A Special Kind of Love (9 page)

Sharon
glanced at her watch and was shocked to see how long they had been looking over
the fire station.

“It’s
getting late. We better head over to the dance or we’re going to miss all the
fun.”

“Wow,
you’re right. Are you ready to go, Aaron?”

“Yeah.
Thanks for showing me the fire truck.
It’s really neat. Can I come back some other time?”

“Sure.
Maybe after our next riding lesson we can all go to lunch and then come and
visit again?”

Sharon
smiled.
Tricky bastard.
That is one sneaky way to get a second date.

Tanner
once again swung his arm over her shoulders, and she had to admit, she really
liked the feeling. He made her feel safe and protected.
Important.
It was a great feeling.

Aaron
climbed out of the truck cab and ambled toward them.

“Where
is the dance? Are we going to walk or do we have to drive?”

“It’s
only a couple of blocks away, over at the community center. Are you two up for
a stroll?”

Sharon
nodded.

“I
like to walk,” Aaron said.

“Okay,
then let’s go.”

As
they stepped out into the warm evening air, Sharon thought again how different Gaines
was from Chicago. She just loved the temperate climate and the lack of the
awful Chicago humidity.

“What
a beautiful day,” she said, watching the light breeze sway the leaves on the
tree lined street.

“Yes,
beautiful,” Tanner said. When she looked at him he was staring at her not the
street.

Aaron
walked ahead of them, tapping his fingers to his thumb and counting.
Uh-oh, his stress level is ratcheting up.
She
needed to distract him
.

“Aaron,
didn’t you want to ask Mr. West about your next riding lesson?”

Aaron
turned around and started walking backward.

“Oh,
yeah.
When can I have another riding lesson? I
really
want to gallop.”

Tanner
glanced from Aaron to Sharon. He was probably thrown by her sudden change of
topic.

“I’m
off on Sunday. RNR doesn’t host any trail rides on Sundays, so I’m sure it will
be okay if we use the arena. I usually go riding on the weekends anyway. Is
that soon enough for you?”

“And
then we can go back to the fire station too.
Right?”

“You
bet.”

The
distraction worked. Aaron was more relaxed when they arrived at the community
center. Sharon smiled. Life was good.

She
took a deep breath. Now if she could only calm the butterflies that were
currently dive-bombing
her
stomach,
everything would be just fine.

Tanner
squeezed her shoulder and she relaxed a little. He was nice, so his family must
be nice too. She needed to get a grip and act like the confident woman she was
trying to be and not some nervous ninny.

Thank
goodness the community center was a large building because it seemed the whole
town had turned out for the Fourth of July dance.

There
was a small wooden dance floor sitting in front of a raised dais where the band
was already playing. Couples were already swaying in each other’s arms to a slow
country ballad.

Along
the back of the room, banquet tables lined the wall. Covered in red, white and
blue tablecloths with colorful flower arrangements and an array of wonderful
food, it was both beautiful and inviting.

To
the left, several round tables with chairs were set up for diners, and off to
the right was the kid’s corner. There was a face painting table, the many games
Tanner had mentioned, and a small table with juice boxes, sodas, and snacks for
the children.

The
colorful setting, music and people invited everyone to join in.

Sharon
placed her hand on Aaron’s shoulder to keep him from running off. Tanner
dropped his arm from around her shoulders and placed his hand at the small of
her back.

“I
see my family over there. Let’s go say hello.”

As
Tanner led them toward the table where his family sat, Sharon observed the
group. One of the women had her back to them, along with a man, that must be
Tanner’s sister, Jasmine and her husband. But the woman who drew her attention
was the one facing the couple. She was absolutely stunning. Thick, shiny black
hair fell in a curtain around an exotically beautiful face. Sharon could see
the similarities to Tanner’s features in her sharp cheekbones and full lips.
Her skin was flawlessly smooth, not the trace of a wrinkle showed. She could
have been any age from thirty to sixty. It was one of those ageless faces.

As
if she could feel her scrutiny, the woman raised her eyes and looked straight
at Sharon. She must have spotted Tanner at the same time, because a smile
spread across her face, full of warmth and joy. She stood and rushed toward
them.

It
was apparent where Tanner had gotten his height. The woman approaching had to
be close to six feet tall. She was almost eye level with her son as she threw
her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.

She
kissed his cheek and pulled back, cupping his face with her hands.

“Hello,
my darling. We’ve been waiting for you.” She dropped her hands and took a step backward,
turning toward Sharon and Aaron.

“And
you must be the beautiful Sharon I’ve heard so much about. I’m Tanner’s mother,
Kamani
. I have been dying to meet you.” She stepped
forward and enveloped Sharon in a hug. Then she turned to Aaron.

Oh God, please don’t let her try to
hug Aaron.
But
it appeared Tanner had warned his mother about Aaron’s aversion to touch. She
leaned down to Aaron’s level and smiled.

“You
must be Aaron. It is very nice to meet you.”

Aaron’s
mouth was hanging open.

“You
can’t be Tanner’s mommy. My grandma is
old
.
She has wrinkles and gray hair and she’s fat. She’s my mommy’s mommy. Tanner is
older than Mommy. If you were his mother, you would be old too. You don’t look
old. Well, not older than Mommy anyway.”

Sharon
was hoping the floor would open up and swallow her, but Tanner’s mother beamed.

“Well,
if that isn’t just the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.” Sharon shook her head
in astonishment. Tanner’s mother didn’t seem to be offended at all. “I think
I’m going to like this boy of yours, Sharon.” She turned back toward the table,
as if nothing unusual had happened. “Come and meet the rest of the family.”

Sharon
looked at Tanner and he merely shrugged. Guiding her with the hand on her lower
back he led her to meet the rest of his family. Conversation had stopped at the
table and all eyes were on the approaching group.

Jasmine’s
husband stood and extended his hand to Tanner. He shook hands with his
brother-in-law, giving him a slap on the shoulder and turned to Sharon.

“Anthony
Jardine
,” he said, pumping her hand once in a firm
handshake. He gestured toward his wife. “This is my wife, Tanner’s sister, Jasmine,
and our children, Josh and
Annebelle
.”

Sharon
was feeling a little overwhelmed. But she tried to shore up her confidence. She
nodded once.

“So
nice to meet you all.
I’ve heard a lot about you. This is my son, Aaron.”

Jasmine
stood and placed her arm around her husband’s back.

“Hi.
It’s nice to meet you both.”

Josh
and Annabelle scurried around the table and launched themselves at Tanner.

Choruses
of ‘Uncle Tanner, I missed you, are you going to play with us,’ surrounded him
as he held a child in each arm. He kissed each of their cheeks and set them
back on their feet.

“Hi,
Anna banana.
Josh.” He ruffled Josh’s hair. “I’ve missed you guys.” He turned toward Sharon
and Aaron, “This is my friend, Miss Sharon and her son, Aaron. I want you guys
to be nice to them. Okay?”

The
pair faced Sharon and stood like little soldiers. Josh extended a hand, just as
his father had, and Sharon reached to take it, solemnly shaking hands with the
boy.

“It
is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Sharon,” Josh said.

Sharon’s
smile widened. “Nice to meet you too, Josh. This is my son, Aaron.” She placed
a hand on Aaron’s shoulder. Josh extended his hand to Aaron and Sharon cringed.
She spoke quickly, hoping to prevent Aaron from saying something rude.

“Aaron
doesn’t like to shake hands, Josh.” The child dropped his hand and gave her a
quizzical look.

“Why
not?”

This
time Sharon couldn’t get the answer out fast enough and Aaron interjected.

“Most
germs are passed through physical contact. Hands are the dirtiest part of the
body. And shaking hands is an archaic concept. It was originally conceived to
show an enemy that your hands were free of weapons when meeting on a
battlefield.”

“Huh?”
Josh turned his gaze to Tanner’s face and then Sharon’s.

Tanner
spoke. “Don’t worry about it, bud. He just doesn’t like to shake hands.”

“Oh,
okay. I’m Josh and this is my stupid little sister
Annebelle
.”
Annebelle
elbowed him in the ribs.

“I’m
not stupid!”

Sharon
knelt down and placed her hands on the little girl’s shoulders. “No, I’m sure
you’re not. I’m very glad to meet you,
Annebelle
.”

The
little girl dropped her chin shyly and looked at Sharon through her lowered
lashes, “Hi Miss Sharon,” she said in a small voice.

What
a cutie she was. Both children had dark hair. Not black like their mother and
grandmother, but a deep rich brown. Chocolate brown eyes surrounded by thick
black lashes stared up at her. Sharon couldn’t help
herself,
she leaned forward and kissed
Annebelle’s
cheek.

Aaron
stepped closer to Sharon and spoke to
Annebelle
.
“It’s not nice to call people stupid.
Even if they are.
I don’t know you well enough to know if you are stupid or not, but I won’t call
you stupid.”

Sharon
laughed nervously. Aaron was definitely making his
best
impression on these people,
oy
. But when she looked up,
everyone was resuming their seats and conversations at the table.

Annebelle
smiled at Aaron as if he were her new
hero.

“Thank
you, Aaron. Do you want to go and play some games?”

“Yes,
I would like that.”

Sharon
almost swallowed her tongue when Aaron extended his elbow to the darling little
angel. Too dumbstruck to speak, a squeak was all that escaped her.

Tanner
tapped her shoulder to get her attention. The children were already walking toward
the gaming area.

“Hold
up a second, guys
.”

They
stopped and looked back at him. Tanner turned back to Sharon.

“I’ll
walk them over. Okay?”

“I’ll
go with you.”

“No,
it’s okay. Just sit down and relax. I’ll get them settled and be right back.”

As
Sharon approached the table, Tanner’s mother motioned to the chair across from
her and Sharon took a seat.

Sharon
met
Kamani’s
stare across the table.
Kamani
looked like a woman with something on her mind. Her
sharp eyes roamed Sharon’s features. She felt like a bug pinned to a board,
unable to move under her dark accessing gaze. Finally
Kamani
nodded.

Sharon
quirked an eyebrow and
Kamani
spoke.

“You
know, being with my son will not be an easy road.”