One More Dance by Roxanne Rustand (best ebook reader for pc txt) 📗

chest, Deanna feigned astonishment. “Me? Embarrass you? Never.”

“I shouldn’t even be doing this, you know.”

“Why not? He's an absolute doll, and from the look in his eyes, he already adores you. What could possibly go wrong?"

“Charlesburg?”

At that single word, Deanna lowered her fork to her plate, and her other hand dropped to her lap.

“See?” A wave of hopelessness and frustration settled in Kate’s stomach like a cold, dead weight. “I have to tell him, because he’ll find out anyway. Either way...”

“But you aren’t responsible for your family. No one can hold that against you.”

“Headline news? Of course they can. Remember our high school prom?”

Whenever she thought of that night years ago, the embarrassment still sent flames burning in her cheeks.

Because she had lived so far out in the country, she’d offered to drive into town and meet her date at the high school. Phillip had already been inside, standing in a circle of friends, their heads bent together. When one of them spied her, they’d broken apart instantly and her heart had taken a slow-motion dive to the floor.

Phillip turned his back on her, took the arm of Chelsea Goodwin and went out on the dance floor. His other two friends strolled over to Kate, their faint smirks barely hiding their anticipation.

“Is it true?” Wendy exclaimed. “Really?”

Kate stared at them, feeling herself shrink against the cool cement block wall of the gym.

“I mean, I never met anyone related to a murderer before!” Wendy's eyes widened with horrified glee over such a delicious piece of gossip to share.

“I—” Kate’s words lodged in her throat. She knew exactly what would happen next.

Everyone at the prom would hear the story in minutes, and then the entire school. The whole town. She’d gone to live with various relatives since eighth grade. Different schools, different states, but the past always caught up with her, branding her forever with the most terrible time of her life.  And she'd be a pariah once again.

So she’d fled from the prom. Deanna had run after her a few minutes later—but only after furiously berating Wendy for her careless words.

. “Forget about what happened back in high school." Deanna enveloped Kate in a big hug, then stepped back.  "Jared isn’t like those awful kids were."

“I’d like to believe it.”

“Then do. You’ve barely dated the past four years. It’s time to give someone a chance.” Deanna waggled her eyebrows à la Groucho Marx then settled down at the kitchen table with a stack of textbooks. “Especially Jared. Like, he’s totally awesome. And,” she added with a grin, “maybe he has an equally rad brother.”

Kate rolled her eyes.

“Maybe you misunderstood him and he was going to come next weekend or something.” Deanna looked over the top of her pharmacology textbook. “That has to be it.”

After washing the dishes, Kate glanced at the clock on the stove. Almost midnight. She  paced the small apartment for a while, then collapsed on the couch with her homework. “Or he had second thoughts. It’s just as well.”

“You could call him. Maybe he forgot.”

“Even if I wanted to, I lost his number. Not that I’d actually do it.”

“You are the most stubborn person I ever met.” Deanna flipped to another page in her book and fell silent for a few minutes before looking up again. “By the way, there was a guy outside this morning—after you left. He pulled his car to a stop in front of the apartment building and asked Leesa and me a lot of questions.”

“He was hitting on you, I bet.”

“Yuck. I hope not—he had to be fifty or more. Sorta bald. Business suit.”

“You shouldn’t talk to strangers, Dee,” Kate intoned, mimicking Deanna’s mother. “I heard your mom say that lots of times.”

“Hey, Leesa and I could run faster’n he could, believe me, ’cause he was pretty hefty. He said he was doing a survey of the building and was randomly picking residents coming out of the door."

Kate made a face. “Did you tell him about the ants? The mold in the bathroom?”

“He mostly asked friendly questions about us. Where we were from, why we’d moved here, our majors and so on. Oh, and how happy we are with the place, of course. He was really disappointed that he missed talking to you, too.”

“How do you know he was who he said he was? Did you call the apartment manager?”

Deanna snorted and threw her hands up in defeat. “Leesa and I aren’t exactly stupid, thank you very much. He was just a business-like older man. You are way too paranoid, but if it makes you feel better, you can call.”

Mollified, Kate sank back against the cushions and managed a contrite smile. “Sorry. Guess I’m just a little edgy...since Prince Charming didn’t show up, and all. Which is just as well, really, because that saves me from any awkward situations later on.”

“Like, when you refuse to go out with him again? You oughta be pretty good at shutting guys down by now.”

She shrugged, but Deanna wasn’t even close. Kate was looking ahead to the situation that might occur if she dared follow her heart and got as far as meeting his family.

She could only imagine what the Mathers’ would think if they looked too deeply into her family’s past.

The specter of a tabloid frenzy would have them barricading their doors.

“YOU’RE SURE IT’S THE same girl?” Sylvia Mathers leaned closer to the entryway mirror and touched the corner of her mouth with a long fingernail, correcting a minuscule smudge of lipstick. “Absolutely sure?”

“Definitely.”

Dexter shoved his hands in his pockets, which was infinitely better than watching him fidget with his watch, his wedding band, and the cuffs of his suit jacket. And once again, Sylvia second-guessed her decision to send her stuffy brother on such an important mission.

“You talked to this girl? The one Jared told me about on the phone this morning?” She suppressed a shudder. “The one he thinks is his dream girl?”

He twitched, averted his gaze. “Not Kate. She wasn’t there.