Carousel Nights (19 page)

“My son's in that truck.”

“I'll help you,” Galway said, grabbing the pole and matching Mel's stride as they clambered over downed branches on their way to the pole housing the transformer.

* * *

T
HROUGH
THE
RAINY
WINDSHIELD
, June watched Mel climb the power pole two rows of cars over. Lightning flashed and the wind rose impossibly higher.

Ross trembled. Although he sometimes seemed mature beyond his years, right now he was a terrified five-year-old boy.

“Your dad will shut off the power,” she said, straining to see what Mel was doing, but also afraid to look. She hugged Ross tighter. “He's very brave and he knows about electricity. We'll be out of here soon.”

Ross said nothing, and June craned her head to see his face. His eyes were squeezed shut.

“Hanging in there, June?” Jack shouted from his position outside her window.

She tried to smile bravely, imagining that this was almost as scary for him as for her. And he was in the rain. And he had the rest of the Point to worry about. Her fear deepened as she thought about the guests, food stands, rides and theaters of Starlight Point. Her friends, her family, her whole life was wrapped up on one small peninsula that was in the path of a terrifying storm.

“Where's Evie?” June shouted. “And Mom?”

“Handling things up front and in the park. Storm shelters open, rides closed. They don't know what's going on here.”

June nodded, knowing there was nothing she could do. Except watch Mel climbing a pole like a human lightning rod. She didn't even have to think about her complete faith in him. But she was afraid for him, for all of them. She closed her eyes. Maybe Ross had the right idea.

“We could sing a song,” June suggested.

“I want my dad.”

Me, too
, June thought.

After several more minutes of waiting with occasional checkups from Jack interspersed with thunder, wind and some popping sounds like hailstones, a new sound reached June and Ross in the truck.

It was a slithering, grating, thrumming sound. The windows were so wet and foggy, it took June a minute to connect the dots.

“They're pulling the wire off the truck,” she said.

Ross opened his eyes.

June leaned forward and rubbed a clear spot on the inside of the windshield. Mel and another man wore heavy gloves and used long yellow sticks to pull the thick cable away from the truck. The wire no longer snapped or sparked.

Just as she wondered if and when it would be safe to get out of the vehicle, the door flew open and Mel reached in, his long arms encircling them both. He pulled them to the edge of the seat and hugged his son tight, keeping one hand free to cradle June's cheek.

“You're not hurt?” he asked both of them, racing his hands over his son, checking him over.

“No,” June choked out.

“Good,” Mel said, again holding them both against him. “Because I was so scared I think I wet my pants.”

Ross laughed, the sound a warm balm against the fear and the punishing wind.

“Hotel,” Jack shouted. “Storm's not over yet.” He draped an arm around June and hustled her toward the hotel while Mel hoisted his son and kept pace, heading for the safety of the century-old structure. His eyes met June's and the look that passed between them had nothing to do with storms or danger. It was something June was afraid to admit to herself. He'd just rescued her, adrenaline flowed through her veins like water through a fire hose.

But she could no longer deny it. She was in love with Mel Preston.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

T
HERE
WAS
NO
rational reason for his feelings. June had said from the beginning that she'd return to New York at the end of the season. She would stay there and dance as long as the lights of Broadway shone for her. There were years, maybe more than a decade, left of professional dancing in her long legs.
Assuming the knee injury she had never told him about didn't flare up.

He'd missed his chance. If ever there was a moment to tell her he loved her, it was after he'd rescued her and Ross from his storm-shattered truck. If he had told her...

She'd still be heading for the airport tomorrow for an audition.

At work, he was a take-charge man. With June, there was no taking charge. She was always looking past him toward something brighter. And she'd never lied to him.

“Ready?” June asked through the open window of her mother's car.

She was definitely in the driver's seat. Without a vehicle as he awaited an insurance decision on his destroyed truck, Mel had hesitated to ask June out for a farewell dinner before she left for a two-day trip to New York City. But he gave in to practicality when she offered to be his ride for the day. He'd been asking for rides for three days now and he was tired of asking his coworkers and parents.

“Ready,” Mel said. “Thanks for agreeing to drop Ross at my folks' house. I feel like a teenager without a driver's license.”

He slid into the passenger side and June touched his hand. “I wrecked your truck. The least I can do is give you a ride until you get a new one.”

“You saved my son's life. I don't give a monkey's butt about my truck.”

“But you still need a new one,” she said.

“I was actually hoping you'd be my driver for the rest of the summer. You're much prettier than the guys in the garage.”

June laughed. “And who will chauffeur you while I'm in New York?”

They were both silent as she pulled onto the outer loop for the short drive from the maintenance garage to the hotel day care.

“I meant for the next few days,” she said quietly. “Not, you know, after...”

“I know what you meant.”

He thought he did. But it wasn't any easier to go through with the plan he'd formulated instead of sleeping last night. And the two nights before that.

Have fun.
Enjoy what time you have with her and accept the fact she's not staying. Accept it.
It's not like he was turning down other dates left and right. With a more than full-time job and a five-year-old son, women were not lining up to fill his empty hours. Maybe he owed himself a summer flirtation. It would keep him going long into the cold winter ahead.

A winter in which June would be far away.

He knew he was making a mistake. Risking his heart. And his son's. For the first time in his life, Mel had lied to Ross. Told his son that his plans with June tonight were work related. A big meeting involving other Starlight Point employees.

He wasn't brave enough to admit to himself that he was giving in to his feelings instead of doing the smart thing and guarding his heart. Admitting it to a five-year-old boy would be a big mistake.

“Be right back,” he said when June stopped at the side entrance of the hotel.

As they drove across the Point Bridge to Mel's parents' house in downtown Bayside, Ross chatted about his day and his excitement about starting school in the fall. Mel wondered when it would hit Ross that Miss June wouldn't be around on the Tuesday after Labor Day when the Bayside schools officially started. He didn't want to break his son's heart.
Just one more reason it would be smarter to keep June at arm's length.

He was being selfish, wanting something he couldn't have. And his life wasn't entirely his own. His decisions were Ross's, too, and the boy was too young to understand and decide for himself.

“I'll just be a minute,” Mel said when June pulled into the driveway of the neat brick ranch-style house he'd grown up in. He should ask her in to say hello to his parents. But Mel didn't want to give them a reason to worry about him, and he was afraid of their inevitable questions.

They wanted him to be happy. And they'd already seen him give his heart to a woman who couldn't wait to get out of town. He hated admitting he was making the same mistake again.

Even though June was not Sandi. He'd known her almost his entire life. Knew her family. Knew her heart...he thought. And in the two months since June had met his son, she'd shown more interest in the boy than his own mother had.
Maybe this isn't a huge mistake
.

“Next stop, my place, so I can change into something better for dining out. I'm always afraid someone will ask me to fix something if I wear my uniform outside work.”

“Occupational hazard,” June commented.

“And we could leave your car at my house,” he added as June backed out of the driveway and turned toward Mel's place without even asking directions.

She sent him a questioning glance, both eyebrows lifted slightly. “We won't need the car anymore?”

Mel wished he'd planned a romantic dinner. A tablecloth and candles, a meal he'd put some thought into. Was that what June wanted? Intimate time alone with him at his place? He thought about the toy truck under the tiny kitchen table and the building blocks and crayons on top of it.

No. His plan was definitely more romantic.

“We can walk to our evening destination,” he said. He pulled out his cell phone and checked the time. “I'll change fast and then we won't have to hurry.”

June made full stops at all the intersections between Mel's childhood home and his current one. She used her turn signal. Looked both ways twice.

“I had no idea you were such a careful driver,” he commented.

“Living in New York scares you straight,” she said. “Not that I drive much there. One of my friends keeps a car in the city that we use sometimes, but it's usually public transportation.”

“You're saving yourself a lot of hassle. Maintenance, insurance, tires.”

“But I miss the freedom of having my own wheels,” June said. “Life is slower and freer here. Not so much competition and pressure from every angle.”

Mel reached over and put one hand on June's leg.

“Why didn't you tell me you had an injury when you came home?” He hadn't meant to ask, had told himself to let it go and not read too much into it.

She stiffened. Tightened her grip on the wheel.

“Sorry,” he said. “None of my business.”

“You have no idea how hard it is to perform at that level,” June said. “One sign of weakness and you're out. They'll replace you like a dead lightbulb.”

“You can show weakness in front of me,” Mel said, his words barely above a whisper.

June took her eyes off the street and looked at him, lips parted, eyes wide. Her grip on the wheel loosened just enough to make him hope she understood him.

Mel held his breath for the next block and a half until June turned into his driveway.

“Please come in while I clean up,” he said. “I hope you don't mind kid clutter.”

She smiled. “Not at all. I have clutter all over my half of my apartment in New York. It would drive Evie out of her mind.”

“Who do you share the apartment with?” Mel asked as they walked up to his front door.

“Cassie. You met her when they visited a few weeks ago.”

Mel laughed. “I couldn't tell her apart from the other one.”

“Macy. She shares an apartment with Ian one floor down from me and Cassie.”

“Are they dating?”

“Just friends like the rest of us.”

“So you're a close-knit group?”

June shrugged as Mel found one key out of the many on his ring. “All the dancers are close. When we're not competing with each other.”

* * *

J
UNE
FOLLOWED
M
EL
into his living room, which was much neater than he'd led her to imagine. It was also sparsely furnished with a big recliner, a smaller one and a table in between. Both chairs faced a wall-mounted television. A blue plastic bin next to the smaller chair overflowed with plastic blocks, wood blocks, magnetic letters, cars and trucks, and a large monkey.

“I'll take a superfast shower,” Mel said. “Please grab anything you like from the fridge while you wait.”

“I'm fine,” June said. “I'll work on this puzzle while you change.” She sat in the big chair and picked up the box of pieces with a picture of a red race car on the front.

“Just don't put in the last piece. Ross always gets the honor,” Mel said.

June laughed. “I wouldn't steal the thrill from him. And I probably won't get that many pieces put in anyway.”

While she listened to the water running just on the other side of the living room wall, June sat back in Mel's recliner. Breathing in his scent, burrowing into the comfortable chair, she imagined herself living there. What would it be like to come home after a long day of dancing at Starlight Point and put her feet up in this chair?

Just for experiment's sake, June pulled the lever on the side and popped out the footrest. She kicked off her shoes and settled her feet on it.
Just right
. She closed her eyes and felt an immense peace. She snuggled deeper into the chair and pushed the backrest into a reclining position.
Heaven.
Why didn't she have a chair like this in her New York apartment?

She had no idea how long she dozed in Mel's big comfy chair, but the next thing she felt was his lips on hers.

“This is like a fairy tale,” he whispered. She opened her eyes and found Mel leaning over her. “I find a beautiful woman asleep in my favorite chair.”

“Sorry,” she said, struggling to sit up.

Mel laughed as she fought the chair into an upright position. “Don't be. That chair gets me every time. I hated to wake you up, but we have tickets on the sunset cruise leaving in half an hour.”

June slid on her shoes. “I'm ready.”

Mel shoved his wallet in the back pocket of his khaki pants and held open the door for her. It was a beautiful summer night.

“I decided on the sunset cruise because you won't get home too late,” he said as they walked the short distance downtown to the public plaza and dock. “I know you're leaving in the morning for your audition in New York.”

“Very thoughtful,” June said.
It was
. “But I can always sleep on the plane. Unless I'm too nervous. Which I am.”

Mel stopped and hugged her while they waited for the walk light. June didn't care who saw them. This was just what she needed. Wanted.

“You'll be wonderful,” Mel said. “There's a reason your agent was able to get you this audition. He obviously believes you can do it.”

“I hope so.”

They approached the dock and lined up with the other couples ready to enjoy a romantic evening. It was only a two-hour harbor tour, but it came with a bar and a spread of
hors d'oeuvres
as part of the ticket price. There were several older couples, some Mel and June's age, and a few teenagers on perhaps a first date.

They reminded her of the summer she was eighteen. The summer she left Mel and Starlight Point behind forever. Or so she'd believed. She swung Mel's hand and they walked across the gangplank onto the boat. She felt eighteen again. Although seven summers had passed since then...was it too late to go back and start over?

“We've never talked about it,” she said aloud. Mel put his arm around her as they sat on a bench along the outer wall of the boat.

“What have we never talked about?”

“That summer.”

“Oh.”

“I'm sorry I hurt you,” June said.

She tried to read the expression on Mel's face. The years had been good to him. A handsome teenager and young man, age and maturity had made him more attractive. June wondered when he'd gotten those tiny lines around his eyes and realized with a wrenching pang of regret that she'd missed the last seven years with him.

By choice. She knew that.

“If you did hurt me, you're not to blame.” He kissed her temple and looked out over the water. “You never lied to me. Never made me any promises.”

His kiss seared her skin and sent waves of feeling from the spot.

“We were just kids then,” she whispered.

“But we're not now,” he said. He turned her face and kissed her on the lips, only breaking the kiss when the boat's horn blasted a warning that it was leaving the dock. They both jumped and Mel laughed, his broad smile making June wish the evening would never end.

* * *

T
WO
NIGHTS
LATER
,
Evie pulled into
the quick pickup lane at the airport. June was already on the curb, carry-on bag over her shoulder. It was a clear dark night and June had watched the moon on her descent into the metro airport. The same moon shone over New York, but it was brighter away from the city. No one stopped to look at the moon in New York. There were other lights so much nearer and brighter.
And more distracting
.

She climbed into the passenger seat of their mother's black car and barely had time to click her seat belt before Evie pulled away.

“Are we in a hurry?”

Evie nodded to the signs posted along the lane. “Five-minute parking only,” she said. “Or they'll tow you.”

June laughed. “New York would drive you nuts.”

“Probably,” her younger sister acknowledged. “When Jack and Mom and I came to your last three shows, I couldn't wait to escape the madness. Even though you were great, of course,” she added, turning a quick smile on her sister before merging onto the highway. “So, did you get the part?”