Page 10 of Dance in the Light
“Look. After I found out she was pregnant, I stopped seeing anybody, because my daughter means everything to me. But for Trudy, I didn’t realize I meant more to her. She asked me to marry her last year.”
I snorted. “Oh Ryan, your story just keeps getting better and better.”
“Why? You got something against a modern woman asking a guy to marry her?”
“No.” I shifted awkwardly on my feet.
He sighed and put his hands on his hips. “I waited for you, Cynthia. Hoping one day you might find your way back here and to me. But when Trudy asked, I realized for our daughter’s sake, I couldn’t wait for you anymore.”
“So you’re engaged?” My eyes burned in a situation so familiar to me. But no, this wasn’t about my ex, James. Or me. This was about that little girl called Rose. “You know what? Don’t answer that. You’re right, your daughter is the most important thing here, and she should have her parents together and caring for her, like a happy family.”
He called after me, but I ran back into the bar and locked myself in the bathroom. I hugged myself against the wall of the stall, sneering at all my regrets.
Between James in New York City, and Ryan in Glendale Falls, I lost my way. As if the road ahead had disappeared, no map was in sight. For the first time in my life, I didn’t know if I should turn left or right? Brake hard or slam the gas pedal down all the way?
The only thing for certain, with three months ahead of me in Glendale Falls, I’d better find some answers.
EIGHT
UNINHIBITED
CINDY
May continued, hotter than heck. It was Friday afternoon, and I’d powered through the first couple weeks of our family home clean out, tackling the living room and dining room first.
I stood in the middle of both rooms and turned three sixty around, ignoring a wall of some boxes and piles yet to go through, and landing on a fresh sight for my eyes.
The blue couch, matching chair and ottoman, and the coffee and end tables were all set there, ready for company. Not that I was expecting any. At least it was satisfying to see the walls again, although a fresh coat of paint would be nice. A pale shade of gray, perhaps . . .
I dusted the family photo frames on the wall, then plopped down to rest in the chair and put my feet up. The same as Mom would do after a long day caring for five girls and the home.
I missed her more and more since being here. It didn’t help that her spirit lived in every room. Every inch of this place had her hand on it, as she loved crafts and sewing and decorating; if sheworried at all before passing if she’d left her mark on this Earth, it wasn’t necessary.
No sooner had I started in on one box of Dad’s things, I’d find something Mom had crafted. A ceramic bowl. A gilded, leaf-lined frame. A quilted pillow. Little touches everywhere always made this place a home.
Dad’s boxes of hoarded crap, on the other hand . . . I couldn’t believe all the things I found so far. Every daily Glendale Gazette of the past ten years, stacks and stacks of unopened junk mail, and boxes of plastic containers from his microwaved meals, among other things. So far, there’d been nothing of value to keep; it all went into the trash pile.Sorry Dad.
That pile was on the porch and would need hauled away soon by someone. By Ryan, according to Megan, who stopped by earlier. She called on me now and then to check on my progress and put in her two cents.
Other than visits from my sisters, I was fine and rather enjoying the solitude back in the comfort of our old home. I hadn’t ventured out much to town, which was best, so I’d avoid running into Ryan.
Then, out of the blue, asshole James started texting and calling me today. His voice message wreaked of desperation.
“Cindy, please call back. Look, we can put the past behind us. I need you here to keep our client Stephenson happy. They’re threatening to pull their entire contract with us unless you return. I’ll give you a twenty percent raise, but don’t make me beg.” I hated how his last few words seethed.
Trouble was, I liked the people at Stephenson, and felt sorry for them to have a firm like Hunter-James to deal with, especiallywithout me. But I definitely wasn’t in the right frame of mind to deal with James and all his bullshit, so I ignored him. Although I couldn’t bring myself to delete or block him either, as if he was some sort of lifeline back to the city.
I burrowed further into the chair. I’d put a few albums on the end table next to me to look through and reminisce at some point. Needing to forget James, I pulled one into my lap, expecting old photos of me and my sisters. And wham—the first photo inside was from my prom night with Ryan, tearing my vulnerable side wide open.
My bare midriff was enviable on my teenage body back then, able to metabolize carbs like they were nothing. The royal blue satin sleeveless top showed off my chest—and wow, Ryan must have enjoyed the view, judging by how this photo caught his eyes raking over me.
I chuckled, seeing that moment memorialized, suspended in time in the photo.
Look at him.So boy-next-door and town hero quarterback, in his tuxedo with his hair slicked back. I ran a finger down the photo sleeve, recalling how my fingertips trailed down his chest that night. He made me feel so good, kissing me, our hands allover each other. Before he ruined all my plans by saying he loved me.
I slapped the book closed. “Enough of that,” I warned. Ryan had Rose, and Trudy, and life here—thanks to James, I was way too familiar with this type of situation to want a repeat.
As a distraction, a good shower was in order after the long, hot day of working. I dashed down the hall and into the bathroom,undressing along the way. Uncaring if my clothes left a trail on the floor.
