A Little Bit Country: A Little Bit Country / Blackberry Summer

Luke gave Rorie a long sober look. “You’re sure?”

“Positive.”

All join hands, circle right around

Stop in place at your hometown...

Studying the dancers, Rorie quickly picked up the terms do se do,allemande left and allemande right and a number of others, which she struggled to keep track of. By the end of the dance, her foot was tapping out the lively beat of the fiddlers’ music and a smile formed as she listened to the perfectly rhyming words.

“Rorie,” Skip said, suddenly standing in front of her. “May I have the pleasure of this dance?”

“I...I don’t think I’m ready yet.”

“Nonsense.” Without listening to her protest, he grabbed her hand and hauled her to her feet.

“Skip, I’ll embarrass you,” she protested in a low whisper. “I’ve never done this before.”

“You’ve got to start sometime.” He tucked his arm around her waist and led her close to the stage.

“We got a newcomer, Charlie,” Skip called out, “so make this one simple.”

Charlie gave Skip a thumbs-up and reached for the microphone. “We’ll go a bit slower this time,” Charlie announced to his happy audience. “Miss Rorie Campbell from San Francisco has joined us and it’s her first time on the floor.”

Rorie wanted to curl up and die as a hundred faces turned to stare at her. But the dancers were shouting and cheering their welcome and Rorie shyly raised her hand, smiling into the crowd.

Getting through that first series of steps was the most difficult, but soon Rorie was in the middle of the floor, stepping and twirling—and laughing. Something she’d always assumed to be a silly, outdated activity turned out to be great fun.

By the time Skip led her back to her chair, she was breathless. “Want some punch?” he asked. Rorie nodded eagerly. Her throat felt parched.

When Skip left her, Luke Rivers appeared at her side. “You did just great,” he said sincerely.

“For a city girl, you mean,” she teased.

“As good as anyone.”

“Thanks.”

“I suspect I owe you an apology, Rorie.”

“Because you didn’t want to make a fool of yourself with me on the dance floor?” she asked with a light laugh. “That’s understandable. Kate and Clay practically threw me in your lap. I’m sure you had other plans for tonight, and I’m sorry for your sake that we got stuck with each other.”

Luke grinned. “Trust me, I’ve had plenty of envious looks from around the room. Any of a dozen different men would be more than happy to be ‘stuck’ with you.”

That went a long way toward boosting her ego. She would have commented, but Skip came back just then carrying a paper cup filled with bright pink punch. A teenage girl was beside him, clutching his free arm and smiling dreamily up at him.

“I’m going to dance with Caroline now, okay?” he said to Rorie.

“That’s fine,” she answered, smiling, “and thank you for braving the dance floor with me.” Skip blushed as he slipped an arm around Caroline’s waist and hurried her off.

“You game?” Luke nodded toward the dancing couples.

Rorie didn’t hesitate. She swallowed the punch in three giant gulps, and gave him her hand. Together they moved onto the crowded floor.

By the end of the third set of dances, Rorie had twirled around with so many different partners, she lost track of them. She’d caught sight of Clay only once, and when he saw her he waved. Returning the gesture, she promptly missed her footing and nearly fell into her partner’s waiting arms. The tall sheriff’s deputy was all too happy to have her throw herself at him and told her as much, to Rorie’s embarrassment.

Although it was only ten o’clock, Rorie was exhausted and so warm the perspiration ran in rivulets down her face and neck. She had to escape. Several times, she’d tried to sit out a dance, but no one would listen to her excuses.

In an effort to catch her breath and cool down, Rorie took advantage of a break between sets to wander outside. The night air was refreshing. Quite a few other people had apparently had the same idea; the field that served as a car park was crowded with groups and strolling couples.

As she made her way through the dimly lit field, she saw a handful of men passing around a flask of whiskey and entertaining each other with off-color jokes. She steered a wide circle around them and headed toward Luke’s parked car, deciding it was far enough away to discourage anyone from following her. In her eagerness to escape, she nearly stumbled over a couple locked in a passionate embrace against the side of a pickup.

Rorie mumbled an apology when the pair glanced up at her, irritation written all over their young faces. Good grief, she’d only wanted a few minutes alone in order to get a breath of fresh air—she hadn’t expected to walk through an obstacle course!

When she finally arrived at Luke Rivers’s car, she leaned on the fender and slowly inhaled the clean country air. All her assumptions about this evening had been wrong. She’d been so sure she’d feel lonely and bored and out of place. And she’d felt none of those things. If she were to tell Dan about the Grange dance, he’d laugh at the idea of having such a grand time with a bunch of what he’d refer to as “country bumpkins.” The thought annoyed her. These were good, friendly, fun-loving people. They’d taken her under their wing, expressed their welcome without reserve, and now they were showing her an uncomplicated lifestyle that had more appeal than Rorie would have believed possible.

“I thought I’d find you out here.”

Rorie’s whole body tensed as she recognized the voice of the man who’d joined her.

“Hello, Clay.”

Eight (#ulink_718fcd8f-3927-5ae4-a4cf-2309fb90087e)

Rorie injected a cheerful note into her voice. She turned around, half expecting Kate to be with him. The two had been inseparable from the minute Clay had arrived. It was just as well that Kate was around, since her presence prevented Clay and Rorie from giving in to any temptation.

Clay’s hands settled on her shoulders and Rorie flinched involuntarily at his touch. With noticeable regret, Clay dropped his hands.

“Are you having a good time?” he asked.

She nodded. “I didn’t think I would, which tells you how prejudiced I’ve been about country life, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised.”

“I’m glad.” His hands clenched briefly at his sides, then he flexed his fingers a couple of times. “I would’ve danced with you myself, but—”

She stopped him abruptly. “Clay, no. Don’t explain...it isn’t necessary. I understand.”

His eyes held hers with such tenderness that she had to look away. The magical quality was in the air again—Rorie could feel it as forcefully as if the stars had spelled it out across the heavens.

“I don’t think you do understand, Rorie,” Clay said, “but it doesn’t matter. You’ll be gone in a couple of days and both our lives will go back to the way they were meant to be.”

Rorie agreed with a quick nod. It was too tempting, standing in the moonlight with Clay. Much too tempting. The memory of another night in which they’d stood and gazed at the stars returned with powerful intensity. Rorie realized that even talking to each other, alone like this, was dangerous.

“Won’t Kate be looking for you?” she asked carefully.

“No. Luke Rivers is dancing with her.”

For a moment she closed her eyes, not daring to look up at Clay. “I guess I’ll be going inside now. I just came out to catch my breath and cool down a little.”

“Dance with me first—here in the moonlight.”