Down the Hidden Path (24 page)

Miah tested the shoulders by lifting his arms and bringing his elbows together. “These are more comfortable than I expected.”

The redheaded scarecrow grinned. David decided she always looked like the Joker. “They’re cut for men with wider shoulders and muscular arms and chests. Is the neck too tight?”

Miah stuck his index finger beneath the collar and tugged. “No. I think it’s good. Time to settle up, I guess.”

The older woman motioned to the younger saleslady. “Rose, why don’t you show David the new books we stocked in the kids’ corner? I’ll take Mr. McKinley to the register.”

David followed the Joker, even though he’d already seen the books. When a man entered and asked about designer suits, the Joker got right to work, so David decided to head back and find Jeremiah. He stopped just short of the register behind a tall shoe display when he heard his name.

It was the older scarecrow, and she’d always been nice to David and interested in the manga books he’d bring along, fascinated by the fact that they were read from back cover to front. She spoke in a hushed tone. “We were all so sorry to hear about Bill and Angela. Heartbroken for David.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“We’re very fond of him. We’ve watched him grow up.” David heard her clicking away on the register.

“He’s an incredible kid. I’m . . . I’m really lucky to have him.”

There were a few seconds of silence while David dissected those words. Did Jeremiah feel lucky? David had thought maybe he was just a burden to him.

Jeremiah continued. “He’s so brave.”

David pressed his lips together. Jeremiah thought he was brave. Even though Miah’d seen him after nightmares and even though he slept with a Ninja Turtle and the nightlight on.

The scarecrow spoke, her voice soft. “We were surprised he wanted to bring you here.”

Jeremiah released a long breath. “I know. It has to be hard on him, but he’s the bravest young man I’ve ever known, and, ma’am, that’s saying something.”

It wasn’t hard until now
. David brushed at his face. His eyes had watered a little bit.

Scarecrow spoke. “Oh, yes, David told me you were in the military. Well, we always give a military discount, but Mr. McKinley, if you wouldn’t be offended, we’d like to do a little better than that.”

“Offended, no.”

“Well,” she said, but seemed to be gathering her professionalism. “Today, everything is half off.”

Wow. They’d never given his dad a discount like that.

And then she added, “For David.”

And the discount was because of him. That was kind of cool. He figured he could join them now, so he popped out from behind the shoes as if he’d just walked back. Oh yeah, he could totally be a ninja. “All set?” David smiled big and hoped they didn’t notice he’d cried a couple tears a minute ago.

“Just have to change back into my street clothes.”

David lifted Miah’s wrist and tapped his watch. “No time, Cinderella. We gotta get you to the castle.”

“Yes, sir.” Miah thanked the scarecrow for the suit and they rushed to the truck.

It was a nice evening with a fresh layer of snow that MoDOT had moved to the edges of the road. This day was different than any other day they’d spent together so far, and Miah’s heart was bursting with happiness. David had gotten to take the reins. Miah glanced over. “Hey, champ.”

David’s hair flew as he looked over. “Yeah?”

“Thanks for this.”

A grin that held more pride than happiness spread on David’s face.

Miah tapped the steering wheel. “Maybe one day you could show me around a museum?”

David’s gaze left him and focused on the road. “Okay. Yeah. I’d like to do that.”

Miah reached over and gave his leg a squeeze.

David yelped.

Miah removed his hand until he realized what the reaction meant. “You ticklish?” Instantly, he reached over again and clamped his fingers around David’s knee. The boy jolted, foot flying out and hitting the underside of the glove box. His laugh was hearty and the best thing Miah had ever heard. Finally, Miah relented.

Yes, things were great with him and his son. Gray, on the other hand, had stayed resistant to Miah since the fishing trip. She was scared. Scared to death, that much was obvious, but he didn’t fully understand why. After all, they were both going to be in David’s life for the duration.

“Give me your phone. I’ll tell Gray to be ready when we get to her house.” David barked orders like a drill sergeant. Guess his McKinley side was starting to shine through.

He listened as David argued with his mother. “No. You can’t just meet us there . . . Because.” He paused and rolled his eyes. “Gray. We’re coming to pick you up. Be ready.” And he hit the disconnect button.

“Does she know about the dress code?”

“She went shopping yesterday.” When Miah started to ask another question, David reached to the stereo, found a hip-hop station, and cranked it loud.

Jeremiah’s mind completely stalled when he put the truck in park and watched Gray step out of her house. A coat covered her torso, but a deep green dress peeked from beneath. It landed midcalf and had a slit in the front that highlighted her gorgeous legs when she moved. Even with the coat, she looked incredible.

Before Gray could get in, David hopped out, and motioned for her to slide into the middle beside Jeremiah. She gave him a quick glare and pointed to the snug skirt. “You gotta be kidding.”

With a huff and an eye roll, she shimmied into the truck. And Miah
enjoyed watching her.

The middle school was only a few miles away, but the silence was deaf
ening. Finally, Gray spoke. “David, please tell us about this fund-raiser. I know it’s a banquet. Are Jeremiah and I serving dinner at the banquet?”

“Nope.” He busied himself playing with the window button.

“So, what are we going to be doing tonight? You’ve been secretive about it and I think it’s time we know what to expect.”

David glanced over, thoughtful, careful. “I got people to pledge money. They can either make a donation or pay outright for a dance.”

“A
dance
?” Gray repeated.

He shrugged. “Yes. That’s why Stacey needed you to be her pledge. Her mom and dad are still married and who wants to dance with an old married woman?”

Miah found it the slightest bit amusing. Gray, not so. She went from a shade of red to a deep sickly green. “Are you telling me you went around town selling dances with me?”

“You signed up.”

“David.”

There was the mom voice. Miah bit back a smile. What was the big deal? So, the middle school was renting them out for the evening. All for a good cause.

Gray shook her head. “No. You . . . should have told us.”

“Mom!”

The one word caused Gray’s heart to melt a little, it was obvious. To Miah’s knowledge, he’d never called her Mom before this moment. She drew a breath, shoulders rising, and practically beamed. Joy spread across her features, making her look even more beautiful.

David raised an upturned hand in explanation. “This is a great way to make money for the basketball team. They need new equipment, and you know how River Rock is all about the science. Well, the jocks have to suffer for it.”

Miah leaned closer to her. “You don’t want the jocks to suffer, do you?”

She stiffened beside Miah. “You’re telling me other people signed up for this? Willingly?”

“Yeah. No big deal.”

Though Miah was having fun watching her squirm, he opted to be the voice of reason. “I suppose it wouldn’t seem like such a bad thing if we’d known ahead.”

David continued on, his political voice in full force. “Every student participating had to find a single relative or neighbor to be their pledge.”

Gray dropped her head in her hands. “This is mortifying. It’s like high school all over again.”

David just grinned.

“How many dances?” She peered through her freshly painted fingertips.

“Ten. And your
whole
card is filled up.”

She gave Miah a scorching glance. “I suppose you were in on this.”

“Nah. I just found out. Just like you. But hey, if I have to dance with some little old lady to help the basketball team, it’s worth it.” He winked.

“David, how do you know you didn’t give dances to some psychopath?”

“Gray.” His chin tilted down. “It’s River Rock. Everybody knows everybody.”

It was a small town and maybe that’s why ideas like this could work. Miah supposed they had to get more and more creative with the fund-raising. All the money came from a very small pool.

“So, how will this go?” She was trying, Miah could tell, to mentally prepare herself for the night, for being on display, for being the center of attention. Gray never made a big deal out of the fact she was pretty; she just was herself and didn’t care who noticed her. In fact, she likely preferred not to be noticed, not to be in the limelight. But she deserved the spotlight. She deserved her own moon to revolve around her. And quite suddenly, Jeremiah wished he’d known about the details. He’d have pledged money for a dance with Gray. Then, the thought of her spinning around all evening in other men’s arms shot like fire through his mind. And the fun of the evening took a quick right turn and out the truck window.

Her nervousness found its way to her fingertips. They clicked together, something he’d noticed she did when she was uncomfortable. He reached over and gave her hands a quick squeeze. He parked the truck and opened the passenger door. David bailed out, but Gray remained motionless, her giant eyes glassy and focused on something directly in front of them. “Come on, princess,” he urged.

Reluctantly, she slid out of the truck, giving him a great view of those legs again and, side by side, they walked toward the gymnasium. David was a few steps ahead. Miah leaned over and gripped her hand. “You gonna be okay?” he whispered in her ear.

“Not much choice. Welcome to Parenthood 101. Always get details where fund-raisers are concerned.”

Miah watched their son walking in front of him. “It’s weird that he was so secretive about it.”

“He knows me. I’d have never agreed.”

Miah stopped her. With gentle pressure on her arm, he turned her to face him.

“Not true. You’re just like me. You’d rope the moon if he asked. You can do this, Smith. You’re so much stronger than you know.” And she was beautiful. She’d put on makeup to enhance her formal attire. Her hair was down, long, lush, and waiting for his fingers to rummage through it, but he wouldn’t be doing that because they both had a card filled with names.

“I’d have bought a dance with you.” Miah didn’t pull her closer, though her body moved in, if only slightly, and he had the suspicion that he could thaw that ice queen if he only had the time and if he didn’t mess everything up again in the process.

“Come on, you guys.” David tugged the gym door and the banquet and dance lay just beyond.

Gray hadn’t been able to eat during the banquet because her stomach was a ball of nerves that felt like barbed wire unraveling in her gut. The gym had been modestly enhanced with cardboard and tissue from what was likely a decade of collected Valentine decorations. Red and white and a million balloons. If the decorating committee’s goal was
middle school romance
, they’d nailed it. David and Stacey came over. “Okay, inside the envelope is your card. Each card has lines. On each line is the name of the person you dance with. There are ten dances.”