Love Inspired March 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: A Wife for Jacob\The Forest Ranger's Rescue\Alaskan Homecoming (50 page)

“I wasn't.” He yawned and blinked a few times.

A mysterious noise rose above the notes of the music, and after a quick scan of the room Posy realized it was the sound of a Newfoundland snoring. Wonderful. Even Sundog was wholly unimpressed.

“This is bad. This is really bad. You're so bored you can't even stay awake.” Posy glanced back at the front of the room, where the girls continued to dance.

The poor things. Their faces were scrunched in concentration, stage grins glued in place. Posy had never seen a corps of dancers so determined to perform to the best of their ability. They deserved thunderous applause and a standing ovation, both of which were unlikely to happen.

To her abject horror, she found herself yawning.

“Liam, we have to do something. This isn't going to work,” she murmured. In the center of the floor, Melody was executing a shaky passé.

She'd given Melody a featured role in the dance, which had definitely helped matters. But the entire variation was just missing something. There had to be a way to breathe life into this routine. Something simple and doable, even at a beginning level. For the life of her, she couldn't come up with anything.

Liam cut her a meaningful look. “Posy, you know you're being too hard on yourself.”

Maybe he was right. Maybe her unending quest for perfection—the flawless turnout, the just-right arabesque—was getting in the way of enjoying this whole process. Ballerinas were notorious overachievers, and she was no exception. When you spent hours upon hours, days upon days, years upon years standing in front of a mirror repeating the same movements, it was all too easy to notice the slightest little wobble or imperfection.

But that didn't explain the snoring of the masses, did it?

“I want them to be happy, to be proud of themselves. They've worked so hard. I want the people in the audience to jump to their feet when it's over.”

Liam smiled warmly. “They will. The show is for their friends and relatives. You know what a tight-knit community this is. You couldn't ask for a more supportive audience.”

“I also want the grant for the youth program. You do, too.” And therein lay the true problem. Would the recital be impressive enough to convince the government to award money to their program? Money they so desperately needed?

“I see your point.” Liam's smile faded.

Despite his best efforts, the snowball team's record thus far was a dismal 0-3. The boys were having fun despite their losing streak, but Lou was even more convinced that the youth group's only shot at the grant was Posy's ballet instruction. And of course, he was sure the biggest jewel in their crown would be the recital.

Her stomach hurt just thinking about it.

“I want to capture the wonder of dance, Liam. That spirit has nothing to do with technical perfection. It's something else. Something better.”

“I know,” he said quietly. He was thinking about their night on the ice.

She was thinking about it, too. Because that sweet moment of magic was precisely the feeling she wanted to somehow capture within the recital. But who was she kidding? That had been a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Dancing with Liam had meant more to her than all of her ballet performances put together.

But she couldn't dwell on that now. Thinking that way would make leaving all the more difficult.

The music swelled. Posy squeezed her eyes closed against the images dancing and spinning in her imagination. She did her best not to sigh, not to picture herself moving across a diamond sheet of ice in Liam's arms, stepping in time to the dramatic crescendo of Prokofiev's score.

Why did she keep reliving that moment?

Because it was the single most romantic moment of your existence.

She opened her eyes.

“That's it,” she said.

“What?” Liam asked.

“I've figured it out. What this recital needs is romance. Not more advanced dance steps or anything technical. Just the tenderness of romance.” How had she not thought of this before? It was so simple.

“Surely you're not saying what I think you're saying.”

Indeed she was.

“I'm talking about a pas de deux. It's the perfect idea. Think about it. It would look so great on the grant application. We just need one thing to make it work.” She smiled. The steps were already coming to her. Basic turns, a promenade—the sweet simplicity of Cinderella dancing with her Prince Charming. “A dance partner for Melody.”

Chapter Fifteen

“N
o way.” Ronnie shook his head so hard that Liam was almost worried it would fall right off his neck. “No. Way.”

“Ronnie,” Liam said with exaggerated calmness. “I urge you to think about this for a little while before you say no.”

He'd been worried that Ronnie's reaction wouldn't be favorable, which was why he'd convinced Posy to let him handle the situation. Liam suspected that if Posy approached him with the idea, he wouldn't be able to see past her clothes—the leotard and tights—and wonder if she would expect him to wear something similar.

Plus Liam had developed a special rapport with Ronnie. He had a feeling Ronnie would get on board simply because he asked for his help.

As added insurance, Liam had removed Ronnie from the situation. Far away from anything ballet-related. Plus he'd invoked pizza as a bribe, choosing to drop the bomb on him at the pizza parlor down the street from the church.

“No way,” Ronnie said again and shoved a slice of pepperoni pizza in his mouth. “Find someone else, Pastor. Please.”

So much for their special rapport.

“Ronnie, like I said before, if you just think about it...”

Ronnie gestured wildly with his pizza slice. A few shavings of pepperoni went airborne. “I don't need to think about it. There's no way I'm going to put on a pair of tights and get up onstage in front of the entire town. I can't believe you're even asking me to do this. Haven't I been punished enough? It was one snowball.
One snowball!
”

To say he wasn't taking the news well that Posy wanted him to dance the role of Prince Charming in the recital would have been an understatement. An understatement bigger than the imaginary bear Posy had thought was after her on her first day back in town.

“Think about the group for a minute, Ronnie. Think about how hard the girls have been working on this recital.” He paused for dramatic effect before he pulled out the big guns. If this didn't work, nothing would. “Think about Melody.”

Ronnie's second pizza slice paused halfway en route to his mouth. “What about Melody?”

Finally they were getting somewhere. “She would be your dance partner.”

“She would?” he asked tentatively.

“Yes. She's Cinderella, and you'd be playing the part of Prince Charming.”

Ronnie frowned. “Are you sure? I thought Posy was the big star of the show. She's the famous dancer and all. Isn't she supposed to be Cinderella?”

“I'm one hundred percent sure. Posy is only dancing in the recital because Pastor Lou insisted that she participate. She's going to dance a small solo at the very end. The show is really about you kids.” Liam slid a slice of pizza onto his plate before it was too late. Ronnie was putting away the food faster than the snow was falling outside. “Melody is most definitely Cinderella.”

“And I would get to dance with her? Like it was prom?”

Ah, prom. Liam had forgotten all about it. The big high school dance was still two months away, but that hadn't stopped the kids from chatting about it nearly every day at youth group.

“Not exactly like prom, but similar. It's still ballet, but maybe Melody would be more inclined to go to prom with you if she danced with you in the recital. That's certainly something to consider.” He needed to consider it fast. The recital was only a week and a half away.

“I don't know, Pastor. Me? Ballet? I just don't see it.”

“All right. I understand.” Liam feigned nonchalance. He was down to his final tactic. “I'm sure one of the other boys will step up to the plate.”

Ronnie kept on eating, but then seemed to catch on to the implications of what Liam had said. “Wait. What do you mean one of the other boys? I thought Posy wanted me to do it.”

“She does, but if you say no, she's going to ask someone else. Caleb probably. He and Melody get along great. They'd make a good couple, don't you think?” He was laying it on a little thick, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

“Fine.” Ronnie tossed a sliver of pizza crust down on his plate. “I'll do it.”

“I thought you might change your mind.” Liam grinned.

“But no tights!”

* * *

The next afternoon, Liam busied himself in his office while Posy held the first rehearsal for the pas de deux she'd choreographed for Melody and Ronnie. He'd offered to help out to make sure Ronnie cooperated as promised, but Posy had assured him that his assistance wasn't necessary. She could handle things on her own, which was for the best, really. He had plenty to do. Over the course of the past few weeks, he'd fallen woefully behind on office work. He told himself he'd simply been busy dodging snowballs and dealing with the grant application paperwork. He refused to admit that his mess of an office had anything to do with Posy's return to Aurora.

Keep telling yourself that. Your head has been all over the place lately.

He had stacks of permission forms that had never been filed, the calendar of youth activities required revisions and the youth department website was sorely in need of updating. The first two items on his to-do list probably could have waited, but that last chore probably needed to be taken care of before their application for the grant was turned in. It sure couldn't hurt. Given the youth group's funds, or lack thereof, hiring an actual Webmaster was an unheard-of luxury. That chore, like so many others, fell squarely on Liam's shoulders. And there was no time like the present to get caught up.

He logged on to the hosting site and uploaded a few photos from recent youth-group activities. Within just a few minutes of getting started, the steady thump-thump of music drifted toward his office from the fellowship hall.

Liam's fingertips grew still over his keyboard, and he strained to hear the score. It sounded vaguely familiar. Something classical, no doubt. Ronnie was probably rolling his eyes right that very second.

Maybe he should go look in on things, just to be sure Ronnie's attitude stayed in check.

Right. It's Ronnie you want to see.

Liam scowled at his reflection in the computer monitor. Of course Ronnie was the one he was concerned about. After all, the kid hadn't seemed all that enthusiastic about the prospect of dancing in the recital. Liam had pretty much tricked him into agreeing to participate.

Posy can handle things. Mind your own business.

He went back to jabbing at his keyboard and willed himself to ignore the music coming from the fellowship hall. Within five minutes, his foot was tapping along to the melody. He continued uploading photos, one after another, and suddenly the music came to an abrupt halt.

His foot grew restless. He waited for the tune to resume. It didn't. He waited, then waited some more. Nothing.

Do not go in there.

Once again, he stared at himself in the glossy screen of his monitor. “You're going in there, aren't you?”

He huffed out a sigh and pushed out of his chair.
You're not spending all afternoon crashing Posy's rehearsal. One minute. Five, tops.

“Pastor.” Ronnie's face grew deep crimson the moment Liam crossed the threshold. His hands, which had been placed gingerly around Melody's waist, jerked away at once. “What are you doing here?”

Melody collapsed out of a tentative-looking arabesque and went teetering face-first toward the floor. Panic gripped Liam by the throat. He'd known all along this was a bad idea. Someone was bound to get hurt. He leaped toward Melody to keep her from falling, but Posy had already steadied her. Liam found himself grasping at nothing but air.

“I've got her. She's fine,” Posy said.

Melody beamed up at Posy with an expression of hero worship and wonder on her face that mirrored that of every girl in the youth group lately. They all wanted to be Posy when they grew up. Every last one of them. And by all appearances, Posy adored them with equal affection.

Posy aimed a quizzical look at him over Melody's outstretched arm. “What are you doing here? Besides distracting my danseur, that is.”

Ronnie's face grew three shades redder. “Please don't call me that. It sounds dumb.”

Melody dropped her extended leg, stood upright and jammed her hands on her hips. “It means
male dancer
in French. That's all. You're the one being dumb.”

Ronnie crossed his arms. “This is your recital, not mine. I'm doing you a favor. The least you could do is be nice.”

They were at each other's throats. Already. It had to be some kind of record.

Liam glanced at Posy and lifted a brow. “I thought I'd come check on things. How's it going?”

“You're looking at it.” Posy blew a stray wisp of hair from her eyes. “And this is mild compared to earlier.”

“So it's going that well, huh?” Liam asked.

“You can't just let go of me like that, Ronnie. Don't you get it? I'll fall over, right in front of the entire town.” Melody threw her hands in the air. “Is that what you want?”

“No, b-but...” Ronnie stammered and cast a pleading glance at Liam.

“But what?” Melody wailed.

Liam held up his hands. “Everyone just calm down. Maybe we should take a break for a minute.”

We.
He had nothing to do with this. He'd been in the room less than three minutes, and now he was talking in terms of
we
.

“We don't have time for a break, Pastor.” Melody's lower lip wobbled ever so slightly. Great. She was on the verge of tears.

“She's right.” Posy shook her head. “We have an enormous amount of work to do. They've got to learn the entire dance this afternoon if we're going to have time to perfect it before the recital.”

“Okay. Well, what exactly seems to be the problem?” he asked. Other than the fact that the two dancers wanted to strangle one another.

“He keeps letting go.” Melody shot an accusatory glare at Ronnie. “I think he's doing it on purpose.”

“No, I'm not. It's just weird, that's all,” Ronnie said. “I thought we'd be dancing.”

“We would be, if you'd keep your hands on my waist.” Melody pointed at either side of her waist with exaggerated force. Ronnie looked as if he wanted to die.

“Let's try it again, shall we?” Posy smiled, but Liam could see the worry creeping into her expression. “Ronnie, stand here. Right here.”

She moved Ronnie by the shoulders until he was standing less than an inch behind Melody.

“Now isn't the time to be shy.” She took his hands and planted them on Melody's waist. “If you don't support her, she'll fall. Do you want that?”

If you don't support her, she'll fall.

Liam cleared his throat.

“No, of course not,” Ronnie said.

There was hesitation in his posture. Liam could see it. He was afraid. Sure enough, as soon as Posy turned the music back on and Melody stretched into her arabesque, Ronnie's grip on her waist grew more and more tentative. Melody wobbled on tiptoe and nearly spilled onto the floor.

Posy shook her head. “Whatever you do, don't let go of her.”

Whatever you do, don't let go of her.

The back of Liam's neck began to perspire.

“I'm not,” Ronnie said and somehow managed to keep holding on until Melody straightened upright again. He breathed a visible sigh of relief when both of her feet were back on the floor. “I did it.”

He was right. He'd done it. It hadn't been pretty. Or graceful by any stretch of the imagination, but at least no one had ended up facedown on the ground.

“That was good, Ronnie. But I want you to think about something. Pas de deux means
step of two
, and in this dance, each dancer is just as important as the other. The ballerina is usually the dancer who is showcased.” She pointed at Melody, who beamed.

Posy continued. “Throughout the dance, the audience will be looking at her graceful arabesque and her beautiful positions. But she can only do these things because you're there, supporting her. Alone, a ballerina can dance beautifully, but with a partner, she can do so much more.”

Liam's chest grew tight for some odd reason. He suddenly found it difficult to breathe.

“Her dance partner remains largely in the background, but it's his support that allows her to float across the stage with such beauty. That's why the pas de deux is usually the bravura highlight of a ballet. That's what makes it special. Oftentimes it looks as though the danseur isn't dancing at all, but the ballerina couldn't do what she does without him. Do you understand?”

Ronnie nodded. “I do.”

Liam glanced at Posy. Her gaze met his for a prolonged, electrically charged moment before she looked away.

Liam shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. He shouldn't be here. This wasn't his world. It never had been, and it never would be. And yet...

Alone, a ballerina can dance beautifully, but with a partner she can do so much more.

Why did he get the feeling that Posy had been talking about far more than a simple dance between two teenagers?

Don't read into things. She's talking about ballet. Nothing more.

“Liam and I will show you. Won't we?” Posy crossed her arms over her wraparound leotard top and raised her eyebrows at him.

He swallowed. “We will?”

Grow up. She's not asking any more of you than you're expecting from Ronnie. And he's a kid.

“Sure.” She restarted the music, then took her place back in the center of the room and reached for him. “Come on.”

Melody and Ronnie stared at him, waiting. He had no choice. What kind of example would he set if he refused?

Wordlessly, he took his place behind her.

She took his hands in hers and placed them on her waist. Was it his imagination, or was there a slight tremor in her fingertips? “All you have to do is hold on. Got it?”