Chapter Three
“Hayley, slow down.” Tanner nearly tripped over his own two feet as his daughter dragged him down the street. She had squealed and jumped up and down when he’d told her last night that he was bringing her to the open house today. She was growing up way too fast. And the older she got, the more she would need a mother in her life. To discuss those things that a girl was never comfortable discussing with her father. To do mother-daughter things together. It was times like this that he could curse Vanessa for running out and leaving him to raise his daughter alone.
But he was trying and that was all he could do. He’d grown up with four younger brothers and sisters, their own mother having died when he was a teen. After having to pitch in and help Dad raise his siblings, he thought he would never want kids of his own. But he’d fallen in love with Vanessa and those plans changed. He’d had a wife he loved and a beautiful daughter to dote on in no time. What he hadn’t expected was for Vanessa to take off when Hayley was just a toddler, leaving him to fumble through parenting alone. He loved Hayley and they had a special bond, but seeing the girls lined up with their mothers had Tanner’s heart aching.
Sure, he had Mary, and Hayley loved her like a grandmother, but it just wasn’t the same. Shadows would fill Hayley’s eyes when she talked about what her friends had done with their Moms. Today’s father-daughter day would help, but nothing could replace what she had lost.
Hayley tugged harder on his hand. “Dad, come on. The line is already sooooo long. I want to meet Miss Isabella. Meghan said she used to dance in New York. Do you think I could be a dancer when I grow up? That would be so cool. Look, hey, there’s Meghan.” Hayley waved her hand wildly and jumped up and down.
Tanner waved at Lori, Meghan’s mom. Tanner had more friendships with women these days than men, the moms of Hayley’s friends being the primary adults he socialized with outside of work. If you called birthday parties and sleepovers and trips to the mall socializing.
Hayley ran up to Meghan, and the two girls giggled and put their heads together.
“So, this is the girl’s newest idea, huh. Dance?” Thankfully they’d found Lori and Meghan, so he wasn’t the only parent way out of his league here.
Lori laid her hand on his arm. “Meghan is so excited. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the studio director.”
“She used to dance in New York.”
“Yeah. She grew up in Cedar Hill, and it was big news when she was selected as the prima ballerina for a company in New York. Supposedly she was injured during a rehearsal and she hasn’t danced publicly since. She and her partner were also an item or something like that, and he dumped her after she got hurt. Either way, she’s opening a dance studio here. And as you see—” she spread her arms wide. “She has kids lining up to take classes.”
Tanner tried to imagine what it was like to grow up in Cedar Hill. His childhood had been spent outdoors, riding horses and running around the ranch in Colorado. He’d gone to college in New York, leaving his western roots behind. He and Vanessa had moved to Philadelphia after college. But after Vanessa left, he decided he didn’t want to raise Hayley in the city. They moved to Cedar Hill right before Hayley started school. He’d never regretted the move. He loved his small town.
While they waited for their turn, he tried to catch a glimpse of the woman everyone was talking about. There were two women in the tent, but he couldn’t see either of them well for the crowd of parents and children that gathered around them. One of the women took a group of parents and kids into the studio, leaving the other alone in the tent.
He and Lori chatted about the upcoming school year as the line inched toward the front. As they moved up in the line, Hayley crept closer to him. By the time they were next in line, she was plastered to his side.
“Is that her, Daddy? Do you think she’ll like me?” Hayley’s chin was tucked to her chest, and she refused to look him in the eye, as if she was afraid she’d see something she didn’t like if she did.
Damn Vanessa. Hayley had a hard time meeting new people, especially women. He could blame her fear of rejection squarely on the fact that her mother had run out on her all those years ago. Hayley’d been seeking approval from the women in her life ever since, afraid each one would leave like her mother did. “I think that’s her. Of course she’s going to love you, honey. What’s not to love?”
Just then, the mom and daughter ahead of them moved aside and in front of them stood… her. She looked every bit the dancer Hayley made her out to be, but younger than he had expected. For some reason, he had an image of an older woman, gray at the temples on either side of her wrinkled cheeks. He certainly didn’t expect the young, slender woman standing in front of him. He also didn’t expect the jolt that shot through him when she turned her magnetic smile and gentle eyes his way. She gave him a quick nod but then turned her attention to his daughter. “Hey, sweetie, what’s your name?”
Hayley crept out from behind him. He whispered in her ear. “Go ahead.”
“I’m Hayley.”
“Hi, Hayley, I’m Miss Harper. Do you like to dance?”
“I do. I like to turn on my iPod and dance to the songs. I love the videos when I see all the dancers.”
“Those are pretty cool, huh? Have you ever had any dance lessons?”
Hayley and Miss Harper’s conversation gave him a chance to study the intriguing woman in front of him. Her light brown hair was pinned up on her head, exposing her long, creamy neck. Her hazel eyes sparkled as she talked about dance with his daughter, and her eyebrows popped up from time to time as she carried on the animated conversation. Pink tinted her cheeks, probably from all of the hours she’d spent outside in the August heat.
His gaze trailed down her body, every curve highlighted in the tight dance clothes . Damn, how long had it been since he’d been out with a woman? Hayley grabbed his arm. “Can I, Dad? Can I?”
“I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t hear you.” He’d been too focused on the intriguing woman in front of him.
“Miss Harper was telling me about her ballet class on Tuesday nights and jazz class on Thursdays. Can I take them, Dad? Please.”
Miss Harper extended her hand. “We haven’t officially met. I’m Isabella Harper. Thanks for coming out today and checking out my new studio. You’ve got a really enthusiastic daughter.”
Her hand was small and soft in his, and warmth spread through his body at the brush of her skin against his. He held it longer than he should have, but she didn’t pull away either. His eyes met hers, and for a minute, something deeper swirled in the hazel depths. Yep, he definitely needed a night out. A chance to meet a willing woman for a few steamy hours between the sheets. But for now, he needed to stop having these thoughts about Hayley’s dance teacher. “Tanner Ross. Thanks so much. Hayley’s been talking about dance classes for weeks now. I’m so glad the mayor told me about your studio opening.”
She raised her eyebrows and glanced at their still-joined hands. “It appears that I’m about done here.” She looked toward the studio. “I don’t see my other teacher, Natalie. How about I give you guys a tour of the studio?”
Tanner glanced behind him. He and Hayley were the only ones left.
“Can we, Daddy?” Hayley bounced up and down on the balls of her feet.
If Isabella could get his daughter this excited about anything, there was no way he could refuse. Tanner looked down to where he still held Isabella’s hand. He let her go, the tingles throughout his body lingering after the last touch of her hand, and motioned toward the building behind her. “After you.”
His hand kept wanting to drift to her back, to rest against her as she led them to the studio. Hayley kept up a steady stream of chatter, but Isabella never sighed or seemed put off by his daughter’s exuberance. Bonus points right there. It had been a long time since he’d seen Hayley open up to someone so easily.
As soon as the door closed behind them, the sounds of the street were blocked out. A gentle song played throughout the studio as Isabella led them across the lobby.
“We’ve started out with two studios, but we have room to expand if the demand increases. I’ll be teaching a full slate of classes, and the other teacher, Natalie, will be in the studio on three evenings. She’s still teaching a class or two at her former studio in Philadelphia, but I’m lucky to have her come on board.”
Her words may have sounded easy, but her tense shoulders and clenched jaw told another story as she stopped at the door to the second room. What he wouldn’t give to soothe her stress, to give her something else to think about.
“Oh, Miss Harper, it’s beautiful. Can I go in?”
Tanner studied the expansive dance studio in front of him. Wide windows stretching up to the ceiling filled one wall, with bars at two different heights running the length of it. Mirrors covered another wall. The room was painted a pale pink and inspirational posters were hung for the dancers to see while they practiced. The perfect room for aspiring dancers.
“Slip off your shoes, and then you’re welcome to go in. No street shoes on the dance floor.”
“Yippee.” Hayley kicked off her sneakers and ran into the room, spinning in circles in front of the mirrors. Her laughter reminded him of when she was a toddler and even simple things had her belly laughing. He missed those uncomplicated days when it was easy to keep his daughter happy.
“She’s really sweet.” Isabella’s words were barely above a whisper, the huskiness of her voice setting every nerve ending on fire. “She reminds me of myself at her age. I’d already been dancing several years by then, but I still never wanted to do anything else.”
“Hayley’s been talking about finding lessons for a long time. I’m so glad you opened the studio here in Cedar Hill. Otherwise, I’d have to take her into Philly.”
“This town has needed a studio for a long time. I’m just…” She hesitated but didn’t finish her thought. What was she going to say?
“I understand you danced in a company out of New York.”
“I did. I was with The Lincoln Ballet Theater for eight years, prima ballerina for two.”
She spouted off the information with all the enthusiasm of a person reciting their resume at a job interview. None of the passion he expected from someone who purported to love dance as much as she did. “And it’s our good fortune that you’ve come back to Cedar Hill. Congratulations on your new studio.”
She turned to him, the sparkle in her eyes returning. “Thanks. I’m pretty excited for classes to start.”
It was clear by Hayley’s leaping around the studio that she was, too. If only he could bottle up that enthusiasm for those times when the shadows returned. “I haven’t seen Hayley this eager about something in a long time. What do I need to do to sign her up?”
Isabella threw another glance at Hayley and gestured toward the desk across the lobby. A few minutes later, he was a couple hundred dollars poorer, and Hayley was signed up for two hours of dance class a week. As he folded his wallet and shoved it back in his pocket, he struggled for something, anything else to say to extend the conversation with Isabella. It had been a long time since he’d had a conversation with a woman as intriguing as she was, and he didn’t want to say goodbye just yet.
“Thanks so much for bringing Hayley by and signing her up. I think she’ll have a lot of fun.”
If that didn’t dismiss him, nothing would. But the one thing this brief time around Isabella showed him was that he was in dire need of some female companionship. “Come on, Hayley, time to go.”
“Aw, Dad. Can’t I stay a bit longer?”
“We’ve taken up enough of Miss Harper’s time. You’re signed up for classes.”
“Yay.” Hayley ran out of the studio and threw her arms around Isabella. Isabella seemed shocked for a moment but then her arms snaked around Hayley. Like a mother’s would with her daughter. He couldn’t help but stare at the image they projected.
Hayley finally let go of Isabella. “Bye, Miss Harper.”
She skipped toward the front, and he hustled to catch up with her. Just before they stepped out the door, he turned back. Isabella hadn’t moved, her arms still hanging by her side where Hayley had left her, a look he couldn’t quite describe on her face.
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