Page 75 of Save the Last Dance
Nina nodded, which seemed to satisfy Ally before she hurried off to hold the door for Ethan as he wrestled with a load of firewood for the huge hearth at one end of the dining hall.
But Nina knew that being crazy about each other just wasn’t enough, no matter how desperately she wanted it to be. She just hoped she could hold herself together when the music started for the last dance of the night. When she’d have to say goodbye.
Mack watched Ninawork the room, enjoying the simple pleasure of seeing her laugh and smile as she passed out cups of mulled cider and accepted suggestions for the kind of business she should open in Heartache. He wasn’t close enough to hear whatever she was discussing now with a local Realtor, but the conversation looked more serious than the last few she’d had.
The band ended a song and the dancers applauded. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to turn the MC duties over to our interim mayor who will announce your Harvest Festival king and queen!”
Nina’s gaze met his for a split second before the mayor—a guy who’d been the head of debate club a few years before Mack graduated—took the stage. Was Ninaremembering the year she and Mack had been king and queen? He’d been so proud to have her on his arm. So happy to spend the whole night with her and escape his family life. Now, she wanted a family with him and he was too scared to try.
Had he ever deserved her?
“Ally is a shoe-in for this.” The voice at his ear was as familiar as it was unexpected.
“Mom?” Seeing her there, his tall, imposing mother prematurely aged by strong and sometimes experimental medications, reminded him of how much she’d been through.
He hurried to take her arm. “You should find a good spot to sit where you’ll be more comfortable.”
“No. I want to be able to see when my grandbaby gets that crown of husks on her head.” She leaned her cheek against Mack’s arm. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I thought she’d win. She’s worked as hard as any young person for this festival.”
Mack’s eyes went to Nina again—they were glued to her tonight, it seemed—and noticed she’d taken a seat to the side of the stage next to Ally, Ethan and Rachel, who had gotten out of the hospital that day with a cast and crutches. Rachel held Ally’s hand on one side and Ethan’s hand on the other. While Mack watched, she joined their hands together as the interim mayor finally made his way to the stage.
“I’ll make this short and sweet, my friends and fellow residents,” Zach Chance said into the microphone. “I know you want to dance the night away more than you want to hear me carry on.”
The guy held up a hand and a spotlight followed his gesture. Right toward Mack and his mother, then Scott and Bethany.
“First, I’d like to thank the Finley family for their continued contribution to this event, and the Harvest Festival planning committee who works tirelessly to ensure each year is a bigger success than the last.”
The crowd applauded and a few people near Mack clapped him on the shoulder and thanked him. He’d always imagined that Scott would run for mayor next year and take over announcements like this. But now? He wished he knew a way to help his brother back to steady ground.
As the mayor continued to recognize people, Mack lowered his voice to speak to his mother.
“I’m worried about Scott.” He was used to looking to his brother for help dealing with their mother, not the other way around. But this was the most clear-eyed that Mack had seen his mom in a long time.
“So am I,” she admitted, turning toward him more and whispering so they wouldn’t be overheard. “But we talked, and he has promised me he’s going to try harder to win his wife back, and I believe him. I’ll get to work on helping him next. But right now, Mack Finley, you should pay attention to your own future.”
“What are you talking about?” He tensed, prepared to defend himself. He was clearheaded, right? The family issues hadn’t caught up to him yet.
“Nina. Spencer.” His mother peered over her glasses, a deft master of the “mother knows best” glare. “She loves you and she understands you. You love her to distraction. Why the two of you can’t get out of your own way to?—”
“Mom.” He closed his eyes and hoped redirecting her would work. Even with his eyes closed he could still see Nina, though. Remembered the hurt he’d glimpsed earlier in her expression. “Sounds like Zach is finallywinding up the thank yous and moving on to the announcement. Let’s listen.”
The mayor was cueing up the spotlight again. The lights roamed the crowd in a dizzying pattern.
“Now for our favorite part of the night when we name your Harvest king and queen.” The mayor held up his hand with a flourish while the crowd clapped. A soft drumroll began behind him and the spotlight slowed. “I give you…Ethan Brady and Ally Finley!”
The bright lights found them. Mack’s eyes went to the group seated by Nina. Ethan jumped to his feet with a crowd-pleasing fist pump while Ally hugged Rachel, Nina and then, when she was standing…Ethan. Mack clapped hard and so did his mother. Ally walked to the stage—composed and smiling, but teary-eyed, too. He could see the sheen in her eyes from here. Mack was so proud of her he wondered how her mom and dad must feel. Turning, he spotted Bethany beside Scott, clapping and united, for the moment at least.
The king and queen’s dance was just for the two of them—at least for the first few spins around the dance floor. So as soon as the corn husk crowns were on their heads, the band began again while Scott and Bethany snapped pictures on their phones. Harlan Brady was there, too, cheering for his grandson beside a couple that must be his parents.
Even Nina and Rachel were busy taking photos of the couple. Mack remembered a handful of pictures from his turn on the same dance floor with Nina, the disco ball pumpkin spinningoverhead.
“Mack.” His mother tugged on his sleeve again, no longer whispering. “I’m heading home. But I want you to understand something first. Your beautiful and talented niece is smart, driven and restless because she’s an ambitious soul. The fact that she’s also challenged by some emotional issues will not define her. They are only a fraction of who she is.”
“I know that, Mom.” He recognized that Ally was a truly exceptional kid.
“Well, then, don’t be so close-minded about what the future holds for my other grandchildren.” She handed him her long cardigan and presented him with her back, his cue to help her put the thing on. “If I’d had half the good treatments that are available to young people today, I would be running this town—and quite possibly the whole state of Tennessee—by now.”
He slid the cardigan into place on her shoulders, trying to decide if she was kidding. She reached up to plant a kiss on his cheek, a gesture she hadn’t made in a long time.
