Dance Like Nobody's Watching (Summer Lake 3) (27 page)

Missy looked from Chance to Dan. He smiled at her,
nodding his head.

“Yeah,” Scot piped up. “It would
be nice if you weren't always working.”

That stung! “But, Scotty! I always try to be
home for you.”

He smiled at her. “I know, and you are, but
you're always too tired to have any fun.”

She sagged in her chair. She couldn't deny that.
Just now she'd been wishing she could rest instead of looking forward
to the evening ahead. She put her head in her hands. Dan was at her
side in an instant. He put his arm around her shoulders.

“Leave it guys. We'll work it out with
time.” He tipped her chin until she looked up into big brown
eyes. “We care about you, Miss, that's all. We want you to be
happy, not exhausted.” He winked at Scot. “We're being
selfish, too. We want more of you for us.”

She nodded; she wanted more of them too.

Chance stood up. “Come on, Shorty. Come see
if you can beat me at pool while these two talk about it.”

Scot patted her shoulder as he followed Chance out
the French doors.

She looked at Dan. “What do you want me to
do?”

“Selfishly? I want you to quit cleaning.
Quit working. Get yourself some rest, have time to hang with Scot,
time to hang with me. I'd like to see you taking classes online,
working towards your degree so that eventually you'll be able to work
as a guidance counselor, do something you love that won't exhaust
you. But that's me being selfish. What matters is what you want to
do, Miss. Do you know what you want?”

She nodded slowly. “I want to rest. I want
to have the energy to have fun with Scot.” She touched his
cheek. “And with you. But Chance was right. I've never known
what it's like to have someone there for me. I only know how to do it
all myself.” She shrugged sadly. “Even though I don't do
it very well.”

He closed his arms around her. “Miss, you do
brilliantly. You've raised a wonderful young man, kept your head
above water. I could never have done what you have.”

She let out a little laugh. “And you know
damned well, I could never have done what you have.”

“Exactly. We're so different, we fill each
other’s gaps. You and Scotty are giving me a life I would never
have imagined possible without you. Can you see that?”

She nodded; she could see the truth of it.

“I'm asking you to let me do the same for
you. I think we'll work best when we learn to lean on each other,
Miss. I'm already taking the risk. I'm leaning on you for a family, a
home. For the things I've never had that come naturally to you. Can
you trust me? Lean on me for the things that you've never had that
come naturally to me?”

She rested her forehead against his. “I want
to, but it's scary, you know?”

“I do know. It's scary for me too, but I
trust you. Can you try to trust me?”

“I am trying.”

“I know, beautiful. Listen, would you be
angry if I told Ben you need to take a few weeks off? We can do what
we did last time. I'll pay him to find someone to cover for you. You
can get some rest. I'll talk to him when I go pick up dinner.”

Missy thought about it. She didn't want to leave
Ben in the lurch again, but taking a couple of weeks off did sound
good. “How about I talk to him myself? I'll finish out this
week, give him chance to find someone to cover for next week?”

Dan shook his head. “Please, Miss, let me
sort it tonight?” He closed his hand around the back of her
neck, making her close her eyes and relax. She was close to giving
in.

He smiled. “I can do whatever I want with
you now, right little kitten?” He gently squeezed her neck.
“Wouldn't you rather spend the next couple of days hanging out
by the pool, playing in your herb garden, and getting ready for your
party, than scrubbing floors and toilets?”

She smiled. “Well, when you put it like
that....”

They both knew he'd won.

“Good. I'll go get dinner and talk to Ben.
You put your feet up, I'll be back.”

She watched him walk down to the boat-shed. She
did trust him, and Chance was right, she would be stupid to refuse
his help. It was his way of loving her.

Dan looked out of the window while he listened to
Smoke talking to ATC. He'd seen Scot to the bus stop this morning and
left Missy sitting in her robe at the kitchen table, ready for her
first day relaxing at home. His chat with Ben had worked out better
than he'd hoped last night. Tourist season was winding down and Ben
was happy to have more work to divide among the cleaning crew. There
was never enough to go around over the quiet season. Dan knew that
would help in him trying to convince Missy to give up the cleaning
completely. If she kept at it, she'd be taking work away from people
who genuinely did need the money, when she didn't, not any more.

Smoke looked across at him. “Thanks for
this, Dan.”

“No problem at all. It works out great for
everyone.”

In a few minutes they'd be landing in San Jose.
Dan had a busy day ahead, he was meeting with Leanne later. Hopefully
he'd get to talk to Ryan, too. He was going to load the Jeep with
more of his clothes and gear, and drive back to Summer Lake. He hated
to spend the night away from Missy and Scot, but this way, Smoke
would get some time with Laura, Missy would get some time with her
son and her brother, and Dan would get some time alone. It surprised
him that he hadn't missed the solitude he used to crave. He was
curious how it would feel to sleep alone. There had only been a
handful of times in the last few weeks when there had been too many
emotions floating around for him to process. He'd been able to walk
away for a while, get straight with himself. Missy had understood.

This weekend would be a long and busy one, with
Missy's birthday, and the party. As much as he looked forward to
everyone coming to their house, as they no doubt would, he figured
that getting some alone time in advance would help see him through a
people-filled and important weekend.

“Would you ask Laura to call me, when she
gets chance?”

Smoke grinned at him. “Are you doing what I
think you are?”

Dan bit his lip, and nodded. “Did she tell
you?”

“God, no! I just remember her talking about
making Emma's ring for Jack. I figured when you got around to asking
Missy, you'd do the same.”

Dan nodded. “I still haven't figured out how
I'm going to do the asking part, but at least with Laura's help, I
know the ring will be perfect.”

Smoke nodded as ATC came over the radio and handed
them over to the tower for their approach into San Jose.

***

Missy sat out by the pool, enjoying the morning
sunshine. It wasn't warm enough to swim, but she didn't have the
energy anyway. She was simply making the most of the peace and quiet,
of not having to do anything—anything at all. It was a strange
feeling, but it wasn't as bad as she'd expected. She heard a car door
slam. Chance appeared around the side of the house. He came out to
the pool and sat beside her. He was still handsome, but he did look
older. Touches of gray flecked his dark unruly hair. His face was
rugged. He looked weather-worn, but then who wouldn't, spending all
their time outdoors in Montana? He didn't speak, just sat staring out
at the lake. She waited, knowing he'd talk if he wanted to. He'd been
here almost a week now. He hadn't talked about himself at all. He had
gone to see their dad, but hadn't spoken about it. Eventually he
turned to look at her. His smile reminded her of the old Chance, of
the kid he'd been, always laughing and joking. He'd been captain of
the football team, the most popular guy in school. That was before,
though.

“I like him, Miss.”

She smiled back. She already knew it, but was
relieved to hear him say it out loud. “I like him too, Chance.”

“He's good for you, and for Scot. I'm happy
for you.”

“Thanks. And thanks for telling me I was
being stupid!”

“Anytime.” He grinned.

“You are going to come to my party on
Saturday?” She hoped he would. He'd lain low all week, but all
her friends, and many of his knew he was here, and hoped to see him.

He nodded. “I'll be there. I gave Dan my
word.”

She looked at him, surprised.

“That's different from a promise, Miss.”

“If you say so.”

His face had shut down.

“Are you going to tell me what's going on
with you?” she asked.

He stared back out at the lake, seeming to think
it over. “I'm doing better.”

“I can see that.”

“Nah, let's not go there today, huh?”

She nodded. He'd talk when he was ready, there was
no point pushing. He really did seem to be doing better though.

“Maybe Dan could bring the two of you up to
see me some time?”

Wow!
“Really?”

“Yeah, it's about time you saw the place,
and now you've got Dan, I won't need to worry about keeping all the
guys away from you.”

“Chance, I'd love to!” She knew he
managed a big cattle ranch somewhere near Yellowstone, but she'd
never visited him up there. Whenever she'd asked, he'd made excuses
about why she couldn't come. “When?”

“We'll see.”

A
we'll see
from Chance usually meant
never.

Seeing her face, he shook his head. “We will
see. We'll talk to Dan, huh?”

That bothered her. “I know you like him, but
don't you dare start treating me like the little lady, while you men
folk go making all the decisions!”

He laughed. “I'm not. I just want to include
him, and you'd better get used to it. If you two are going to become
a team, you need to stop defending your independence so hard and
think about including him in your decisions too.”

“Oh!”

Chance laughed again. “Yeah, you might well
say, oh. Let him in, Miss. Don't push him out.”

“And when did you get into couples
counseling?”

“When I saw my little sister in danger of
screwing up the best thing that's ever happened to her. And don't
tell me to butt out again, cos I'm not going to. Not ’til you
relax and accept what he's offering you, okay?”

She sighed. “I am trying! Look, I'm here, at
home, not at work. Is that not enough?”

“It's a start. I'll give you that.”

“That's big of you! Thanks!”

“Look, Miss, you pride yourself on being
able to handle anything life throws at you, right?”

She nodded. She did.

“Well, remember life can throw good stuff at
you as well as the tough shit. You need to learn how to handle the
good stuff. You haven't had much practice at that, you've been too
busy dealing with tough shit.”

“Thanks, Chance.” He was right.

***

“What did you ever see in that woman?”
Leanne pushed her long blonde hair out of her eyes and shook her head
at Dan. “She's such a bitch!”

Dan laughed. “Calm down, Lee. You've been
telling me that for years. I finally get it. Just tell me how to get
out of it all. That's all I care about now.”

They sat in a restaurant around the corner from
his apartment. As usual, Leanne drew the attention of every man in
the place. Round glasses framed her big blue eyes . Her pale gray
suit fit her figure perfectly, emphasizing large breasts and a tiny
waist. The split in her skirt showed off shapely legs underneath. Dan
had always been aware that she was beautiful, but for some reason she
just didn't appeal to him in that way. He admired her mind. They'd
been friends since the first lecture they'd shared at Berkeley, but
he'd never been attracted to her. She felt the same way about him.
They'd often laughed at the way they left a trail of men and women
drooling in their wake, while neither of them got what it was all
about.

“It's getting interesting,” she said.
“Steven's been stalling me. I told him if he doesn't get back
to me by tomorrow, I'll advise you to sell direct to Systech. That
should get him off his ass.”

“I don't think it's him sitting on his ass
that's the problem, it's his being under Olivia's thumb.”

“Maybe so, but in the meantime, Corey called
me, and he's interested in buying your shares himself.”

“Really?” That puzzled Dan. “Did
he say why?”

“No, but think about it. If you sell to him,
then he'd win either way. He could go into Systech in a very strong
position, or he could even decide to put a stop to the merger
completely, since he'd be the majority shareholder.”

“Jesus! That would really piss Olivia off.”

“So, what do you want to do?”

Dan cocked his head. “I don't know. I just
want out. I want the best price I can get, obviously. But I don't
want to screw Steven over.”

Leanne tutted. “He didn't give a shit about
screwing you over!”

“It's not his fault, Lee. Olivia and their
parents push him around, they always have.”

“Well, if he refuses to grow a pair, that's
his problem—not yours.”

Dan laughed. For all Leanne looked so soft and
pretty, she was a real tough cookie. “What do you recommend?”

“As your attorney, I'd suggest you create a
bidding war, pit Corey against Olivia, and then bring in Systech.”

Dan frowned.

“As your friend, I know you're not going to
do that. So, I'd say we wait and talk to Steven. If he can't or won't
make a fair offer himself, then we get you the best price we can from
Corey and leave them to battle it out. You can't do anything for
Steven while he's under Olivia's control.”

Dan thought about it. “I'm going to call
Steven one last time. I'd like to sell to him and let him decide. We
started Prometheus together, I hate to see it torn away from him.”

“You're too soft, Dan. It's not being torn
away. He held his hands up and surrendered when his sister came in to
take it. So did you, for that matter.”

Dan nodded. He couldn't deny that. “Yeah, I
did, but I don't want it anymore. She set me free to go live the life
I do want, Lee.”