stomach rumbled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since breakfast earlier that morning. Justus hadn’t either. He was probably practically famished if he was anything like her brother.
Justus appeared at her side with her crutches and held them out to her.
Alyssa tilted her head and gave Dakota a serious assessment as she tucked the crutches under her arms. “Aunt Kota looks tired. You should give her a piggybackride so she doesn’t have to hop up all those stairs.”
Dakota’s eyes shot wide and she spun to look at Justus. “Uh…”
Justus was no help. He only folded his arms and raised his eyebrows at her, a bit of a devilish grin tipping his lips.
She spun back to Alyssa. “I’m fine, honey. Thanks for thinking of me. But I’m too big for Mr. Justus to give a piggyback ride to.”
Alyssa shrugged in a “whatever” gesture and followed her mother toward the stairs.
Justus leaned close, one hand settling at the small of Dakota’s back as he spoke low in her ear. “I can think of worse things than having your arms around me.” The warmth of his breath brushed her cheek.
A trickle of pure bliss tripped down her spine and spread through her extremities in a warm wave. But she slammed her teeth together refusing to give the feeling roots. The problem was she didn’t want to feel warmth spreading through her extremities. She’d much rather that she was repulsed by his attention. But somehow he was breaching all her carefully constructed barriers. Why couldn’t she be attracted to some guy who wore pocket protectors for a living? One who would go to a nice safe work environment every day and come home to her and the kids every night? But no! She had to be attracted to an ex-con who worked with kids who were a danger to society for his living. He was just as likely to get shot on the job as to come home at night. After losing Jason, she didn’t know if she could go through something like that again.
She gave him as scathing a look as she could muster, which, because of a traitorous smile that slipped free, she feared came out more like a coy invitation than a “back off” warning.
A twinkle lit his gaze. And his warm laughter filled all the nooks and crannies of her heart as he stretched out one hand for her to precede him.
Chapter 8
Justus fisted the lining of his pockets as he ushered Dakota into the restaurant. He hadn’t found the words yet to tell her he wanted more than friendship. But maybe that was a good thing. If he did end up going back to Deschutes Rejuvenation could he ask her to come with him? Then again…what were the chances he was going back? He sighed.
The room Reece and Marie had reserved at Fisherman’s Wharf for their reception dinner was an intimately curtained alcove in one corner of the dining area. Glass walls on two sides of the table faced the beach and ocean, but since sheer white curtains had been pulled to block the brightness of the low-hanging sun outside, it was mostly the soft warm red drapes and candlelight that caught Justus’s attention. That and the chin-height blonde woman leaning on her crutches at his side.
He took a second to study her, since her attention was fixed elsewhere at the moment. Today she wore her long blonde hair straight and flowing past her shoulders. Her oval face glowed with happiness as she watched Reece seat Marie at the head of the table. Her lips turned up just slightly, and joy crinkled the corners of her lake-blue eyes.
He swallowed. Definitely a face a guy would love to wake up to for the rest of his life. But he had no right to be staring, as evidenced by her wrinkled nose that suddenly captured his focus. She’d caught his scrutiny.
He purposely held her gaze, lifted his brows, and dropped her a wink. He did it because the pink that touched her cheeks had enchanted him often this afternoon and he wanted to see it one more time. He wasn’t disappointed for his efforts.
She looked down and leaned more heavily on her crutches.
He wasn’t acting like much of a gentleman. Quickly he remedied that by pulling out the nearest chair for her. She’d been a real trooper this afternoon but he knew her ankle and arm were probably throbbing to beat the band right about now.
“Thanks.” She sank into her seat.
He took the crutches from her and walked them to the corner and leaned them there before returning to take his seat next to her. “How are you doing? Do you need any pain killers?”
Weariness seemed to drape her features. “Actually, I think I will take something. I’ve got a pretty bad headache coming on.”
He watched her fumble through her purse and felt a wave of concern. She’d probably been on her feet far too long today. And he knew she’d stayed up much too late last night doing all the calligraphy on the tent cards for the tables at the reception. She had the bottle of pills in her hand now, but her hands were trembling, and she seemed to be having a hard time with the cap. “Here, let me.” He took the bottle and opened it, then handed it back to her. “Do you want me just to take you back to Serenity Shores? You’ve been on your feet a long time today.”
“No. No.” She shook her head and gave him a smile he felt sure was forced. “I’ll be fine in a few minutes. Just had a wave of exhaustion wash over me a minute ago. But I think it’s simply from being in a bit of pain all day long.” She swallowed down two of the pills.
“Marie’s lucky to have a friend like you.” He meant it. Dakota was a person who would always put the needs of another above her own.
Dakota grinned at him. “She’d be luckier if I could dance.”
He chuckled. “You did just fine.”
“Thanks to you.”
He shrugged and lifted his hands. “What can I say? We’re good together.”
Her lips thinned like she thought he probably expected her to smile at that but her heart wasn’t really in it.
Back off, Justus. Give her some space.
The problem was, the more time he spent with her, the less he wanted to give her space.
Riley couldn’t believe she’d missed the fact that the rehearsal dinner was going to be held at Fisherman’s Wharf. It took nearly every morsel of resolve she possessed to climb from the car in the parking lot when Jalen pulled into a spot in front of the log and stone building. Golden light spilled from the large windows, and the setting sun had washed the sky behind the building a pale pink, but the ambiance did nothing to sooth the rapid beating of her heart. Nor did it make the suddenly illusive oxygen any more prevalent.
If not for Jalen’s steady assessment, she might have just given in to the desire to curl herself into a little ball and rock the past several years away. But he was there. And his seemingly all-seeing gaze was fastened to her as though he sensed something was wrong even though she felt certain she’d given no visible reaction. So she drew in a calming breath and forced one foot in front of the other.
Through dinner and all the chit chat she held her silence, picking at her food and doing her best to look like she was having a good time. Tha
nkfully Marie was so enthralled and excited, she wasn’t her normally observant self, and everyone else was keeping her busy.
But now, dinner was over and Riley’d really had about all that she could take of the room. Maybe God was tormenting her because, even though the tables were arranged slightly differently, the place she wound up sitting was almost the exact location where she’d sat as she waited for Nate to arrive for their date that night all those years ago. The night her life had started to fall utterly and completely apart. Before that summer night, at least she’d had some tattered rags to grab onto – and she’d been clinging to them for all she was worth, even though doing so was threatening to pull her limb from limb. She’d even tried to get Nate to marry her.
But after that night. After the wreck. And the boy who’d been killed…Nate had just never been the same.
She remembered the feel of her phone vibrating. Thinking Nate must have gotten tied up at work. Glancing down. Seeing that it was the hospital calling. She remembered the wave of dread that had washed over her. How a seagull had swept past the window and cavorted with a breeze as she’d pressed her phone to her ear and answered with a tremulous, “Hello?”
Her hands clenched so hard they trembled.
Beside her Jalen shifted. “Everything okay?”
She’d have liked to tell him to take his quiet attentiveness and eat it. But the last thing she wanted was to make Marie feel bad for having her rehearsal dinner here. It wasn’t her fault, after all, that Nate had chosen to go drinking and surfing after work that day instead of coming straight here like they’d planned. Not her fault a kid had died. Not her fault that Nate had let his guilt eat away the rest of his humanity.
Jalen was still watching her.
Song of the Surf (Pacific Shores Book 3) Page 7