Page 6 of Never Quiet

Smiling, Erick nodded. “Yeah. Our lifetimes would be great.”

They turned to look at the men and women watching them. The adults shared looks and then started clapping.

Rick lowered his phone and grinned. “I’m sending that shit to your Dad, Mandy. Talk about breaking things down to their simplest parts. You two are geniuses.”

Noel said, “Send it to Hayden, too. He’s the only one who could possibly understand it.”

“We’re not Tesla and Currie or anything. It’s about having an interest, a natural connection to the science, and expanding it to fit around a specific problem.” She shrugged. “For me, it was realizing Dad’s land was being contaminated by inches from the commercial grower on the other side of our ridge. For Erick, who spends all day on the water, targeting ocean challenges made sense.”

Dakota leaned forward from her place beside Gunner and rested her elbows on her knees. “I’m fairly certain that makes you two geniuses. Shoot that video to me, Rick.” He nodded and she got on the floor beside her son.

“You done for tonight?” He growled at her. “You can practice more another time. We’re going to eat and start a fire on the beach. You can run crazy while your uncle and Mandy talk science with the sea air in their faces.”

“Fine,” he said grumpily.

Mandy grinned. “Sterling, we can’t play if you’re tied up…”

The little boy held up his tied wrists. “Hurry, Mommy.”

* * *

The next day, Chaz took her to their in-home gym. “Mandy, you need to learn to dance.” Her eyes went wide. “Don’t get nervous. Shawn and I were talking last night and we realized that with the way you are, the way Erick is, it’s a skill you’re both going to need. I’m going to show you the waltz. It’s a timeless classic. Every time you visit, I’ll show you more.”

“How did you learn to dance?”

“Dakota taught me the basics originally.” He cleared his throat. “I learned a lot more when I, uh, used to hang out at this place where they did drag shows. Some of the performers used me as their practice dummy.”

“I’m sure they loved any opportunity to be around you. You’re so pretty and personable. I get it. Uncle Morgan is stupidly pretty. No matter where they go, men and women just flock to him.” She grinned. “You know what that’s like. You Hardings have great genes.”

“Like the Langs, I think.”

“Aww. Thanks. Okay! I hate doing stuff I fail at so I’m going to own this waltz thing. At fancy dinners to raise money for my research, I’m not going to look like some girl who just crawled into society.”

“That’s literally impossible. It’s a good skill to have though.”

They went through the movements for two hours when Noel appeared in the doorway. Chaz twirled Mandy, bowed, and kissed the back of her hand.

“Well done, Mandy. You’re a natural.”

“Thanks.” She turned to watch Noel remove her shoes and step on the mat. “You’re about to kick my ass, huh?”

“Learn the skills of a lady. Switch it up and train in the skills of a warrior. Then leave it all behind and grow that magnificent brain. What a Renaissance woman you’ll be, Mandy.”

Chaz stepped back to watch Noel drive Mandy around the mat. Occasionally, he called direction and it helped her narrowly avoid a strike or kick. By the time they were done, Mandy was soaked with sweat and her braided bun was barely hanging on.

Noel kissed her forehead. “Have you been working on isolations?” Mandy nodded. “Show me.”

Sitting on the mat, she spread her legs wide and put her palms on the floor. Then she slowly lifted her bodyweight, carefully raised her torso, and pulled her legs into a full handstand.

“Excellent. In reverse.” When Mandy was sitting on the mat again, Noel nodded and extended her hand. Mandy accepted it, altered her center of gravity, and flipped her aunt to her back behind her. On her feet in seconds, they faced each other and a broad smile spread over Noel’s face. “You devious darling. Fucking excellent.” Tilting her head, she asked, “Dakota or Chaz?”

“Dakota. She told me that to stay hungry to learn more, I needed one point that I took all on my own.”

“Love that bitch. Alright. We’re going to…” Her eyes flicked down and up again. “Come with me. We’ll be back, Chaz.”

Noel took Mandy’s hand and positioned her body in front of her as they walked through the house. In the guest room bath, Noel closed the door and said, “I won’t insult your intelligence by asking if you know how the human body works but I wanted to be here in case you freaked out the first time.”

Tilting her head, Mandy’s eyes went wide. Looking down, she stared in horror at the blood on her inner thighs. She shook her head. “And so it begins. Great. Like I have time for this garbage fire.”

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